Class-7, English (An Alien Hand), Chapter -6 (I Want Something In A Cage), Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

  English

(An Alien Hand)

Class -7, Chapter -6

(I Want Something In A Cage)

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

-- Summary --

⭐ Summary In English:- 

Mr. Purcell ran a shop of pets. One day a strange man came there. He bought two doves. But soon after coming out of the shop, he let the doves free. This strange act made Mr. Purcell uneasy. His shop began to appear to him a haunted house.

The shop had all kinds of pets. On the shelves, there were many cages. Mr. Purcell considered himself a professional man.

There was always some noise in the shop. This was created by the sounds of different animals on the shop. There seemed to be everywhere a flicker of life. The life in cages did not trouble Mr. Purcell’s customers. They praised the caged animals and called them cute. Mr. Purcell showed his concern about the well-being of birds and animals in his shop. He dealt in fish food and bird seed and prescribed remedies for ailing canaries. He wore large glasses which magnified his eyes. His looks made the author compare him to a wise owl.

The noise in the shop did not trouble Mr. Purcell. He was as used to it as to the ticking of a clock. The customers who came to buy a pet also did not mind this noise. But a man had bought two doves and let them free. He had found the shop depressing. He asked the owner if all the noise did not upset him.

This man had shiny shoes. His suit was cheap. His dress was ill-fitting but new. He had close cropped hair and unsteady eyes. He didn’t seem very clear as to what he wanted. He had been just released from prison.

So he wanted to buy an animal which could give him a taste of freedom. His eyes fell on a pair of doves. He knew that the doves love to fly high in the air. He did not buy the doves because he loved them. He wanted to have the pleasure of freeing some animals. This urge was so great that for this he spent all his money. This he had earned after working hard as a prisoner for ten years. The amount was five dollars.

After buying the doves, this new customer talked to Mr. Purcell for a little while. Mr. Purcell offered to advise him about the care and feeding of the doves. The man, however, was not interested in that. He said ‘Bah’ with disdain and went out of the shop. It was so because he was not interested in keeping the doves. As soon as he came out, he opened the cage. He let the doves fly high in the sky. Mr. Purcell saw it and felt vaguely insulted.

⭐ Summary In Hindi:-

मि. पुरसेल पालतू पशु पक्षियों की दुकान चलाता था। एक दिन वहाँ एक अजीब व्यक्ति आया। उसने दो फाख्ता खरीदीं। पर दुकान से निकलने के बाद शीघ्र ही उसने उन्हें मुक्त कर दिया। इस अजीब व्यवहार ने मि. पुरसेल को परेशान कर दिया। उसे अपनी दुकान भुतैली लगने लगी।

उस दुकान में सभी तरह के पालतू पशु-पक्षी थे। शेल्फ के ऊपर बहुत से पिंजरे थे। मि. पुरसेल अपने आपको एक प्रोफेशनल व्यक्ति मानते थे।

दुकान में सदा ही कुछ शोर रहता था। यह शोर दुकान में रहने वाले विभिन्न जानवरों से होता था। हर स्थान पर जीवन की थिरकन मालूम होती थी। पिंजरों में बंद जीवन से मि. पुरसेल के ग्राहकों को कोई परेशानी न थी। वे पिंजरे में कैद जानवरों की प्रशंसा करते और उन्हें सुन्दर बताते। मि. पुरसेल अपनी दुकान के जीवों (पक्षियों और पशुओं) के कल्याण के बारे में अपनी चिंता जताते। वह मछली-दाना और पक्षीदाना बेचता और बीमार कैनारियों (पक्षी) के लिए दवाई या इलाज बताता। वह बड़ा सा चश्मा पहनता जिससे उसकी आँखें बड़ी लगतीं। उसकी शकल के कारण लेखक उसकी तुलना एक बुद्धिमान उल्लू से करता है।

दुकान का शोर मि. पुरसेल को परेशान नहीं करता था। वह इसका ऐसा ही आदी था जैसे कि घड़ी की टिक-टिक का। जो लोग कोई पैट खरीदने आते थे, वे भी उस शोर को नजरंदाज करते थे। परंतु एक व्यक्ति ने दो फाख्ता खरीदीं और उन्हें मुक्त कर दिया। उसने दुकान को चित्त-उदास करने वाली पाया। उसने दुकान मालिक से पूछा था कि यह शोर क्या उसे परेशान नहीं करता।

उस व्यक्ति के जूते चमकीले थे। उसको सूट सस्ता था। उसके कपड़े ठीक फिट नहीं थे, पर वे नऐ थे। उसके बाल बहुत छोटे थे और आँखें अस्थिर थीं। उसे क्या चाहिए इसके बारे में वह स्पष्ट नहीं था। वह अभी-अभी जेल से मुक्त होकर आया था।

अत: वह ऐसा जीव खरीदना चाहता था जो उसे स्वतंत्रता का स्वाद दे सके। उसकी आँखें फाख्ता के एक जोड़े पर पड़ीं। उसे पता था कि फाख्ता आसमान में ऊँचा उड़ना चाहते थे। अतः उसने फाख्ता खरीद लीं इसलिए नहीं कि उसे उन पक्षियों से प्यार था। वह कुछ जीवों की मुक्ति का आनंद लेना चाहता था। यह इच्छा इतनी उग्र थी कि इसके लिए उसने अपना सारा धन दे दिया। इसे उसने जेल में रहकर दस वर्ष तक कठिन मेहनत करके अर्जित किया था। यह राशि पाँच डालर थी।

फाख्ता खरीदने के बाद, इस नए ग्राहक ने कुछ देर मि. पुरसेल से बातें कीं। मि. पुरसेल ने उसे फाख्ता के रख-रखाव और भोजन के बारे में बताना चाहा। परंतु उस व्यक्ति को उसमें कोई रुचि न थी। उसने घृणा के साथ कहा, ‘बाह’ और दुकान के बाहर निकल गया। यह इसलिए क्योंकि उसकी रुचि फाख्ता को अपने पास रखने की नहीं थी। जैसे ही वह बाहर निकला, उसने पिंजरा खोल दिया। उसने फाख्ता को मुक्त आकाश में ऊँचा उड़ा दिया। मि. पुरसेल ने यह देखा और उसे लगा कि जैसे उसका घोर अपमान कर दिया गया हो।’

-- Word Meanings --

• Unusual - असामान्य

• Canary - पीले रंग की गानेवाली चिड़िया

• Twittering - चहचहाना

• Screeching - रोने की आवाज

• Whispered - फुसफुसाते हुए

• Rustling - सरसराहट

• Squeaks - चीख़

• Scampered - बिखरा हुआ

• Bewildered - हक्का-बक्का 

• Properitor - दुकान का मालिक

• Monotonous - उबाने वाला 

• Snapped - गुस्से से कहना

• Crestfallen - निराश

• Magnanimously - उदारता से

• Tottered - टूटा हुआ

• Waddled - लड़खड़ाता हुआ

• Liberator - मुक्तिदाता

• Vaguely -थोड़ा

• Perplexity - उलझन

• Puckered - पक गया

• Hunched down - नीचे झुक गया

-- NCERT Solutions --

⭐Comprehension Check:-

Question 1.- Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of following statements.

(i) Mr Purcell sold birds, cats, dogs and monkeys.

(ii) He was very concerned about the well-being of the birds and animals in his shop.

(iii) He was impressed by the customer who bought the two doves.

(iv) He was a successful shop owner, though insensitive and cold as a person.

Answer:-

(i) True

(ii) False

(iii) False

(iv) True

Question 2.- Why is Mr Purcell compared to an owl?

Answer:- Mr Purcell is compared to an owl because of the large glasses which magnified his eyes like an owl’s eyes.

Question 3.- From the third paragraph pick out

(i) words associated with cries of birds,

(ii) words associated with noise,

(iii) words suggestive of confusion and fear.

Answer:- (i) words associated with cries of birds: whispered, squeal, cheeps, twitter, squeaks

(ii) words associated with noise: rustling, stir, scampered

(iii) words suggestive of confusion and fear: blindly seeking, bewildered

Question 4.- “…Mr Purcell heard it no more than he would have heard the monotonous ticking of a familiar clock.” (Read para beginning with “It was a rough day…”)

(i) What does ‘it’ refer to?

(ii) Why does Mr Purcell not hear ‘it’ clearly?

Answer:- (i) ‘It’ refers to the noise produced by the birds around him.

(ii) Mr Purcell doesn’t hear ‘it’ clearly because he was so used to hearing those sounds that it was normal to him like a clock’s ticking.

⭐Comprehension Check:-

Question 1.- Do you think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was cheerful or depressing? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:- I think the atmosphere of Mr Purcell’s shop was depressing. It was lifeless. It was full of the strange sounds made by the birds chirping and moving. Mr Purcell was used to the sound but the customers used to wonder how he put up with such disturbing noises.

Question 2.- Describe the stranger who came to the pet shop. What did he want?

Answer:- The stranger who came to the shop was wearing a cheap new suit. He was a prisoner earlier. He came to Mr Purcell’s shop and asked for “something in a cage”. He wasn’t clear about what he exactly wanted but said it should have wings and should be in a cage.

Question 3.- (i) The man insisted on buying the doves because he was fond of birds. Do you agree?

(ii) How had he earned the five dollars he had?

Answer:- (i) No, the man insisted on buying the doves not because he was fond of birds. He just wanted birds in a cage.

(ii) He had earned five dollars he had in a prison where he had to work very hard. He used to get only 50 cents per year.

Question 4.- Was the customer interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought? If not, why not?

Answer:- No, the customer was not interested in the care and feeding of the doves he had bought because he did not want to actually keep them as pets. He did not even listen to what Mr Purcell was saying about feeding the doves. He spent his hard-earned money on the doves just to set them free from their cages.

⭐ Exercises:-

Discuss the following topics in groups.

Question 1.- Why, in your opinion, did the man set the doves free?

Answer:- The man set the doves free because being a prisoner earlier, he understood what it feels like to be caged. He knew the value of freedom. He spent all his 10 years’ hard-earned money on buying two doves and then he set them free into the sky.

Question 2.- Why did it make Mr Purcell feel “vaguely insulted”?

Answer:- It made Mr Purcell feel “vaguely insulted” because he reduced the price of the doves only because he could still earn profit whereas the stranger, who only had that money, spent it all just to set the two birds free from the cage.

-- Short Answer Type Questions --

Question 1:- What was Purcell’s source of earning?

Answer:- Mr. Purcell ran a pet shop. He sold cats, dogs, monkeys, and birds. He also sold fish food and bird seed. He also prescribed remedies for the sick animals. In this way, he earned his living.

Question 2:- Describe Mr Purcell’s daily routine at the shop.

Answer:- Mr Purcell opened his shop and sat on a high stool every morning. He unfolded the newspaper and read through it. He attended the customer if there was any. It was his daily routine.

Question 3:- What surprised Mr Purcell one day?

Answer:- Mr Purcell had hung a bell at the door of his shop. It began to ring on the arrival of a customer. That day it failed to ring. Mr Purcell was surprised. He felt that the customer appeared out of the air.

Question 4:- Why did the customer hate Mr. Purcell?

Answer:- The customer noticed that Mr. Purcell had imprisoned birds and animals to earn money. He had robbed them of their freedom. The customer loved freedom. So he hated Mr.Purcell.

Question 5:- Why did the customer free the imprisoned doves?

Answer:- The customer had suffered the pains of prison life. He was a jailbird a short while ago. So he tossed the doves into the air and freed them from their imprisonmant.

Question 6:- How did the customer feel after freeing the doves?

Answer:- The customer had freed two doves from their prison (cage). He had utilised his hard earned money. He longed to teach Mr.Purcell a good lesson. Therefore, he felt happy about his action.

-- Long Answer Type Questions --

Question 1:- What type of a shopkeeper was Mr. Purcell ?

Answer:- Mr. Purcell sold pets at his shop. They included both animals and birds. He displayed his birds (pet) in golden and beautiful cages. He also sold fish food and bird seed. He prescribed medicines for them. He knew how to treat the sick birds and animals. He advised his customer what to feed the birds on and how to look after the animals. He appeared to know everthing about birds and animals. He was a wise man. His behaviour with the customers was like that of a professional. He never thought about the value and importance of freedom. He deprived the birds of their freedom to gain money.

Question 2:- Bring out a contrast between Mr. Purcell and the customer.

Answer:- Purcell did not give much importance to freedom. He sold pets in cages and earned money. He took pleasure in encaging birds and animals. He was crazy about gaining money. But the customer was built of different stuff. His prison life had made him realise the value and meaning of freedom. He bought a pair of doves with the money he had earned in the jail. He drew out the doves from the cages and tossed them into the air. He took pleasure in freeing the encaged birds. Thus, we can say that both Mr. Purcell and the customer were shortly different from each other.

 

- By Durgesh Pandey