In the Kingdom of Fools Important Questions Class 9 Moments English
Short Answer Type Questions
Question 1. What did the dancing girl say in her defence?
Answer
The dancing girl said that she had given some gold to the goldsmith to make some jewellery. The goldsmith made many excuses. So she had to walk up and down his house many times.
Question 2. What astonished the guru and disciple at the grocer’s shop?
Answer
They were astonished that everything at the shop whether a measure of rice or a bunch of bananas cost the same, i.e., a duddu.
Question 3. The king of the kingdom of fools called the thief 'an innocent man'. What does this tell you about the king?
Answer
This tells us that the king was more than a fool. He had a weird or unreasonable way of thinking. He was gullible. He could rationalise or think for himself. He accepted whatever his ministers said. Calling a thief 'an innocent man' also leads out to doubt his judgement.
Question 4. What was ironical about the judgement passed by the king holding the dancing girl as the culprit?
Answer
In his judgement, the king termed the burglar as ‘poor’ and ‘innocent’. He blamed the dancing girl for causing the death of the ‘poor burglar’ and killing an ‘innocent man’. Expressing sympathy in this manner for a law-breaker was ironic.
Question 5. How was the Kingdom of fools different from any other place?
Answer
Everything was different in the kingdom of fools. The night was considered as day and day as night. Not only have the human beings evened the animals stayed awake at night. Anything and everything could be bought for a Duddu.
Question 6. Why did the thief’s brother accuse the rich merchant?
Answer
The thief had died because the wall of the merchant’s old house had collapsed and fallen on his head. According to the thief’s brother, the rich merchant was to be blamed for this because he had not built a good, strong wall.
Question 7. Who went in search of the goldsmith? Who accused the goldsmith and why?
Answer
The king's bailiff went in search of the goldsmith. The dancing girl who was much older then, accused the goldsmith of not making the jewel on time. The goldsmith asked her to go back and come again. This led her to go up and down the street at least a dozen times. This was when the bricklayer saw her. He got distracted and built a bad wall.
Question 8. How was the goldsmith able to escape punishment?
Answer
The goldsmith escaped punishment by pleading that he had made excuses to the dancing girl because of a rich merchant who had pressured him to finish his order of jewellery first as there was a wedding in his family.
Question 9. Who blamed the bricklayer for the collapse of the wall? What had the bricklayer done?
Answer
The merchant blamed the bricklayer for the collapse of the wall. The bricklayer laid a poor bricklayer because his mind was on the dancing girl with anklets jingling going up and down the street.
Question 10. Why does the writer say that ‘one bright day a thief broke into a rich merchant’s house’? What is strange about this statement?
Answer
The strange thing is that the theft took place during the daylight hours. In any other place, theft would typically take place during the dark of night. However, the people in the Kingdom of Fools slept during the day and woke at night.
Question 11. What was so strange about the Kingdom of fools?
Answer
The strange thing about the kingdom of fools was that not only humans but animals were also made to sleep during the day. Everything in this kingdom used to come for a duddu.
Question 12. What was the fight that the guru and his disciple got into? Why?
Answer
The guru and his disciple fought over the right to be the first one to die at the stake. They had got into this fight as part of the plan to rescue the disciple. They wanted to make the king believe that getting killed at the stake of the god of justice would make the person the next king.
Question 13. What two things were different in the kingdom of fools?
Answer
Two things that were different in the kingdom of fools were that the people worked in night and slept during the day. Everything was sold at the same price. A `Duddu' could buy a mass of rice as well as a bunch of bananas.
Question 14. How did the guru divine that his disciple was in trouble? What did he do?
Answer
The guru had magical powers. He could see far into the future, the past and the present. When the disciple prayed to him in his heart, he heard him and appeared before him to help him.
Question 15. Why did the Guru not want to stay in the Kingdom of fools?
Answer
The Guru did not want to stay in the Kingdom of fools as the people over there were foolish. He was not sure about them and felt that they could harm him.
Question 16. What was the final order of the king to the executioners?
Answer
The king told the executioners that two criminals would be sent to them at night and they should put them to death in the order they arrive. He instructed them not to make any mistake in executing this final order.
Question 17. Why does the disciple not want to leave the kingdom of the fools?
Answer
The disciple did not want to leave the place because of the sale of cheap eatables and other commodities and since everything was easily available and life seemed to be very simple and easy.
Question 18. Why didn't the people go against the order of the king and the minister?
Answer
The people didn't go against the order of the king and the minister because they were told to do so. Apart from that, they had fear of punishment as the orders were to be implemented strictly and all the people had to follow them.
Question 19. What advice did the Guru give to the disciple before going out of the city?
Answer
The Guru told his disciples that it was dangerous to stay in the Kingdom of fools. He said that there was no justice, only foolish, unpredictable behaviour. According to him, the kingdom would not last long.
Question 20. Why did the king want to punish the merchant?
Answer
The king wanted to punish the merchant because the wall of his house fell on the thief killing him. Since the merchant had inherited his father's wealth, he inherited his sins too. Therefore, he should be punished.
Question 21. Who is the real culprit according to the king? Why does he escape from the punishment?
Answer
The rich merchant was the real culprit. He had inherited everything from his criminal father. He was too thin to be properly executed on the newly made stake. The worried king started searching foolishly for a fat man to fit the stake and the merchant escaped the punishment.
Question 22. What was foolish about the king’s trial of the merchant?
Answer
The merchant’s wall had fallen upon a thief. The thief was killed. So the king ordered to execution of the merchant. This judgement of the king was very foolish.
Question 22. Why did the Guru want that he and his disciple should die first?
Answer
The king had ordered the execution of the rich merchant. Since the rich merchant could not be executed, the disciple was chosen to fit the stake. The disciple's Guru had a vision and saw everything. In order to save his disciple, the Guru hatched a plan.
Question 23. What things were different in the Kingdom of Fools?
Answer
In the Kingdom of Fools, the people did all their work at night. They slept during the daytime. Everything cost the same there — a single duddu.
Question 24. When does the disciple remember the words of his Guru?
Answer
The disciple did not pay any heed to the advice of his Guru, when the Guru asked him to leave the kingdom of fools. When the king decided that the disciple was a suitable person for execution, he remembered the words of the Guru.
Question 25. Why did the king decide to postpone the execution of the Guru and his disciple?
Answer
The Guru befooled the king. He told him that the people dying now would be the king and minister in their next birth. The foolish king fell for the words of the Guru and postponed their execution.
Question 26. Who was finally blamed for the crime and why?
Answer
The rich owner of the house was finally blamed for the crime. He said that his father had ordered for the jewellery and he should have been responsible. But because his father had died, the king gave judgment that he would die in his father’s place.
Question 27. Why was the kingdom of fools in confusion?
Answer
The kingdom of fools was in confusion because it had lost its king and minister. The people had seen the bodies of the king and minister thrown to the crows and vultures which left them panicky. They were worried about the future of the kingdom.
Question 28. What is the Guru's wisdom? When does the disciple remember this?
Answer
The Guru's wisdom was that there was no justice in the kingdom of fools and due to the unpredictable behaviour of the fools, he wanted to leave the kingdom at once. The disciple remembers these words when the king decided that the disciple was a suitable person for execution was weak.
Question 29. How did the king and his minister die in place of the guru and his disciple?
Answer
The king told the executioners to put to death the first and second man who came to them the next morning. That night, the king and the minister went secretly to the prison. They released the guru and his disciple. They disguised it as the guru and the disciple. The next morning, the executioners killed them.
Question 30. Who became the king and the prime minister of the kingdom?
Answer
As the kingdom was without a king, the people of the kingdom persuaded the Guru and the disciple to take over the throne. So, the holy man became the king and his disciple took the charge of Prime Minister.
Question 31. What is duddu? What delighted the guru and his disciple?
Answer
Duddu is a rupee. It can buy anything from a measure of rice to a bunch of bananas in the kingdom of fools. The guru and his disciples could buy all the food with just one duddu. This delighted both of them.
Question 32. On what conditions did the Guru and his disciple agree to rule that kingdom?
Answer
He laid the condition that he would be free to change all the old and foolish laws. Hence, night was considered as night and day was regarded as a normal working day. Even persuaded prices were changed according to the value of the material.
Question 33. Why were the people of the kingdom confused when they saw the dead bodies of the king and his minister?
Answer
The people of the kingdom were confused as to how their king and the minister were dead instead of the Guru and the disciple. The people were not able to see through the plan which was executed by the Guru against their king and ministers.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question 1. Fools cannot continue with their follies for long. How can you justify this statement in relation to the story?
Answer
The king and his minister had made new but foolish laws for their people. They just wanted to be different from other kings, so they decided to change day for night and night for day. They continued with their follies for quite some time until they were caught in their own trap. The wise guru skillfully tackled them and not only managed to save his disciple’s life but also rid the kingdom of the foolish rule. The follies could not be continued for long since the king or his minister could not see through the plan of the guru. Not willing to give away his kingdom, the king and his minister disguised themselves as the guru and his disciple and walked into their self-made death trap.
Question 2. The people of the Kingdom of Fools were not so foolish after all. They made the Guru as their kings. Comment.
Answer
In the Kingdom of Fools, everything looked odd. The disciple was arrested in place of the rich merchant. He was to be executed soon but the disciple started praying. The guru reached there and made a plan to save the disciple’s life. The king and his minister became the victims of this plan and got themselves executed. Now there was no king in the kingdom. The throne was vacant. People wanted a wise person should become the king. After the death of the king and the disciple, the people were impressed by the wisdom and power of the Guru. They thought that if the Guru and his disciple became the king and the minister, there would be peace all around. So the people chose to crown the Guru and his disciple.
Question 3. Who were the people questioned during the course of the trial, and what was each person’s defence?
Answer
First, the owner of the house was summoned. But he said that the bricklayer who had constructed the wall was responsible. The bricklayer said that when he was making a wall, a dancing girl distracted his attention. The dancing girl said that a goldsmith did not make jewellery in time. So she had to pass through the street several times. The goldsmith said that he had to make ornaments for a wedding in the rich man’s house. So he could not finish the jewellery of the dancing girl in time. He was the same owner who had been summoned first of all.
Question 4. Hasty decisions are often wrong decisions. Discuss with reference to the story “In the Kingdom of Fools”.
Answer
The story, “In the Kingdom of Fools” teaches us an important lesson that decisions should be made with a cool mind and rational thought. Hasty decisions always have dangerous consequences. The disciple got tempted by the cheap goods available in the Kingdom of Fools and did not heed his guru’s advice. Instead of thinking rationally, he made a hasty decision to stay back. Ultimately he fell victim to the senseless judgement of the foolish king and came on the verge of losing his life. If he had taken some time to review his desire to stay back, he would have certainly realized the importance of the guru’s advice. The king’s and his minster’s decision too was in haste that cost them their lives. If they too had reviewed their decision of going to the stake to fulfil their greed to be the king and minister in their next life, they would have certainly lived on as the king and the minister. Thus, the story emphasizes the value of making decisions wisely by weighing all the pros and cons. A hasty or a foolish decision can have disastrous consequences.
Question 5. Describe in brief the strange case brought to the king and the king’s judgement.
Answer
One day, a thief broke into the house of a rich man, A wall of the house fell on him and he died on the spot. The brother of the thief complained to the king that the rich man was responsible for the thief’s death because the wall of his house was weak. The owner of the house was summoned. But he said that the bricklayer who had constructed the wall was responsible. The bricklayer said that when he was making a wall, a dancing girl passed several times through the street. She distracted his attention. So she was responsible.
The dancing girl told the king that she had ordered a goldsmith to make jewellery for her. He did not make it in time. So she had to pass through the street several times. The goldsmith was called. He said that he had to make ornaments for a wedding in the rich man’s house. So he could not finish the jewellery of the dancing girl in time. He was the same owner of the house where the thief had died. He said that his father had placed the order. The king and his minister decided that since the rich man’s father had died, he would be executed in his father’s place.
Question 6. How did the Guru manage to save his disciple's life?
Answer
The king ordered to execute the disciple. He prayed to his Guru to save him. The Guru heard his prayer in his vision and appeared to rescue his disciple. First, he whispered something in this disciple's ears and then asked the king to execute him first and the disciple followed suit, which puzzled the king. Knowing the secret, the king fell into the trap of his temptation and wanted to be the king in his rebirth. He went into the prison at night and set the guru and disciple free. In their place, he and his minister disguised themselves as the guru and disciple and got executed. Thus, the Guru managed to save his disciple.
Question 7. Arguing with a fool proves there are two. How does the wise guru find a way out without arguing with the king?
Answer
Arguing with a fool is a futile effort because he does not have the humility to listen to others. The foolish king misused his authority to force decisions on his subjects. No one could disobey his orders. This made him intolerant and he could not be made to see reason. The wise guru knew from experience that arguing with such a fool would make him also look like a fool. Hence, he found his way out of the difficult situation that threatened the life of his disciple by resorting to flattery and by appealing to the king’s dumbness. He aroused the curiosity of the king by faking a fight with his disciple over going to the stake. Then, he eulogized the king, his kingdom, and his fine sense of judgement. This entrapped the foolish king and eventually, he got himself and his minister killed in the place of the guru and his disciple. Thus, the kingdom got rid of the foolish king and his equally foolish minister and the guru and his disciple’s lives were saved, too. Thus, by not arguing, the wise guru resolved the tricky situation.
Question 8. Greed never goes unpunished. Does this statement stand valid in the context of 'The Kingdom of Fools'? Explain.
Answer
I don't think the statement 'Greed never goes unpunished' stands valid in the context of 'The Kingdom of Fools'. This is because the disciple was warned by his Guru that staying in the kingdom of fools would be risky. He had cautioned his disciple saying that nobody could predict what would happen in the fools' kingdom. But driven by his greed for unlimited food for only one duddu, the disciple decided to stay while the guru went away. What refutes the given statement is that when the disciple was in a problem, the guru came and saved him. He did not suffer any punishment for his greediness. It was the Guru's sharp wit which saved the disciple. So, the given statement stands invalid in the given context.
Question 9. Who is the real culprit according to the King? Why does he escape punishment?
Answer
According to the King, the real culprit was the rich merchant’s father, who had ordered the goldsmith to make jewellery. However, since he was dead, his son would have to be punished in his place. He escaped punishment because when the stake for impaling the criminal was sharpened and ready, the minister felt that the merchant was somehow too thin to be properly executed on the stake. He appealed to the King, who agreed with this observation. They thus decided that they needed to find a man fat enough to fit the stake.