Page 1 : 1, The Story of Muhammad Din, , Rudyard Kipling, , , , , , This is a very touching and sad story about a little child, who is, full of life and whose endearing ways win him many friends., He keeps himself busy with various kinds of games and finds, happiness in ordinary things. But his life is cut short by an, illness and his loss is felt even by the narrator who is a white, man and who has himself shown kindness in many different, ways., , Behind this simple narrative, one can see the colonial situation in the relationship between the master and the servants., The relationship is clearly demarcated by fear and authority. It, is only the little child who is able to cross it in some measure., He is a little ‘man’., , , , Who is the happy man? He that sees in his own house at, home, little children crowned with dust, leaping and falling and crying. ;, , —Munichandra, translated by Professor Peterson, , The polo-ball was an old one, scarred, chipped, and dinted. It, stood on the mantelpiece among the pipe-stems which Imam, Din, khitmatgar, was cleaning for me., Does the Heaven-born want this ball?’ said Imam Din,, , deferentially., , The Heaven-born set no particular store by it; but of what, Use was a polo-ball to a khitmatgar?, thi By Your Honour’s favour, I have a little son. He has seen, , is ball, and desires it to play with. I do not want it for myself.’, - No one would for an instant accuse portly old Imam Din, of, , anting to play with polo-balls. He, carried out the battered

Page 2 : 2 The Many Worlds of Literature, , dah; and there followed a hurrican, , ful squeaks, a patter of small feet, and the thud-thy deting, of th, , ball rolling along the ground. Evidently, the little son },, waiting outside the door to secure his treasure. But been bee, managed to see that polo-ball? had he, , Next day, coming back from office half an hour ear;, usual, | was aware of a small figure in the dining Som i thay, plump figure in a ridiculously inadequate shirt, which ~ A tiny, haps, halfway down the tubby stomach. It wandered Came De, room, thumb in mouth, crooning to itself as it took ee q, ea was the ‘little son’ OCk of the, e had no business in my room os, , absorbed in his discoveries oie he ee Sea : Was $0 deeply, way. I stepped into the room and startled him me in the door., He sat down on the ground ih a casp. Hi nearly into a fit, his mouth followed suit. I knew Ms . Is eyes opened, and, Gitiediy long dey how) +i at was coming, and fled,, ters far more qui E eee eee We servants’ quar, , In ten seco quickly than any command of mine had ever d, n nds, Imam Din was in the dini po, despairing sobs arose, and I returned eee room. The, ishing the small sinner, wh ae eee in ado, handkerchief. , who was using most of his shirt as @, , ‘This boy,’ sai Pape, , budmash. He gia Din, judicially, ‘is a budmash—a big, : out doubt, go to the jail-khana for hs, , behaviour,’ Ren, : ewed :, apology to myself ao. € penitent and an elaborate, , ‘Tell the b ’ a l, aby,’ I said, ‘that the Sahib is not angry, and take, , him away.’, ry: Imam Di, who had now sath in conveyed my forgiveness to the offend, , and the yell oe all his shirt round his neck, string", His name,’ said sic mito a sob. The two set off for the doo", the crime, ‘is Nedecens Din, as though the name were patt f, , mad Din, and he is a budmash.’ Freed, , Present dan:, ger, M, arms, and said uhammad Din turned round in his father's, , i : ‘avi Tes, eon ‘< bi Fars ab tive that my name is Muhami™, at day d. udmash, | am ,, , Never agin nese emnnance with Maha, mT Oo my dini nev’, , ee though Ane garden, we bee aur a on the Mr,, om his side, ang onversation Wwasie ake . i Soe ait, alaam, Muhammad Din’ from me: pally, , thing into the veran, , A, , on my return fro, pody used to ris, where they had |, that my salutati, Muhammad, about the com), mysterious erré, of his hardiwo, polo-ball in du, in a circle roun, traced out in b, ken china; th, waterman fron, saying that it, disfigure my §, Heaven kn, work then or, den brought |, knew, marigo, dish into cor, came upon !, ruin I had wr, was very ans, tered his ru!, Din laboure, bank and po, getic face th, office. A t, Muhammat, to disport |, and fell to, eclipse the, For som, his humble, always fast, away by tt, glass, and |, and alway:, A gaily, of his little

Page 3 : The Story of Muhammad Din 3, , on my return from office, the little white shirt and the fat little, body used to rise from the shade of the creeper-covered trellis, where they had been hidden, and daily I checked my horse here,, that my salutation might not be slurred over or given unseemly,, , Muhammad Din never had any companions. He used to trot, about the compound, in and out of the castor-oil bushes, on, mysterious errands of his own. One day I stumbled upon some, of his handiwork far down the grounds. He had half buried the, , Jo-ball in dust, and stuck six shrivelled old marigold flowers, ina circle round it. Outside that circle again was a rude square,, traced out in bits of red brick alternating with fragments of broken china; the whole bounded by a little bank of dust. The, waterman from the well-curb put in a plea for the small architect,, saying that it was only the play of a baby and did not much, disfigure my garden., , Heaven knows that I had no intention of touching the child’s, work then or later; but, that evening, a stroll through the garden brought me unawares full on it; so that I trampled, before I, knew, marigold-heads, dust-bank,and fragments of broken soapdish into confusion past all hope of mending. Next morning, I, came upon Muhammad Din crying softly to himself over the, ruin | had wrought. Someone had cruelly told him that the Sahib, was very angry with him for spoiling the garden, and had scattered his rubbish, using bad language the while. Muhammad, Din laboured for an hour at effacing every trace of the dustbank and pottery fragments, and it was with a tearful and apologetic face that he said, ‘Talaam, Tahib,’ when I came home from, office. A hasty inquiry resulted in Imam Din informing, Muhammad Din that, by my singular favour, he was permitted, to disport himself as he pleased. Whereat the child took heart, and fell to tracing the groundplan of an edifice which was to, eclipse the marigold polo-ball creation., , For some months, the chubby little eccentricity revolved in, his humble orbit among the castor-oil bushes and in the dust;, always fashioning magnificent palaces from stale flowers thrown, away by the bearer, smooth water-worn pebbles, bits of broken, glass, and feathers pulled, I fancy, from my fowls—always alone,, and always crooning to himself., , A gaily spotted seashell was dropped one day close to the last, of his little buildings; and I looked that Muhammad Din should

Page 4 : 4 The Many Worlds of Literature, , i ing more than ordinarily splendid on the stre,, pois es TPsisappointed. He meditated for the better, of an hour, and his crooning rose to a jubilant song. Then he, began tracing in the dust. It would certainly be a wondrous ba, ace, this one, for it was two yards long and a yard broad j,, ground-plan. But the palace was never completed., , Next day, there was no Muhammad Din at the head of th., carriage-drive and no ‘Talaam, Tahib’ to welcome my return, |, had grown accustomed to the greeting, and its omission troubled, me. Next day, Imam Din told me that the child was sufferin,, slightly from fever and needed quinine. He got the medicine, and an English doctor., , ‘They have no stamina, these brats,’ said the doctor, as he, left Imam Din’s quarters., , ; Aweek later, though I would have given much to have avoided, oe met on the toad to the Mussulman burying-ground Imam, in, accompanied by one other friend, carrying in his arms,, , wee in a white cloth, all that was left of little Muhammad, in., , I. Glossary, , scarred—full of marks, chipped—broken, dinted—dented, deferentially—with respect, hurricane—storm, portly—bulky, crooning—humming, singi, , Pea pene, admonishing—warning, a, , judicially—with i i i i j, Seeliens eon t wisdom; impartially like a judge, , trellis— : i, Gate cos ee ne made with lengths of wood goiné, . er like, , edifice—structure Noe, , jubilant—, Omisen ° Oe HAPPY, filled with great joy, enjoyful, ea. out, absence, neglect, circle, range of experi, oe ‘ perience, One behaviour or habit, shrunken and withered, , Il., , NAUP WHT, , oe, , 10., 1, He, , obs, , poo, , au, , , , Comprehensio, Why does the I, How did the lit, Describe the ct, Why does the |, Describe some, Why does the:, Who destroye, golds?, Who is the lit, Who dropped, What did the, Why was the, Name the illr, , State which, which ‘false, No one want, Muhammad, The water-m, The master, structure., The master, The narratc, , Compositi, Describe sc, child in ter, , Use the feo, , secure, hut

Page 5 : ee, , 10., Nel, 12:, , iil., , Reo, , Cas, , snoauserek, , The Story of Muhammad Din 5, , Comprehension, , Why does the Kiitmatgar want the polo-ball?, , How did the little child happen to see the polo-ball?, Describe the child. Why is his shirt described as inadequate?, Why does the child let out a howl on seeing the white man?, Describe some of the games the child invented for himself., Why does the narrator describe the garden as ‘neutral ground’?, , Who destroyed the little edifice in the garden built with marigolds?, , Who is the little man?, , Who dropped the sea-shell and why?, , What did the doctor say about the child?, Why was the palace never completed?, , Name the illness the child was suffering from., , State which of the following statements are ‘true’ and, which ‘false’:, , No one wanted the polo-ball., , Muhammad Din was afraid of the master., , The water-man defended the child., , The master was sorry that he had destroyed the child’s little, structure., , The master did not want him to play in the garden., The narrator slowed down his horse to wish the child., , Composition, Describe some of the games you have invented or played as a, child in ten sentences., , Use the following words in sentences of your own:, secure, hurricane, singular, errand, apology.