The Lost Child Important Questions Class 9 Moments English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Where did the child go with his parents? What did he want there?
Answer
The child went to a fair with his parents. He wanted garlands, balloons and sweets over there. He also wanted to see the snake and take a ride on the swing.
Question 2. What attracted the child towards the balloons? Why didn't his parents give him the balloons?
Answer
The child was attracted by the rainbow glory of their silken colours. His parents didn't give him the balloons as he was too old to play with such toys.
Question 3. Was the festival of spring an attraction for the people?
Answer
The fair was certainly very popular with people in general because they had left their daily routine work, dressed up in their best and had come to enjoy the spring festival. They were with their families and crowded the stalls and rides displayed at the fair.
Question 4. Parents were in a hurry to reach the fair but the child was delaying them. How?
Answer
The boy got distracted by toys which he wanted to buy, butterflies and dragon flies which he wanted to catch and flowers that he wanted to gather. And, out of pure innocence, he delayed his parents to reach the fair.
Question 5. What are the things that the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
Answer
While going to the fair, the little boy was fascinated on seeing toys, balloons, garland of gulmohur, then a swing, a snake-charmer, etc. He got attracted towards those different things. So, he lagged behind his parents.
Question 6. How did the child’s father react to hearing the child say, “I want that toy.”?
Answer
The child was used to his parents’, especially his father’s habit of refusing him anything that he desired to have. Yet when he dared to express his desire to have a toy, his father looked at him red-eyed like a tyrant. The very look was an emphatic and rude ‘no’.
Question 7. Why didn't the boy wait for an answer after he had pleaded for sweets?
Answer
The boy didn't wait for an answer after he had pleaded for sweets because he knew that his parents would say that he was greedy and would refuse to buy the sweets.
Question 8. What happened when the lost child reached the temple door?
Answer
When the child reached the temple door, men jostled each other. The poor child struggled to thrust his way out but was knocked. He might have been trampled if he had not shouted at his highest pitch.
Question 9. How did the mother distract the child's mind from the toy-seller?
Answer
The mother distracted the child's mind from the toy-seller by pointing towards a flowering mustard field. He saw colourful dragon flies and started running after them.
Question 10. How can you say that the child was scared of his father?
Answer
The child was tempted by many things but he asked for them only in slow murmurs. This shows that he was scared of his father and could not express his demands as rightfully as some other children do.
Question 11. What plea did the child finally make to his parents? Was his plea heard?
Answer
In the end, the child pleaded to his parents to go on the round about. When he could not get any reply, he turned and found that his parents were not there. He had been separated from his parents. Thus, he was lost in the fair.
Question 12. What happened when the 'lost child' entered the grove? How did he enjoy there?
Answer
When the 'lost child' entered the grove, a shower of young flowers fell upon him. He began to gather the raining petals. He heard the cooing of doves and ran towards his parents. He had a fun-filled splendid time in the grove.
Question 13. Why did the child stop to watch the insects and what were his parents doing at that time?
Answer
The child stopped because he was attracted by the little insects and worms along the footpath coming out of hiding to enjoy the warmth of the sun. Meanwhile, his parents stopped to take rest under the shade of trees.
Question 14. How did the child realise that his parents were not with him? What was his immediate reaction?
Answer
On not getting any reply to his bold request for a ride on a roundabout, the child turned back and noticed that his parents were not there. He realised at this moment that he had got lost. Filled with fear and panic, he ran wailing in all directions calling aloud for his parents.
Question 15. What was the first reaction of the child when he realised that he had lost his parents?
Answer
The child panicked when he realised that he had lost his parents. He was puzzled, angry and desperate. He cried and shouted for his parents. He ran here and there to look for his parents.
Question 16. How did the child react when there was no sign of his parents?
Answer
The child was very innocent. He gets confused and panic-stricken on not seeing his parents. He felt lonely without his parents amidst so much of crowd. The man who tried to console the child also did not achieve any success as the boy only needed his parents and no monetary benefit.
Question 17. Why couldn’t the child get a garland of flowers for himself?
Answer
The child wanted to get a garland of gulmohur flowers for himself but he asked for it in a half murmuring voice only. Actually, he knew that his parents would refuse by saying that those flowers were cheap.
Question 18. Why did the man offer to buy things for the child?
Answer
The child kept weeping inconsolably in the arms of the man who had rescued him from getting trampled at the shrine. The man offered to buy him things in order to pacify the child, to make him feel secure and to ask him about his parents and home.
Question 19. What was the child’s response to the many offers made by the man?
Answer
The child simply wailed inconsolably. In between his sobs, he expressed his desire to be with his mother and father. He refused to even glance at the various things offered by the man in an attempt to quieten him.
Question 20. How was the child separated from his parents?
Answer
The boy was attracted to toys, balloons and sweets in the fair. He got fascinated with the flute music being played by the snake charmer. While watching the roundabout swing, he got separated from his parents.
Question 21. Why didn’t the child ask his parents to show him the snake-charmer’s act even though he wanted to?
Answer
The child knew that in the opinion of his parents, the snake charmer’s music was coarse. So, he did not see any point in asking for something which he knew would be denied.
Question 22. Why did the child not stay for long near the snake charmer?
Answer
In the fair, the child noticed a snake charmer. He was playing the flute in front of the snake. The music of flute greatly influenced the child. But he did not stay for long near the snake charmer because he knew that his parents would not allow him to hear the music as it was coarse music for his parents.
Question 23. Who rescued the lost child? What did he offer to buy him?
Answer
The man in the shrine rescued the lost child. He lifted him up in his arms and tried to soothe him. He took him to the nearest roundabout swing and offered to buy him flowers, balloons and sweets.
Question 24. What did the child find difficult to resist? What did he do?
Answer
The child saw a roundabout which carried men, women and children in a whirling motion and they shrieked excitedly. He could not resist this tempting ride and made a bold request to his parents to get him on that roundabout.
Question 25. Why did the lost child refuse to take his favourite things in the fair after loosing his parents?
Answer
The child refused to take his favourite things in the fair after he lost his parents, as he missed them and wanted to meet them only. Now, he had lost interest in all his favourite things.
Question 26. What is the irony of the story 'The lost child'?
Answer
The irony of the story 'The lost child' is that the child was sad and irritated at his parent's refusal to whatever he wanted to buy at the village fair. But it is the parents whom he sought frantically when he was lost, despite the man offering him everything that he had wanted to buy earlier.
Question 27. The kind-hearted stranger tried his best to calm down the lost child but failed. Why did the child remain inconsolable?
Answer
The stranger who noticed the lost child was a kind-hearted man. He had the heart that could feel the agony of a lost child. He lifted him up in his arms. He tried to distract his attention by offering a ride on the roundabout and making him hear the music of the flute. He offered him to buy sweets and balloons to soothe him. He failed in his attempt because the lost child had nothing in his mind except his parents.
Question 28. Do you think the title of the story is appropriate?
Answer
Yes, the title appropriately captures the essence of the story. It highlights the plight of a little child who is lost in a fair and it captures the emotions that the child goes through on being separated from his parents. It shows how the child who a moment ago is excited at the sights and sounds of the fair suddenly loses interest in all these sights once he realises that he is lost.
Question 29. How has the lost child’s anxiety and insecurity been described?
Answer
His anxiety and insecurity have been described through his reaction to his realisation that he was lost. Tears rolled down his cheeks, his throat became dry, his face flushed and convulsed with fear and he ran in all directions in panic without knowing where to go.
Question 30. How can you say that the child was an obedient boy?
Answer
The child was fascinated by the fair. He was attracted towards many things in the fair but he did not insist his parents buy any of them. He followed his parents in the fair like an obedient child. Though he longed for the things yet he did not express his desire before his parents because he knew that his parents would not allow him to get them.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. When the child got lost in the fair a stranger helped him and tried to solve his problem. What do you feel about the behaviour of the stranger?
Answer
The stranger was certainly a kind-hearted man. He saved the child from being trampled under the feet. He loved children very much. He lifted the lost child in his lap and offered him all those things which the child desired to have earlier. He also offered the child to go on the roundabout. Obviously, such persons are rare and their responsibility gets increased in the fair. The stranger showed the love of parents in his behaviour towards the lost child. He tried to assure the child that he should not be afraid of anything in the fair. He will find the parents and hand over the lost child to him. The stranger also knew that the lost child could not live with his parents because he was weeping bitterly for his parents. Still, he tried to make the lost child happy. With his kind behaviour, the stranger proved that everybody has immense love for children.
Question 2. If you were the child lost in the spring festival, what would you have done?
Answer
If I were the child lost in the spring festival, I would have reacted in the same way as the child did. For a child, losing the sight of his or her parents for even a minute is bothersome. Though the child was irritated and sad at his parents saying no for whatever he wanted to buy, this was just momentary. His wishes were not bigger than his parents. Toys, sweets or roundabout would have meant nothing to me if I were also seperated from my parents in an incredibly crowded place. I would have also gone frantically searching for my parents not caring about stampede or anything else. It was just natural for the child to continue his search even after getting knocked by the to and fro of the brutal movement of the surging crowd. He would have been trampled if he had not shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice. But nothing stopped him from looking for his parents. I would have been as panic-stricken and befuddled as the child was. After all, parents are everything for a child.
Question 3. Compare the child’s behaviour before and after he lost his parents.
Answer
Before losing his parents, the child is in a happy, cheerful and playful mood. He gets attracted to many things on the way but follows his parents’ call whenever they ask him to. He is amazed by the beauty of nature and enjoys it in his innocent way. He feels secure in the presence of his parents and so he does not even wait for their response when he demands things from them. However, on getting separated, he is filled with fear and panic. He cries inconsolably and gets lost in a large crowd of people all around. He refuses to accept even those things that he had wanted a little while ago. Everything else loses value in his eyes in the absence of his parents. His laughter and happiness are replaced by insecurity and fear.
Question 4. Is it right to say that children are different from adults in the context of the story 'The Lost Child'? Analyse it.
Answer
Yes, it is right to say that children are different from adults in the context of the story 'The Lost Child'. The child represents children and the parents represent adults. As the story opens, we find the child is fascinated by the toys and nature's beauty. The little worms, insects, flowers and birds lure the child. He lagged behind as he stopped to enjoy the nature. The parents passed by the same enchanting beauty but were oblivious to it. This implies that the world was unfolding for the child. For him, everything was novel. But nothing was left to unfold for his parents. Therefore, they had no interest in what fascinated the child. Worldly matters were the only thing that mattered to the parents.
Question 5. Describe in detail all the attractions that the child is drawn to till he gets lost in the fair.
Answer
Right till the time he loses his parents, the child is attracted to several things that he sees on his way. At first it is the toys being sold at the wayside shops. Then he is attracted to the dragonflies in the mustard field. Next he is drawn to the worms and insects on the footpath and the shower of flower petals and the cooing of the pigeons. On reaching the fair he is first tempted by the goodies being sold by the sweetmeat seller and then by the colourful balloons of the balloon-seller. Next he is drawn by the sound of the snake charmer and finally he is mesmerized by the roundabout with children and adults enjoying the rides.
Question 5. Give a description of the festival of spring.
Answer
The festival of spring was a gay occasion. It was held in a village. A number of people were going to the fair. They were wearing new clothes. Sonic of them were on foot. Others were in bullock carts and on horses. The fair was full of joy. A little boy was also going to the fair along with his parents. He was very happy. There were several shops selling toys, sweets, balloons. etc. At a shop, garlands of gulmohur Bowers were also being sold. The child wanted to buy balloons, sweets and other things. But his parents rejected his demands. There were jugglers also. Near the temple, the crowd was very thick. Some people were enjoying the ride in a roundabout. The child also wanted to have a ride in it. But he lost interest when he found his parents missing.
Question 6. Describe the character of the child as depicted in the story.
Answer
The child is very young, innocent and full of joy and energy. He finds everything around him exciting and fascinating, whether a dragonfly or toy displayed in a toy shop. Like any child he is easily distracted and his desires and interests keep on changing from sweetmeats to balloons to rides. He is not used to large crowds and is ‘repelled and fascinated’ by them.
His whole world revolves around his parents and he is deeply affected at his separation from them. He is obedient and disciplined and does not throw a tantrum to get his object of desire. He fears his father and approaches his mother whenever he is tempted by any of the objects he sees during his journey to the fair and at the fair itself.
Question 7. Describe the changes that occurred in the child in the spring festival.
Answer
The child went to the fair along with his parents. He was very happy. He was attracted by the colourful and beautiful things. He saw balloons, flower garlands, toys and sweets. He saw a juggler showing tricks. He also saw a roundabout. But he was sad because his parents rejected all his demands. They did not purchase anything for him. He could not enjoy the juggler’s tricks. Then he wanted to have a ride on the roundabout Ile turned to ask his parents. But he found them missing. He was separated from them. Now a sudden change came in the child. He started crying for his parents. A kind man tried to console him. But the child lost interest in everything. He wanted to join his parents again. He cried, “I want my mother. I want my father!”