NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English (Moments) Chapter 4 In the Kingdom of Fools

NCERT
SOLUTIONS
CLASS - 9TH

aglase .co

Class : 9th
Subject : English-2
Chapter : 4
Chapter Name : In the Kingdom of Fools

Q1 What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple nd in the Kingdom of Fools?

Answer. When the guru and the disciple reached the Kingdom of Fools, the rst strange thing
they noticed was that there was no one about. There was not a single soul to be found on the
streets, not even cattle. They were amazed by what they saw around them and wandered here
and there till evening. The second strange thing was that everything cost the same in the
Kingdom of Fools i.e., a single duddu. Whatever they bought, a bunch of bananas or a portion
of rice, cost the same i.e., a duddu.

Q2 Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools? Is it a good idea?

Answer. The disciple was a great lover of food. He decided to stay back in the Kingdom of
Fools because all food items were cheap here. He could buy whatever he wanted for a rupee
and all he wanted was good, cheap food.
The disciple decision to stay back was not a good idea because anything could have happened
to him in the Kingdom of Fools, as he was rightly told by the guru.

Q3 Name all the people who are tried in the king’s court, and give the reasons for their trial.

Answer. Four persons were tried in the king’s court: the owner of the house, the bricklayer, the
dancing girl and the goldsmith.
The owner of the house in which the theft had occurred was the rst person to be summoned
to the court. He was pronounced guilty as his wall was weak because of which the thief had
died. The owner of the house cleverly passed the guilt on to the bricklayer by saying that it was
actually the bricklayer who had built the wall in the rst place.
When the bricklayer was told about his fault, he passed the blame to the dancing girl. He said
that she kept going up and down the street with her anklets jingling and he could not keep his
eyes off her. As a result, he lost his concentration and built a weak wall.
The king decided to punish the dancing girl and she was summoned to the court next. In her
defence, she said that at that time, she had given some gold to a goldsmith to make some
jewellery for her. Since the goldsmith was extremely lazy, he made several excuses and made
her walk up and down to his house a dozen times and that was when the bricklayer had seen

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Book - Moments Ncert Solutions | Chapter-4 English-2

her.
The king then came to the conclusion that the goldsmith should be punished. When he was
summoned to the court, he claimed that he was very poor and it was because of a rich
merchant, who would not wait for his order to be complete, that he kept delaying and making
excuses to the dancing girl. Incidentally, this merchant was none other than the father of the
owner of the house.

Q4 Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape punishment?

Answer. According to the king, the owner of the house was the real culprit. The owner arrived
crying and said that it was not him but his father who had ordered the jewellery. Since his
father was long dead, he could not be held responsible for the death of the thief. On consulting
his ministers, the king came to the conclusion that the merchant’s father was the culprit.
However, since he was dead, the punishment would be carried out on the owner of the house.
As the servants sharpened the stake for the punishment, the minister realized that the
merchant was too thin to be properly executed on the stake. The king then realised that they
needed a man fat enough to t the stake. Hence, the owner of the house escapes the
punishment.

Q5 What are the Guru’s words of wisdom? When does the disciple remember them?

Answer. The guru’s words of wisdom were that it was the city of fools. He advised the disciple
to leave the city because he would not know what they would do next.

The disciple remembered these words when he was being carried to the place of execution.
Even though he tried to explain that he was innocent and was just a disciple, the servants said
that it was a royal decree to nd a man fat enough to t the stake. As he was waiting for his
death, he remembered his guru’s words of wisdom and prayed to him in his heart.

Q6 How does the guru manage to save his disciple’s life?

Answer. Since the guru had magical powers, he saw in a vision that the disciple was praying to
him. As soon as he arrived to save him, he whispered something to him. He then went to the
king and asked who was greater, the guru or the disciple. The king answered that the guru was
greater. Immediately, the guru asked the king to put him to the stake rst and then his
disciple. The disciple understood the guru’s trick and began saying that he was brought there
rst and therefore, he should be put to death rst.
The guru and disciple got into a ght. The king was puzzled. He knew there was something
mysterious about the ght. So, he promised the guru that he would put him to death rst if he

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told him what the mystery was. The guru told him that he and his disciple had been all over
the world, but they had never found a city like that or a king like him. The stake was the stake
of the god of justice. It was new and a criminal had never been put on it. Whoever would die
on it rst would be reborn as the king of that kingdom and whoever would die next, would be
the future minister. The guru said that they were tired of their ascetic lives. Hence, they
wanted to be reborn as king and minister.
The king started thinking immediately. He did not want to lose his kingdom to someone else
in the next life. He postponed the execution till the next day and talked to his minister and
decided that they would go on the stakes themselves and would be reborn as king and
minister. The king and the minister secretly released the guru and his disciple and took their
place and got executed on the stake. Hence, the guru used his cleverness to save his disciple’s
life.

Q1 In Shakespeare’s plays the fool is not really foolish. If you have read or seen Shakespeare’s
plays such as King Lear, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, you may talk about the role of the fool.

Answer. DIY

Page : 27 , Block Name : Talk About It

Q2 Do you know any stories in your language about wise fools, such as Tenali Rama or Gopal
Bhar? You can also read about them in Ramanujan’s collection of folk tales.

Answer. Missing

Page : 27 , Block Name : Talk About It

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