NCERT Solutions Class 9 English Poem Chapter 5 A Legend of the Northland

A Legend of the Northland is a moral poem that teaches an important lesson about greed, kindness, and generosity. Written in a simple narrative style, the poem explains how selfish behaviour leads to punishment, while kindness is rewarded. It is an easy yet meaningful poem in the Class 9 English syllabus.

NCERT Solutions Class 9  English Poem Chapter 5 help students understand the story, moral message, and textbook questions clearly. The solutions follow the CBSE pattern and are useful for writing value-based answers in exams.

Class 9 English A Legend Of The Northland Question Answer

The Class 9 English A Legend Of The Northland Question Answer section provides clear explanations for all NCERT textbook questions. The poem narrates a legend in which Saint Peter tests a woman’s generosity but is disappointed by her greed.

A Legend Of The Northland Question Answer Class 9 explains the poem’s characters, events, and moral in simple language, helping students score better in exams.

Question 1. Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?

Answer: The “Northland” may refer to any of the countries among Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, etc.

Question 2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?

Answer: Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake. She was very selfish and kept reducing the size of the cake as to her it seemed too big to give away.

Question 3. How did he punish her?

Answer: He cursed her and changed her into a woodpecker as a punishment for being so selfish.

Question 4. How does the woodpecker get her food?

Answer: The woodpecker needs to bore all day in the hard, dry wood to get itself some food.

Question 5. Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?

Answer: I don’t think the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was. She would have given him as large a piece of cake so that she could please him in order to get rewarded.

Question 6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?

Answer: No, this is not a true story. It is a legend. The part of the poem that, according to me, is the most important is: 

And he said, “You are far too selfish
To dwell in a human form,
To have both food and shelter,
And fire to keep you warm.

This shows that we must do go things for humanity as we are capable of doing so in our human form. We should have gratitude for having food, shelter and fire. We should be generous to people.

Question 7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?

Answer: A legend is a folklore that is believed to be true by tellers and listeners but it has not been proven to have happened. It usually imparts some morals or a message. This poem is called a legend because it also imparts the message of generosity.

Question 8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.

Answer: A Legend of the Northland

Once, Saint Peter was feeling very hungry and he asked for alms from an old lady. He asked if she could give him a piece of cake to eat. The lady was very selfish. She kept reducing the size of the cake as she felt that the size of the cake was too big to be given away as alms. At last she did not give him any cake.

Saint Peter grew angry and cursed her to become a woodpecker. He said that from now on, she will have to bore dry, hard wood in order to get food. All her clothes got burnt in the chimney and till this day, woodpeckers bore all day long for food and water.

II.

Question 1. Let’s look at the words at the end of the second and fourth lines, viz., ‘snows’ and ‘clothes’, ‘true’ and ‘you’, ‘below’ and ‘know.’ We find that ‘snows’ rhymes with ‘clothes’, ‘true’ rhymes with ‘you’ and ‘below’ rhymes with ‘know’. Find more such rhyming words.

Answer: Here are more such rhyming words from the poem:

earth-hearth, done-one, lay-away, flat-that, myself-shelf, faint-saint, form-warm, food-wood, word-bird and same-flame.

Question 2. Go to the local library or talk to older persons in your locality and find legends in your own language. Tell the class these legends.

Answer: Do it yourself.

Short Summary Of A Legend Of The Northland Class 9

The poem tells the story of Saint Peter, who visits a poor woman’s cottage and asks for food. Although the woman has enough dough, she keeps making smaller and smaller cakes out of greed and refuses to give him anything.

Angered by her selfishness, Saint Peter curses her and turns her into a woodpecker. She is condemned to live in the forest and bore wood for food. The poem teaches that greed destroys humanity, while kindness brings blessings.

The poet begins by describing the Northland, a very cold region near the North Pole. In this land, days are extremely short and nights are very long. People living there believe strongly in old legends and stories passed down through generations. This sets the background of the poem and prepares the reader for a moral tale.

Saint Peter, one of Jesus Christ’s disciples, travels around the world preaching and helping people. During one of his journeys, he reaches a small cottage and feels tired and hungry. He knocks on the door, hoping someone will help him with food. This stanza introduces Saint Peter as a humble and kind figure.

A poor-looking woman opens the door. Saint Peter politely asks her for a small piece of bread. The woman starts baking a cake but soon thinks it is too big to give away. Her hesitation shows the beginning of her greedy nature.

The woman keeps making smaller and smaller cakes, but every time she feels even those are too large to give to Saint Peter. Despite having enough flour, she is unwilling to share even a little. This stanza highlights how greed makes people selfish, even when they can afford to help.

Finally, the woman refuses to give Saint Peter any bread at all. Saint Peter becomes angry and disappointed by her lack of kindness. He tells her that since she is unwilling to share food with others, she does not deserve to live among humans.