A Legend Of The Northland Class 9 Questions and Answers - Free PDF Download
FAQs on NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 5 A Legend Of The Northland - 2025-26
1. What is the central theme of 'A Legend of the Northland' that is essential for answering the NCERT questions?
The central theme is that greed and selfishness lead to dire consequences, while charity and compassion are virtues that should be practised. When solving NCERT questions, you should explain how the old woman’s inability to part with a small piece of cake, even for a starving saint, resulted in her being cursed. This moral lesson is the foundation for most answers in the textbook exercise.
2. How did Saint Peter punish the old woman for her greed, and how should this be explained in an NCERT-compliant answer?
Saint Peter punished the old woman by turning her into a woodpecker. For an NCERT-compliant answer, you should structure it as follows:
- The Curse: State clearly that Saint Peter, angered by her selfishness, cursed her, saying she was too selfish to enjoy her human form, food, and warmth.
- The Transformation: Describe her transformation into a woodpecker, forced to bore into hard, dry wood for her scarce food.
- The Symbolism: Explain that this punishment was fitting because, just as she was unwilling to give from her store of cakes, she now has to work tirelessly for every tiny morsel of food.
3. Why is the little woman's selfish character a key focus in the NCERT solutions for Class 9 English Chapter 5?
The little woman's selfish character is a key focus because it is the driving force of the poem's narrative and its moral. The NCERT solutions require students to analyse her actions—baking smaller and smaller cakes and ultimately giving nothing—as direct evidence of her greed. Understanding her character is crucial for explaining the reason for Saint Peter's anger and the appropriateness of her punishment, which are common themes in the textbook questions.
4. What is the correct method to answer the value-based questions in the NCERT exercise for 'A Legend of the Northland'?
To correctly answer value-based questions for this poem, follow this method:
- First, identify the core value being tested, such as generosity, compassion, or the dangers of greed.
- Next, connect this value directly to the events in the poem, using the old woman's actions as a negative example and Saint Peter's expectation as the positive standard.
- Finally, conclude with a personal reflection or a statement on why these values are important in our own lives, as prompted by the question. This demonstrates a deeper understanding beyond the literal story.
5. How does understanding the poem's structure as a 'ballad' help in framing the NCERT solutions for this chapter?
Understanding the poem as a ballad is key to explaining its features in NCERT answers. A ballad is a song or poem that tells a story, often with a moral lesson. Knowing this helps you explain:
- Simple Language: The language is straightforward because ballads were meant to be understood by everyone.
- Story-like Narrative: The poem tells a simple, chronological story of an event, which is characteristic of a ballad.
- Repetition: Ballads often use repeated words or stanzas, like the description of the cakes.
- Moral Lesson: It ends with a strong moral, which is a primary purpose of a traditional ballad.
6. What specific details from the poem show that the old woman was greedy, which are important to mention when solving the textbook questions?
When solving textbook questions, you must cite specific evidence of the woman's greed. Key details to mention are:
- She initially took out a cake to give but thought it was 'too large to give away'.
- She then kneaded a smaller one, but it also appeared too large to her.
- Finally, she made a wafer-thin cake, but her selfishness prevented her from parting with even that.
- Her final action of putting all the cakes on the shelf instead of giving one to the hungry saint is the ultimate proof of her overpowering greed.











