Chapter- 5 The Twelve Months
1. Where did the story take place?
Answer:
The story took place in a faraway country. The exact location is not mentioned, but it is described like a fairy-tale land, which makes the story imaginative and magical.
2. How many daughters did the woman have?
Answer:
The woman had two daughters. One was her own biological daughter and the other was her stepdaughter.
3. Who was the woman’s own daughter?
Answer:
Holena was the woman’s own daughter. She was loved and favoured by her mother.
4. Who was the stepdaughter?
Answer:
Marouckla was the stepdaughter. She was kind, gentle, and hardworking.
5. Why did the mother hate Marouckla?
Answer:
The mother hated Marouckla because she was more beautiful than her own daughter Holena. Jealousy was the main reason for her hatred.
6. What kind of girl was Marouckla?
Answer:
Marouckla was gentle-hearted, obedient, patient, and hardworking. She did all her duties without complaining.
7. Did Marouckla know that she was beautiful?
Answer:
No, Marouckla did not know that she was beautiful. She was innocent and humble and never felt proud of her looks.
8. Why could Marouckla not understand her mother’s anger?
Answer:
Marouckla could not understand her mother’s anger because she did not know that her beauty was the cause of jealousy and hatred.
9. What household work did Marouckla do?
Answer:
Marouckla did all the household work such as cleaning the cottage, cooking food, washing clothes, spinning, weaving, and sewing.
10. How did Holena spend her time?
Answer:
Holena spent her time decorating herself, admiring her beauty, and lazily resting instead of doing any work.
11. How did the mother and Holena treat Marouckla?
Answer:
They treated Marouckla very badly. They scolded her, abused her, and made her do all the hard work.
12. What feeling made them cruel towards Marouckla?
Answer:
Jealousy made them cruel towards Marouckla. They could not tolerate her beauty and goodness.
13. What plan did they make to get rid of Marouckla?
Answer:
They planned to send Marouckla out into the freezing cold so that she would not return alive.
14. What did Holena ask Marouckla to bring from the forest?
Answer:
Holena ordered Marouckla to bring fresh violets from the forest.
15. Why did Marouckla say it was impossible?
Answer:
Marouckla said it was impossible because the forest was covered with snow and violets do not grow in winter.
16. How did Holena react to Marouckla’s refusal?
Answer:
Holena became very angry and threatened to kill Marouckla if she did not bring the violets.
17. What did the stepmother do after that?
Answer:
The stepmother dragged Marouckla out of the house and slammed the door behind her.
18. How did Marouckla feel when she went into the forest?
Answer:
Marouckla felt extremely sad and frightened. She was crying bitterly as she entered the forest.
19. What was the condition of the forest?
Answer:
The forest was completely covered with deep snow, and there were no signs of human life.
20. What troubles did Marouckla face in the forest?
Answer:
Marouckla suffered from severe cold, hunger, fear, and loneliness while wandering in the forest.
21. What did Marouckla see at last?
Answer:
At last, Marouckla saw a bright light shining from the top of a mountain.
22. What was the source of the light?
Answer:
The light came from a big fire that was burning on the mountain top.
23. How many stones were around the fire?
Answer:
There were twelve stones placed around the fire.
24. Who were sitting on the stones?
Answer:
Twelve men were sitting on the stones, quietly surrounding the fire.
25. Who were these twelve men?
Answer:
These twelve men were the twelve months of the year.
26. How were the months described by age?
Answer:
Some of the months were old with white beards, some were middle-aged, and some were young and handsome.
27. Who was the oldest among them?
Answer:
Great January was the oldest and most powerful among the twelve months.
28. How did Great January look?
Answer:
Great January had snow-white hair and a long white beard, showing his age and authority.
29. What did Great January hold in his hand?
Answer:
Great January held a strong club in his hand, symbolizing power and control.
30. What did Marouckla ask the twelve months?
Answer:
Marouckla politely asked the twelve months to allow her to warm her hands by their fire.
Answer by Dimpee Bora
