The Nightingale and The Rose

(Q&A from The Nightingale and The Rose - An Anthology of Short Stories for ICSE Students of class X.If you need a clarification, please post a comment with your query.)

I.
1.How does the beginning of the story introduce its theme?
The theme of the story is love. The beginning of the story introduces this theme by portraying a student who was lovelorn as he could would not be able to dance with the girl who he liked because he did not have a red rose. The story describes the sad plight of the student saying that passion had made his face pale and that there was sorrow upon his brow.

2.State briefly how the nightingale comes to the aid of the young student.
The nightingale felt sorry for the young student. The nightingale comes to the aid of the young student by deciding to attempt to arrange for a red rose for the student.

3.What is a fable? In what way is The Nightingale and The Rose a fable?
A fable is a story in which birds and animals speak and act to bring out the moral of the story. The Nightingale and the Rose is fable because the Nightingale is a central character in this story. The Nightingale gives up its life for getting the lovelorn student a red rose. The rose plant talks to the Nightingale telling its how it could help in ensuring that the student gets a rose by the next morning. Even the Lizard and the Butterfly are shown enquiring why the student was so sad. The oak tree is also shown to be sad when it comes to know that the Nightingale has decided to give-up its life for getting the student a red rose.

4.What problem did the student foresee of he were not to get a red rose?
If the student did not get the red rose for the girl who he like then he would not be able to dance with the girl. He knew that if the did not succeed in getting the red rose the girl would dance to the music of stringed instruments but would not dance with the student.

5.What did the Nightingale say about her song of love and love itself?
The Nightingale said that she sang the song of love night after night. She said that what was joy to her was pain for the student. She said that the student suffers what she sings of. The Nightingale said that love is not something that can be bought from merchants and cannot be exchanged even for gold.

6. Name the creatures which got associated with the problem posed by the student in the story.
The Nightingale, Rose Trees, the Oak tree, the Green Lizard, the Butterfly are the creatures which got associated with the students’ problem.

II.

1.Refer to the first paragraph of the extract and explain fully the statement : “an what is sing of , he suffer: what is joy to me , to him is pain.
The Nightingale says that it always sings songs of love but it is love which is making the student sad. Songs of love give joy to the Nightingale – however love is giving the student pain since he is not able to get a red rose which will enable him to dance with the girl of his choice.

2.How would the beautiful girl dance? Why did the young man weep? How does this weeping highlight the central problem in the story?
The beautiful girl would dance to the sound of the harp and violin. She would dance so lightly that her feet would not touch the floor. The young man wept because he could not get a red rose. Without the red rose he would not be able to dance with the girl. The weeping highlights the central problem of the story because the story is a sad story. It is sad because earlier the young man could not dance with the girl since he did not get a red rose. Later he threw away the rose which the Nightingale got for him by shedding its blood.

3. Explain in your own worlds the reaction of the little Green Lizard and the Butterfly to the weeping of the young student.
The Green Lizard and the Buttery initially did not understand why the young student was weeping. The Nightingale later told them why the student was weeping. However, the Green Lizard and the Butterfly – unlike the Nightingale – we unconcerned about the plight of the student.

4.What did the Nightingale tell the Rose tree in the center of the garden? Narrate briefly the solution put forward by the Rose tree.
The Rose tree in the center of the garden told he Nightingale that its roses were white as the snow in the mountains. It also told the nightingale that that its brother which grew under the students window could help the Nightingale to get a red rose.
The solution put forward by the Rose tree was that the Nightingale must build a red rose out of its music and colour it with its heart’s blood. It said that he Nightingale must sing to it with a thorn that must pierce the Nightingale’s heart and the oozing blood must flow into its veins.

5.There are several dialogues in the story. Give two examples to show that dialogue helps to develop the story line.
Many dialogues in the story helps in developing the storyline. Two of these dialogues are
a) “She said that she would dance with me if I brought her a red rose”. This is one of the most important dialogues in the story. This dialogue establishes the principal event in the story around which the rest of the action in the story revolves.
b) “ He is weeping for a red rose “ said the Nightingale. T his is also an important dialogue in the story as it sets the stage for the Nightingale to go in search for a red rose and later give up its life for the rose.
III.
1. On whose advice did the Nightingale fly over to the second Rose –tree? Why did she go to that tree?
The Nightingale flew over to the second Rose-tree on the advice of the first rose tree which told the Nightingale that it grew only white roses but its brother which grew under the students window could give the Nightingale a red rose.

2.Why couldn’t the second rose tree give a red rose to the Nightingale?
The second rose tree could not give a red rose to the Nightingale because the winter had chilled its veins, the frost had destroyed its buds and the storm had broken its branches.

3.How did the Nightingale show that she was desperate to have a red rose?
The Nightingale showed that it was desperate to have a red rose by agreed to sing to the red rose tree all night with a thorn pierced to its heart. This meant certain death for he Nightingale, yet it agreed to this task for creating a red rose.

4.Explain clearly how a red rose could be produced by the second Rose-tree.
A rose could be produced by the red rose tree only if the Nightingale sang for it all night with a thorn piercing its heart. The blood from the Nightingales heart had to flow into the rose trees veins to colour the rose red.

5.Why is the procedure to produce a red rose tree said to be terrible.
The procedure to produce a red rose tree said to be terrible because it meant certain death for the Nightingale which had o sing for the red rose tree with a thorn piercing its heart.

6. Referring to the conversation between the Nightingale and the second Rose Tree, state how the author creates suspense in the story.
The red rose tree tell the Nightingale that there was a way to create a red rose. However, the red rose tree also tells the Nightingale that the method was so terrible that that it dare not tell the Nightingale about it. The Nightingale beseeches the rose tree to tell it about the method to get the red rose and that it was not afraid of the consequences.

IV.

1.Why is death a great price to pay for a red rose? How could death occur in this case?
Death is a great price to pay for a red rose because the red rose was only required by the student to get him a chance to dance with the girl he love. Death for a very big sacrifice for this. Death in this case occurred due to the continuous bleed of blood from the Nightingale’s heart to the veins of the rose tree.