8th Standard, English FL, PROSE-2
THE BOY WHO SOLD WISDOM
Glossary :
weird : strange
stormed : rush in very fast
errands : a short journey to get something for somebody
furious : very angry
babbled : to talk quickly or in a way that is difficult to understand
wisdom : experience and knowledge
banished : send somebody out of the country as a punishment
persuade : convince
feign : pretend
Pre-reading task
1 What was the demand of the neighbouring king?
Answer: A potful of wisdom was the demand of the neighbouring king.
2 How did Birbal get a potful of wisdom?
Answer: Birbal placed a pumpkin fruit inside a pot and allowed it to grow, filling the pot completely. Birbal presented the pot with the pumpkin to the king, instructing him to remove the “wisdom” without damaging the pot or the pumpkin.
3 What is the meaning of a potful of wisdom?
Answer: “A potful of wisdom” generally means a large amount of wisdom or knowledge. It suggests having a great deal of understanding and the ability to make sound judgments.
I. Comprehension Exercises
A. Re-order the following jumbled sentences in the right sequence as they occur in the text:
1. Gupta was unhappy after the incident because his son would have to feign madness always, or else the king would find out.
2. The minister and one of the queens planned to kill the king.
3. According to Nagendra’s advice, Babu went to the king and told him the whole story.
4. Nagendra advised Babu to pretend madness.
5. The king sent for Nagendra.
6. The king bought the wisdom, “Think deeply before doing anything,” from Nagendra.
7. The king ordered that the queen should be hanged.
8. He engraved it on his cups and plates so that he wouldn’t forget it.
Answer:
1. Nagendra advised Babu to pretend madness.
2. Gupta was unhappy after the incident because his son would have to feign madness always, or else the king would find out.
3. According to Nagendra’s advice, Babu went to the king and told him the whole story.
4. The king sent for Nagendra.
5. The king bought the wisdom, “Think deeply before doing anything,” from Nagendra.
6. He engraved it on his cups and plates so that he wouldn’t forget it.
7. The minister and one of the queens planned to kill the king.
8. The king ordered that the queen should be hanged.
B. Complete the following sentences:
1. Nagendra’s brilliant idea was to set up a shop and sell wisdom.
2. He sold Wisdom.
3. Wisdom was bought by Babu.
4. Babu’s father was angry with him because paying a nickel for wisdom.
5. Nagendra reacted to the fury of Gupta by asking to return his wisdom.
6. He returned the money after making Gupta sign a document which stated that his son will never use his advice and that he will always stand and watch people fighting.
7. Babu got into a problem for the second time when he watched the quarrel of two maids of the queens.
8. The dispute between the two maids was over a Pumpkin.
C. Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each:
1. Why did Nagendra open a shop?
Answer: Nagendra was orphaned and found himself without a job. He was clever and he had learned many things by observing his father. So he decided to open a shop.
2. Why is the merchant’s son called a stupid boy?
Answer: Babu, a rich merchant’s son was a stupid boy because he doesn’t know about the reality. He heard that the wisdom is for sale. He didn’t know what was really being sold. He thought it was a vegetable or a thing he could hold in his hand. He asked Nagendra what it would cost per k.g.
3. What did Nagendra sell for a nickel?
Answer: Babu put down a nickel and asked Nagendra to give him a nickel’s worth of wisdom. Nagendra sold the wisdom for a nickel by writing “It is not wise to stand and watch two people fighting,” in a piece of paper and tied a turban cloth of Babu.
4. Why was Babu’s father angry?
Answer: Babu’s father angry because of his son’s foolishness. He thought that his son paid a nickel for a worthless wisdom. He said that everyone knows one who should not stand and watch when two people fighting.
5. How did Nagendra make Gupta realize the value of wisdom?
Answer: Gupta thought that the king would certainly chop off his son’s head if he found out without madness. So back they went to Nagendra for more wisdom. Nagendra advised them to tell the whole story and he will find it amusing and will forgive Babu. And so Babu followed the advice, found the king in a merry mood, and told him the story. The king laughed a lot and forgave him. Then Gupta realized the value of wisdom.
6. Why did the two maids quarrel?
Answer: One day, two queens sent their maid to the market. The maids went to the same shop and both wanted to buy the same pumpkin. There was only one pumpkin, so they began to quarrel.
7. Why did Babu and his father go to Nagendra twice?
Answer: Babu and his father go to Nagendra twice to his wisdom. Once Babu watched the quarrel between the maids of two queens in the market. Each of the maids wanted him to be her witness. The two queens threatened if he didn’t speak in support of her, she would have his head chopped off. So Babu and his father decided to go to Nagendra for his advice and escaped from the danger. But Gupta thought that his son would have to feign madness always or else the king would find out he had been tricked. He would certainly chop off his son’s head if he found out. So back they went to Nagendra for more wisdom for second time. They followed Nagendrs’s advice and told the whole truth to king when he was in good mood. The king laughed a lot and forgave him.
8. Why was Babu very happy?
Answer: When the king called the witness, his minister asked Babu various questions, but he wouldn’t answer any of them. He merely babbled and uttered nonsensical syllables till the king lost his patience and drove him out of the courtroom. Now Babu was delighted by the success of the ruse of Nagendra and very happy.
9. What is the meaning of the expression, “Think deeply before you do anything”?
Answer: The meaning of the expression, “Think deeply before you do anything” means to consider something very carefully, weighing the pros and cons, and thinking about potential outcomes. A little bit of thinking can help you choose the best course of action for a given situation. Thinking before acting can prevent you from later regretting your actions.
10. Why did the king make Nagendra his minister?
Answer: The king made Nagendra his minister because Nagendra’s wisdom and advice saved the king’s life. Nagendra, who initially sold wisdom, advised the king to think deeply before acting, which helped the king uncover a conspiracy against him by his own minister and one of his queens. That is why the king make Nagendra his minister.
D. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow:
1. “Think deeply before you do anything.”
a. Who was asked to think deeply?
Answer: The King was asked to think deeply.
b. Who gave this piece of wisdom and why?
Answer: Nagendra gave this piece of wisdom. Because the King asked if he had any more wisdom to sell.
c. How did this piece of wisdom help the receiver?
Answer: One day the king fell ill. The minister and one of the queens bribed the doctor and persuaded him to poison the king’s medicine. But the wisdom of Nagendra saved the life of king.
2. “I do not sell wisdom by weight. I sell it by quality.”
a. Who said this?
Answer: Nagendra said this.
b. To whom was this said?
Answer: This was said to Babu.
c. When was this said?
Answer: It was said when Babu asked Nagendra what it would cost per k.g.
d. What does it mean?
Answer: We can’t weigh the wisdom by weight. It was not thing by weighing in the scale. It was a thought or thinking of a person. It can measure by judgements and quality only.
II. Let’s write:
Imagine that Babu in this lesson writes to his friend Salim narrating how he was saved by Nagendra’s wisdom. Use the hints given below to write the letter.
Hints: One day – passing Nagendra’s shop – bought wisdom – father angry. Nagendra gave back money – condition not to use the wisdom. Watched queen’s maids quarrel ……….
Called to king’s court – Nagendra’s advice – pretend insanity. Escape punishment. Nagendra famous. If in trouble visit –
Begin like this,
Dear Salim,
I want to tell you about a very unusual incident.
Two months ago I saw a new shop in the market place. A young boy called Nagendra, was selling “Wisdom.” So I went in ………
Answer:
Dear Salim,
I want to tell you about a very unusual incident.
Two months ago I saw a new shop in the market place. A young boy called Nagendra, was selling “Wisdom.” So I went in the shop. I thought that was the vegetable or a thing what he was selling. I asked Nagendra what it would cost per k.g. He said, he do not sell wisdom by weight. But he sell it by quality. I gave him a nickel and bought a wisdom. He took out a piece of paper and wrote on it, “It is not wise to stand and watch two people fighting,” and he asked me to keep it tied in his turban cloth.
When I went home my father was very angry. Then he went to the market place and stormed into Nagendra’s shop and asked to return nickel.
After signing a document saying that ‘I will never use his advice and that I will always stand and watch people fighting’, Nagendra returned the nickel.
After few days maids of two queens are quarrelling for a pumpkin in the market. I forced to saw the quarrel between them. The matter goes to the king. The queens were now furious and sent complaints to the king. Each of them sent word to me that he was the witness on her side. If he didn’t speak in support of her, she would have my head chopped off. The king called me as a witness. My father and I was in a panic. We decided to take advice of Nagendra and he advised me to pretend insanely when the king was asking questions. I did not answer the questions of his ministers properly. The king lost his patience from my behaviour and sent out his courtroom and finally we are escaped from the punishment.
Nagendra is very famous in our here in now. If you get into any trouble in future, please visit here and use wisdom of Nagendra.
Your friend,
Babu
III. Let’s work with words:
Write the meanings of the following words with the help of a dictionary and use them in sentences to bring out their meaning.
furious, wisdom, persuade, feign, errands, contract, document, bargain, witness, ruse.
Furious – very angry – The little boy was furious when his brother broke his favorite toy.
wisdom – experience and knowledge – He lacked the wisdom to see the danger in the situation.
persuade – convince – He tried to persuade his parents to let him go on the school trip.
feign – pretend – He feign the upcoming rain when he saw the dark clouds in the sky.
errands – a short journey to get something for somebody, – sentence:She went on a quick errand to the bakery to buy some bread for dinner.
contract – a written legal agreement – sentence: Before starting the project, they made sure to sign a contract.
document – record in writing, an official piece of writing which gives information, proof or evidence – sentence: The teacher asked students to document their research findings in a report.
bargain – discuss for the low price, something that is cheaper or at a lower price than usual – sentence: She tried to bargain with the shopkeeper for a lower price.
witness – a person in a place of event, a person who sees something happen and who can tell other people about it later – sentence: The police are looking for witnesses to the accident.
ruse – a trick, clever plan – sentence: His act was just a clever ruse to get me to go out with him.
IV. Let’s use Language:
A. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the right options:
1. His brilliance brought honour. (brilliantly, brilliance)
2. Wise people solve problems. (wise, wisdom)
3. Though he was clever, he was without a job. (in spite of, though)
4. There was no dearth of sympathy from the people when they heard of the cruel murder. (death, dearth)
5. The paucity of funds made them abandon the project. (paucity, pause)
B. Use “since” or “for” with the following time expressions:
1. The film has been on at the theatres since July.
2. She has been on holiday for the last three weeks.
3. She hasn’t been here for a month.
4. No one has lived here since 1989.
5. It’s the first time I have been here since the accident.
V. Let’s work on our own:
Read any popular story of Birbal in the class.
PROJECT WORK
VI. Imagine that you are interviewing Nagendra. Write any five questions that you would like to ask him and the answers that you are likely to get from him.
1……………………………….
2……………………………….
3……………………………….
4……………………………….
5……………………………….
