NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English (Beehive) Chapter 3 The Little Girl

Ans : 1. Kezia was afraid of her father because she always looked at him as someone who scolded her and told her to do things properly and in a certain manner. 
2. Kezia's family consisted of her mother, father, and grandmother. 
3. (i) Before going to his office, Kezia's father usually went into her room to give her a casual kiss. 
(ii) After coming back from his office, he asked his mother in a loud voice to bring him tea, newspaper, and his slippers. 
(iii) On Sunday afternoons, Kezia found her father sleeping soundly while being stretched out on the sofa, with a handkerchief covering his face. 


4. On Sundays, Kezia's grandmother sent her to the drawing room to have a talk with her parents. The grandmother also encourages Kezia to make a gift for her father's birthday. 

Ans : 1. Kezia often tried too hard to please her father. While talking to him, she tried so hard to say the words properly that she stuttered a lot. She was so afraid of him that she never answered him properly and he ended up scolding her. Once, Kezia's grandmother told her that her father's birthday was nearing. She also suggested that Kezia should make a pin-cushion as a gift for her father's birthday. She started making the cushion and had stitched three sides when she wondered what she should fill it with. She wandered into her mother's bedroom to look for scraps and found many sheets of fine paper on the bed table. She gathered the sheets, tore them into tiny pieces, and stuffed the cushion. Unfortunately, the sheets she had torn were her father's speech for the Port Authority. Her father was extremely angry with her when he gets to know about it. Hence, Kezia's efforts to please her father resulted in displeasing him very much.
2. She decided that there were different sorts of fathers when she saw the Macdonalds, who lived next door. When she looked through a gap in the fence in the evening, she saw the Macdonalds playing 'tag' together. The father had the little baby on his shoulders, while his two little girls were hanging on to his coat pockets. They ran round and round the flowerbeds and were shaking with laughter. This was when she decided that there were different sorts of fathers. Unlike Mr. Macdonald, her father never played or laughed with her. He only scolded her and told her to do things in a proper manner. She was often too afraid to go near him. In this way, Mr. Macdonald was quite a contrast to Kezia's father.
3. When her grandmother and mother were in the hospital, she was left alone at home with the cook, Alice. At night when she was in her bed, she wondered what she would do in case she had a nightmare. Her grandmother tucked her in her own bed whenever Kezia had a nightmare. However, she had the same nightmare that night and cried out her grandmother's name. When she woke up, she saw her father beside her bed. He took her to his room, tidied up the bed and carefully tucked her up next to him. Half asleep, she crept close to him, snuggled her head under his arm, and held tightly to his shirt. Her father asked her to rub her feet against his legs so that she could make them warm. He was so tired that he slept before she did. It was then that she saw her father in a new light. She realized that there was no one to look after him. She understood that he had to work every day and was too tired to be like Mr. Macdonald. She felt bad that she had torn up his speech. She expressed her new feelings for her father by saying that he had a big heart. 

Ans : 1. (i) She was delighted by the news of her brother's wedding. 
(ii) I was thrilled to be invited to the party. 
(iii) She was overjoyed at the birth of her granddaughter. 
(iv) The coach was pleased with his performance. 
(v) She was very happy with her results. 


2. (i) Older 
(ii) Most important 
(iii) Excellent ideas 
(iv) Huge in popularity 
(v) Greatest 
(vi) Eats a lot (in quantity) 
(vii) A good and kind heart 

Ans : 1. (i) He says he will enjoy the ride. 
(ii) Father mentioned that he was going on a holiday. 
(iii) No one told us that the shop was closed. 
(iv) He answered that the price would go up. 
(v) I wondered why he was screaming. 
(vi) Ben told her to wake him up. 
(vii) Ratan apologized for coming late to the party. 


2. (i) "I am not afraid," replied the woman. 
(ii) "Leave me alone," my mother shouted. 
(iii) The children were complaining that the roads were crowded and noisy. 
(iv) 'Perhaps he isn’t a bad sort of a chap after all," remarked the man. 
(v) "Let's go and look at the school ground," suggested the sports teacher. 
(vi) The traffic police ordered all the passers-by to keep off the road. 

Ans : 1. As we know that the story is not an Indian one, then also we can closely associated with the story because the characters in the story are not different in our Indian culture. Ours society is also ruled by man and trustworthy fathers like Kezia's . Similarly, in our Indian society also women's are suppressed and caring and adoring grandmothers are commonly found in every Indian house.
2. It was absolute necessary to make Kezia realised her mistake and to teach Kezia a lesson, her father should also have tried to understand the Kezia’s problem as well.
In the beginning of the story Kezia's father appears as a strict disciplinarian who ordered every things around in the house. As a short-tempered person, he always punishes Kezia for her mistake. He never talks to her daughter. He never plays with her. He beats her badly for tearing his speech paper. Her father is very good at heart it would be unfair to call him unkind because towards the end of the story we find him to be an affectionate, loving and caring father. He is not indifferent he is a responsible father who works very hard all day long, he becomes too tired so he does not get time to play with her and show his love and care.