The Snake and the Mirror Important Questions Class 9 Beehive English
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. When and where did the incident with the snake take place?
Answer
The incident took place in the narrator’s room after he had taken his meal in a restaurant and had returned to his room at about ten o’clock in the night.
Question 2. Who entered the narrator’s room in his absence during the night?
Answer
A thief entered his room.
Question 3. Who is the narrator of the story ‘The Snake and the Mirror’?
Answer
A homeopath doctor is the narrator of this story.
Question 4. When did the incident regarding the snake take place?
Answer
The incident took place after the doctor had taken his meal in a restaurant and had returned to his room at about ten o’clock at night.
Question 5. Why did the snake leave the doctor’s arm?
Answer
The snake left the doctor’s arm because it saw its reflection in the mirror and was fascinated by it. Perhaps it wanted to enjoy its own reflection by having a closer look.
Question 6. What happened when the snake looked in the mirror?
Answer
When the snake looked into the mirror it uncoiled itself and moved towards the minor.
Question 7. What did the doctor and his friends find when they went to remove things from the room?
Answer
The doctor and his friends found that there was nothing in the room except for a dirty vest. All the other things had been stolen away by some thief.
Question 8. Where did the narrator spend his night when he was free from the snake’s grip?
Answer
He spent the night at a friends’ s house.
Question 9. Who did the narrator decides to marriage?
Answer
He decided to marry a woman doctor who had plenty of money and good medical practice.
Question 10. Did the doctor marry a fat woman as he had wished?
Answer
No, the doctor did not marry a fat woman. On the contrary, his wife was a thin and lean person who could run very fast like a sprinter.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What kind of room did the doctor live in?
Answer
The doctor lived in a small, poorly furnished room which did not have any electricity. It was an outer room with one wall looking upon the open yard. The roof was tiled and supported by gables which rested on a beam. The room did not have a ceiling and it was infested with rats.
Question 2. What circumstances prompted the doctor to live in a small, poor house?
Answer
The doctor had just started his practice and his earnings were meagre. Therefore, he lived in a small, poor house because he could not afford to rent a better and more comfortable accommodation. Besides, he was not married at that time so he could manage in a small rented room until the time he got married.
Question 3. Why did the doctor look in the mirror again and again?
Answer
The doctor had developed an admiration for his looks and he wanted to appear even more handsome. Looking into the mirror gave him a chance to assess his looks again and again. He would comb his hair carefully, and his vanity would get a boost.
Question 4. What kind of woman did the doctor decide to marry? Why?
Answer
The doctor decided to marry a wealthy woman running a good medical practice. He also wanted her to be fat so that in case he made some stupid mistake, he could run away without being chased and caught by her. However, this wish was made in a lighter vein and was not fulfilled.
Question 5. The doctor was not a man with many material possessions. Elaborate.
Answer
The doctor had just started his practice. Therefore, his earnings were meagre. He lived in a small rented room, which was not electrified. He had only sixty rupees in his bag. Apart from a few shirts and dhotis, he had one solitary black coat. His room was full of rats.
Question 6. Why did the doctor have to light the kerosene lamp on reaching his room?
Answer
The doctor had to light the kerosene lamp because the room did not have electricity and the night was pitch dark. The doctor had limited money and as a result, he could not afford an any better place.
Question 7. How did the snake land on the doctor’s chair?
Answer
The snake fell from the roof of the house with a thud. In no time it wriggled over the back of the narrator’s chair and landed on him. The snake slithered along his shoulder and coiled around his left arm above the elbow. To make matters worse, the snake spread its hood out and its head was hardly three or four inches from his face.
Question 8. ‘I was turned to stone’. When does the doctor say so? Why?
Answer
When the doctor found a snake on his shoulder, he did not shriek, jump, or tremble. He held his breath and became as still as a stone. He knew that the snake would strike him if he made any movement since the hood of the snake was only four inches away from his face.
Question 9. How did the narrator show presence of mind when he faced with the snake?
Answer
When the doctor found a snake on his shoulder, he did not jump, tremble or cry out. He held his breath and became as still as a stone. He knew that the snake would get provoked and strike him if he made any movement since the hood of the snake was only four inches away from his face.
Question 10. How did the doctor feel when the snake coiled itself around his arm?
Answer
When the snake coiled itself around the arm of the doctor, he felt some pain as if his arm was being crushed strongly with a rod made of molten fire. His arm lost all strength and felt very weak.
Question 11. How did the snake change the writer’s opinion about himself?
Answer
The writer was proud of being a doctor and a handsome one at that. To boot, he was a bachelor. He was rather vain and arrogant. Coming face-to-face with the snake made him humble. He thought he was only a poor and stupid doctor who should not be proud of his profession.
Question 12. What did the doctor do as soon as he reached his friend’s house? Why?
Answer
Immediately after reaching his friend’s house, the doctor applied oil to his entire body, took a bath and put on fresh clothes. He did so because the snake had slithered over his back, shoulder, and arm. He wanted to get rid of his Creepy feelings and any possible ill-effects of a snake’s touch.
Question 13. What did the thief leave behind? What does the narrator feel about it?
Answer
The thief had left behind his dirty vest. The vest was so dirty that even the thief did not feel like taking it. The narrator found it insulting because it appeared as the thief wanted to tell the narrator that he had a better sense of cleanliness than the doctor himself.
Question 14. Why does the doctor remark that the snake was “taken with its own beauty”?
Answer
The doctor remarks that the snake was “taken with its own beauty” because it kept looking into the mirror just like the doctor used to when he would admire his looks while in front of the mirror.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What are the similarities between the behaviour of the doctor and of the snake?
Answer
The behaviour of the doctor and the snake did have certain similarities. Both of them were enamored by their reflection in the mirror and stood looking longingly at it. However, the similarity ended at this aspect of their respective behaviour since the doctor could not ascertain confidently the reason behind the snake getting charmed by its own image. The doctor was certainly compelled by his vanity to repeatedly look at his image.
So, when he notices the snake looking into the mirror, he thinks that perhaps it too was admiring its beauty or was trying to make some ‘important’ decisions just like him. But these two were as frivolous as the doctor’s decision to shave daily and keep a thin mustache. Just like the doctor’s obsession with his looks landed him in trouble, the snake too seemed to be “taken with its beauty.” It releases its victim to have a better look at itself in the mirror. Thus both the doctor and the snake display narcissistic tendency.
Question 2. What kind of a person was the doctor? What kind of a person did he want to be?
Answer
The doctor had just started his practice. His earnings were, therefore, meagre. He lived in a small rented room, which was not electrified. He had only sixty rupees in his bag. Apart from a few shirts and dhotis, he had one solitary black coat. He lived alone in a house that was full of rats.
On the other hand, the doctor laid great emphasis on the fact that he was unmarried and a doctor. He was a great admirer of beauty and he believed in making himself handsome. He was pleased with his appearance. He decided to shave daily and grow a thin moustache to look more handsome. He also decided to smile more as it improved his appearance.
Question 3. “I was but a poor, foolish and stupid doctor.” Justify.
Answer
Initially, the doctor had a very high opinion of himself regarding both his appearance and profession. He laid great emphasis on the fact that he was unmarried and a doctor. As an admirer of beauty, he was conscious of his looks and wanted to look even more handsome. He admired himself in the mirror and combed his hair this way and that and decided to grow a moustache and smile more to look more attractive.
But an encounter with a snake – a cobra – cured him of his pride. When the snake wriggled over his shoulder and coiled itself around his arm, the doctor lost all arrogance and was reminded of the existence of God. Face to face with death, he realised what a weak and foolish man he had been. When he recalled that there were no medicines in his room to cure him of a snake-bite, he regarded himself to be a stupid and helpless person. Thus, the encounter with the snake transformed the doctor from a vain and foolish person into a humble and God-fearing man.
Question 4. How did the doctor lose his pride after the snake landed on his shoulder?
Answer
The doctor had a very high opinion of himself regarding both his appearance and profession. He was conscious of his looks and wanted to look even more handsome. He repeatedly looked at himself in the mirror to admire his handsomeness. He wanted to be attractive to women because he was an eligible bachelor. He was also proud of being a doctor and was arrogant because of his professional qualifications.
But a short encounter with a snake, a full-blooded cobra, cured him of his pride. When the snake reached his shoulder and coiled itself around his arm, the doctor lost all arrogance and was reminded of the existence of God. Face to face with death, he realised what a weak and foolish man he was. When he recalled that there were no medicines in his room to cure him of a snake-bite, he humbly and meekly regarded himself to be a stupid and helpless person.
Thus, the encounter with the snake transformed the doctor from a vain and foolish person into a humble and God-fearing man.
Question 5. Which qualities and values of the doctor saved his life?
Answer
The snake did not strike the doctor although it was so near his face because the doctor remained motionless even when his life was in danger. Displaying great presence of mind, the doctor stayed still like a stone which assured the snake that there was no danger to it. Snakes strike only in self-defense and the doctor patiently let the snake go. He remained calm and didn’t jump, or tremble or cry out.
He did not try to either catch the snake to throw it away or to loosen its hold on his arm. Fear had gripped him but he kept his cool. Thus the snake left the doctor unharmed and got busy admiring its image in the mirror. The doctor’s qualities of patience, presence of mind, courage, and calmness helped him ward off the danger posed by the deadly snake, and saved his life.