poem - THE MOUSE AND THE SNAKE
"And, when she stood shocked and still,
Sprang at once to make his kill.
Suddenly the mouse unfroze,
Glared at him, and twitched her nose."
answer the following questions given below from the above passage.
who was shocked ?
why was she shocked?
who wanted to kill her?
why did she glare at him?
Answers
Answer:
Introduction
In the poem, the poet says that the snake tries to escape from being hit by the stick held by a person who is trying to kill it. The poet wants to say that all snakes are not harmful. Humans have a notion that snakes are dangerous and try to kill them as soon as they spot one but this is not true. He tells us how a harmless green - coloured snake tries to hide behind the green bushes in order to save itself.
Poem and Explanation
The snake trying
to escape the pursuing stick,
with sudden curvings of thin
long body. How beautiful
and graceful are his shapes!
Pursuing: Chasing, following
Curvings: Twisting
The snake tries to escape from being hit by the stick that is following it. As the snake crawls, its body twists and turns forming fascinating shapes.
He glides through the water away
from the stroke. O let him go
over the water
into the reeds to hide
without hurt. Small and green
he is harmless even to children.
Glides: Moves
Stroke: Hitting of the stick
Reeds: Water or marsh plants with thick stems
The snakes moves through the water in order to save itself. The poet pleads to let it escape and hide behind the thick marshy plants as it is harmless. The small green - coloured snake is harmless even to children.
Along the sand
he lay until observed
and chased away, and now
he vanishes in the ripples
among the green slim reeds.
Vanishes: Disappears
Till it was spotted and chased away by the person holding a stick, it lay quietly in the sand. In order to save itself, the snake disappears in the ripples of the water and hides in the camouflaging green bushes of the marshy plants.