DAV Class 7 English Literature Book Solutions Chapter 6 Stone Soup in Bohemia

Exploring different literary analyses in DAV Class 7 English Literature Book Solutions Chapter 6 Stone Soup in Bohemia enhances critical thinking.

DAV Class 7 English Literature Chapter 6 Question Answer – Stone Soup in Bohemia

Pre-Reading Task

Question 1.
Have you ever befooled anyone? Narrate the event in the class.
Answer:Once I befooled my friend who lives in Mumbai. I informed him that I am arriving at his place on coming Sunday. He reached at station on time and searched me at railway platform. He became disheartened and returned home. While I arrived Mumbai by flight and reached at his place before he came back from the station. As he entered the drawing room I was already sitting over there. I just wanted to give him a surprise.

Question 2.
If you were to choose between intelligence and money, what would you opt for? Give reasons for your choice.
Answer:
Intelligence and money are equally important. It is true that no one can meet both ends of life without money. But without intelligence; money would not stay With a person any more. An intelligent person can face the crisis in his life with wit and intellect. So I think intelligence is more important than money.

I. Understanding the Story
A. Write T for true and F for false statements:

Question 1.
The villagers gave the soldier a very warm welcome.
Answer:
False

Question 2.
The stones had no power of making a soup.
Answer:
True

Question 3.
The villagers added nothing to the soup.
Answer:
False

Question 4.
The villagers found the soup extremely delicious.
Answer:
True

Question 5.
A Chinese had taught the soldier how to make stone soup.
Answer:
False

B. Answer the following questions in about 30 words:

Question 1.
How did the soldier react to the unwelcoming attitude of the villagers?
Answer:
By the unwelcoming attitude of the villagers the soldier did not become disheartened but was extremely cheerful. He made a mockery of treating the assembled people in polite manner.

Question 2.
What according to the soldier was the speciality of the stones?
Answer:
According to the soldier, the stones had the power to brew the most delicious soup from China.

Question 3.
Why did the villagers initially hesitate to add anything to the soup?
Answer:
The villagers initially hesitated to add anything to the soup because nobody wanted to take a first move or admit his curiosity and to make a fool of himself.

Question 4.
What comments did the various villagers make on the quality of the soup?
Answer:
The Burgomaster commented, ‘Exquisite’. The portly merchant said, ‘Magnificent’. ‘Real tasty, I must say’, observed the woman with the wart on the nose. ‘On the top of the Great Wall, did you say?’ asked one youth with his mouth full. Alexander the Great, do you mean? queried another. Stone soup! said the last of them. What a miracle, what a marvellous gift from China!’.

II. HOTS

What are the various methods that the soldier adopted to be friendly with the villagers?
Answer:
The soldier could sense the hostility among the villagers. They were not ready to give him a single bean or a pea pod. So, he tried to appear cheerful. He adopted a friendly attitude by not paying attention to what the villagers were saying. He said that the soldiers could be nuisance sometimes. Then ignoring all their comments, he said he was going to prepare stone soup. This made the villagers curious. He also said that he was going to give all of them soup to taste.

III. Life Skills

A. ‘Presence of mind is a more valuable asset than wealth or strength.’ Elaborate the idea in a short paragraph.
Answer:
Presence of mind is a quality which one imbibes after years of trials and perseverance. It enables a man to remain unruffled under all circumstances. The true mettle of a person is tested in moments of grave crisis only. What might have been a major disaster is quite often a hairbreadth escape all because somebody had this rare quality. Alexander invaded India and defeated Porus. When the vanquished king was brought before Alexander, the latter asked, “What treatment do you expect?” “As one king gives to another!” Came the quick reply. Alexander returned the conquered territory. This is called presence of mind.

B. ‘And the soldier chuckled to himself.’ Why did the soldier do so? Discuss with your partner.
Answer:
The soldier had fooled the villagers. The same people who had refused to give him a bean or a tomato, brought everything one by one after the water with stones in it started boiling. They had put not only beans but tomatoes, turnip, potato and what not. And the soldier had very quietly taken out the stones and thrown them away.

IV. Values

Tough times don’t last but tough people do.’ How could the soldier ensure that he was not disheartened at all?
Answer:
The soldier was very jovial and had a great presence of mind. Even when the villagers refused to give him food, he didn’t lose hope at all. Very cleverly, he outwitted them and made them bring all kinds of vegetables required to make a soup.

V. Writing Skills

You are a reporter who visits the village in Bohemia and listens to the fame of the stone soup. Write a news report to be published in your newspaper showing how a soldier used his wits to satisfy his hunger.
Answer:

Prudence of a Soldier by XYZ

15th November, 20XX
A soldier in Bohemia impressed the villagers by preparing famous stone soup from China for them. The villagers were unfriendly to the soldiers. They were not ready to feed him. But, the hungry soldier did not show despondency towards them. He said to the villagers that he would spend the night in their village and leave early in the morning. Only he wished to prepare the stone soup from China. He took out two stones from his pocket and put them in his cauldron. He added water and put it for boiling. This made the villagers baffled. By his wit he made them ready to add a handful of peas, a pair of tomatoes, cauliflower and offered to prepare extra soup for them also. The soup was ready. They all drank the soup in their mugs. They appreciated the soup and called it ‘exquisite’, ‘magnificent’, “tasty’ and ‘great stone soup’. A marvellous gift for them, from China.

DAV Class 7 English Literature Chapter 6 Solutions – Stone Soup in Bohemia

I. Answer the following questions:

Question 1.
What was the soldier doing in the countryside?
Answer:
In Europe, in the old days, soldiers returning from war used to roam around in the countryside. They depended partly upon the kindness of the populace and partly on their sharp wits.

Question 2.
What sort of people lived in that particular village?
Answer:
The people of that particular village were very hostile. They said that they had their own mouths to feed – so had nothings for the solider.

Question 3.
Did the villagers believe the soldier when he started making stone soup?
Answer:
No, they had stupefied look on their faces. They didn’t believe him at all. They thought that perhaps it was a kind of joke soldier was playing on them.

Question 4.
What brought a change in the villager’s attitude?
Answer:
The soldier was very jovial. He praised the villagers by calling them benevolent and hospitable. He narrated anecdotes which made all the villagers spellbound. They all sat around him and started enjoying his stories. Furthermore they were curious to taste the stone soup.

Question 5.
What is more important—intelligence or money?
Answer:
Intelligence is more important in the life of mankind. This is the ability to understand other’s actions, feelings and motivations. This cannot be measured by a standard intelligence test, yet it may be the most valuable characteristic for success in life.

Question 6.
How is wit important in the life of mankind? Give answer on the basis of the lesson ‘Stone Soup in Bohemia’.
Answer:
Wit has much importance in the life of mankind. Without wit, rational decision can’t be taken. A witty person takes any sort of decision in no time. By his wit, a soldier took every villager to his side. Initially, they did not like the soldier. But the soldier prepared stone soup and received appreciation from all corners.

II. Word Power

The meanings of a few words from the story are given below. Read the meanings and guess the words. Then solve the crossword puzzle given on the next page.
Across →
2. without showing any interest
3. to shout in a deep, loud voice
4. health-giving
7. unfriendly feeling
8. sweet-smelling rare happening.

Down ↓
1. an eager desire to know something
3. kind and helpful
5. bad-tempered
6. something difficult to believe, some
Answer:

Stone Soup in Bohemia Summary in English

In Europe, in the old days, soldiers returning from war depended upon countryside people for their kindness as well as for their sharp wits.

Three or four centuries ago, a Bohemian soldier carrying his small kit; a leather pack, a blanket and a cauldron on his back reached a village and settled him down on the pavement. A sly old man, who called himself the Burgomaster of the village screamed at the top of his voice that they had many hungry mouths so they would give him nothing. The village women also agreed with him. They thought that he would become sad on hearing it but he was looking very pleasant. He told that he would only pass a night there and leave in the morning. He would just clean his cauldron, and prepare for himself a bowl of stone soup.

The villagers were astonished to see him preparing stone soup by popping two large stones into the cauldron and filling water in it. They thought whether he was a magician. He told them that he had saved a saint’s life. So he expressed his gratitude giving me stone soup from China. He said it was the same soup which Alexander had drank the night before he attacked the pyramids. He said that he could make extra soup for them. The Burgomaster asked surprisingly if he didn’t need anything more to prepare the soup. The soldier said if a pinch of garlic or cauliflower or any green stuff is added to it the soup will be more tasty. At first the peasants were impulsive but soon they thought he needed only a handful of peas, a pair of tomatoes etc.

People added peas, onion, cabbage into the soup till it became thick and fragrant. All the villagers sat around him and they brought their soup bowls and relished the soup and praised the great stone soup while the soldier laughed to himself heartily and took his soup.

Stone Soup in Bohemia Summary in Hindi

पुराने समय में, यूरोप में, युद्ध से वापस लौटने वाले सैनिक ग्रामीणों की दयालुता और बुद्धिमता पर निर्भर करते थे।

तीन या चार सदियों पहले, एक बोहिमन सैनिक अपना सामान जैसे – एक कम्बल, चमड़े का बैग और एक कढ़ाई पीठ पर लादे हुए एक गाँव में पहुँचा और फुटपाथ पर सामान रखकर बैठ गया। एक बूढ़ा बेवकूफ आदमी जो स्वयं को गाँव का मुखिया बता रहा था चीख-चीखकर इजहार करने लगा कि हमारे यहाँ बहुत भूखे लोग हैं इसलिए वे उसे कुछ भी खाने को नहीं देंगें। गाँव की औरतों ने भी उनका समर्थन किया। उन्होनें सोचा कि उनकी बातें सुनकर वह मायूस हो जायेगा और चला जायेगा परन्तु वह तो प्रसन्न दिख रहा था। उसने बताया कि वह केवल रात यहाँ पर गुजारेगा और सुबह होते ही वहाँ से चला जायेगा । वह सिर्फ अपनी कढ़ाई साफ करके अपने लिए पत्थर का सूप तैयार करेगा ।

गाँव वाले हैरानी से उसे पत्थर का सूप बनाते देखने लगे । उसने दो बड़े पत्थर अपनी जेब से निकालकर कढ़ाई में डाल दिए और उसमें पानी डाल दिया। सभी सोचने लगे कहीं वह जादूगर तो नहीं। उसने उन्हें बताया कि उसने एक साधु की जान बचाई थी। इसलिए साधु ने आभार व्यक्त करते हुए उसे यह प्रदान किया था। उसने कहा कि यह वही सूप है जो एलेक्जेंडर ने पिरामिड पर हमला करने के पूर्व रात्रि को लिया था। उसने कहा कि वह उन लोगों के लिए अतिरिक्त सूप बना सकता था। मुखिया ने कहा कि उसको सूप बनाने के लिए किसी अन्य वस्तु की आवश्यकता तो नहीं है। सैनिक ने कहा कि एक चुटकी लहसून, फूलगोभी और कोई हरी सब्जी सूप में डालकर उसे अधिक खुशबूदार और स्वादिष्ट बनाया जा सकता है। पहले तो किसान आवेगशील थे परन्तु फिर उन्होंने सोचा केवल एक मुट्ठी मटर, दो टमाटर देकर वे भी कुछ नयी चीज का स्वाद ले सकेंगें।

लोगों ने सूप में मटर, प्याज, गोभी आदि डाल दी जिससे वह लजीज दिखने लगा। सारे गाँव वाले अपने प्याले लेकर उसके चारों और बैठ गये और बातें करते हुए सूप का आनन्द लेकर उसे सराहने लगे। सैनिक मन ही मन मुस्कराकर सूप पीने लगा।

• Countryside – rural area – गांव, देहात;
• Populace – the common people – साधारण लोग;
• Wit – the ability to use words in a clever and amusing way – वाक्चातुर्य;
• Sharp – exact – बिल्कुल ठीक;
• Drab – dull – फीका;
• Burgomaster – chief magistrate – मुखिया;
• Hostility – very strong feelings against somebody – शत्रुता;
• Cauldron – A large pot used for boiling – कढ़ाई;
• Meagre – scanty – थोड़ा;
• Resentment – feeling of anger – अपमानजनक;
• Bellow – shout – चिल्लाना;
• Echo – repetition of sound by refraction – प्रतिध्वनि;
• Murmur – to utter in low voice – बुदबुदाना;
• Desultory – irregular – अनियमित;
• Baffled – confused – भ्रमित;
• Stormed – forced an entry into – जबरदस्ती घुसना;
• Impulse – a strong desire to do something – आवेग;
• Benevolent – kind – दयालु;
• Anecdotes – short stories based on personal experience – आपबीती कहानी;
• Wafting – moving gently through air – महक;
• Miracle – marvel – चमत्कार;
• Chuckle – laugh softly – मन में मुस्कुराना;
• Despondent – not hopeful – निराशा ।