Section A: One-Liner & Objective Questions (Q1 – Q25)
Q1 Who wrote the story "Little Girls Wiser Than Men"?
Answer: Leo Tolstoy (लियो टॉल्स्टॉय).
Q2 What was the lifespan (birth and death years) of Leo Tolstoy?
Answer: 1828 – 1910.
Q3 Which religious festival was being celebrated at the opening of the story?
Answer: Easter (an early Easter / ईस्टर पर्व).
Q4 Why was sledging just over?
Answer: Because winter had ended, the snow was melting, and water was running down the streets.
Q5 Where did the two little girls meet?
Answer: In a lane between two homesteads where dirty water had formed a large puddle.
Q6 What was the relative age/size of the two girls?
Answer: One girl was very small, and the other was a little bigger (older).
Q7 Who was the smaller girl?
Answer: Malásha (मलाशा).
Q8 Who was the elder girl?
Answer: Akoúlya (अकुल्या).
Q9 What color frock was the younger girl (Malásha) wearing?
Answer: A blue frock.
Q10 What kind of frock was the elder girl (Akoúlya) wearing?
Answer: A yellow print frock.
Q11 What did both girls wear on their heads?
Answer: Red handkerchiefs.
Q12 From where had the two girls just returned when they met?
Answer: From church (चर्च).
Q13 What did the girls show each other before they began to play?
Answer: Their finery (new clothes).
Q14 What warning did Akoúlya give Malásha before stepping into the puddle?
Answer: She told Malásha to take off her shoes and stockings so her mother would not scold her.
Q15 How deep was the water when Malásha stepped into the puddle?
Answer: It came up to her ankles.
Q16 What happened when Malásha plumped down her foot?
Answer: Water splashed right onto Akoúlya’s frock, eyes, and nose.
Q17 Who struck Malásha on the back of her neck?
Answer: Akoúlya’s mother.
Q18 Who came out when Malásha started howling?
Answer: Malásha’s mother.
Q19 Who stepped into the crowd to pacify the quarrelling adults?
Answer: Akoúlya’s old grandmother.
Q20 What tool did Akoúlya use to scrape away the earth from the puddle?
Answer: A stone.
Q21 What did Malásha use to help dig the water channel?
Answer: A chip of wood.
Q22 Toward whom did the water stream flow?
Answer: Toward the very place in the street where the crowd of adults was arguing.
Q23 [Textbook B1.2 (1)] True or False: Akoúlya and Malásha take off their shoes and stockings.
Answer: True.
Q24 [Textbook B1.2 (2)] True or False: They do not walk towards each other in the puddle.
Answer: False.
Q25 [Textbook B1.2 (6)] True or False: Malásha purposely splashes water.
Answer: False (she splashed it accidentally by plumping her foot down).
Section B: Short Answer Questions (Q26 – Q42)
Q26 [Textbook B.1 (1)] Which festival is referred to by the writer?
Answer: Easter is the festival referred to by the writer.
Q27 [Textbook B.1 (2)] Why was sledging over?
Answer: Sledging was over because winter had concluded, the snow was rapidly melting, and water was streaming through the village lanes.
Q28 [Textbook B.1 (3)] Why was water running in streams down the village street?
Answer: Melting snow from the yards and homesteads flowed down the slopes of the streets into dirty puddles.
Q29 [Textbook B.1 (4)] Where do the two little girls meet?
Answer: They meet in a lane between two homesteads near a large puddle formed by farmyard runoff.
Q30 [Textbook B.1 (5)] Are they of the same age?
Answer: No, they are not of the same age; Malásha is very small, while Akoúlya is older and bigger.
Q31 [Textbook B.1 (6)] Why did Akoúlya try to check Malásha?
Answer: She stopped Malásha to prevent her from walking into the dirty water with her shoes on, warning that her mother would scold her.
Q32 [Textbook B.1 (7)] What advice did Akoúlya offer to Malásha?
Answer: She advised Malásha to take off her shoes and stockings and to walk carefully without splashing.
Q33 Why was Akoúlya angry with Malásha in the puddle?
Answer: Because Malásha stamped her foot down, splashing dirty muddy water all over Akoúlya's new yellow frock, face, and eyes.
Q34 Why did Akoúlya’s mother strike Malásha?
Answer: Akoúlya falsely accused Malásha of splashing her on purpose, enraging Akoúlya’s mother when she saw her daughter’s soiled Easter clothes.
Q35 How did the dispute between the two mothers escalate into a street riot?
Answer: One harsh word led to another; the fathers and neighboring men joined in, screaming, taking sides, and shoving one another until blows were nearly struck.
Q36 What did Akoúlya’s grandmother say to shame the fighting crowd?
Answer: She reminded them that Easter was a sacred festival for rejoicing and peace, not for senseless fighting over minor trifles.
Q37 How did the two girls react while the grown-ups were quarrelling?
Answer: They completely forgot their quarrel; Akoúlya cleaned her dress, returned to the puddle with a stone, and happily dug a stream together with Malásha.
Q38 What game did the girls play with the running stream?
Answer: They floated a chip of wood in the channel, running along both banks and laughing joyfully as they tried to catch it.
Q39 Why did the fighting men feel ashamed in the end?
Answer: When they saw the two little girls playing together in pure harmony while they themselves were brawling over them, they realized their foolishness.
Q40 Complete the textbook passage [B 1.3]: "They all went on quarrelling, till one gave another a _______, and the affair had very _______ come to blows..."
Answer: "push", "nearly".
Q41 Complete the textbook passage [B 1.3]: "...when Akoúlya's old grandmother, stepping _______ among them, tried to _______ them."
Answer: "in", "calm".
Q42 What biblical verse concludes the story?
Answer: "Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Section C: Long Subjective & Analytical Questions (Q43 – Q50)
Q43 Give a detailed comparison between the behavior of the children and the adults in the story.
Answer:
Leo Tolstoy highlights a striking contrast between child innocence and adult pettiness:
- The Children (Malásha and Akoúlya): Their dispute is momentary and free of malice. When dirty water splashes, Akoúlya is briefly upset, but within minutes, both girls let go of resentment. They unite without formal apologies to dig a channel for water and play with a chip of wood, demonstrating pure forgiveness, joy, and emotional resilience.
- The Adults: The mothers and fathers turn an accidental childhood splash into an ego-driven feud. Instead of guiding the children, they exchange verbal abuse, accuse one another of malice, summon neighbors, and nearly beat each other up. Even the solemn sanctity of Easter fails to restrain their anger.
Tolstoy uses this juxtaposition to prove that children naturally practice love and forgiveness, making them far wiser than rigid, prideful adults.
Q44 Discuss the central theme and moral of "Little Girls Wiser Than Men".
Answer:
The central theme is the purity of heart, forgiveness, and the absurdity of adult conflicts.
Tolstoy critiques how adults cling to pride, harbor long-term grudges, and manufacture large disputes out of minor trivialities. The story illustrates the moral that authentic wisdom does not lie in age, intellect, or physical might, but in humility, simplicity, and the ability to forget grievances instantly. By contrasting the sacred occasion of Easter with the adults' violent behavior, Tolstoy shows that formal religious rituals are meaningless without practicing genuine peace, love, and reconciliation.
Q45 Describe the role of Akoúlya’s grandmother in resolving the conflict.
Answer:
Akoúlya's grandmother serves as the voice of moral reason and spiritual conscience:
- Moral Intervention: When the men are about to exchange blows, she courageously steps between them, reminding them that Easter is a holy time for rejoicing and brotherhood.
- Exposing Folly: Although the angry crowd initially ignores her and nearly knocks her off her feet, she seizes the moment when the little girls run past chasing their wooden boat.
- Delivering the Verdict: She points at the children, shaming the men by declaring: "Are you not ashamed of yourselves? ... Dear little souls! They are wiser than you!" Her intervention delivers the story's climactic realization, prompting the men to disband in embarrassment.
Q46 How does the setting of spring and Easter deepen the symbolic meaning of the narrative?
Answer:
The setting reinforces the spiritual message of the narrative:
- Physical Spring: Melting snow, running streams, and the end of sledging symbolize rebirth, renewal, and nature shedding its cold, rigid winter crust.
- Spiritual Easter: Easter celebrates the triumph of love, peace, and divine forgiveness over sin and death.
- The Irony and Resolution: The adults' hatred and violence directly contradict the spirit of Easter. However, the water channel dug by the children carries life-giving water directly toward the angry mob, mirroring how childlike innocence melts hardhearted adult hostility.
Q47 Trace the development of the conflict from a single splash to a village riot.
Answer:
The conflict escalates through a clear chain reaction:
- The Accident: Malásha accidentally splashes dirty water on Akoúlya's new yellow frock.
- Childish Overreaction: Akoúlya becomes frightened of being scolded by her mother, so she blames Malásha, crying that she did it on purpose.
- Maternal Anger: Akoúlya’s mother reacts impulsively, seizing Malásha and slapping her on the neck.
- Parental Defense: Malásha’s mother rushes out to defend her daughter, trading insults with Akoúlya’s mother.
- Mass Brawl: Husbands, brothers, and male neighbors join the fight, yelling, shoving, and preparing to strike blows until a whole crowd is swept into collective fury.
Q48 Explain the significance of the concluding biblical quote: "Except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven."
Answer:
This quote encapsulates the entire philosophy of the story:
Tolstoy asserts that heaven is not a destination for the proud, dogmatic, or vindictive. Children possess an innate capacity for unconditional love: they do not hold grudges, bear malice, or nurse social prejudice. Adults, weighed down by social status and false pride, lose this capacity. The quote serves as an earnest plea for human beings to shed their adult cynicism and relearn the art of forgiveness, brotherhood, and joy from children.
Q49 Why did the men laugh at themselves at the end of the story?
Answer:
The men laughed at themselves because of sudden psychological self-awareness:
When Akoúlya's grandmother directed their gaze to the two little girls—who were running side by side, completely absorbed in laughing and catching a chip of wood in the water—the adults realized the utter absurdity of their brawl. They were preparing to break bones over a grievance that the "victims" themselves had forgotten within minutes. The laughter was a mixture of shame, relief, and self-mockery, which defused their pent-up aggression and allowed them to return peacefully to their homes.
Q50 Summarize the story "Little Girls Wiser Than Men" in your own words.
Answer:
Summary:
"Little Girls Wiser Than Men" is a moral tale set during Easter in a Russian village. Two young girls, Akoúlya and Malásha, dressed in their finest holiday frocks, meet by a dirty puddle to play. Despite warnings, Malásha accidentally splashes muddy water onto Akoúlya’s new frock. When Akoúlya's mother sees the stain, she strikes Malásha, provoking Malásha's mother to intervene.
Soon, the dispute drags in the fathers and a large crowd of neighbors, escalating into shouting and pushing. Akoúlya’s old grandmother tries to stop the fight, but the mob ignores her. Meanwhile, the two little girls reconcile on their own; Akoúlya cleans her frock, and together with Malásha, they dig a channel to let the puddle drain into the street, laughing merrily as they race a floating chip of wood. Pointing to the playing children, the grandmother shames the adults for fighting over girls who have already forgiven each other. Realizing their folly, the men laugh at themselves and return home in peace.
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