Tamilnadu State Board Class 10 English Solutions Supplementary Chapter 6 The little hero Holland
The little hero Holland Textual Questions
A. Based on the understanding of the story, complete the Graphic Organiser suitably.
B. Based on the understanding of the story answer the following questions in one or two sentences:
Question 1.
What are the little children of Holland, aware of?
Answer:
The little children of Holland are aware the dikes must be watched every moment and that even a small hole can be very dangerous. It would bring the sea into Holland.
Question 2.
What was the work assigned to Peter’s father?
Answer:
The work assigned to Peter’s father was tending the sluice. Opening and closing the gates when ships entered the sea from Holland.
Question 3.
Why did Peter’s mother call him?
Answer:
Peter’s mother called him to go and give cakes to his friend who was blind.
Question 4.
How did Peter spend his time with his blind friend?
Answer:
Peter stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him about his walk along the dike and about the sun and the flowers and the ships far out at sea.
Question 5.
Why did the father always say ‘angry waters’?
Answer:
The father always said angry waters because the sea water lashed on the dikes always.
Question 6.
What did Peter see when he stopped near the dikes?
Answer:
When Peter stopped near the dikes he noticed that there was a sound of trickling water and saw a small hole in the dike, through which a tiny stream was flowing.
Question 7.
What were the thoughts of the mother when Peter didn’t return home?
Answer:
Peter’s mother thought that he was spending that night with his friend and that she would scold him next morning for staying away from home without permission.
Question 8.
How did Peter spend his night at the dikes?
Answer:
Holding his finger in the hole on the dike Peter crouched on a stone, bending his head. He closed his eyes but did not sleep. He rubbed his hand and thought he would manage to stay throughout the night, though no one came to his rescue until morning.
Question 9.
Who found Peter in the dikes and what did he do?
Answer:
A man who went for his work heard Peter moaning and found him clinging to the side of the great wall.
Question 10.
How did the villagers mend the hole?
Answer:
The villagers brought shovels and mended the hole after hearing the alarm.
C. Based on your understanding of the story answer the following question in about 100-150 words.
Question 1.
Narrate in your own words the circumstances that led Peter to be a brave little hero.
Answer:
One day Peter’s mother asked him to give cakes to his blind friend. He crossed the dikes that 1 guarded Holland from the great sea. After he spent some time with his friend, he decided to leave early to his house. On his way, he noticed that he heard a noise of a stream through a hole in the dike. He felt the danger behind the hole. He wanted to save Holland. So he used his finger to close the hole and the water stopped leaking.
He stayed outside in the cold night without sleeping. His mother thought he was spending his night with his friend and would scold him, when he returned in the morning. But Peter suffered a lot in the biting cold weather. He shouted for help, no one heard. Next morning a passer-by, who was going to work, heard his groan and found Peter clinging to the side of the dike. He immediately tried to save him and spread the alarm in the village about the hole in the dike. The villagers came running with shovels and mended the dike. Thus Peter became a great hero who saved Holland from the great sea.
Paragraph Question & Answer – Additional
Question 1.
How did Peter spend his time with his blind friend? What did he see on his way home?
Answer:
When his mother asked him to give cakes to his blind friend, Peter was glad. He started off with a light heart. He stayed with the poor blind man for a while to tell him about his walk along the dike, about the sun, flowers and the ships far out at sea. Then he remembered his mother’s wish that he should return before dark. So he bid goodbye to his friend and set out for home. As he walked beside the canal, he noticed how the rains had swollen the waters and how they beat against the side of the dike. He thought of his father’s gates which were so strong. As the sun was setting, he heard a noise of trickling water. He saw a leak in the dike.
D. Identify the character / Speaker:
1. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend,the blind man.”
Answer:
Peter’s mother
2. “I am glad there are so strong.”
Answer:
Peter
3. “Holland shall not be drowned while I am here.”
Answer:
Peter
4. “What’s the matter?” he called. “Are you hurt?”
Answer:
A man going to work /The passer by
5. “Tell them to come quickly.”
Answer:
Peter
Character or Speaker – Additional
1. “Come, peter”
Answer:
Peter’s mother
2. “If you go quickly, and do not stop to play, you will be home again before dark.”
Answer:
Peter’s mother
3. “If they gave way what would become of us?”
Answer:
Peter
4. “Father always calls them the “angry waters.”
Answer:
Peter
5. “Mother will be watching for me.”
Answer:
Peter
6. “The angry waters must stay back now.”
Answer:
Peter
7. “Come here; come here.”
Answer:
Peter
8. “Will no one come? Mother! Mother!”
Answer:
Peter
9. His head was bent, and his eyes were closed.
Answer:
Peter
10. He saw a child clinging to the side of the great wall.
Answer:
A man going to work
The little hero Holland Additional Questions
Choose the correct answer.
1. Only great walls called dikes keep the ………………………. from rushing in and flooding the land.
(a) Dead Sea
(b) North Sea
(c) Salt Sea
(d) Great Sea
Answer:
(b) North Sea
2. Even the little children know the dikes must be watched ………………………………… .
(a) every day
(b) every week
(c) every moment
(d) every month
Answer:
(c) every moment
3. The little boy was …………………….. to go on such an errand.
(a) frustrated
(b) irritated
(c) glad
(d) sad
Answer:
(c) glad
4. He stayed with the poor …………………. a little while to tell him about his walk along the dike.
(a) father
(b) blind man
(c) farmer
(d) child
Answer:
(b) blind man
5. These pretty fields would be ……………………. .
(a) covered with water
(b) flourished by the water
(c) looking elegant
(d) tourist attraction
Answer:
(a) covered with water
6. Peter understood the danger………………………… .
(a) after some time
(b) the next day
(c) slowly
(d) at once
Answer:
(d) at once
7. She would ………………………… him in the morning for staying away from home.
(a) beat
(b) praise
(c) scold
(d) admit
Answer:
(c) sold
8. It grew still colder and his arm ached and began to grow ……………………………. .
(a) stiff and numb
(b) strong
(c) forceful
(d) powerful
Answer:
(a) stiff and numb
9. He stayed there all night …………………………….. .
(a) sleeping by the wall
(b) praying the almighty
(c) keeping the sea out
(d) singing songs
Answr:
(c) keeping the sea out
10. They have never forgotten, the brave little …………………………..
(a) hero of Ireland
(b) hero of Holland
(c) hero of Scotland
(d) hero of Poland
Answer:
(b) hero of Holland
II. Fill in the blanks:
1. Holland is a (i)………………. where much of the land lies below (ii) ……………. Only great walls called (iii) ……………… keep the North Sea from rushing in and (iv) ……………….. the land. For (v) …………………. the people of Holland have worked to keep the walls strong so that their country will be safe and dry.
(a) flooding
(b) centuries
(c) country
(d) dikes
(e)sea level
Answer:
(i) (c) country
(ii) (e) sea level
iii) (d) dikes
(iv) (a) flooding
(v) (b) centuries
2. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named (i) ……………… Peter s father was one of the men who (ii) …………… the gates in the dikes, called (iii) …………….. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships (iv) ……………….. out of Hollands (v) ……………….. into the great sea.
(a) could pass
(b) Peter
(c) canals
(d) sluices
(e) tended
Answer:
(i) (b) Peter
(ii) (e) tended
(iii) (d) sluices
(iv) (a) could pass
(v) (c) canals
3. As he (i) ………………. the canal, he (ii) ……………. how the rains (iii) ……………….. the waters, and how they (iv) ……………….. the side of the dike, and he thought of his (v) …………………… .
(a) father’s gates
(b) had swollen
(c) beat against
(d) walked beside
(e) noticed
Answer:
(i) (d) walked beside
(ii) (e) noticed
(iii) (b) had swollen
(iv) (c) beat against
(v) (a) father’s gates
4. Suddenly he noticed that the sun (i) ……………………….. , and that it (ii) ……………………. dark. “Mother (iii) …………………. . for me,” (iv) …………….., and he began (v) …………………… home.
(a) he thought
(b) to run toward
(c) was setting
(d) was growing
(e) will be watching
Answer:
(i) (c) was setting
(ii) (d) was growing
(iii) (e) will be watching
(iv) (a) he thought (v)
(b) to run toward
III. Match the following
(a)
Answer:
1 – (d)
2 – (a)
3 – (e)
4 – (b)
5 – (c)
(b)
Answer:
1 – (e)
2 – (d)
3 – (b)
4 – (a)
5 – (c)
IV. Read the passage:
1. Holland is a country where much of the land lies below sea level. Only great walls called dikes keep the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land. For centuries the people of Holland have worked to keep the walls strong so that their country will be safe and dry. Even the little children know the dikes must be watched every moment, and that a hole no longer than your finger can be a very dangerous thing. Many years ago there lived in Holland a boy named Peter. Peter s father was one of the men who tended the gates in the dikes, called sluices. He opened and closed the sluices so that ships could pass out of Holland s canals into the great sea.
(a) Where does much of the land of Holland lie?
Answer:
Much of the land of Holland lies below the sea level.
(b) What are the great walls called?
Answer:
The great walls are called dikes.
(c) What prevents the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land?
Answer:
The dikes prevent the North Sea from rushing in and flooding the land.
(d) What was Peter’s father doing in Holland?
Answer:
Peter’s father was tending the gates in the dike
(e) Where do the ships pass?
Answer:
The ships pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea.
2. One afternoon in the early fall, when Peter was eight years old, his mother called him from his play. “Come, Peter,” she said. “I want you to go across the dike and take these cakes to your friend, the blind man. If you go quickly, and do not stop to play, you will be home again before dark.”
The little boy was glad to go on such an errand, and started off with a light heart. He stayed with the poor blind man a little while to tell him about his walk along the dike and about the sun and the flowers and the ships far out at sea. Then he remembered his mothers wish that he should return before dark and, bidding his friend goodbye, he set out for home.
(a) How old was Peter?
Answer:
Peter was eight years old.
(b) What did his mother ask him to do?
Answer:
His mother asked him to take some cakes to his blind friend.
(c) What did she advise him?
Answer:
She advised him to return home before dark.
(d) Was Peter glad to go on such errands?
Answer:
Yes, Peter was glad to go on such errands.
(e) How long did he stay with his blind friend?
Answer:
He stayed with him for a little while.
3. It grew still colder, and his arm ached, and began to grow stiff and numb. He shouted again. “Will no one come? Mother! Mother!” But his mother had looked anxiously along the dike road many times since sunset for her little boy, and now she had closed and locked the cottage door, thinking that Peter was spending the night with his blind friend, and that she would scold him in the morning for staying away from home without permission. Peter tried to whistle, but his teeth chattered with the cold. He thought of his brother and sister in their warm beds, and of his dear father and mother. “I must not ’ let them be drowned,” he thought. “I must stay here until someone comes, if I have to stay all night.”
(a) Why did Peter’s arm ache?
Answer:
Peter’s arm ached because he had thrust his finger into the hole of the dike for a long time.
(b) What did his mother do?
Answer:
She waited anxiously for her son’s arrival till sunset.
(c) What did she think finally about her son?
Answer:
She thought that Peter was spending the night with his blind friend. So she closed the cottage door.
(d) What did Peter try to do?
Answer:
Peter tried to whistle, but his teeth chattered with the cold.
(e) What did he think?
Answer:
He thought of his brother and sister in their warm beds. He also thought of his father and
V. Mind Map:
1.
Answer:
(i) a light heart
(ii) poor blind man
(iii) walk along the dike
(iv) mother’s wish
(v) goodbye
2.
Answers:
(i) ran through
(ii) flooded
(iii) he must do
(iv) he climbed down
(v) the tiny hole
3.
Answers:
(i) groan
(ii) over the edge
(iii) you hurt?
(iv) peter yelled
(v) was spread
The little hero Holland by Mary Mapes Dodge
Mary Mapes Dodge (1831 -1905) is an American author and editor, best known for her novel Hans Brinker. She was the recognized leader in juvenile literature for almost a third of the 19th century. In 1873, in the midst of an economic depression, Dodge was asked to become editor of the children’s magazine St. Nicholas. She conducted St. Nicholas for more than 30 years, and it became one of the most successful magazines for children, with a circulation of almost 70,000 copies. She was able to persuade many of the great writers to contribute to her children’s magazine Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Louis Stevenson, Tennyson, Longfellow, Rudyard Kipling, etc.
The little hero Holland Main Character
Peter – Eight year old boy
Peter’s father – Brave little hero Tended the gates in the Dikes
Peter’s mother – Advised Peter to come before dark waited anxiously for Peter
Peter’s friend – Blind man
Peter’s brother 8r sister – sleeping in warm bed
Man walking on the dike – Rescued Peter
Holland – lies below sea level
The little hero Holland Key Points
- This is a true story of a little boy with a brave heart.
- He saved his fellowmen with a brave act.
- Holland is a country, where much of the land lies below the sea level. It has a great wall, that keeps from being destroyed by the North Sea.
- When Peter was 8 years old, his mother asked him to give cakes to his blind friend.
- It was an early fall season. His mother advised him to return before it was dark.
- When Peter was returning, he noticed that the rains had swollen the water in the canal beating against the dike.
- Just then he heard a noise of trickling water. He saw a leak in the dike. There was a hole in it.
- Realizing the danger, he climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his finger into the tiny hole.
- The flowing of the water stopped. He stayed there all night, shouted for help and screamed. No one came.
- His arm ached and grew stiff. He shouted for his mother.
- Next day morning, a man heard a groan as he walked along the top of the dike. He saw Peter clinging to the side of the great wall.
- When he questioned, Peter told him that he was keeping the water back.
- The alarm was spread. People came running with shovels and the hole was soon mended.
- Peter was carried home to his parents. The whole town soon came to know that how the brave hero had saved their lives.
The little hero Holland Summary
This is a true story of a little boy with a brave heart. He saved his fellowmen with a brave act. Holland is a country, where much of the land lies below the sea level. It has a great wall, that keeps from being destroyed by the North Sea. Even the children of Holland know that the hole in the dike which is no longer than a finger can be very dangerous.
Many years ago in Holland there was a boy named Peter. His father tended the gates in the dikes. He opened and closed the sluices for the ships to pass out of Holland’s canals into the great sea. When Peter was 8 years old, his mother called him and told him to give cakes to his blind friend. It was an early fall season. His mother advised him to return before it was dark. Peter gave cakes to his blind friend and remembered to get back early. On his way back he noticed that the rains had swollen the water in the canal beating against the dike.
Just then he heard a noise of trickling water. He saw a leak in the dike. There was a hole in it. Realizing the danger, he climbed down the side of the dike and thrust his finger into the tiny hole. The flowing of the water stopped. He stayed there very long, shouted for help and screamed. No one came. His arm ached and grew stiff. He shouted for his mother. His mother searched for him and thought he was spending the night with his blind friend. Peter stayed there all night keeping the sea out from entering into the country. Next day morning, a man heard a groan as he walked along the top of the dike.
He saw Peter clinging to the side of the great wall. When he questioned, Peter told him that he was keeping the water back. The alarm was spread. People came running with shovels and the hole was soon mended. Peter was carried home to his parents. The whole town soon came to know that how the brave hero had saved their lives.
The little hero Holland GLOSSARY
chattered (v) – feeling cold and frightened that one can’t stop the upper teeth from against ones lower teeth.
crouching (v) – adopting a position where the knees are bent and the upper body is brought forward and down.
dikes (n) – an embankment for controlling or holding back the waters of the sea or a river.
groan (v) – make a deep inarticulate sound conveying pain.
numb (adj.)- deprived of the power of sensation.
shovels (n) – tool resembling a spade with a broad blade and typically upturned side, used for moving earth, coal, snow etc.
sluices (n) – a sliding gate or other device for controlling the flow of water, especially one in a lock gate.
trickling (v) – flowing in a small stream (a liquid)