NCERT Solutions Class 10 English

The "dust of snow" refers to the fine particles of snow that fell from the hemlock tree onto the poet when the crow shook the branch. This small incident changed the poet's mood from sad to cheerful.

The poet was in a sombre mood, possibly regretting something he had done that day. When the crow shook the hemlock tree, snow fell on him. This small act of nature revived his spirits and changed his mood from despair to hope. It shows how nature can heal and uplift us.

The message is that even small, seemingly insignificant events of nature can have a profound effect on our lives and change our mood. Nature has the power to heal and soothe a troubled mind.

The crow symbolizes ill omen or negativity (it is traditionally associated with bad luck). The hemlock tree is a poisonous tree, also symbolizing negative elements. Together, they show that even negative elements of nature can bring positive change and happiness.

Mandela defines courage not as the absence of fear, but as the triumph over it. A brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

Mandela felt a deep sense of pride and humility. He felt honoured to be the first black president of a democratic South Africa. He also felt the weight of responsibility and remembered all those who had sacrificed their lives for freedom.

Mandela's twin obligations were: (1) to his family — parents, wife, and children, and (2) to his people — his community, his country, and the continent of Africa.

Mandela says that the most formidable weapon against oppression and poverty is the human spirit. He believed that freedom was indivisible — chains on any one person's body were chains on all people's bodies.

As a young boy, freedom meant simple things — to stay out at night, to read what he pleased, and to go where he chose. As he grew older, he understood that freedom was not just for himself but for all his people. He realized that his freedom and the freedom of his people were intertwined.

'Fire' symbolizes desire, greed, lust, cruelty, and anger — all fiery emotions. 'Ice' symbolizes hatred, coldness, insensitivity, and rigidity. Both can destroy the world equally.

The central idea is that human destruction can come from either uncontrolled passion (desire) or from cold hatred (ice). Both equally destructive forces can cause the end of the world.

The speaker believes both are equally destructive. He says the world will end from either fire or ice, and from personal experience with desire, he can say that both are capable of total destruction.

The young seagull was afraid to fly because he felt that his wings were too weak and he was not confident about them. He was scared of the vast expanse of sea below and the height. His fear of failure held him back.

The seagull's parents tried various methods to encourage him. They coaxed him, scolded him, and tried to make him hungry so that he would come to the ledge for food. His mother even flew close to him with a piece of fish, which triggered his instinct to fly.

The seagull finally learned to fly when his mother brought a piece of fish close to him. Starving for two days, the seagull dived for the food and, in doing so, spread his wings and started flying. He discovered that flying was not so difficult after all.

The pilot's dilemma was that his navigation instruments had stopped working and he was lost in a storm with dark clouds. He could not see where he was going and had to decide whether to continue flying or to go back.

A mysterious black aeroplane helped the narrator. The pilot of that plane guided him through the storm to the runway. The narrator never found out who the mysterious pilot was. It showed how strangers can help in times of crisis.

The tiger moves in his narrow cell. He walks from one end to the other end of his cage, padding quietly and softly along the length of the cage. He walks back and forth restlessly.

When visitors come to see him, the tiger ignores them. He hears their voices but stares at them with his brilliant eyes, filled with rage and frustration. He is furious at being caged and his glare frightens the visitors.

At night, the tiger hears the sounds of patrolling cars. He stalks around his cage and roars. The night air gives him the feeling of freedom but he is trapped. He roars in anger and frustration.

In his natural habitat, the tiger would be free to roam in the jungle, hunt his prey, and live with his family. He would be lord of his domain. In the zoo, he is confined to a narrow cage, deprived of freedom, and reduced to a展品. The poem contrasts the tiger's majestic natural life with his pathetic existence in captivity.

Anne felt lonely because she had no true friend to confide in. Although she had many acquaintances, she had no one with whom she could share her innermost thoughts and feelings. She wrote that she had many boyfriends but not one real friend.

Anne felt that paper has more patience than people. She could write everything in her diary without fear of being judged. She could pour out all her thoughts and feelings without worrying about someone misunderstanding or laughing at her.

Anne's father said that he would be very upset if she kept a diary. He advised her that she would rather keep her thoughts to herself. However, Anne was determined to write.

Mr. Keesing was Anne's math teacher. He was annoyed with Anne because she talked too much in class. As punishment, he gave her extra homework — to write an essay on "A Chatterbox." Anne turned the punishment into a creative exercise, and eventually Mr. Keesing became less strict with her.

Anne's writing reveals she was intelligent, witty, observant, and had a sharp sense of humour. She was introspective and had the ability to analyze people and situations. Despite her difficult circumstances, she remained hopeful, cheerful, and maintained a positive outlook on life.

The poet says that if you see a large and tawny beast in the jungle, that roars fiercely and pounces on you, it is an Asiatic lion. The poet humorously suggests that if it roars at you and you die, you will know it was the Asiatic lion.

The poet describes the Bengal Tiger by its striking appearance — though he doesn't have "striped clothing," the tiger's natural stripes make it easy to identify. The poem humorously uses everyday references to help identify wild animals.

The mood of the poem is humorous and satirical. The poet uses comic descriptions to help us identify wild animals. The tone is playful and not serious, making the reader laugh while learning about animals.

Wanda Petronski was a Polish girl who lived in Boggins Heights with her family. She was poor and wore a faded blue dress that was always clean but wrinkled. She came to school late because she had to walk a long distance from her home.

The girls would gather in the schoolyard before class and count how many dresses each girl had. They also admired each other's dresses and shoes. Wanda always said she had a hundred dresses and sixty pairs of shoes, which the girls made fun of.

Wanda's hundred dresses were actually beautiful drawings she submitted to the drawing competition. The girls were amazed to see them — they were all different and equally beautiful. The dresses proved that Wanda was talented and creative.

Peggy and Maddie felt guilty about making fun of Wanda. They went to Boggins Heights to apologize to Wanda but found that the family had moved away. They wrote a friendly letter to Wanda, and Maddie decided she would never remain a silent bystander again.

The moral is that we should never judge or make fun of anyone based on their appearance or economic condition. We should treat everyone with kindness and respect. Bullying can cause deep hurt and we should stand up against it.

The boy is standing in a trembling position, staring at his lost ball that has rolled away into the water. He is experiencing the first pang of loss and realizing the reality of loss in life.

The poet says the boy is "rigid with grief" because the loss of his ball has deeply affected him. He is stunned and frozen in his sorrow. The loss has taught him the first lesson of life — that possessions can be lost and cannot always be recovered.

The boy learns that possessions can be lost and that one must accept this reality. He learns the meaning of loss and responsibility. The ball represented his childhood innocence, and its loss marks his step towards maturity.

The poet suggests that loss is an inevitable part of life. We cannot replace everything we lose. The boy stands in the "epistemology of loss" — learning about loss through experience. Everyone must learn to bear losses in life.

Coorg is famous for its coffee plantations, rainforests, and wildlife. It is also known for its brave warriors and sportsmen. The people of Coorg are known for their martial traditions, hospitality, and warm people. It is a popular tourist destination.

According to legend, the Coorg people are believed to be of Greek or Arabic descent. A part of Alexander's army is said to have moved to South India and settled there. When they were not allowed to return, they married local women and adopted their customs.

The baker (padre) from Goa used to visit the narrator's house with his basket of bread. He would come in the morning with jingling sound. The children would run to him for bread-bangles and the elders for the famous Portuguese bread. Baking was a profitable profession.

Tea was first discovered in China and came to India through Assam. Assam is one of the largest tea-producing regions in the world. Tea plantation workers in Assam work hard to produce the tea we drink daily. The region has ideal climate for tea cultivation.

Amanda is constantly told to do things — to clean her room, to tidy her shoes, to do her homework, and to behave properly. She is also told not to bite her nails, not to eat chocolates, and not to slouch. Her mother is always nagging her.

Amanda dreams of being Rapunzel in a tower, living alone in peace. She imagines herself as a mermaid in the sea. She also dreams of being an orphan with freedom to do whatever she wants. These fantasies are her escape from the constant nagging.

The poem highlights the generation gap and communication problems between parents and children. The parent's constant nagging makes the child withdraw into a world of imagination. It suggests that parents should give children some freedom and space rather than controlling every aspect of their lives.

Maxwell went to Basra in Iraq where a friend suggested he get an otter. He was told that otters were to be found in the Tigris river. He sent a mail to a friend and eventually got Mijbil, a small otter, which he kept in a box.

Mij would play with various objects — rubber balls, marbles, etc. He had a special game of dropping objects in the bathtub and retrieving them. He also enjoyed being in water and would splash around. He would sleep in Maxwell's bed and follow him everywhere.

When Maxwell was taking Mij to London, the otter escaped from his cage at the airport. Maxwell was panicked and searched everywhere. After some time, Mij was found playing in the airport. The incident caused quite a commotion at the airport.

The poet wants animals to put their placid eyes on him. He wants to live with them. He wants to examine what they are like and what they teach us about living.

The poet admires that animals are content with their lives, do not complain, do not cry over their sins, do not make him kneel down to worship, do not talk about their duty to God, and do not make him sick discussing their duty to God. They are peaceful and happy.

The poem suggests that humans have become materialistic and have lost their natural happiness. They are discontented and have forgotten how to enjoy simple things. Humans are weighed down by responsibilities, guilt, and artificiality, unlike animals who live naturally and peacefully.

Valli's deepest desire was to ride on the bus. She used to stand at the door of her house and watch the bus go by every day. She wanted to experience the joy and freedom of riding a bus.

Valli carefully planned her bus ride. She saved her pocket money, noted the bus timings, and learned the fare. She told her mother she was going to a friend's house. She sat in the bus like a regular passenger and enjoyed the ride.

During the bus ride, Valli saw the road, the green fields, the mountains, the river, the palm trees, and the countryside. She also saw a dead cow on the road, which shocked her and gave her a lesson about the harsh realities of life.

The sight of the dead cow, which had been hit by a speeding vehicle, taught Valli a sobering lesson about the dangers of speeding. She realized that the joy of the ride was tempered by the reality of life and death. It was a moment of maturity for her.

Valli was a curious, determined, and brave young girl. She was resourceful and planned things carefully. Despite being only eight years old, she showed maturity and independent thinking. She was not content to just imagine — she wanted to experience things firsthand.

The trees want to move out of the house and into the open. They want to go to the forest. They have been living inside the house for a long time and now want to be free.

When the trees leave, the house will be empty and hollow. The roots will break through the floor. The light and wind will be different. The long-established order of things inside the house will be disturbed.

The poem symbolizes the struggle for freedom and the desire to return to one's natural state. It can also represent women's desire to break free from patriarchal constraints. The trees inside the house represent a suppressed state, and their return to the forest represents liberation.

Kisa Gotami was a young woman whose only son had died. She was overwhelmed with grief and could not accept his death. She went from house to house seeking medicine to bring her son back to life.

The Buddha asked Kisa Gotami to bring him a mustard seed from a house where no one had died. Kisa Gotami went from house to house but could not find such a house. Every family had experienced death at some point.

Kisa Gotami learned that death is a universal reality. She understood that all living beings must die and that her son was not the only one to die. She accepted her loss and found peace. She realized the truth of the Buddha's teaching.

The central theme is that death is inevitable and is a part of life. Suffering comes from attachment and desire. We must accept the reality of death and not be overwhelmed by grief. Understanding the universal nature of death helps us find peace.

The fog comes quietly on little cat feet. It is gentle and silent, just like a cat that walks without making any noise. The movement of fog is compared to the soft, stealthy movement of a cat.

The fog sits on the harbor and the city. It envelops everything in its misty embrace. The poet describes the fog as something that sits and watches, just as a cat would sit and observe its surroundings.

The poet uses the literary device of metaphor (extended metaphor). The fog is compared to a cat throughout the poem — it comes on "little cat feet," it "sits looking over the harbor." This personification and comparison makes the abstract phenomenon of fog concrete and visual.

The play is about Lomov, a wealthy landowner, who visits his neighbour Chubukov to propose to his daughter Natalya. The play satirises the institution of marriage, showing how property and money drive the marriage proposal. The characters get into petty arguments even during the proposal.

Lomov wants to marry Natalya because she is a good housekeeper, not bad-looking, and well-educated. More importantly, he sees the marriage as a socially and financially beneficial arrangement. He is getting on in years and wants to settle down.

Lomov and Chubukov argue about various things — whose land is better, whose dogs are better, and whose property is more valuable. They argue about Oxen Meadows, about whose dog is better — Lomov's Squeezer or Chubukov's Pes. These arguments reveal their pettiness and materialism.

Natalya joins the arguments with even more enthusiasm. She defends her father's dog and argues passionately. She does not even realise that Lomov has come to propose to her. When she learns of the proposal, she is angry that Lomov left without completing it.

The irony is that a marriage proposal — meant to be a joyful occasion — turns into a series of heated arguments. The characters care more about property and dogs than about love and relationships. The play satirises how society values material possessions over genuine feelings.

Belinda's pets are: a little black kitten named Ink, a little grey mouse named Blink, a little yellow dog named Mustard, and a cowardly dragon named Custard.

Custard was called a coward because he always cried for a nice safe cage. He was afraid of everything — he did not like challenges and always wanted to be safe and protected. The other pets made fun of him for his cowardice.

When the pirate attacked with a gun, all the brave pets ran and hid. Belinda cried "Mercy" and Mustard ran. But Custard, the cowardly dragon, charged at the pirate with his mouth open and swallowed him whole. The "coward" turned out to be the bravest.

The moral is that we should not judge others by their appearance or words. Those who appear brave may turn out to be cowards, and those who appear cowardly may prove to be the bravest when the situation demands. True courage is shown in actions, not in words.

The poet tells Anne Gregory that she can never be truly loved for herself alone. He says that young men will always see her hair colour and fall in love with that external feature, not with her inner self.

Anne Gregory says she could dye her hair and change its colour, so that people would have to look at her inner self. She believes that her real identity is not her external appearance but what lies within. She could force people to love her for herself alone.

The message is that true love should be based on a person's inner qualities — their character, soul, and values — not on external appearance. Society often judges people by their looks, but real beauty lies within. It is difficult to find someone who loves for the right reasons.