Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Stone Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of Cypress Street, The Man On The Island and Travelling With Grandfather’s Zoo so, you can check these posts as well.
The Stone Questions & Answers
Question 1: What pitiful sight made Maibon worry about his fate?
Answer: When Maibon was driving his horse cart, he saw a frail old man hobbling along. This pitiful sight made him worry about his fate.
Question 2: Pick out a line from the story that proves that Modrona is oblivious to magic and believes that keeping one’s obligations to work and family is all that one needs.
Answer: Modrona is oblivious to magic and believe that keeping one’s obligation to work and family is all that one needs. This ¡s evident in the line where she tells her husband, “Hoe your field, or you’ll have no crop to harvest and no food for us.”
Question 3: Why did the dwarf shut his bright red eyes and hold his breath?
Answer: The dwarf shut his bright red eyes and held his breath because he could not disappear and Maibon could see him.
Question 4: ‘I think you might be one of the Fair Folk.’ Why did Maibon willingly help the dwarf after this realization?
Answer: After realizing that the dwarf was ‘one of the Fair Folk’, Maibon willingly helped him because he knew that if a person did a good deed for the Fair Folk, the latter would also do the person a good deed in return.
Question 5: What did Doli expect Maibon to ask for as a favour? What advice did he give Maibon?
Answer: Doli expected Maibon to ask for gold or jewels as a favour. However, he advised Maibon to ask for something practical, like a cook pot which was always brimming with food.
Question 6: Why do you think Modrona called Maibon a selfish fool?
Answer: Modrona called Maibon a selfish fool because while he could have asked the dwarf for something that would have benefitted his family, he asked for his eternal youth and got a stone that would stop him from ageing instead. This would also result in his wife, children and grandchildren ageing and dying while he would be the same for all times to come.
Question 7: In what ways are Maibon and Modrona different?
Answer: Maibon and Modrona were different as Maibon believed that magic would solve his problems. While Modrona believed that the Maibon should fulfil his obligations to his work and family.
Maibon was quiet selfish as he asked for eternal youth for himself, and got a stone that would stop him from ageing. However, Modrona was practical in her outlook as she explained to Maibon that he may not age further but she and their children as well as their grandchildren would age and die and he would look foolish, being younger to them.
Question 8: Maibon is quite a pessimist. Do you agree? Justify your answer.
Answer: Maibon was quite a pessimist. He saw an old man hobbling and felt disappointed about facing a similar future. He then expected the dwarf to grant him eternal youth and instead got a stone that would stop him from ageing further. Even after getting the stone, he was not convinced of its power and threw it in the fireplace, cursing the dwarf as dishonest, until he saw the power of the stone next day.
Question 9: Initially Maibon feels cheated, then he calls the dwarf ‘generous-hearted.’ Explain the reason for his change of heart.
Answer: Initially, when Maibon did not see or feel any change in his appearance, he felt cheated and thought that the dwarf had cheated him and even called the latter ‘dishonest’. However, when he saw the next morning that his beard had not grown, he realized that the stone had indeed stopped him from ageing and blessed the dwarf as ‘generous-hearted’.
Question 10: Why did Maibon regret asking the dwarf for the stone? How did he try to get rid of the stone?
Answer: Although the stone had stopped Maibon from ageing, it had stopped the growth of everything around him. The seeds that he had sown did not sprout, leaving his field barren, the eggs did not hatch, the cow did not calve, the wheat did not sprout either, nor did the apple tree bear any fruit and no teeth appeared in his baby’s mouth, even though he was teething.
In frustration, Maibon tried to get rid of the stone by burying it, throwing it, throwing it in the well, and trying to pound it to dust. However, all his efforts were in vain.
So, these were The Stone Questions & Answers.