Class 9, Poem 5:A Legend of the Northland

Poem 5:A Legend of the Northland

**Thinking about the Poem**

**I.**

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

**Answer:** "The Northland" likely refers to very cold countries in the northernmost parts of the Earth, near the North Pole. These could include regions like Greenland, Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland), the northern parts of Russia, or Canada. The clues in the poem like "where the hours of the day are few, / And the nights are so long in winter," "they harness the swift reindeer / To the sledges," and children looking "like bear’s cubs / In their funny, furry clothes" all point to such extremely cold regions.

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

**Answer:** Saint Peter, feeling faint from fasting, asked the old lady for a single cake from her store of cakes.

The lady’s reaction was extremely selfish and greedy.

    * She made a small cake, but it seemed too large to give away.

    * So, she kneaded another, and still a smaller one; but it looked too large when she turned it over.

    * Then she took a tiny scrap of dough and rolled it as thin as a wafer, but she couldn't part with that either.

    * She put all the cakes on the shelf, unwilling to give any away.

**3. How did he punish her?**

**Answer:** Saint Peter grew angry at her selfishness and punished her by cursing her. He told her she was too selfish to live in a human form, to have food, shelter (a house), and a fire to keep her warm. He transformed her into a woodpecker, doomed to get her scanty food by boring (pecking) hard, dry wood all day long.

**4. How does the woodpecker get her food?**

**Answer:** The woodpecker gets her food by "boring and boring and boring" (pecking continuously) into the hard, dry wood of trees. She has to work very hard all day to find even a little food.

**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:** No, I do not think the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was. If she had known he was a holy saint with divine powers, she would likely have been very generous out of respect, fear of a curse, or hope for a blessing.

She might have given him many of her largest cakes, offered him other food and drink, and treated him with great hospitality, hoping to gain favour or blessings from him. This shows her actions were based on self-interest rather than genuine kindness.

**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 in the sense of being a factual historical event. It is a legend or a folktale, usually passed down through generations, meant to teach a moral lesson.

The most important part of the poem, I feel, is the old lady's extreme greed and Saint Peter's subsequent punishment. This highlights the central moral lesson of the poem: that selfishness and greed are sins and will eventually be punished, and that we should be generous and kind to others, especially those in need. The transformation into a woodpecker serves as a constant reminder of this.

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

**Answer:** A legend is an old, traditional story, often popularly regarded as historical but not authenticated. It usually involves supernatural elements or beings and often explains a natural phenomenon or teaches a moral lesson.

This poem is called a legend because:

    * It is an old story passed down through generations (the poet says, "'Tis a curious story... And yet you may learn a lesson / If I tell the tale to you").

    * It involves a holy figure, Saint Peter, who performs a supernatural act (cursing and transforming the lady).

    * It aims to explain the origin or characteristics of the woodpecker (why it bores for food and has a scarlet cap).

    * It teaches a clear moral lesson about the consequences of greed and the importance of charity.

**8. Let’s write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten stanzas.**

**Answer:**

(Here's an attempt to summarize the poem's story in roughly ten stanzas, maintaining its narrative flow.)

1. Far in the Northland, cold and vast,

    Where winter nights for long do last,

    And days are short, the people there

    Use reindeer sleds to brave the air.

2. Good Saint Peter, old and weak,

    Once travelled there, his fast to break.

    He saw a cottage, small and low,

    Where a little woman, to and fro,

    Was baking cakes upon the hearth.

3. Faint with hunger, tired from earth,

    He asked for one, from her large store,

    A single cake, and nothing more.

    She looked, and made a tiny bake,

    But thought it large, for goodness sake!

4. She kneaded then a smaller one,

    But still too big when it was done.

    A tiny scrap she then did roll,

    So thin it was, it vexed her soul

    To give away, e'en such a treat.

5. She put them all, so mean and fleet,

    Upon the shelf, for none to share,

    Too selfish for a saint's small prayer.

    Good Saint Peter's anger grew,

    Her greedy heart, he saw it through.

6. "Too selfish you," the Saint did say,

    "To live as human from this day!

    No food, no fire, no house so warm,

    Shall shield you from life's coming storm."

7. He cursed her then, to change her form,

    A bird to be, through sun and storm.

    She went up through the chimney flue,

    A woodpecker, for all to view.

8. A scarlet cap upon her head,

    Her clothes all black, from fear and dread,

    Transformed she was, by Peter's might,

    And vanished upwards, from his sight.

9. Now every country boy can see

    Her in the woods, up in a tree,

    Where she must bore, through hard, dry wood,

    To find her very scanty food.

10. So this old tale, the elders tell,

    Teaches a lesson, clear and well:

    Be kind, be generous, share your bread,

    Lest like that woman, you're misled.