First Flight Chapter 9 Madam Rides The Bus

1. The girl declined the help for boarding the bus.
2. She boarded the bus to enjoy the ride.
3. The phrase means liking very much.

1. She had to make careful plans for saving the money.
2. She saved the money by cutting down her expenses.
3. Thriftily.

1. ‘These hours’ here means the time of Valli’s mother’s afternoon nap.
2. Excursions mean her watching the street, or going to the village or staring at the bus and its passengers.
3. Wandering cautiously and courageously.

1. Valli gaped at the glitter of the town shopping street.
2. Valli didn’t get off the bus because she had no money to buy anything from the town.
3. ‘Struck dumb’ means that she could not utter a word.

1. ‘She’ here refers to an eight-year-old girl, Valli.
2. She no longer wanted to look out of the window because she was sad and has left with no enthusiasm.
3. It means that she did not get up from her seat.

1. Valli’s aunt found her way of speaking as that of a grown up lady.
2. Valli smiled because she remembered her being called a madam during the bus ride.
3. ‘Poking her nose’ means taking an interest in a matter that doesn’t concern her.

Being a little girl, Valli was a curious, keen observer who had strong will power and determination. She was confident about herself and wanted to do everything on her own. Not only she was intelligent, but also a very careful planner.

Valli’s favourite pastime was to stand in the front doorway of her house and watch the happenings on the street. It was so because she had no playmates of her own age around there. Moreover, the street outside was full of hustle and bustle and offered her new experiences.

Valli loved to watch the bus passing through her street every hour. The sight of the bus filled with new passengers gave her an unending joy. She wished to ride on that bus. The wish became an overwhelming desire due to her growing fascination for the bus ride.

Valli planned to escape without her mother’s knowledge. She could manage this easily as her mother used to take a nap in the afternoon from about one to four. She thought she would have sufficient time to enjoy a ride on the bus..

Valli used to watch the bus on its hourly rounds through her street every day. The sight of the bus filled with new passengers every time gave her unending joy. She was curious and wished to ride it once. Gradually, her wish grew stronger. So, she wanted to ride on the bus to enjoy it.

For her first journey outside the village, Valli needed sixty paise for the two way fare of the bus and a time of two hours. She saved the money by cutting her expenses and decided to utilize the time of her mother’s nap for the trip.

To plan for her first journey, she needed to know some details like the fare, the duration of the trip, the route of the bus, etc. She gathered the required information by listening to the conversations of the passengers. Moreover, she asked her neighbours some discrete questions about the bus.

Valli made careful, elaborate and painstaking plans for her first journey or her first ride on the bus. She saved every penny, cut down on her expenses and resisted all the temptations to save sixty paise for the fare. She gathered the information from the passengers and neighbours. She calculated the time required for the trip and found that she could use that time of the afternoon when her mother would take a nap. All this shows that she was a meticulous planner.

The conductor was fond of joking. He called her ‘madam’ to tease her. Valli was behaving like a grown up and confident lady. She did not need anybody’s help. She was annoyed when the old man called her a child. Moreover, she had paid her fare herself and was travelling all alone.

The conductor of the bus was quite friendly and a jolly natured man. He was fond of joking. He was helpful and caring towards Valli. Inspite of her arrogant ways, he did not get annoyed with her. He tried to make her understand to sit down. He offered to buy her a cold drink. He was experienced and mature. He understood Valli’s wish for being independent.

After she got into the bus, she walked quickly to an empty seat and sat down. She looked at everything very thoroughly. When she looked out side, she found her view cut off by the canvas blind that covered the lower part of her window. So, she stood up on the seat and peered over the blind.

Valli enjoyed the nature’s beauty out of the bus window. She saw the bus going along the bank of a canal with the palm trees and mountains in the background and the blue sky. On the other side, she saw a deep ditch and large green fields spread across acres. She saw other vehicles, a young cow running in front of the bus. 

On her way to the town, Valli saw a young, beautiful but frightened cow running in front of their bus. It made Valli laugh uncontrollably. But on her way back home, Valli saw the same lively cow lying dead by the roadside with blood all over it. It saddened her.

Valli's fascination for the bus ride compelled her to board the bus to the town just for the sake of riding it. Being a little kid, she found the town too big, crowded and glittering. Moreover, she had no money to buy anything. So, she did not get down at the town. She simply wanted to go back to the village by the same bus.

Valli had planned meticulously for her bus journey in advance. So she boarded the bus confidently. She paid her fare and sat on a seat. She stood up to enjoy the picturesque natural beauty out of the window. She did not get down from the bus. She paid for her return journey and came back to her village by the same bus. She enjoyed her first bus-ride.

Valli enjoyed watching the bus that travelled between her village and the nearest town through her street each hour. The sight of the bus, filled each time with a new set of passengers, was a source of unending joy for Valli. Her strongest desire was to travel up to the town and back to her village by the bus.

Valli carefully planned for her first bus journey. She made painstaking efforts to save the money. She carefully saved every penny that she got . She resisted every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons etc. Finally, she could save a total of sixty paise. 

Courage is the Ability to Take Risk in Pursuit of One’s Dreams

What is courage? It is not lack of fear but it is how you control fear. In other words, courage is one’s ability to set a goal and then take the first step in the direction of achieving it and that too without any guarantee of success. If only we can take this first step, we can achieve our goals and fulfil our dreams in life. Alexander the Great had a goal, a dream. It was to establish a world empire. And then, he set out on a world conquest. Gandhiji had a dream. He wanted to see India liberated from the foreign rule. He took the first step towards realizing his goal. Great people had great mastery over their emotion of fear; hence we call them courageous. Thus, it is rightly said that courage is the ability to take risk in pursuit of one’s dreams.

Valli was planning her trip. She thought that she would be back home by about two forty-five if she could take the one-o’clock afternoon bus that reaches the town at one forty-five.  

When the conductor stretches out his hand to help Valli get on the bus, she acts like a mature lady and says that she can get on by herself. She also says that she doesnot need help. The conductor is a cheerful person and fond of joking. So, he calls Valli 'madam'.

Valli stands up on the seat so that she can behold the beauty of the nature in her eyes. As when she starts to look outside, she finds that her view is cut off by a canvas blind that covered the lower part of her window. 

Valli gets annoyed by the elderly man's atttention. She tells him that nobody in the bus is a child. She also adds that she has paid her thirty paise like everyone else.

Valli found that elderly woman absolutely repulsive. She had very big holes in her ear lobes. And she was wearing ugly earrings. Moreover, Valli could even smell the betel nut that woman was chewing. She could also see that the betel juice was ready to spill over her lips. 

Valli saw that a young cow was running very fast in the middle of the road, right in front of the bus. The bus slowed down and the driver sounded his horn loudly again and again. But the animal became frightened and started galloping faster. This made Valli laugh. 

She did not get off the bus at the bus station because she had to go back on the same bus. So, she took out the fare from her pocket and handed it to the conductor. She only wanted to have a ride on the bus. 

Valli didnot want to go to the stall and have a drink because she had no money for that. She had hardly managed to save for the bus fare. This shows that despite of being a little kid she had a lot of control on herself. 

Valli deeply desired to ride on the bus that she saw everyday. It can be inferred from, 'Day after day she watched the bus, and gradually a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there: she wanted to ride on that bus, even if just once. This wish became stronger and stronger, until it was an overwhelming desire.'

Valli decided to utilize the time of her mother's afternoon nap for the trip. She decided to take the one-o’clock afternoon bus that reaches the town at one forty-five. So, she could be back home by about two forty-five as she would travel on the same bus.
Listening carefully to conversations between her neighbours and people who regularly used the bus, Valli found out that the town where the bus used to go was six miles from her village and the trip to the town would take forty-five minutes. The bus fare was thirty paise one way. 
To save money for the fare, she had planned earnestly. She had thriftily saved whatever stray coins came her way. She resisted every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons. 

commandingly

simply have to

who is a child

get on by myself
irritably

can take care of myself

to see you again

The lines mentioned below tell that Valli was enjoying her ride on the bus:-
(i) ' Valli devoured everything with her eyes.'

(ii) 'On one side there was the canal and, beyond it, palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, and the blue, blue sky. On the other side was a deep ditch and then acres and acres of green fields — green, green, green, as far as the eye could see. Oh, it was all so wonderful!'

(iii) Sometimes the bus seemed on the point of gobbling up another vehicle that was coming towards them or a pedestrian crossing the road. But lo! somehow it passed on smoothly, leaving all obstacles safely behind.

(iv) 'Suddenly Valli clapped her hands with glee. A young cow, tail high in the air, was running very fast, right in the middle of the road, right in front of the bus.'

(v) 'Somehow this was very funny to Valli. She laughed and laughed until there were tears in her eyes.'

Valli refuses to look out of the window on her way back from the town because she sees a young cow lying dead by the roadside. It had been struck by some fast-moving vehicle. She recalls that it was the same cow that was running in front of the bus while it was on its way to the town. The sight of the dead cow depresses her. 

Belinda tickled Custard unmerciful because he was a coward and always cried for a nice safe cage.

Apart from Simile, the poet has also used poetic devices such as repetition and alliteration. He has repeatedly used the word ‘little’ in the first and the second stanza to point out the littleness of the pets and the house. He has also used alliteration in the poem. Alliteration is the repetition of the beginning sounds of words. For example, in the tenth stanza, ‘Custard’ has ‘clashed’ his tail with a ‘clatter’ and a ‘clank’. Similarly, in stanza eleven, the pirate ‘gaped’ at the dragon and ‘gulped’ some ‘grog’.

 For self attempt

Yes, it is true that whenever we want something, difficulties do come come on our way. Achieving goals require determination. Valli wanted to ride the bus, however, she did not have the money to do so. The challenge in front of her was to arrange the required amount of money to ride the bus. Valli had carefully saved whatever stray coins came her way, resisting every temptation to buy peppermints, toys, balloons, etc. Finally, she had saved sixty paise. At the village too she made the best efforts to save as much money as possible. She was tempted to ride the merry-go-round as she had the money. However, she suppressed her strong desire and saved the money for the bus ride.

(a) Eleanor Roosevelt was very quiet and parentless in her growing up years. Later, she became the First Lady of the United States, an author, lecturer and a woman who was loved and admired throughout the world.
(b) Apart from being the First Lady, she was an author, lecturer and a woman much admired by people.
(c) In her personal life, she faced many challenges. Her second son died when he was a baby. Her husband was affected by polio which left him physically disabled for life.
(d) Roosevelt nursed her husband back to good health and encouraged him to be in politics. She helped him become the governer of New York and then, the President of the United States in 1933.
(e) ‘She became her husband’s legs and eyes’ means she visited prisons, hospitals, went into mines and factories on his behalf to help him in his job.
(f) During the Depression she travelled all over the country bringing goodwill, reassurance and help to people without food and jobs.
(g) During World War II, she visited American soldiers in camps all over the world.
(h) She kept in touch with the American people through a daily newspaper column called ‘My Day’. She broadcast on the radio and delivered lectures, all first for a First Lady.
(i) Her intelligence and tremendous strength of character is reflected in the passage.

Question 2.1.

1. Russells viper injects poison whereas rattle snakes catch and push their prey against the ground.
2. Sand Boa produces secretions particularly poisonous to birds. It crushes its prey and injects poison as an extra step.
3. The hunting animals try their worst to kill their prey most efficiently but their prey use any trick to avoid becoming a meal.
4. Mongooses are highly resistant to cobra poison, with their speed and agility, they kill snakes fearlessly, making them a good snake predator.
5. When entertained in the remote parts of India, the writer finds it difficult to chew leather-tough meat which he swallows down his/her throat like a python.

Question 2.2

1. prey
2. softens
3. resistant to

Question 2.3

1. alternative
2. secreation
3. specific