NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Poem Chapter 9 The Snake Trying

NCERT Textbook Questions

Thinking about the poem
(Page 125)

I.
Question 1.
What is the snake trying to escape from?
Answer:
The snake is trying to escape from the pursuing stick. Human beings try their level best to kill the snake. They take it for granted that the snake is poisonous and harmful.

Question 2.
Is it a harmful snake? What is its colour?
Answer:
No, it is not harmful. It is a green snake.

Question 3.
The poet finds the snake beautiful. Find the words he uses to convey its beauty.
Answer:
The poet uses the following words: beautiful and graceful, glides, small and green.

Question 4.
What does the poet wish for the snake?
Answer:
The poet wishes that the snake should be allowed to go. It should not be killed by the man.

Question 5.
Where was the snake before anyone saw it and chased it away? Where does the snake disappear?
Answer:
The snake was away from its secure area. It was basking in the sun along the sand. Finally, it disappears in the reeds.

II.
Question 1.
Find out as much as you can about different kinds of snakes (from books in the library, or from the Internet). Are they all poisonous? Find out the names of some poisonous snakes.
Answer:
Self-attempt.

Question 2.
Look for information on how to find out whether a snake is harmful.
Answer:
Self-attempt.

Question 3.
As you know, from the previous lesson you have just read, there are people in our country who have traditional knowledge about snakes, who even catch poisonous snakes with practically bare hands. Can you find out something more about them?
Answer:
Self-attempt.

Additional questions

Short answer type questions

Question 1.
How does the snake protect itself? What kind of body does it have?
Answer:
The snake has a natural instinct of survival. He can smell and see dangers and escape from them safely. The snake moves with sudden curvings gliding through the water to protect itself from the attack. He has a thin long body.

Question 2.
How does the poet describe its shapes?
Answer:
Even a dangerous and venomous creature like a snake has its fascinating appeal and beauty. The poet says that the snake makes beautiful and graceful shapes. It is mesmerized to see the zig-zag walk of the snake.

Question 3.
What does the poet appeal?
Answer:
Every creature demands our sympathy and protection. The snake is small and green and is harmless even to the children. The poet is a very kind and generous man. He is sympathetic to the snake. So it appeals to let it go safely to his place.

Question 4.
Where does the snake vanish?
Answer:
The snake does possess the instinct of survival. With sudden curvings of its body, he can escape from the stick aimed at him. The snake vanishes in the ripples among the green thin reeds.

Question 5.
Describe the natural beauty of the snake. It the poet fascinated by it?
Answer:
It is a small snake. It is green in colour. Curvings of its long body have their own appeal. His shapes are graceful and beautiful. So are its movements. The harmless, graceful and beautiful snake attracts the admiration and sympathy of the poet.

Question 6.
How does the snake escape and survive the pursuing stick?
Answer:
A stick is aimed at the snake. The snake knows well that it can harm it. It has a sharp sense of smelling the coming danger. He also knows how to escape it. He glides away through the water away from the stroke. Finally, it vanishes in the green slim reeds.

Long answer type question

Question 1.
Why does the man want to kill the snake? How does the snake protect itself?
Answer:
The man thinks that the snake is poisonous and hence it is better to kill it. He chases the snake with a stick. The snake is trying to escape at a great pace so that the man cannot reach and kill it. The movement of the snake is very graceful and elegant. The snake does not stick to one straight path but wends its way in and out of the path. At last, the snake floats over the water and hides itself into the green reeds. The snake has an instinct for its survival. It can smell and recognise the danger. It knows how to escape from it and reach to a safe place. It escapes the pursuing stick and its strike and finally vanishes into the green reeds.

Question 2.
Why is the poet fascinated by the snake? Why does he want to let it go unhurt into the reeds?
Answer:
Even a snake can be graceful and beautiful. At least to the poet, the snake is a living being with grace and beauty. The snake described in the poem is small and green in colour. The sudden curvings of its thin body charm the poem. So does its graceful movement. When it glides through the water it looks an object of grace and beauty. He develops a liking and sympathy for this strange creative of nature. He appeals not to attack such a graceful creature. The small green snake is not poisonous. It is harmless even to children. Such a beautiful and harmless snake should not be an object of our anger. On the other hand, it deserves appreciation and our sympathy.

Value based questions

Question 1.
Do you agree that a snake does not want to bite a man, it bites a man only when it feels that he is going to kill it?
Answer:
I agree with this statement that a snake does not want to bite man, unless it feels that a man is going to kill it. But people are of the opinion that all snakes are poisonous and it is their nature to bite a man. So, they want to kill it.