Class 9th Eng.BeeHive Ch-5 THE SNAKE AND MIRROR, QUESTIONS ANSWERS THEME MESSAGE CHARACTER

Ch-5

5 The Snake and the Mirror

Vaikom Muhammad Basheer

Detailed Summary 

The Doctor and His Accommodation

A doctor tells an interesting story involving himself to some of his friends. The homeopath doctor lived in a small rented room which had no electricity. He had just begun his practice so he didn't earn much. He had only about sixty rupees in saving and some shirts, dhotis and a single black coat

A Hot Summer Night

One summer night, he came back to his room at about 10 o'clock after having dinner at a restaurant. He took off his clothes and opened the two windows in the room. He lay down but couldn't sleep so he went to the veranda to get some air but in vain. So, he came back to the room and sat down on the chair.

Sound the Doctor Heard

He started reading a book. Then, he looked at himself in the mirror and picked up the comb and ran it through his hair. Suddenly, he heard a sound from the roof. But he didn't pay any heed to it. He kept looking at himself in the mirror and decided that he would shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome. He smiled and decided to keep a smile always on his face. Some noise was heard from above again but he ignored it.

A Snake Fell on the Doctor

The doctor got up from the chair and started moving around in the room. He thought that he would marry a rich and successful woman doctor. He sat down on the chair again. But suddenly there came a dull sound as if a rubber tube had fallen on the ground, He turned around and saw that a fat snake had landed on his shoulder from the back of the chair. He was terribly afraid but he had no time to jump or cry or shout. The snake started creeping along his shoulder and coiled around his left arm. The snake's head was hardly three or four Inches from his face.

Terrified, the doctor held his breath. It seemed that his body had turned into stone.But his mind was active. He felt pain in his left arm. It was as if some rod of molten fire was crushing his arm. He began to think what he should take in case the snake bit him. But he realised that he had no medicines in his room and called himself a stupid doctor

Snake's Fascination with the Mirror

Suddenly, the snake turned its head and looked into the mirror and saw was mesmerized by its reflection. The doctor thought that it was admining is om bety Perhaps it was thinking of making an important decision like growing a moustaches using eye shadow or mascara or putting vermilion on its forehead. Suddenly the itself from the doctor's arm and very slowly it crept into his lap and then moved towards the table and the mirror. Perhaps, the snake wanted to have a closer look at its reflection 

Theft at the Doctor's Place

The doctor quietly got up from the chair, walked out through the door into the veranda and ran out with all his strength. He kept running till he reached a friend's house. The next day, he went back to his room with his fnend and few other people. He wanted to move his things from there. But to his shock, he found that some thief had stolern almost all his things. The only thing the thief had left behind was the doctor's dirty vest.

Message -The message given by the story is that the outer beauty of a person does not matter as long as the person has his life intact. One should not crave for external beauty like in the case of the author but care for his/her life more than anything

Theme -The Snake and the Mirror', a humorous narrative is based on the theme of human vanity and fears and how they affect people. Man is so proud of his physical beauty, that at times, he is often foolish and stupid in his attempts at estimating himself.

Q1. Describe the doctor's room.

Ans. The doctor lived in a small, rented room without electricity. It was an outer room with one wall facing the open yard. The roof was constructed of tiles and was supported on a beam over the walls. There was no ceiling. The room had two windows and there was a regular traffic of rats.

Q2. Whom does the doctor wish to marry and why?

Ans. The doctor wishes to marry a woman doctor with plenty of money and a good medical practice. He would like to marry a fat lady so that she would not be able chase him if he desires to run away after making some silly mistake.

Q3. What are the doctor's thoughts when he looks into the mirror?

Ans. When the doctor looks into the mirror, he finds his smile attractive and takes two important decisions. Firstly, he would shave daily and grow a thin moustache

Secondly, he would always keep that attractive smile on his face 

Q4. What happened when the doctor returned home after having dinner?

Ans. When the doctor returned home, he heard some noise from the beam, but he chose to ignore it as he thought it was being made by the rats. Unable to sleep due to the heat, he opened the windows and started reading a book

Q5. How had the snake landed on the doctor?

Ans. The snake had fallen to the ground with a thud and landed on the doctor's shoulder from the back of the chair. Then it slithered along his shoulder and coiled around his left arm above the elbow. It spread its hood and its head was barely three or four inches away from his face.

Q6. What was the condition of the doctor's left arm?

Ans. The doctor felt some pain in his left arm. It appeared as if a thick leaden rod made of molten fire was powerfully crushing it. He felt that his arm had started losing all its strength

Q7. How did the doctor manage to run away from the snake?

Ans. The snake suddenly turned its head and started looking into the mirror. It seemed mesmerised by its own reflection. The snake unwound itself from the doctor's arm and fell into his lap. Then it crept onto the table to look into the mirror and the

doctor managed to run from the snake.

 Q8. What did the doctor do after being released from the snake's grip?

Ans. Holding his breath still and without making a noise, the doctor got up slowly from the chair and ran out of the house. He went to a friend's house and spent the night there.

Q9 What happened the next morning?

Ans. Next morning, the doctor took his friend along with a few other people to his mom He wanted to move out to some other house. But he was shocked to find that there was nothing left in his room. Some thief had taken away all his things, except his dirty vest.

Q10. When did the doctor feel like a foolish, weak person? Why?

Ans. The doctor felt like a foolish, weak person when he realised that he was poor and had no medicines to treat snakebite in case the snake bites him

A11. Did the doctor marry a fat woman who couldn't run to catch him?

Ans. No, the doctor did not marry a fat woman. On the contrary, his wife was a thin person with the gift of a sprinter.

, 5:06 AM] CL GAUTAM: https://youtu.be/wGKQFKjROt4?si=3_4_l_7AqIrbsPMv

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[2/27, 7:21 PM] CL GAUTAM: http://englishscholarhubclgautam.blogspot.com/2024/02/class-5th-to-12th-eng-basic-grammar.html

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     CLGautam

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