We are providing you with the summary of the class 9th Beehive lesson The snake and the mirror along with the important word meanings and phrases and ncert solutions. Students can go through the summary to avoid reading the lesson intensively and get the gist of the lesson very easily.
The lesson is written by Vailkom Muhammad Basheer, a translation from the Malayalam by V. Abdullah is about a doctor, a snake, and a mirror. How a doctor can save himself from a snake who is captivated by its own beauty in the mirror.
Important meanings: The Snake and the Mirror
- Meager- small in quantity.
- Gable- upper part of a wall below a sloping roof.
- Solitary- one single piece of something.
- Resumed- restart, reopen.
- Wriggled- zig-zag, slither.
- Lurked- keep out of sight.
- Vermillion- women put a red color ingredient called sindoor on their forehead.
- Taken with- attracted by.
The Snake And The Mirror: Central Theme
It is a story that is told by a homeopathic doctor about a deadly encounter with a snake and how the snake was captivated by its own beauty in the mirror. He recalls his youth days when he used to live alone in a small rented house with a very meager income and fewer possessions.
The doctor recalls how he went into shock when the snake slithered on his shoulder and then it soon turned towards the dressing table and looked into the mirror and was captivated. The snake was not interested in hurting the doctor and was fascinated by its own beauty and grace.
Summary of The Snake And The Mirror
This is the story revolving around a deadly encounter of a snake and a homeopathic doctor. The narrator in his youth days was practicing and was living in a small rented room with a meager income.
He was a bachelor then and wanted a fat wife for some reason. He believed that he was handsome and had an attractive smile which he wished to put on it forever.
Just at that moment when he was looking at the mirror and parting his hair with an attractive smile, he felt that one black tube had fallen from the attic. He also thought that there might be rats all around on the ceiling.
He was at that time thinking about his marriage plans and wishes to marry a wealthy doctor. As soon as he heard a dull thud he turned his head and was shocked to find a big fat snake behind him on his chair.
Soon the snake has coiled his left arm above the elbow. The snake spread his hood and was hardly three to four inches from his face.
The doctor sat there like a piece of stone and just sought help from god. It seemed that the almighty appreciated that and helped him. The snake then slowly unwinds itself from the arm and went to the dressing table. Then it moved towards the mirror to see his reflection more clearly.
The doctor saw this as an opportunity and got up from his chair and ran out of the house at the eleventh hour. He went to his friend’s house and spent his time there and came back only the next day.
He came back in the morning at half-past eight with his friend and one or two people. They all had to move his things from there and at that time there was no clue of the snake. Some thief had stolen his stuff also leaving behind the unwashed and yellow vest.
NCERT Solutions For Class 9th Beehive lesson The Snake And The Mirror
Q1. “ The sound was a familiar one.” What sound did the doctor hear? What did he think it was? How many times did he hear it? (Find the places in the text.) When and why did the sounds stop?
The doctor heard the sound of the rats and was pretty much familiar with the sound. The phrases are ‘Again I heard that sound from above’, ‘Again came that noise from above’, ‘Suddenly there came a dull thud as if a rubber tube had fallen’. The sounds stopped after the appearance of the snake.
Q2. What two “important” and “earth¬shaking” decisions did the doctor take while he was looking into the mirror?
The doctor took the following two ‘important’ and ‘earth shaking’ decisions:
- He would shave daily and grow a thin mustache to look more handsome.
- He would always keep that attractive smile on his face.
Q3. “I looked into the mirror and smiled,” says the doctor. A little later he says, “I forgot my danger and smiled feebly at myself.” What is the doctor’s opinion about himself when (i) he first smiles, and (ii) he smiles again? In what way do his thoughts change in between, and why?
The doctor thought that he had an attractive smile so he wished to put that on his face forever. But when he smiled later, he was smiling at his destiny. His thoughts changed because he was quite near to his death.
This story about a frightening incident is narrated humorously. What makes it humorous?
Q1. The kind of person the doctor is (money, possessions). The kind of person he wants to be (appearance, ambition)
The doctor was a poor man who was practicing then and lived in a small rented room. His house did not have electricity and had many rats. He had only sixty rupees in his suitcase and besides some shirts and dhotis, he had just one black coat.
He wanted to look handsome and so he decided that he would shave daily and grow a thin mustache and always wear his attractive smile as he looks good. He also wanted to marry a fat and wealthy wife.
Q2. The person he wants to marry. The person he actually marries.
He wishes to marry a woman doctor who is wealthy and has a good medical practice. He also wishes to have a fat wife so that she could not catch him when he commits a mistake. The person she actually marries was a thin reedy person who was actually a sprinter.
Q3. His thoughts when he looks into the mirror. His thoughts when the snake is coiled around his arm.
He thinks that he was smart and looked handsome. So he decided to shave daily and grow a thin mustache. He felt happy on seeing his reflection in the mirror. When the snake coiled his arm, he became a piece of stone and was afraid of the snake.
Thinking about language
Q1. Here are some sentences from the text. Say which of them tell you, that the author:
(a) was afraid of the snake, (b) was proud of his appearance, (c) had a sense of humor, (d) was no longer afraid of the snake.
- I was turned to stone.
- I was no mere image cut in granite.
- The arm was beginning to be drained of strength.
- I tried in my imagination to write in bright letters outside my little heart the words, ‘O God.
- I didn’t tremble. I didn’t cry out.
- I looked into the mirror and smiled. It was an attractive smile.
- I was suddenly a man of flesh and blood.
- I was after all a bachelor, and a doctor too on top of it!
- The fellow had such a sense of cleanliness …! The rascal could have taken it and used it after washing it with soap and water.
- Was it trying to make an important decision about growing a mustache or using eye shadow and mascara or wearing a vermilion spot on its forehead?
Answers:
- The sentences (1), (3), (4), (5) tell that the author (a) was afraid of the snake.
- The sentences (6) and (8) tell that he
(b) was proud of his appearance. - The sentences (9) and (10) tell that
(c) he had a sense of humor. - The sentences (2) and (7) tell that (d) he was no longer afraid of the snake.
Q2. Expressions are used to show fear. Can you find the expressions in the story that tells you that the author was frightened? Read the story and complete the following sentences.
- I was turned ……………….
- I sat there holding ……………….
- In the light of the lamp, I sat there like ……………….
Answers:
- I was turned to stone.
- I sat there holding my breath.
- In the light of the lamp, I sat there like a stone image in the flesh.
Q3. In the sentences given below some words and expressions are italicized. They variously mean that one
- I am very frightened.
- is too scared to move.
- is frightened by something that happens suddenly.
- makes another feel frightened.
Match the meanings with the words/ expressions in italics, and write the appropriate meaning next to the sentence. The first one has been done for you.
- I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits,
- I got frightened when I realized how close I was to the cliff edge.
- He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him.
- You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that.
- Wait until I tell his story—it will make your hair stand on end.
- Paralyzed with fear, the boy faced his abductors.
- The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle.
Answers:
- I knew a man was following me, I was scared out of my wits, (very frightened)
- I got frightened when I realized how close I was to the cliff edge, (too scared to move).
- He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw the bull coming towards him. (frightened by something that happens suddenly)
- You really gave me a fright when you crept up behind me like that, (made someone feel frightened)
- Wait until I tell his story—it will make your hair stand on end. (very frightened)
- Paralyzed with fear, the boy faced his abductors, (too scared to move)
- The boy hid behind the door, not moving a muscle, (too scared to move)
Q4. Report these questions, using if/whether or why/when/where/how/which/what. Remember the italicized verbs change into the past tense.
- Meena asked her friend, “Do you think your teacher will come today?”
- David asked his colleague, “Where will you go this summer?”
- He asked the little boy, “Why are you studying English?”
- She asked me, “When are we going to leave?”
- Pran asked me, “Have you finished reading the newspaper?”
- Seema asked her, “How long have you lived here?”
- Sheila asked the children, “Are you ready to do the work?”
Answers:
- Meena asked her friend if he (she) thought his (her) teacher would come that day.
- David asked his colleague where he would go that summer.
- He asked the little boy why he was studying English.
- She asked me when they were going to leave.
- Pran asked me if I had finished reading the newspaper.
- Seema asked her how long she had lived there.
- Sheila asked the children if they were ready to do the work.
Conclusion
We have provided you with a short and detailed summary of the class 9th lesson The Snake And The Mirror along with the ncert solutions to help out the students with the scanning of the basic idea of the lesson. Students can also get an idea of how to solve questions and answers.
