Chapter 8: Little Girls Wiser Than Men | BSEB 10 English Solution

BSEB Class 10 English Panorama Chapter 8: Little Girls Wiser Than Men – Question Answers & Full Solutions

Get simple, accurate, and complete textbook solutions for Chapter 8: "Little Girls Wiser Than Men" by Leo Tolstoy from the Bihar Board (BSEB) Class 10 English Panorama Part-2 textbook. This guide provides solutions to every warm-up question, short and long comprehension answer, passage completion exercise, group discussion, paragraph composition, phrasal verbs study, direct/indirect speech grammar, contractions, and Hindi translation.

Section A: Pre-Reading Warm-Up Discussion

These opening questions encourage personal reflection on festivals, family celebrations, and shared joy.

1. Do you celebrate festivals?

Answer: Yes, I celebrate many festivals with great enthusiasm with my family and friends.

2. Which festival do you enjoy most?

Answer: I enjoy Diwali (or Holi/Eid/Christmas) the most because of the festive lights, sweets, colorful decorations, and joyful gatherings with relatives.

3. How do you celebrate it?

Answer: I wear new clothes, prepare delicious traditional dishes, decorate the house, exchange gifts and sweets with neighbors, and spend quality time celebrating with loved ones.

Section B.1: Short Answer Questions

Short, direct answers based on the opening setting of the story.

1. Which festival is referred to by the writer?

Answer: The festival of Easter is referred to by the writer.

2. Why was sledging over?

Answer: Sledging was over because winter had ended, the snow was melting, and water was running down the village streets.

3. Why was water running in streams down the village street?

Answer: Water was running in streams because the winter snow was rapidly melting in the yards and running through the farmyards.

4. Where do two little girls meet?

Answer: The two little girls met in a lane between two homesteads where dirty water had formed a large puddle.

5. Are they of same age?

Answer: No, they were not of the same age; one girl (Malásha) was very small, and the other (Akoúlya) was a little bigger.

6. Why did Akoúlya try to check Malásha?

Answer: Akoúlya checked Malásha because Malásha was about to step into the dirty puddle with her shoes on, which would ruin her new clothes and make her mother angry.

7. What advice did Akoúlya offer?

Answer: Akoúlya advised Malásha to take off her shoes and stockings before stepping into the puddle and warned her not to splash water.

Section B.1.2: True (T) or False (F)

Evaluate statements based on the girls' actions in the puddle.

• Akoúlya and Malásha take off their shoes and stockings. True (T)
• They do not walk towards each other in the puddle. False (F) (Reason: They picked up their skirts and walked towards each other.)
• Malásha assures Akoúlya that water is not deep. False (F) (Reason: Akoúlya assured Malásha that the water would not get any deeper.)
• Malásha splashes water. True (T)
• Akoúlya ran to strike Malásha. True (T)
• Malásha purposely splashes water. False (F) (Reason: She plumped down her foot accidentally, splashing water on Akoúlya.)

Section B.1.3: Complete the Paragraph

Fill in the blanks using exact words from the textbook story:

"They all went on quarrelling, till one gave another a push, and the affair had very nearly come to blows, when Akoúlya's old grandmother, stepping in among them, tried to calm them. 'What are you thinking of, friends? Is it right to behave so? On a day like this, too! It is a time for rejoicing and not for such folly as this.'"

Section B.3.2: Short Answer Questions

Comprehension questions based on the adult quarrel and the girls' reconciliation.

1. Why did Akoúlya shout at Malásha?

Answer: Akoúlya shouted at Malásha because Malásha splashed muddy water directly onto Akoúlya’s new frock, eyes, and nose.

2. Why did Akoúlya’s mother seize Malásha?

Answer: Akoúlya’s mother seized Malásha and struck her on the back of her neck because she saw dirty splashes on her daughter's new dress.

3. What happened when Malásha's mother came out after hearing her howl?

Answer: Malásha’s mother came out angrily, scolded Akoúlya’s mother for striking her child, and started a bitter verbal fight.

4. Why was no one listening?

Answer: No one was listening because everyone was shouting in anger, and a large crowd had gathered, escalating the fight into a chaotic brawl.

5. Did the old woman succeed in her effort?

Answer: No, the old woman (Akoúlya’s grandmother) did not succeed initially; the angry crowd refused to listen and nearly knocked her off her feet.

6. What did Akoúlya do while other women were abusing each other?

Answer: Akoúlya wiped the mud off her frock, went back to the puddle with a stone, and began scraping the earth to dig a channel for the water to run into the street.

7. What did the two girls do when men started fighting?

Answer: The two girls forgot their quarrel entirely, joined together to dig a water channel with a stone and a wood chip, and happily ran along laughing as the chip floated down the stream.

8. Why did the old woman say to the crowd “Are you not ashamed of yourselves?”

Answer: She said this to shame the men because, while they were violently fighting over a petty incident, the little girls had already forgiven each other and were playing together harmoniously.

Section C.1: Long Answer Questions

Detailed answers exploring the moral lessons and character development in Tolstoy's story.

1. Why were the two girls dressed in new clothes and were showing their finery to each other?

Answer: The two girls were dressed in new frocks because it was Easter festival day, and they had just come back from church. They were proud and excited about their holiday dresses—Akoúlya in her yellow print and Malásha in her blue frock—and happily showed off their clothes to each other before playing.

2. Why did they step into the puddle? What made them fight?

Answer: Seeing the large puddle of water formed in the lane, the girls felt a playful desire to splash and wade through it. They took off their shoes and walked in. When Malásha accidentally stomped her foot, muddy water splashed all over Akoúlya’s face and new frock. Angered by her ruined dress, Akoúlya chased Malásha to hit her, sparking the quarrel.

3. What did the old woman mean by “Is it right to behave so? On a day like this, too!”?

Answer: The old grandmother meant that Easter is a holy day dedicated to joy, forgiveness, Christian love, and mutual goodwill. Behaving aggressively, hurling abuses, and fighting on such a sacred festival day was foolish, sinful, and inappropriate.

4. Why does the writer call the two little girls “Dear little souls”?

Answer: The writer calls them "Dear little souls" because children possess pure, innocent hearts free from malice, pride, and long-lasting hatred. Unlike the rigid adults who kept fighting, the little girls instantly let go of their anger and resumed their loving friendship.

5. Explain “Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven”.

Answer: This biblical quote means that true spiritual purity requires humans to let go of ego, arrogance, grudge-holding, and anger, and instead adopt the innocent, forgiving, and loving nature of little children. Only those with clean, innocent hearts can attain divine grace and true peace.

Section C.2: Group Discussion

Discussion topics for classroom debates and speaking practice.

1. Is it proper to fight on trivial issues like sitting in the first row?

Key Points:

• Fighting over minor matters causes unnecessary bitterness, wastes time, and destroys relationships.
• Maturity lies in showing patience, cooperation, and compromise.
• Trivial issues should always be resolved peacefully through polite communication.

2. Discipline and love for mankind make one's character strong.

Key Points:

• Discipline provides self-control and moral direction to our actions.
• Universal love and empathy prevent hatred, egoism, and prejudice.
• Together, discipline and compassion build a noble, resilient, and respected character.

Section C.3: Composition

1. Paragraph: Cultural Variations in Society (~100 words)

Cultural Variations in Society

Human society is rich and diverse, displaying remarkable cultural variations across different regions. As we move from one culture to another, we witness unique customs, diverse traditional costumes, distinct cuisines, and varied social festivals. For instance, northern traditions differ noticeably from southern or eastern practices in dress codes and dietary habits. These external differences reflect local geography, historical traditions, and shared communal wisdom. Embracing cultural diversity fosters mutual respect, broadens our mindset, and enriches human civilization under the spirit of unity in diversity.

2. Paragraph: Common Features of Mankind (~100 words)

Common Features of Mankind

Despite numerous external differences in languages, customs, and appearances, all human beings share fundamental traits that unite humanity as one family. Every human experiences the same core emotions: love, sorrow, joy, fear, and empathy. Parents everywhere care deeply for their children, and people universally desire peace, safety, dignity, and happiness. The biological structure, need for sustenance, and search for companionship are identical across all borders. These common emotional and moral bonds prove that underneath our cultural diversity, the essence of humanity is entirely one.

Section D: Word Study (Phrasal Verbs)

E1. Phrasal Verbs from the Lesson & Sentence Formation:

give up: We must never give up trying to achieve our goals.

put out: The brave firefighters quickly put out the raging blaze.

break down: The old bus broke down in the middle of the highway.

come out: Malásha's mother came out of the house after hearing the scream.

run after: The police officer had to run after the thief.

wipe off: She used a clean cloth to wipe off the mud from her skirt.

take off: Please take off your shoes before entering the temple.

go back: The children decided to go back to the playground.

Section E: Grammar

Ex. 1: Direct to Indirect Speech Sentences from the Lesson

1. Direct: ‘Don’t go in so, Malásha,’ said she, ‘your mother will scold you.’

Indirect: She advised Malásha not to go in that way and warned her that her mother would scold her.

2. Direct: Akoúlya said, ‘Mind, Malásha, don’t splash. Walk carefully!’

Indirect: Akoúlya instructed Malásha to be careful, not to splash, and to walk cautiously.

3. Direct: ‘It is deep, Akoúlya, I’m afraid!’ said Malásha.

Indirect: Malásha told Akoúlya fearfully that the water was deep.

4. Direct: ‘Come on,’ replied the other. ‘Don’t be frightened. It won’t get any deeper.’

Indirect: The other urged her to come on, comforting her not to be frightened as it would not get any deeper.

5. Direct: Akoúlya’s mother said, ‘You naughty, dirty girl, what have you been doing?’

Indirect: Akoúlya’s mother angrily asked her daughter what she had been doing, calling her a naughty and dirty girl.

6. Direct: ‘Malásha did it on purpose,’ replied the girl.

Indirect: The girl replied that Malásha had done it on purpose.

Ex. 2: Extended / Full Forms of Contractions

Contraction	Full Form	Contraction	Full Form
I'm	I am	won't	will not
don't	do not	didn't	did not
hadn't	had not	hasn't	has not
haven't	have not	shouldn't	should not
shan't	shall not	aren't	are not
wouldn't	would not	weren't	were not
isn't	is not	—	—

Section F: Activity

Reporting a Past Incident in Indirect Speech:

Last year during recess, my friend Rohit and I had a minor argument over a cricket bat. I told Rohit that it was my turn to bat, but he replied that he had not finished his overs yet. When another classmate intervened and took sides, things became heated. However, within ten minutes, both Rohit and I realized our mistake, apologized to each other, and resumed our game happily.

Section G: Translation into Hindi (हिंदी अनुवाद)

Translation of the given textbook passage:

"They would not listen to the old lady, and nearly knocked her off her feet. And she would not have been able to quiet the crowd, if it had not been for Akoúlya and Malásha themselves. While the women were abusing each other, Akoúlya had wiped the mud off her frock, and gone back to the puddle. She took a stone and began scraping away the earth in front of the puddle to make a channel through which the water could run out into the street."

हिंदी अनुवाद:
वे लोग उस बूढ़ी औरत की बात नहीं सुन रहे थे, और उन्होंने उसे धक्का देकर लगभग गिरा ही दिया था। और वह उस भीड़ को शांत नहीं कर पाती, यदि स्वयं अकुलिया और मलाशा आगे न आतीं। जब औरतें एक-दूसरे को गालियां दे रही थीं, अकुलिया ने अपनी फ्रॉक से कीचड़ पोंछ लिया था और वापस उस गड्ढे (डबरे) के पास चली गई थी। उसने एक पत्थर उठाया और गड्ढे के आगे से मिट्टी खुरचने लगी ताकि एक नाली बनाई जा सके जिससे होकर पानी बहकर गली में निकल जाए।