NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Beehive Poem A Legend of the Northland

Thinking about the Poem

Question:- I. 1.Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?

Answer:- The “Northland” may refer to any of the countries in the north where days are short and nights are long among Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, etc.

2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?

Answer:- Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake.

 She was very selfish and kept decreasing the size of the cake because she thought it was too large to give away.

3. How did he punish her?

Answer:- He Punished her by cursing her and made her a woodpecker.

4. How does the woodpecker get her food?

Answer:- To get some food, the woodpecker must bore all day in the hard, dry wood.

5. Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?

Answer:- If the old lady had known who Saint Peter actually was, I don’t think she would have been so ungenerous. She would have offered him as much cake as she could in order to please him and be handsomely rewarded.

6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?

Answer:- No, it is not a true story. It is a legend. The third stanza of the poem is very important.

7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?

Answer:- A legend is a piece of folklore that tellers and listeners believe to be genuine which has yet to be proven true. It typically has a moral to convey. Because it also conveys a message of generosity, this poem is referred to be a legend.

8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.

Answer:- Once Saint Peter was hungry, he went an old lady and asked for alms. He requested a piece of cake, which she agreed to give him. The lady was quite self-centered. She continued to reduce the size of the cake because she believed it was too large to be given away as charity. Finally, she refused to give him any cake.

Saint Peter became angry and cursed her, turning her into a woodpecker. He told her that she would have to drill dry, hard wood to acquire food from now on. Her clothes are burnt to ashes and she is left with a cap on her head. She continues to bore into hard wood in search for little food.

Question:- II. 1. Let’s look at the words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’ and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and ‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know.’ We find that ‘snows’ rhymes with ‘clothes’, ‘true’ rhymes with ‘you’ and ‘below’ rhymes with ‘know’. Find more such rhyming words.

Answer:-  Earth-hearth, done-one, lay-away, another-over, flat-that, faint-saint, form- worm, food-wood, same-flame are more such rhyming words from the poem.

2. Go to the local library or talk to older persons in your locality and find legends in your own language. Tell the class these legends.

Answer:- Do it yourself.