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Practice each question, then open the answer or worked solution.
What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words and phrases in the story that tell you this.
Valli’s deepest desire was to take a ride on the bus that she saw every day from her house. The words and phrases in the story that depicts her desire are ‘an overwhelming desire’, ‘source of unending joy’, ‘stare wistfully’, and ‘kindle in her longings, dreams and hopes’.
How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
Valli had been carefully listening for many days to the conversations between her neighbours and the people who regularly used the bus and asked a few discreet questions. She learnt from them that the town was six miles away from her village and the bus charged thirty paise as fare for the onward journey, and it took forty-five minutes to complete a one-way bus trip. She also made up her mind to stay on the bus and return on the same bus, which would cost her sixty paise to and fro. She was determined not to get down from the bus to roam around the town as she didn’t have enough money. Hence, she saved sixty paise meticulously and resisted all kinds of urges and temptations to buy peppermints, toys, etc. and even a ride on the merry-go-round at the village’s annual fair. It was Valli’s secret adventurous bus trip that she had planned without her parents’ knowledge.
What kind of a person is Valli? To answer this question, pick out the following sentences from the text and fill in the blanks. The words you fill in are the clues to your answer.
(i) “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” And a tiny hand was raised ______________________________.
(ii) “Yes, I __________________ go to town,” said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) “There’s nobody here ______________________,” she said haughtily. “I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone else.”
(iv) “Never mind,” she said, “I can ___________________. You don’t have to help me. ”I’m not a child, I tell you,” she said, ___________________________________.
(v) “You needn’t bother about me. I ___________________________,” Valli said, turning her face toward the window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, “Well, sir, I hope _________________________.”
Valli was a confident eight-year-old girl who believed that her age was not a limiting factor for her to travel alone in the bus to the town. She considered herself to be a grown up person and also acted like one.
(i) “Stop the bus! Stop the bus!” And a tiny hand was raised commandingly.
(ii) “Yes, I simply have to go to town,” said Valli, still standing outside the bus.
(iii) “There’s nobody here who’s a child,” she said haughtily. “I’ve paid my thirty paise like everyone else.”
(iv) “Never mind,” she said, “I can get on by myself. You don’t have to help me. ”I’m not a child, I tell you,” she said irritably.
(v) “You needn’t bother about me. I can take care of myself,” Valli said, turning her face toward the window and staring out.
(vi) Then she turned to the conductor and said, “Well, sir, I hope to see you again.”
Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
The conductor called Valli ‘madam’ as she behaved like a grown-up woman and responded irritably to being referred to as a child. She was an eight-year-old girl and considered herself old enough to travel alone on the bus. Besides, she also refused his help when he extended his hand to help her get on the bus, she replied commandingly that she could manage to get on the bus on her own.
Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus.
Valli thoroughly enjoyed her bus ride to the town. The following lines from the text are proof that exhibits her excitement:
Why does Valli refuse to look out of the window on her way back?
Valli refused to look out of the window on her way back to her village because she was upset seeing the dead body of the cow that was running towards the bus while she was going to town. The poor animal was hit by some fast-moving vehicle on the road. She was overcome with sadness and extremely frightened to look outside the bus window as the memory of the cow was haunting her.
What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.”
When Valli’s mother casually mentioned that there are certain things that happen around them without their knowledge, Valli instantly agreed with her mother’s words and said, “I was just agreeing with what you said about things happening without our knowledge.” She was happy about her adventurous bus trip to the town, which she had taken without the knowledge of her parents.
The author describes the things that Valli sees from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence from the text for this statement?
Yes, the author had described various things from an eight-year-old’s point of view. Some of these include – ‘she was fascinated by the bus’ and ‘watching the bus fill with a new set of people each time was a source of unending joy for her’. The author described the colour and look of the new bus with ‘its outside painted a gleaming white with some green stripes along the sides. Inside, the overhead bars shone like silver.’ Through this description, the author wanted to express how a child would be attracted towards the colour of the bus. ‘The seats were soft and luxurious’. This description implies that the author wanted to show the excitement of a child traveling in the luxury of a bus for the first time. ‘The blue sky’ and ‘acres and acres of green field’, show the zeal and enthusiasm of a child. Further, when Valli sees the cow running in front of the bus, this fascinated her too, whereas the sight of a dead cow brings tears to her eyes. The memory of the cow haunted her, and she refused to look outside the window on her return journey. These were some of the lines which beautifully described the typical reactions and behaviour of an eight-year-old child in an ideal manner.