Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions given below:
There was once a brave knight. He was captured by the
king for his act of teachery to the kingdom and thrown into a prison to die. A
nightingale would come, sit on the window of the prison and cheered the knight
with her sweet melody. Out of gratitude the knight would feed her with some
from his scanty food. This made her a pet. He used to tolk to her as if she
were a human being. One day he said, “Ah sweet bird ! if only you could help me
to escape !”
The nightingale at once flew away and did not return
for three days. This made the knight anxious of her life. But on the night of
th third-day the nightingale flew back to the dark prison carrying in her beak
a piece of stone. The knight took the stone and by accident touched the fetters
with it. Great was his astonishment and delight when the fetters fell off. He
then went to the prison door, and the door opened when he touched that with his
magic stone. The knight thus managed to escape to his native country, the
nightingale followed him. There the knight showed his gratitude to his saviour
by building her a golden cage, with an open door, in the garden of his castle.
Questions:
(a) Why was the knight prisoned?
(b) How did the nightingale cheer him up?
(c) What did the knight do in return?
(d) What did he say to the nightingale?
(e) What did the nightingale do for the knight?
(f) How did the knight escape from the prison?
(g) How did the knight show his gratitude to the nightingale.
(h) Give the opposites of: — Scanty ; native.
(i) Pick out a word which means ‘chains’.
(j) Pick out a word which means ‘gratefulness.’
