KSEEB 8th English The Boy Who Sold Wisdom Lesson Notes Summary Questions and Answers
Pre-reading task:
Question 1.
What was the demand of the neighbouring king?
Answer:
The neighbouring king demanded for a pot full of wisdom.
Question 2.
How did Birbal get a potfull of wisdom?
Answer:
Birbal requested the king to give him some time to prepare a potful of wisdom. He then grew a pumpkin plant and placed the growing pumpkin in the pot. The pumpkin grew in size till it filled the pot. Birbal then cut it off from the plant, covered it well and gave it to the king stating that it was a pot filled with wisdom.
Question 3.
What is the meaning of a pot full of wisdom?
Answer:
Wisdom is an abstract notion that cannot be measured or touched. The king asking for a pot full of wisdom was only an excuse to wage a war.
Textbook Questions and Answers
I. Comprehension
A. Re-order the following jumbled sentences in the right sequencers they occur in the text.
1. Gupta was unhappy after the incident because his son would have to feign madness always, or else the king would find out.
2. The minister and one of his queens planned to kill the king.
3. According to Nagendra’s advice, Babu went to the king and told him the whole story.
4. Nagendra advised Babu to pretend madness.
5. The king sent for Nagendra.
6. The king brought the wisdom, “Think deeply before doing anything” from Nagendra.
7. The king ordered that the queen should be hanged.
8. He engraved it on his cups and plates so that he wouldn’t forget it.
Answer:
1 – 4,
2 – 1,
3 – 3,
4 – 5,
5 – 6,
6 – 8,
7 – 2,
8 – 7
B. Complete the following sentences.
Question 1.
Nagendra’s brilliant idea was to ……………………….
Answer:
sell wisdom
Question 2.
He sold ……………………….
Answer:
wistlom
Question 3.
Wisdom was bought by ……………………….
Answer:
Babu
Question 4.
Babu’s father was angry with him because ……………………….
Answer:
he had spent a nickel for some ‘nonsense’ that was written on a paper.
Question 5.
Nagendra reacted to the fury of Gupta by ……………………….
Answer:
asking him to return back the wisdom.
Question 6.
He returned the money after making Gupta sign ………………………. which stated ……………………….
Answer:
a document, that his son would never use the advice and that he would stand and watch when people were fighting.
Question 7.
Babu got into a problem for the second time when ……………………….
Answer:
he watched the quarrel between the maids of the two queens in the market place.
Question 8.
The dispute between the two maids was over a ……………………….
Answer:
pumpkin.
C. Answer the following questions in two or three sentences each.
Question 1.
Why did Nagendra open a shop?
Answer:
Nagendra opened a shop because he was an unemployed young boy. He decided to open shop to be self employed. He decided to sell wisdom.
Question 2.
Why is the merchant’s son called a stupid boy?
Answer:
The merchant’s son was called a stupid boy probably because he was neither intelligent nor clever. This was proved because he could not comprehend what was being sold by Nagendra.
Question 3.
What did Nagendra sell for a nickel?
Answer:
Nagendra sold a nickel’s worth of wisdom to Babu.
Question 4.
Why was Babu’s father angry?
Answer:
Babu’s father was angry because his son had spent a nickel for a strip of paper on which were written the words, “It is not wise to stand and watch two people fighting”.
Question 5.
How did Nagendra make Gupta realize, the value of wisdom?
Answer:
It was Nagendra’s wisdom that had saved Babu’s life when he was asked to bear witness to the two maids. This made Gupta realize the value of Nagendra’s wisdom.
Question 6.
Why did the two maids quarrel?
Answer:
There was only one pumpkin in the market and both the maids wanted it. Therefore ‘ the two maids quarreled in the market for
Question 7.
Why did Babu and his father go to Nagendra twice?
Answer:
Babu and his father went to Nagendra the first time, to save Babu from the clutches of the quarrelling maids and their queens. Babu had to fake insanity for ever, if he had to save himself from being punished or the king would realize that he had been tricked and the punishment would be more severe. Therefore to find a solution to the new problem, they visited Nagendra the second time.
Question 8.
Why was Babu very happy?
Answer:
As advised by Nagnedra, Babu pretended to be insane and saved his life. Babu was | therefore delighted by the success of his ruse.
Question 9.
What is the meaning of the expression, “Think deeply before you do anything’?
Answer:
The expression means that we should think more than once and deeply over the consequences of our actions before we indulge in it. The message is aptly explained in the proverb,” Haste makes waste”.
Question 10.
Why did the king make Nagendra his minister?
Answer:
The king realized that it was the wisdom of Nagendra that had saved his life. As a mark of gratitude and to acknowledge his wisdom and cleverness, the king made him his minister. This was probably also because the king wanted to have a wise minister to guide him.
D. Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow.
Question 1.
“Think deeply before you do anything”.
(a) Who was asked to think deeply?
Answer:
The king was asked to think deeply.
(b) Who gave this piece of wisdom and why?
Answer:
Nagendra gave this piece of wisdom to the king because the king had asked if he had any more wisdom for sale.
(c) How did this piece of wisdom help the receiver?
Answer:
The piece of wisdom that the king received actually did save the king’s life.
Question 2.
“I do not sell wisdom by weight. I sell it by quality”.
(a) Who said this?
Answer:
The above statement was said by Nagendra.
(b) To whom was this said?
Answer:
It was said to Babu, the son of Gupta, a rich merchant.
(c) When was this said?
Answer:
This was said when Babu had asked Nagendra the cost of a kilogram of wisdom.
(d) What does it mean?
Answer:
As wisdom is the qualitative aspect, it cannot be measured in weight.
II. Let’s write.
Imagine that Babu in this lesson writes to his friend Salim, narrating how he was saved by Nagendra’s wisdom. Refer text book page 17 for hints.
Dear Salim,
I want to tell you about a very unusual incident.
Two months ago I saw new shop in the market place. A young boy named Nagendra was selling wisdom. So I went in to see what it was. I could find nothing in his shop. I thought that it would be some sort of a vegetable, so I asked him the cost of one kilogram of wisdom. Nagendra said that wisdom was not sold in kilograms but by quality. Therefore I asked him to give me some wisdom for a nickel. Nagendra scribbled a note on a piece of paper. It read ‘It is not wise to stand and watch two people fighting’. He then asked me to keep it safe in my turban.
When I reached home I showed it to my father. He was so furious with me for having spent a nickel for the ‘nonsense’ as he called the information on the piece of paper. He took it to Nagendra and made him repay the amount. But Nagendra returned the money only after my father signed a document stating that I would never practice the wisdom that he had sold to me.
A few days later, I saw two maids of the two queens fighting for a pumpkin in the market place. There was only one pumpkin and both of them wanted it. As the queens hated each other, so did their maids. They lost no opportunity to exhibit their hatred whenever and wherever possible. They had such a heated argument that verbal abuses later led to violence and blows. As I was standing close by, both the maids asked me to bear witness to them at the court when summoned.
As I had feared, a few day’s later I was summoned to the court by the maids. Both of them asked me to bear witness to them or they threatened me that they would have my head chopped off. When my
father heard about the dilemma I was in, he too was worried. Unable to find a solution to the problem both of us decided to visit Nagendra.
He advised me to pretend to be insane at the court, during the court proceedings. I acted on his advice. The king assuming that I was really insane sent me out of the court without any punishment. I was so thrilled that I informed everyone about the success of my ruse. Nagendra is a very famous person today.
I am so happy to be alive today. I am totally indebted to Nagendra. If you find yourself in any kind of trouble, I earnestly suggest that you seek Nagendra’s advice. I shall keep you informed about the latest developments here. Please do convey my regards to one and all at home.
Closing with love and prayer,
Your loving friend,
Babu Gupta.
III. Let’s work with words:
Write the meanings of the following words with the help of a dictionary and use them in sentences to bring out their meaning.
1. furious: Meaning: marked by extreme anger, violent, intense.
Sentence: Gopal was furious with Ramesh when he learnt that Ramesh had lost his classwork.
2. wisdom: Meaning: the quality or state of being wise; the ability to make good and serious judgement because of one’s experience.
Sentence: Mr. Sharma regularly saved a portion of his salary. It was this wisdom of Mr. Sharma that saved his family from debt during a financial crisis.
3. persuade: Meaning: to induce, to undertake a course of action or embrace a point of view by means of argument, reasoning or entreaty; to lead somebody to do something through reasoning or argument.
Sentence: Mrs. Agrawal persuaded her husband to purchase a house on loan instead of having to pay heavy rent for she believed that the amount that was paid as rent could be used to repay the loan.
4. feign: Meaning: to give a false appearance of, to pretend
Sentence: Anand feigned giddiness to escape the martial art practice in his school.
5. errands: Meaning: a short trip taken to perform a specific tasks, usually for another; a short journey to take a message, buy or deliver goods etc,
Sentence: While running an errand for my neighbour, I met my classmate in the shop.
6. contract: Meaning: an official legal agreement; an agreement between two or more parties, especially one that is written and enforced by law.
Sentence: Mr. Damodar signed a contract with Mr. Babu stating that he would manufacture and supply 100 tables within two months.
7. document: Meaning: a writing that contains information, usually a written or printed paper that bears original, official or legal form of something which can be used to furnish decisive information or evidence; an official or formal paper, form, book etc. giving information about something, evidence or proof of something or a record of something.
Sentence: Mrs. Sheetal bought an acre of land. She has safely kept all the relevant documents in the bank safe locker.
8. bargain: Meaning: An agreement establishing the terms of a sale or exchange of goods or services.
Sentence: I bargained with the vendor and bought the bat at a very reasonable price.
9. witness: Meaning: one who furnishes evidence, one who can give a first hand account of something seen, heard or experienced.
Sentence: A small child of 5 years was the only witness to the murder of the watchman.
10. ruse: Meaning: an action intended to mislead, deceive or trick someone; a deceitful way of doing something or getting something.
Sentence: Mr. Roy, the bank manager saw through the ruse of the two youths who had approached him on the pretext of seeking loan for a vague business. Suddenly one of them feigned a severe chest pain in order to divert the attention of the people. But the alert manager understood their intention. He called the police and got them arrested.
IV. Let’s use language
A. Fill in the blanks in the following sentences with the right options:
Question 1.
His _____________ brought credit to the school. (brilliantly, brilliance)
Answer:
brilliance
Question 2.
_____________ people solve problems, (wise, wisdom)
Answer:
wise
Question 3.
_____________ he was clever, he was without a job. (in spite of, though)
Answer:
though
Question 4.
There was no _____________ of sympathy from the people when they heard of the cruel murder, (death, dearth)
Answer:
dearth,
Question 5.
The _____________ of funds made them abandon the project, (paucity, pause)
Answer:
paucity
B. Use ‘since’ or’ for with the following time expressions :
Question 1.
The film has been on at the theatres _____________ July.
Answer:
since
Question 2.
She has been on holiday _____________ the last three weeks.
Answer:
for
Question 3.
She hasn’t been here _____________ a month.
Answer:
since,
Question 4.
No one has lived here _____________ 1989.
Answer:
since,
Question 5.
It is the first time I have been here _____________ the accident.
Answer:
since
V. Let’s work on our own:
Read the popular story of Birbal, ‘A potful of wisdom’ and narrate it in the class.
Answer:
(The story is mentioned at the beginning of the lesson under pre-reading task).
VI. PROJECT WORK
Imagine that you are interviewing Nagendra and write any five questions that you would like to ask him and the answers that you are likely to get from him.
Question 1.
I am aware that your are selling wisdom. What kind of wisdom do you propose to sell?
Answer:
I propose to sell all kinds of wisdom, for all, at very reasonable rates.
Question 2.
What is your lowest fee for the advice?
Answer:
The lowest price for my advice is a nickel.
Question 3.
How did the idea of selling wisdom occur to you?
Answer:
Being an orphan, actually helped me to observe the society and the people for I roamed in the society freely. I realized that there were many foolish people around. I also realized that by selling wisdom to them I could not only reform them but earn a lot of money in return.
Question 4.
How did you obtain such wisdom at such a young age?
Answer:
I observed everything that my father used to do and learnt a lot form him. Being orphaned at an early age also helped me to be alert and observe people. I learnt from all the opportunities and hurdles that I had to face. I thank God for having given me the ability to grasp things faster and making me clever.
Question 5.
Now that you are a minister, what are your plans?
Answer:
I intend to serve the king honestly and sincerely. I hope to bring about a lot of welfare measures for the development of this kingdom.
Additional Questions with Answers
I. Answer the following questions:
Question 1.
Who was Nagendra?
Answer:
Nagendra was an orphan boy who has clever but unemployed.
Question 2.
What did the placard on his shop state?
Answer:
The placard on his shop stated that wisdom was for sale there.
Question 3.
Why did the people laugh at Nagendra?
Answer:
People laughed at Nagendra because they could find nothing in his shop yet he continued to cry out his ware.
Question 4.
What are some of the qualities that you admire in Nagendra?
Answer:
I admire his smartness, cleverness, honesty, patience and industrious nature.
Question 5.
How did Nagendra become famous?
Answer:
It was Nagendra’s advice that saved Babu’s life. The excited Babu informed everyone about the success of the ruse. It soon became the most talked about thing in the market place. Thus, Nagendra became famous.
Question 6.
Why was Gupta not pleased with the success of the ruse?
Answer:
It was the faked insanity that had saved Babu’s life. But now Babu had to pretend to be insane always. Though the ruse appeared to be a success in the beginning it posed another problem to Babu. Therefore, Gupta, Babu’s father was not pleased.
Question 7.
Why did the king send for Nagendra?
Answer:
The king sent for Nagendra because he was intrigued by what he had heard about him in the market. He also knew about Babu’s case and how Nagendra had cleverly helped him twice.
Question 8.
What became the king’s motto?
Answer:
Nagendra’s advice “Think deeply before you do anything”, became the motto of the king.
Question 9.
Who bribed the doctor? Why?
Answer:
The minister and one of the queens bribed the doctor because they wanted to get rid of the king.
Question 10.
Why did the doctor confess his crime?
Answer:
The king lowered the golden cup and mused over the words engraved on it. The guilty doctor thought that the king had suspected him of poisoning his medicine and confessed his guilt out of fear.
Question 11.
Was it right for the king to elevate Nagendra, a poor orphan to the position of a minister?
Answer:
Yes, the king was right in his actions because a king ought to be surrounded by wise, sincere and industrious individuals. Nagendra possessed all those qualities. Moreover it was the wisdom of Nagendra that had saved the king’s life.
II. Opposites:
- clever × stupid, foolish,
- cheap × costly, expensive,
- furious × calm, cheerful,
- brilliant × dull, mediocre, unimpressive.
- wisdom × folly.
- never × always.
- delighted × disappointed, displeased
- persuade × deter.
- guilty × innocent.
III. Antonyms using prefixes:
- reasonable × unreasonable
- patient × impatient
- wise × unwise
- do × undo
- pleased × displeased
- suspecting × unsuspecting
- honour × dishonour
IV. Change the voice of the following statements:
Question 1.
The queen and the minister bribed the doctor.
Answer:
The doctor was bribed by the queen and the minister.
Question 2.
The passers-by supported Nagendra.
Answer:
Nagendra was supported by the passers by.
Question 3.
The king paid him a hundred thousand rupees.
Answer:
A hundred thousand rupees was paid to him by the king.
Question 4.
Nagendra returned the nickel.
Answer:
The nickel was retuned by Nagendra.
V. Into indirect speech:
Question 1.
“Behave as if you understand nothing of what they say,” advised Nagendra to Babu.
Answer:
Nagendra advised Babu to behave as if he understood nothing of what they said.
Question 2.
Nagendra said, “I have plenty to sell especially to a king.”
Answer:
Nagendra said that he had plenty to sell especially to a king.
VI. Rewrite as directed.
Question 1.
He — — (go) into town and — (hire) the smallest and the cheapest place.
Fill in with the correct tense forms of the words given in the bracket.
Answer:
1 – went, hired
Question 2.
Nagendra was clever. He was intelli gent.
(combine the sentences using not only – but also)
Ans.
Nagendra was not only clever but also intelligent.
Question 3.
He was a stupid boy. (Into other . degrees of comparision)
Ans.
He was more stupid than any other boy – comparative degree.
He was the most stupid of all the boys – superlative degree.
Question 4.
The boy took out a piece of paper and wrote on it.
(Rewrite the sentence using the ‘ing’ form of the word underlined)
Answer:
Taking out a piece of paper, the boy wrote on it.
VII. Choose the correct answer from the options provided and answer the following questions:
Question 1.
Nagendra set up a shop in the market place.
(a) To sell vegetables
(b) To make announcements about the sale.
(c) For self employment as he had no job.
(d) To cheat people.
Answer:
(c) For self employment as he had no job.
Question 2.
Babu asked Nagendra for a kilogram of wisdom because,
(a) He wanted to cook them.
(b) He was stupid and did not know what wisdom was.
(c) He wanted to sell them for a higher price.
(d) None of the above.
Answer:
(b) He was stupid and did not know what wisdom was.
Question 3.
After the quarrel, the maids remembered other errands and went their ways. The meaning of the underlined word is
(a) A short journey to get something for somebody.
(b) Quarrel
(c) Demand
(d) Guilt
Answer:
(a) A short journey to get something for somebody.
Question 4.
The king drove Babu out of the court room because
(a) Babu tried to attack the king.
(b) The king acted as per the advice of Nagendra.
(c) The minister pleaded for mercy.
(d) The king lost his patience at the nonsense that Babu was uttering for the questions that were asked.
Answer:
(d) The king lost his patience at the nonsense that Babu was uttering for the questions that were asked.
Question 5.
The king got Nagendra’s advice engraved on his Cups and plates because,
(a) He wanted to express his gratitude to Nagendra.
(b) He could identify them easily if they were stolen.
(c) The king was delighted with the advice that he made it his motto and got them engraved on his cups and plates.
(d) Nagendra requested the king to do so.
Answer:
(c) The king was delighted with the advice that he made it his motto and got them engraved on his cups and plates.
The Boy Who Sold Wisdom Summary in English
It is an amusing and an interesting story of a clever unemployed boy who desired to sell wisdom for a living. The wisdom that he sold to the king elevated him to the position of the minister.
Nagendra was a clever orphan who had learnt many things by observing his father. But now he was an unemployed young boy. One day he was struck with a brilliant idea. He opened a shop in the town, hiring the smallest and the cheapest place he could find. He spent a nickel on paper, ink and a pen. , He fixed a placard on his shop which read ‘Wisdom for sale’. He then called out aloud that wisdom was for sale at his shop and at a reasonable price.
People who came to buy other things laughed at him because they could find nothing in his shop but could only see him and hear his words as he shouted out that wisdom was for sale. Nobody bought anything from him as they could find nothing to buy. Nagendra however, did not lose his patience.
One day, Babu, the son of Gupta, a rich man passed by Nagendra’s shop. He was a stupid boy who could not comprehend what was being sold. He thought that it was a vegetable or something that he could hold in his hand. Therefore he asked Nagendra the cost of a kilogram of wisdom. Nagendra informed him that wisdom was not sold in kilograms but by quality.
Therefore Babu gave Nagendra a nickel and asked him to give him wisdom worth a nickel. On a piece of paper Nagendra wrote that it was unwise to stand and watch when two people were fighting. Babu was asked to place the piece of paper in his turban lest he lose it.
At home Babu informed his father about his purchase. The father was furious with his son. He called his son a fool for spending a nickel for the ‘nonsense’ that was scribbled on the paper; which according to the father was a fact known to one and all. The angry father stormed into Nagendra’s shop and asked him to return the nickel or face the consequences, for he intended to call the police. This was because Babu’s father felt that Nagendra had cheated his son.
Nagendra asked the rich man to return the wisdom. When the rich man threw the scrap of paper at Nagendra, he said that what Gupta had returned was only the paper and not the wisdom. The passers-by also agreed with Nagendra. Therefore the rich man agreed to sign a document as requested by Nagendra stating that his advice would never be used by Babu. Nagendra also insisted that Babu should stand and watch while people fought. The rich man signed the document and took back the nickel.
A few days later, Babu saw two maids of the two queens fighting in the market place over a pumpkin. As both the queens were bitter enemies, so were their maids. They lost no opportunity to exhibit their hatred, wherever possible. Their argument went to such an extent that they started pulling each other’s hair and giving each other blows. Babu who was standing close by was asked by both the maids to be their witness for all the blows and violence that they had indulged on each other. The maids then remembering other errands, went their ways.
The maids reported the incident to their respective queens, with additional colourful details. The furious queens asked the king to sort out the matter., The maids then sent word for Babu to be their witness. They threatened to have his head chopped off he failed to support them. Babu was disturbed and so was his father when he heard the news. Unable to find a solution to the problem themselves, they both decided to meet Nagendra.
Nagendra offered them a solution for a fee of five hundred rupees. The advice he gave them was that Babu had to pretend to be insane in the court of the king. During the court proceedings Babu faked insanity. He gave either no answer to the questions that were asked or he uttered some nonsensical syllable, till the king lost his temper. The enraged king drove him out of the court. The delighted Babu now informed everyone about the success of his ruse. The greatness of Nagendra’s wisdom became a buzz word in the market place.
Babu’s father approached Nagendra for the second time. This was because Babu who had escaped punishment by acting insane, had now to pretend to be insane always. For, if the king learnt that he had been tricked, the punishment would be worse. Nagendra now advised Babu and his father to reveal the truth to the king when the king was in a good mood.
This advice was given for a fee of another five hundred rupees. Nagendra assured them that the king would find the whole incident amusing and would forgive them. As predicted by Nagendra, the king who was in a happy mood not only had a hearty laugh when he heard them but also forgave them.
The king who by now had heard about Nagendra invited him to the palace. He wanted to find out if Nagendra had anymore advice to sell. Nagendra explained that he had plenty to sell especially for a king. He also stated that the fees would be a lakh; one hundred thousand rupees.
The king paid the requested sum and received the wisdom. It was to ‘Think deeply before doing anything’. The king was so impressed with the advice that he got it engraved on his cups, plates, and even got them embroidered on his pillows.
It so happened, that many months later the king fell sick. The minister and one of his queens who wanted to get rid of him bribed the doctor to poison the king’s medicine. When the king was about to consume the medicine from the golden cup, he read the words engraved on it. The king who was unaware of the poison in his cup, lowered the cup, looked into the cup pondering over the words engraved on it.
The guilty doctor who was watching the king, assumed that the king had guessed that the medicine was poisoned. He fell at the king’s feet, confessed everything and pleaded for mercy. The king sent for the queen and the minister. He asked them to drink the poison. They too fell at the feet of the king and asked for mercy. The king ordered them to be hanged and banished he doctor from his kingdom. Nagendra was made the minister and honoured with wealth.
The Boy Who Sold Wisdom Lesson Word in English
- nickel = a coin.
- orphan = a child whose parents are dead.
- scoundrel = a person who shows no moral principles.
- engraved = to cut or to carve words, design etc. on a hard surface.
- confess. = to admit, often formally, that one has committed a crime.