Class:- 7th English
( Honeycomb )
Chapter - 3
Gopal and The Hilsa Fish
Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions
-- Summary --
The story starts with the fisherman and the season of hilsa fish. Everyone in the kingdom, sellers, buyers and even the courtiers, were all busy discussing the hilsa fish. One day, a courtier was telling the king about the huge hilsa fish he had caught. However, the king was fed up with the topic of discussion and scolded the courtier. After a while, he apologised for losing his temper and told the courtiers that it was the season of hilsa fish and no one could stop the people, not even Gopal who happened to be a clever person, could stop people from talking about the hilsa fish for even five minutes. Gopal then said that he actually could stop people from doing so. Then the king challenged him to bring a huge hilsa fish in the palace without anyone asking him about it. Gopal confidently accepted the challenge. The next day, he started putting his plan into force. He shaved only half of his beard and started smearing his face with ash. His wife, who had noticed everything, questioned him repeatedly why he was doing such things and what was wrong with him. However, Gopal didn’t have time to explain his plan and kept on telling his wife that he was just going out to get a hilsa fish. The wife then pointed out the shabby clothes but Gopal didn’t pay any attention to her. She clearly thought Gopal had gone mad. Gopal bought a hilsa fish and made his way to the palace. On the way, people started pointing at him and laughed at his comical appearance. People began calling him different names. Some called him a madman and the others called him a mystic. However, Gopal didn’t object as this was his plan. When he finally reached the palace, the guards asked him what he wanted. Gopal said he wanted to see the king. However, the guards denied entry after taking a look at his shabby appearance. After he couldn’t go in, he started singing and dancing. Inside the palace, the noise of commotion was causing the king great discomfort. He finally ordered the guards to let the madman in. When Gopal came in, everyone was astonished to see him like that. The courtiers started whispering among themselves. The king demanded an explanation for his ridiculous fashion. Gopal however, told the king that he had forgotten something. When the king asked what he had forgotten, Gopal explained that even though he was carrying a hilsa fish with him, no one was asking him about it. Instead, everyone was discussing his appearance. The king laughed and praised him and his wit and congratulated him for achieving the impossible.
⭐ Summary in Hindi:-
कहानी मछुआरे और हिलसा मछली के शिकार के मौसम से शुरू होती है। राज्य में हर कोई, विक्रेता, खरीदार और यहां तक कि दरबारियों, सभी हिल्सा मछली पर चर्चा करने में व्यस्त थे। एक दिन, एक दरबारी राजा को उसके द्वारा पकड़ी गई विशाल हिल्सा मछली के बारे में बता रहा था। हालांकि, राजा चर्चा के विषय से तंग आ गया और उसने दरबारी को डांटा।
थोड़ी देर बाद उन्होंने अपना आपा खोने के लिए माफी मांगी और दरबारियों से कहा कि यह हिलसा मछली का मौसम है और लोगों को कोई नहीं रोक सकता, यहां तक कि गोपाल जो एक चतुर व्यक्ति है भी लोगों को हिलसा मछली के बारे में पाँच मिनट के लिए भी बात करने से नहीं रोक सकता। गोपाल ने तब कहा कि वह वास्तव में लोगों को ऐसा करने से रोक सकता है। तब राजा ने उसे चुनौती दी कि वह बिना किसी से पूछे महल में एक बड़ी हिल्सा मछली ले आए।
गोपाल ने आत्मविश्वास से चुनौती स्वीकार की। अगले दिन, उसने अपनी योजना को लागू करना शुरू कर दिया। उसने अपनी आधी दाढ़ी ही मुंडवा ली और राख से अपना चेहरा धोने लगा।
उसकी पत्नी, जिसने सब कुछ देख लिया था, उससे बार-बार सवाल करती थी कि वह ऐसा क्यों कर रहा है और उसे क्या हुआ है। हालाँकि, गोपाल के पास अपनी योजना समझाने का समय नहीं था और वह अपनी पत्नी को बताता रहा कि वह अभी हिलसा मछली लेने जा रहा है।
फिर पत्नी ने जर्जर कपड़ों की ओर इशारा किया लेकिन गोपाल ने उस पर ध्यान नहीं दिया। उसे साफ लगा कि गोपाल पागल हो गया है। गोपाल ने एक हिलसा मछली खरीदी और महल की ओर चल पड़ा। रास्ते में लोगों ने उनकी ओर इशारा करना शुरू कर दिया और उनके हास्यपूर्ण रूप पर हंस पड़े।
लोग उसे अलग-अलग नाम से पुकारने लगे। कोई उसे पागल कहता था तो कोई फकीर। हालाँकि, गोपाल ने इसका विरोध नहीं किया क्योंकि यह उसकी योजना थी। जब वह अंत में महल में पहुँचा, तो पहरेदारों ने उससे पूछा कि वह क्या चाहता है।
गोपाल ने कहा कि वह राजा को देखना चाहता है। हालांकि, गार्ड ने उसकी जर्जर उपस्थिति को देखते हुए प्रवेश से इनकार कर दिया। जब वह अंदर नहीं जा सका तो उसने गाना और नाचना शुरू कर दिया। महल के अंदर, हंगामे का शोर राजा को बहुत परेशान कर रहा था। उसने अंत में पहरेदारों को आदेश दिया कि वह पागल आदमी को अंदर जाने दे। जब गोपाल अंदर आया, तो उसे इस तरह देखकर सभी चकित रह गए।
दरबारी आपस में कानाफूसी करने लगे। राजा ने उसके हास्यास्पद फैशन के लिए स्पष्टीकरण मांगा। हालाँकि, गोपाल ने राजा से कहा कि वह कुछ भूल गया है। जब राजा ने पूछा कि वह क्या भूल गया है, तो गोपाल ने समझाया कि भले ही वह अपने साथ एक हिलसा मछली ले जा रहा था, फिर भी कोई उससे इसके बारे में नहीं पूछ रहा था।
इसके बजाय, हर कोई उसकी उपस्थिति पर चर्चा कर रहा था। राजा हँसा और उसकी और उसकी बुद्धि की प्रशंसा की और असंभव को प्राप्त करने के लिए उसे बधाई दी।
----- Word Meanings -----
• fishmonger – a person who sell fish - मछुआरा
• householder – the head of the house - गृहस्वामी
• downcast – disheartened - उदास
• smearing – spreading on a surface - किसी सतह पर फैलना
• disgraceful – shameful - शर्मनाक
• rags – shabby, torn and worn out clothes - चिथड़े
• comical – funny, cartoon-like - हास्यपूर्ण
• mystic – a person who believes in supernatural and spiritual truths - रहस्यवादी
• ridiculous – silly - हास्यास्पद
----- NCERT Solutions -----
Exercise
Question 1.- Why did the king want no more talk about the hilsa-fish?
Ans.- The king wanted no more talk about the hilsa-fish as he was fed up with it. Everyone was talking about it and he wanted a break from it.
Question 2.- What did the king ask Gopal to do to prove that he was clever?
Ans.- The king challenged Gopal to bring a hilsa-fish into the palace without anyone asking about it. The king asked Gopal to do so to prove that he was clever.
Question 3.- What three things did Gopal do before he went to buy his hilsa-fish?
Ans.- First, he didn’t shave his face completely. He had half-shaved his face. Second, he smeared ash on his face. Third, he wore rags instead of his usual good clothes.
Question 4.- How did Gopal get inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish?
Ans.- After the guards denied entry to Gopal, he started dancing and singing loudly to gain the attention of the king and his fellow courtiers. The king, who could hear his song, finally ordered the guards to let the madman come in. By this way, Gopal got inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish.
Question 5.- Explain why no one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought.
Ans.- No one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought. This was because everyone was too busy noticing his comical appearance. The on-lookers were too busy discussing whether he was a madman or a mystic that they didn’t notice the hilsa-fish which Gopal was carrying. People laughed and joked about how he looked. His appearance was more fascinating than the hilsa-fish he had in hand.
Question 6.- Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following sentences.
i) The king lost his temper easily. ________
ii) Gopal was a madman. _________
iii) Gopal was a clever man. _____
iv) Gopal was too poor to afford decent clothes. _____
v) The king got angry when he was shown to be wrong. _____
Ans.- i) True
ii) False
iii) True
iv) False
v) False
----- Previous Year Questions -----
Question 1:- What happened when the king hear his courtiers talking about Hilsa fish?
Solution:- When the king heard his courtiers talking about Hilsa fish, he lost his temper and warned them that they were courtiers and not fishermen. But the king soon felt guilty, looking at his nervous and humble courtier when he had rebuked. His tone changed and he said that it was the season of Hilsa and nobody could be stopped from talking about it.
Question 2:- Why did Gopal’s wife find his activities strange?
Solution:- Gopal had half-shaven his face. Smeared ash over himself. Had put on rags and was looking disgraceful. She asked Gopal the reason for such weird acts. She stopped him from going out like that but Gopal told her that he was going to buy Hilsa fish. At last she concluded that Gopal had gone mad.
Question 3:- Who was Gopal? What was the challenge given to him by the king? How he won it?
Solution:- Gopal was one of the wise men in the king’s court. When the king was fed up with ongoing talks about Hilsa fish he challenged Gopal.
Gopal happily accepted the challenge of buying a huge Hilsa fish from the market and to ensure on the way from the market to the palace no one should talk to him about the fish.
He was an intelligent man. He dressed up like a mad man and his appearance caught everyone’s attention. He reached the court without anyone talking about the fish as every one was drawn towards his appearance.
Question 4:- Why was Gopal barred entry to the palace? How did Gopal manage to get in? What was the king’s reaction to Gopal’s deed?
Solution:- Gopal looked suspicious or rather mystic since he had dressed himself filthly. Moreover his beared was half-shaved and ash was smeared on it. Therefore the guards barred his entry to the palace. He started dancing and singing loudly so that the king might hear him and call him inside. The king ordered him to be taken inside but he could not recognise him.
When Gopal reminded him of his challenge and proved that he had fulfilled it the king was surprised and burst into laughter.
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