The Little Girl Extra Questions and Answers Class 9 English Beehive

The Little Girl Extra Questions and Answers Short Answer Type

Question 1.

Why was Kezia scared of her father?

Answer:

Kezia’s father was a busy man and had little time for the little girl. Being a very disciplined man, he
was strict with Kezia as well and she would at times get harsh words of scolding and physical
punishment from him. He never displated any soft feelings for his little daughter nor did he play with
her like Mr Macdonald. All he did was giving her a perfunctory kiss rather than a loving one.
Moreover, he was a large man, and his size, too, terrified the little girl. So scared was Kezia of him
that she felt relieved when he was gone from home.

Question 2.

Who were the people in Kezia’s family?

Answer:

There were four people in Kezia’s family – her father who was very strict, her mother who was stem
and aloof, her soft-hearted and loving grandmother and little Kezia herself.

Question 3.

What was Kezia’s father’s routine before going to office and after coming back in the evening?

Answer:

Before going to office, Kezia’s father would come to her room, give her a perfunctory kiss and leave
for work. He would return in the evening and in a loud voice ask for his tea, the papers and his
slippers to be brought into the drawing-room. He would wait for Kezia to help him take off his shoes
and exchange a few words with Kezia.

Question 4.

What was Kezia’s routine when Father returned from office?

Answer:

When Father returned home from office, mother would tell Kezia to come downstairs and take off
her father’s shoes. She would also be told to take the shoes outside. Father would ask her a couple
of questions and she would stutter out her replies. He would order her to put his teacup back on the
table and then she would make good her escape from his presence.

Question 5.

What was Father’s and Kezia’s morning routine?

Before going to his office, Kezia’s father would come to Kezia’s room and give her a perfunctory kiss.
She would respond with “Goodbye, Father”. Since she was afraid of him, she always felt relieved
after his departure.

Question 8.

What was unusual about Kezia’ stuttering?

Answer:

Kezia was able to speak without stuttering to everyone in the household but her father. In her
father’s formidable presence she could barely speak and she stuttered as she attempted to speak to
him.

Question 9.

Why did Kezia stutter while speaking to Father?

Answer:

Kezia’s father’s had a loud and domineering personality and he frequently frequent rebuked her for
her behaviour and appearance. His constant criticism and scolding shook her self-confidence.
Moreover, his large size frightened her. Though Kezia tried her best to please him, she found herself
tongue-tied while talking to him. This made her stutter in his presence.

Question 10.

Why did Kezia feel that her father was like a giant?

Answer:

Kezia felt that her father was like a giant because he had very big hands and neck. His mouth seemed
big especially when he yawned. He had a loud voice and would often call out orders. In addition, his
stem and cold behaviour made the little girl think of him as a giant.

Question 11.

Why did Kezia avoid her father?

Answer:

Kezia avoided her father because she was afraid of him. She saw him as a harsh, emotionless person
who never spoke to his daughter alfectionately. He reprimanded Kezia for making mistakes. Kezia
stammered in front of her father since he was a very huge and giant-like figure lacking in the warmth
of a father.

Question 12.

In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her parents better?
Answer:

Kezia’s grandmother wanted that the little girl to bond with her parents. Therefore, every Sunday
afternoon she would encourage Kezia to go downstairs to the drawing-room, have a nice
conversation with them, and get to know them better. She also suggested Kezia make a pin-cushion
out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a gift for her father’s birthday.

Question 13.

What was Kezia’s father’s routine on Sundays?

Answer:

On Sundays, Kezia’s father did not go for work. He would relax in the afternoon. He would stretch
out on the sofa in their drawing-room, put handkerchief on his face, feet on the best cushion and
sleep snoring soundly. All this while, her mother would be absorbed in reading.

Question 14.

On Sunday afternoons Grandmother sent Kezia down to the drawing-room? What happened when
she went there?

Answer:

When on a Sunday afternoon the little girl went to the drawing-room, she always found Mother
reading and Father stretched out on the sofa, his handkerchief on his face, his feet on one of the
best cushions, sleeping soundly and snoring. Kezia would sit on a stool and gravely watch her father
until he woke up and stretched to ask the time. Then, he would look at her and tell her not to stare
at him as it made her look like a brown owl.

Question 15.

What did Grandmother ask Kezia to make and why?

Answer:

Grandmother wanted Kezia to bond with her father and to bring them both close to each other. She
tried various ways to achieve this end. Once, she asked Kezia to make a pin-cushion out of a
beautiful piece of yellow silk as a birthday present for Father. She wanted the little girl to present
this pin-cushion as a surprise gift and make her father happy.

Question 16.

In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her father better?

Answer:

Kezia’s grandmother was a mature and understanding woman who realised her granddaughter was
afraid of her father. To improve matters better between them she encouraged her to get to know
her father better by sending her to the drawing room to talk to her parents on Sundays. She also
suggested Kezia to make a pin¬cushion out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a gift for her father’s
birthday.

Question 17.

What did Kezia make as a birthday gift for her father? How did she prepare it?

Answer:

Kezia made a pin-cushion as a birthday gift for her father out of the beautiful piece of yellow silk that
her Grandmother had given her. She laboriously stitched its three sides with a double cotton and
stuffed it with papers that she took from the bed-table in her mother’s room. Finally, she sewed up
the fourth side and the gift was ready.

Question 18.

That night there was a hue and cry in the house. What night was that? Why was there an uproar?

Answer:

The night Kezia finished making the pin-cushion for her father, there was an uproar in the house.
Father could not find his great speech for the Port Authority. Rooms were searched; servants
questioned. Finally Mother came into Kezia’s room and, on questioning her, found out Kezia had
mistakenly tom the papers and stuffed them in the pin-cushion that was to be a surprise gift for her
father on his birthday. The hue and cry at night was for those missing papers.

Question 19.

“Father’s great speech for the Port Authority Iliad been lost.’ What had happened to father’s
speech?

Answer:

Father’s speech had been tom to pieces by the little girl, Kezia. She was making a pin-cushion as a
gift for her father, to give him on his birthday. As she was not able to find anything to stuff the
cushion with, she tore the speech and stuffed it into her cushion.

Question 20.

Who dragged Kezia down to the dining-room at night? Why?

Answer:

Kezia’s father was extremely angry as he had been looking for his important Port Authority speech
and he could not find the papers. Her mother dragged her down to the dining-room at night and
took her to her father when she came to know that Kezia had tom the papers that had his great
speech for the Port Authority.

Question 21.
Why did Father come to Kezia’s room with a ruler? What do you learn about him from the incident?

Answer:

Father was a strict disciplinarian who believed in the use of physical punishment to correct children.
He came to Kezia’s room with a ruler because he wanted to punish her and teach her not to touch
what did not belong to her. This also shows that he was a firm, unforgiving person.

uestion 22.

Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much. How did this happen?

Answer:

On grandmother’s suggestion, Kezia would go to the drawing-room to have a “nice talk with Father
and Mother” and sit on a stool waiting for him to wake up and talk to her. He would wake up and
look at her staring apprehensively at him. He would be irritated by her scared look and call her a
brown owl. On another occasion, on her grandmother’s suggestion, she decided to make a pin-
cushion as a birthday gift for her father hoping that it would please him. But instead he was furious
because she had inadvertently tom the papers of his Port Authority speech and used them as a
stuffing in the pin-cushion.

Question 23.

Do you think Kezia was wrong in tearing her father’s papers? What does it show about her
character?

Answer:

Kezia tore up certain papers she found on the bed-side table in her mother’s bedroom.
Unfortunately, the papers were an important speech her father had written for the Port Authority.
Undoubtedly, Kezia was wrong in having taken his papers without his permission and in tearing them
up, even though she had done so with the best of intentions. The incident only shows that she was
too innocent and immature to know the wrong she was doing. All she wanted was to please her
father with a birthday gift.

Question 24.

Why was Kezia punished by her Father? Was he right in doing so?

Answer:

Kezia wanted to give her father a birthday present she had made for him herself. She decided to
make a pin-cushion for him. She stitched it out of piece of yellow silk and stuffed it with some papers
that were his speech for the Port Authority. Her father punished her for taking something that did
not belong to her without permission. He was not right in punishing her as he did. He should have
understoodd her feelings and explained to her the error of her ways.
Question 27.

Kezia asks her grandmother, “What did God make fathers for?” What does she mean by this?

Answer:

Kezia questioned why God made fathers because she was very hurt and traumatised by her father’s
behaviour and the punishment he meted out to her. She felt that he had been too harsh and
unforgiving with her.

Question 28.

Grandmother tells Kezia, “I tried to explain to Father but he was too upset to listen tonight.” Why
does she say that?

Answer:

Kezia’s grandmother wanted Kezia to bond with her parents and always tried to bridge the gap
between her and her parents, especially her father. She told Kezia that her father was too upset that
night to listen to her because she did not want the little girl to nurture any grudge against her father.

Question 29.

Do you think that Kezia’ father didn’t love her?

Answer:

I think Kezia’s father loved his daughter. Underneath his frightening and strict exterior, beat a
father’s loving heart. If at he appeared too strict or lacking in understanding or compassion, it was
probably because he was too tired or engrossed in his work, or wanted his daughter to be well-
brought up.

Question 30.

Who were Kezia’s neighbours? What did she observe about them?

Answer:

The Macdonalds were Kezia’s neighbours. She saw that Mr Macdonald played with his children. He
laughed when they turned the hose on him and ran about the flower-beds with his young son, Mao,
on his shoulders and his two little daughters hanging on to his coat pockets.

Question 31.

Who was Mr. Macdonald?

Answer:

Mr MacDonald was Kezia’s neighbour. He loved his five children and played ‘tag’ with them. The
father with the baby, Mao, on his shoulders, would run round and round the flower-beds, shaking
with laughter, the two little girls hanging on to his coat pockets. Once Kezia saw the boys turn the
hose on him—and he tried to catch them laughing all the time.

Question 32.

Kezia felt that Mr Macdonald was a better father as compared to her own father. Why?

Answer:

Kezia observed that Mr Macdonald was a good-humoured cheerful fellow who enjoyed the company
of his children and played with them, laughing even when they drenched him with the hose.
Contrary to this, her own father was a strict disciplinarian and quite aloof. He did not express any
affection or show any leniency towards Kezia, despite her young age.

Question 33.

Why did Kezia like Mr Macdonald?

Answer:

The Macdonalds who lived next door were an exuberant, playful family. Looking through the
vegetable garden-wall, Kezia saw the five Macdonald children playing with their father, turning a
hose at him and the father tickling the children. When compared with her frightening father who
never played with her, Kezia saw the extent of love between father and his children. This made her
like Mr MacDonald.

Question 34.

Why was Kezia left alone in the house with the cook Alice?

Answer:

One day Kezia’s mother had suddenly taken ill and had to be hospitalized. Grannie, too, went along
to look after her in the hospital. Kezia was left at home with Alice, their cook till her father returned
from work.

Question 35.

Why was Kezia afraid to sleep alone?

Answer:

That night, when Alice was putting Kezia to bed, the little girl suddenly felt afraid as she had to sleep
alone. She was scared of the dark and often had nightmares at night. Normally, whenever she had a
nightmare, Grandmother would take her into her bed but tonight she was not there at home.

Question 36.
What kind of dreams did Kezia usually have?

Answer:

Usually, Kezia had horrible nightmares. In her nightmares, she saw a butcher with a knife and a rope
coming closer and closer to her with a dreadful smile while she stood still, unable to move,
overpowered by fear.

Question 37.

How did Father comfort the little girl, Kezia, when she got scared in her sleep?

Answer:

When Kezia cried out in her sleep in fear, her father came to her room, lifted her in his arms, took
her to his bed and made her sleep close to him. He allowed her to warm her feet against his legs.
She felt secure and protected as she snuggled up to him.

Question 38.

When and how did Kezia’s feelings for her father undergo a change?

Answer:

Kezia’s feelings of fear for her father underwent a change when her father came to her rescue when
she had a nightmare. He gently carried her to his room, carefully tucked her up and slept beside her.
Kezia felt reassured and safe and snuggled up to him. That is when she realised that her father was
not a hard-hearted giant but a large-hearted loving father who got extremely tired by the end of the
day.

Question 39.

What kind of a person was Kezia’s father?

Answer:

Kezia’s father was a hardworking man, but he was short tempered. He was a strict disciplinarian too.
It was only when Kezia’s mother was hospitalized, that ahe realized that her father loved her but
didn’t have the art of expressing his love.

The Little Girl Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.

Write a short note on the relationship between Kezia and her father

Answer:

Initially, the relationship between Kezia and her father was formal and restrained. As a strict
disciplinarian and the head of the family Father asserted his authority over everyone, including his
little girl. Every morning, before going to office, he perfunctorily kissed her and she as formally said,
“Goodbye, Father.”

She was made to take off his shoes and put them outside when he returned from office in the
evening. He often scolded her for her sad looks and for stuttering. He even punished her when she
unknowingly tore his important papers. He did not give her even one chance to explain herself and
failed to see her loving intention behind the mistake. As a result, Kezia feared her father and stayed
out of his way.

However, their relationship underwent a drastic change towards the end of the story. Father
displayed his love and concern for his daughter when he and Kezia were alone and she was scared
by her nightmare. He carried her in his arms to his room, tucked her comfortably in his bed, lay
down close to her and provided to her the assurance and security that children seek from parents.
This protective, caring and considerate side of her father helped her understand him. She realised
that he had a big heart which was full of love for her.

Question 2.

Do you think the Kezia deserved the beating she got for her mistake? What light does this incident
throw on her father’s character?

Answer:

Kezia earned her father’s wrath for tearing his speech for the Port Authority to stuff a pin-cushion
she was making for him as a birthday present. When Father discovered that Kezia was the culprit, he
punished her by beating her little pink palms with a ruler to teach her not to touch what did not
belong to her.

I think it was too harsh a punishment for an innocent mistake of a fond daughter who was making a
gift for her father. Undoubtedly, the papers were extremely important for him and their loss must
have caused him a lot of inconvenience but he should have heard out Kezia’s explanation, and
understood and appreciated Kezia’s intentions. A firm but gentle reprimand would have sufficed to
teach the sensitive Kezia not to touch things that did not belong to her. This incident shows that
Father was a very insensitive and harsh man who demanded a very high standard of discipline from
his daughter and did not tolerate any disobedience.

Question 3.

Briefly comment on Kezia’s relationship with her grandmother?

Answer:

The little girl is extremely close to her loving and sympathetic grandmother. Failing to get any
expression of affection from her parents, especially her father, Kezia turns to her grandmother for
the emotional support and comfort that she needs. She turns to her to fulfill her need for love and
protection.

Grandmother too showers love upon the little girl. She keeps trying to help the girl build her bridges
with her parents. She advises Kezia to talk to her parents when they would be more relaxed as they
sat in the drawing¬room on a Sunday afternoon. Again, she suggests to Kezia suggests that she
should make a pin-cushion for her father as a present for his birthday. When Father beats Kezia, it is
grandmother who tries first to reason with her son and then consoles and comforts Kezia by
covering her with her shawl and allowing the child to cling to her soft body.

We also learn that, at night, when Kezia is scared by the dark or by her nightmares, it is for her
grandmother that the little girl calls out, and it is grandmother who takes her into her own bed.
Hence, her love and support make Kezia look upto her for everything.

Question 4.

What impression do you form of Kezia’s mother?

Answer:

Kezia’s mother is very unapproachable, aloof figure, quite unlike a loving mother a young girl desires
and needs. Perhaps her ill-health and her strict and domineering husbands demands leave her with
very little room to pay the desired attention to her daughter. Her relationship with her daughter is
distant. She treats the little girl in accordance with her husband’s expectations. She orders her to
take off her father’s shoes and put them outside as this would indicate obedience. On Sunday
afternoons, she spends her time engrossed in her reading, rather than talking to her daughter.

When Kezia innocently tears her father’s papers, she drags her downstairs to face Father’s wrath.
She does not try to reason with Father when he reprimands and beats the little girl. She neither
defends nor protects her in any way. She does not even go to assuage her traumatised daughter’s
physical and emotional hurt. Little wonder then that Kezia turns to her grandmother to fulfill her
need for motherly care and affection.

Question 5.

Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers.” Comment on Kezia’s remark in the light of
her relationship with her father and that of the Macdonald children with their father?

Answer:

Kezia’s father was a busy man. He was so lost in his business that he had no time for his family. Being
a very strict disciplinarian, he was strict with Kezia as well. He did not display any soft feelings for his
little daughter through word or deed. All he did was give her a perfunctory kiss rather than a loving
one as he left for work each morning. His presence at home frightened Kezia and she was relieved
when he was gone. Kezia was unable to speak without stuttering in her father’s presence. Yet,
despite all this, Kezia’s father had a loving heart as Kezia discovered when she had her nightmare
and she was alone with him.

At once, Father came and took her to his room, made her lie with him and comforted her. He asked
her to rub her feet against his legs for warmth. This showed the little girl her father truly loved her
and it brought her close to her father. Mr Macdonald, Kezia’s next door neighbour, had five children
and Kezia would often see them playing in their garden. One day, when Kezia looked through the
gap in the fence she saw the Macdonalds playing ‘tag’.

It was evening, and Mr Macdonald had just returned from work but unlike her father, he looked
happy to be playing with his children. He had baby Mao was on his shoulders, and the two girls were
hanging on to his coat pockets. The party ran around the flower beds, shaking with laughter. Mr.
Macdonald’s sons turned the hose on him and he tried to catch them laughing all the time.

This happy scene made Kezia conclude that there were different sorts of fathers. Mr Macdonald was
so different from her own father. He was not at all strict, was always happy and thoroughly enjoyed
the company of his children. In contrast, her own father was often in an angry mood and remained
much too busy in his work. She dreaded him and avoided his company as much as she could.
Whenever she was with him, she would stautter and look silly, like “a brown owl”. His strict
discipline and his domineering nature made Kezia wonder what God made fathers for.

Question 6.

How does Kezia begin to see her father as a human being who needs her sympathy?

Answer:

Kezia was scared of her father as he looked like a giant. Every morning he came to her room and
gave her a perfunctory kiss before leaving for work, but even that contact with him left her feeling
uneasy. She was relieved when her father left home for work. Kezia’s father often mocked or
rebuked her and once he even beat her for tearing some of his important papers. So great was her
fear of him that she stuttered while answering him.

However, a nightmare one night made Kezia discover the tender, caring and loving side of her
father. One night when she was alone at home with her father, and she cried out in fear, he came at
once to her room, lifted her in his arms and took her to his room. He comforted her and tucked her
up nicely and slept next to her. He asked her to rub her feet against his legs for warmth. This
incident brought her close to her father.

She felt sorry for him as he had to work so hard that he had no time to play with her. She even
realized that her father loved her but didn’t have the art of expressing it. Thus, her attitude towards
her father changed and became more understanding and sympathetic.
Question 7.

Why did Kezia’s father punish her? Was he right in doing so?

Answer:

Kezia wanted to give a present to her father for his birthday. She decided to make a pin -cushion for
him. She took a beautiful piece of yellow silk and stitched it on three sides. Now, she needed
something to fill it. She went into her parents’ room. There, she found some sheets of fine paper
lying on the table. She tore them up into pieces and used them to stuff them into pin cushion. Then
she sewed up its fourth side.

What she didn’t know was that the papers were her father’s important speech for the Port
Authority. When her father came to know about Kezia’s misdeed, he became very angry. He took a
ruler and beat her. He was not right in punishing her. He should have realized that she was innocent.
Her intention was good. He should have explained to’ her the error of taking someone’s things
without permission and warned her gently but firmly.

Question 8.

What were the circumstances that forced Kezia to change her opinion about her father?

Answer:

When Kezia’s mother was hospitalized, her grandmother went to stay with her. Kezia was’alone at
home with her father. As Alice, the cook, put Kezia to bed at night, the child was terrified of the dark
and of being alone. She was afraid of the nightmares which she usually saw. On other occasions she
was comforted by her grandmother, but tonight Grannie wasn’t there.

That night, Kezia again had the horrible dream and she woke up shivering and crying for her
grandma. However, her father stood beside her bed with a candle in his hand. He gently took her in
his arms and carried her to his room. He tucked her nicely in his bed and made her sleep close to
him. She felt secure with him near her. That was when she realized that her father was busy with
work and had no time to play with her. She even realized that her father loved her but didn’t have
the art of expressing it. Thus, her attitude towards her father changed.

Question 9.

Kezia’s efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him. Elaborate.

Answer:

Kezia was very scared of her father and stuttered while answering his casual queries because she
was trying so hard to say the words properly. This annoyed him and he rebuked her for looking
wretched and on the brink of suicide. When she was sent to talk to him on Sunday afternoons, she
always found her mother absorbed in reading and father sleeping on the sofa in their drawing-room.
She would sit on a stool and wait for him to wake up.

He would then mockingly call her “a brown owl.” Once she unknowingly destroyed some of his
important papers while stuffing a pin-cushion which she wanted to present to him on his birthday.
This made him very angry and he beat her up badly. Therefore, Kezia’s efforts to please her father
often resulted in displeasing him very much.

Question 25.

How did Father punish Kezia? What was the impact of the punishment?

Answer:

Father punished Kezia by hitting her hard on her little, pink palms with a ruler. The impact of this
punishment was so strong the Kezia could never forget it. Next time when she saw him, she at once
hid her hands behind her back and her cheeks flushed with fear.

Question 26.

How and why did Grandmother comfort Kezia after her father hit her with a ruler?

Answer:

Hours after Kezia’s father hit her with a ruler, her grandmother wrapped the little girl in a shawl and
rocked her in the rocking-chair, with the child clinging to her soft body. She gave her a clean hanky
to blow her nose and tried to put her to sleep comforting her with loving words.