A Legend of Northland

Summary

Once Saint Peter stopped by an old lady's cottage because he was feeling hungry and weak
after walking around the world , preaching . The lady was baking cakes on the hearth. Since
he was weak with fasting, he asked her for a cake from her store of cakes. The selfish lady
tried to bake small cakes but each time they seemed too big for her to give away. Finally, she
baked one that was as thin as a wafer. Unable to part with it too, she put it on a shelf and did
not give any cake to the Saint. Saint Peter was very angry with her behaviour and said she
was too selfish to live as a human and have food, shelter and a fire to keep her warm. He
punished her by changing her into a woodpecker that would have to build a nest to live in,
bore for food in the trunks of trees. Her clothes were burned and she was left with her scarlet
cap on her head as she flew out through the chimney. Even today she still lives in the woods
and is seen by all the country school boys.

Comprehension Questions

(a)How is Northland described in the poem?
Northland is described as a land somewhere in the northern most area of the earth. It
is a cold country where people move on sledges drawn by reindeers. People wear
heavy fur clothes.

(b)Why does the poet say that the hours of the day are few?
In the poem, the poet talks about a place named Northland. In Northland, the nights
are longer and the days are shorter. As a result there are very few hours in a day.

(c)How do children of Northland appear in winters? Why?
The children of Northland appeared in winter like bear-cubs. They appear so due to the
thick fur coats that they wear during the winter to keep themselves warm.

(d)Why does the poet tell the tale through the poem?
The poet doesn’t believe the story is true yet he tells the story for teaching his readers
a lesson on greed.

(e)How did the people in Northland move around when it snowed?
The people in Northland moved around in sledges pulled by reindeer.

(f)Where did St. Peter live and what did he do?
St. Peter lived in the world below (earth) and travelled around the earth preaching.

(g)Why did Saint Peter ask the woman for a single cake?
Saint Peter asked the lady for a single cake because he was hungry and she was making
cakes and baking them on the hearth, when he reached her cottage.

(h)What did the woman do when St. Peter asked her for one cake? Why didn’t the woman
give away the cake?
The woman made a very little cake and as it was baking, she thought it was too large
to give away to a stranger, so she kept it with her.

(i)Why did the little woman make a second cake?
The little woman kneaded a second cake because she felt that the first one that she
had made for Saint Peter was large in size to give away. Being a greedy and miserly
woman, she didn’t want to part with a big cake for a stranger.

(j)How did the woman make the third cake?
The little woman was very careful while kneading the third cake. The first two that she
had baked were large in size. So; she took a tiny scrap of dough and rolled it as flat
and slender as a wafer.

(k)Why did the old woman refuse to part with the third cake as well?
The little woman had been extremely careful while kneading the third cake in order to
make it the smallest size she could. Yet, she refused to give that cake to Saint Peter
because she was miserly and greedy. She felt that her cakes seem small when she ate
them but seemed too large to give away.

(l)What angered St. Peter?
St. Peter was hungry and tired. He had asked the little woman only a single cake from
her store of cakes. Three times the woman made a cake for St. Peter but did not give it
to him. Such a selfish and greedy behaviour by the woman angered the saint.

(m)Why did St. Peter curse the woman? What was St. Peter’s curse upon the woman?
St. Peter told the little woman that she was very selfish to live in human form, have
both food and water and fire for warmth. He cursed her to be a bird where she will
have to build her own shelter and get food by boring continuously in the hard dry
wood.

(n)One should always be able to share with others as God has been so kind to give us so
much Discuss it in the context of the poem.
St. Peter was hungry and tired for he had been walking round the earth, preaching.
The saint came to the cottage of a little woman who was making cakes. The woman in
the poem has been shown as a highly stingy, miserly, greedy and mean by nature. When the saint asked her for a cake, she made a very little cake two times. When, she
took out cakes from the hearth, they appeared to be large in size so she did not give
them to Saint Peter. The third time she tried to bake a wafer thin cake. She could not even give him that wafer thin slice. This angered St. Peter and he cursed her to be a woodpecker. According to him she did not deserve to be in human form, to have food, shelter and fire for warmth.

Read the following extracts and answer the questions that follow in one or two lines.

(a)He came to the door of a cottage
In travelling round the earth
Where a little woman was making cakes
And baking them on the hearth

i. Who does ‘he’refer to in the first line?
‘He’ refers to Saint Peter.
ii. What request did ‘he’ make to the woman? Why?
‘He’ requested the woman to give him a cake.
iii. What did the woman give Saint Peter?
The woman did not give Saint Peter any cake. She tried three times to bake the
smallest cake that she could but did not part even with that.
iv. Give the meaning of ‘hearth’
floor of a fireplace

(b)Then Saint Peter grew angry
For he was hungry and faint ‘
And surely such a woman
Was enough to provoke a saint

i. Why was Saint Peter about to faint?
Saint Peter was about to faint as he had been travelling round the world preaching
and fasting and it was almost the end of day.
ii. How did the woman provoke Saint Peter?
The woman provoked Saint Peter by not giving him even the small cakes that she had
baked for him after trying three times to make the smallest cake that she could.
iii. How did Saint Peter react?
Saint Peter was angry and told her that she did not deserve to be in the human form,
where she had food, shelter and the warmth of fire. He cursed her and turned her into
a woodpecker.
iv. Give the antonym of the word ‘provoke’.
pacify

Answers to Text book questions

Thinking about the Poem
I. 1. Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?
The Northland” could refer to any extremely cold country in the Earth's north polar
region, such as Greenland, the northern regions of Russia, Canada, Norway etc.

2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?
Saint Peter asked the old lady for one of her baked cakes to satisfy his hunger. The
lady tried to bake a small cake for the saint.

3. How did he punish her?
He punished the lady by changing her into a woodpecker that built “as birds do” and
gathered scanty food by boring in the “hard, dry wood” all day long.

4. How does the woodpecker get her food?
The woodpecker gets her food by boring holes into trees.

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?
No, the old lady would not have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter
really was. Instead, she would have tried to please him with her cakes for the fulfilment
of her greedy desires.

6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?
No, this not a true story; it is a legend. I feel that the point in the story where the old
lady is changed into a woodpecker is the most important. This is because the
punishment meted out to the lady teaches us the value of generosity and charity.

7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?
A 'legend' is a popular story from the past which is believed by many but one cannot
prove whether it is true or not. It usually contains a message or a moral. The poet
himself says that he doesn't believe this tale to be true. This poem is called a 'legend'
because it preaches generosity towards fellow beings.

8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.
Once Saint Peter stopped by an old lady's cottage because he was feeling hungry and
weak after the day's fasting. The lady was baking cakes on the hearth. The saint asked
her for a cake from her store of cakes. The selfish lady tried to bake small cakes but
each time they seemed too big for her to give away. Finally, she baked one that was as
thin as a wafer. Unable to part with it too, she put it on a shelf and did not give any
cake to the Saint. Saint Peter was very angry with her behaviour and said she was too
selfish to live as a human and have food, shelter and a fire to keep her warm. He punished her by changing her into a woodpecker that would have to build a nest to
live in, bore for food in the trunks of trees. Her clothes were burned and she was left
with her scarlet cap on her head as she flew out through the chimney. Even today she
still lives in the woods and is seen by all the country school boys.

II. 1. 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’.
The rhyming words are: 'Few' and 'through' 'Earth' and 'hearth' 'Done' and 'one' 'Lay'
and 'away' 'One' and 'done' 'Flat' and 'that' Myself and 'shelf' 'Faint' and 'saint' 'Form'
and 'warm' 'Food' and 'wood' 'Word' and 'bird' 'Same' and 'flame' 'Wood' and 'food.

PRACTICE SHEET

Q1 Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

(a) And being faint with fasting
For the day was almost done
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.
i. Who is “He” in the extract?
‘He’ refers to Saint Peter in the extract.
ii. Who is ‘her’ in the extract and what did he ask her to give him?
‘Her’ refers to the little woman who was making cakes in her cottage and baking
them in the hearth. Saint Peter asked her to give him one cake from her store.
iii. Why was he faint with fasting?
He was faint due to fasting for he had been travelling round the world,
preaching.
iv. What is meant by ‘the day was almost done’?
The day was almost over.

(b) She had a scarlet cap on her head,
And that was left the same;
But all the rest of her clothes were burned
Black as coal in the flame
i. Who is referred to as ‘she’? What had ‘she’ been doing?
The little woman is referred to as ‘she’. She had been trying to make the
smallest cake that she could to give Saint Peter.
ii. What happened to ‘she’? Why?
She was turned into a woodpecker. The woman had been cursed by Saint Peter
because she had provoked him by not giving him even the small cakes that she
had baked for him after trying three times to make the smallest cake that she
could. She had been greedy and selfish.
iii. How does she live now?
The woman lives in the trees, boring continuously for food, all day in the hard
dry wood.
iv. Give the synonym of ‘scarlet’.
Brilliant red.

Q 2 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each.

i. Why can’t people of Northland sleep throughout their winter nights?
The people of Northland cannot sleep during winter nights because nights
during winter are very long. Nights are so long that one cannot sleep for such a
long time.

ii. When and why did Saint Peter happen to come to the little woman’s cottage?
Saint Peter was tired and hungry while travelling round the world, preaching. It
was already night. He came to the little woman’s cottage to ask for food.

iii. Who tells the children of Northland a curious story and what does the poet feel about
it?
The elders of Northland tell the children a curious story and the poet doesn’t
believe it to be true. Yet, he tells the story to the readers for teaching them a
lesson on greed.

iv. What happened to the little woman?
The little woman was changed to a woodpecker. She was wearing a scarlet cap
on her head which was left the same but the rest of her clothes were burnt black.

Q3 Answer the following questions in 100-150 words each.

(a) Describe the cakes made by the woman. What did she do with them?
Saint Peter asked the lady for a single cake because he was hungry and she was
making cakes and baking them on the hearth, when he reached her cottage.
The woman made a very little cake and as it was baking, she thought it was too
large to give away to a stranger, so she kept it with her. The little woman kneaded a second cake but she felt that too was as large as the first one so she did not give that to St. Peter. The third time, the little woman took a tiny scrap of dough and rolled it as flat and slender as a wafer. The little woman had been extremely careful while kneading the third cake in order to make it the smallest size she could. Yet, she refused to give that cake to Saint Peter. She felt that her cakes seem small when she ate them but seemed too large to give away. Being a greedy and miserly woman, she didn’t want to
part with anything for a stranger.

(b) What angered St. Peter? What did he do?
St. Peter was hungry and tired for he had been walking round the earth, preaching. The saint came to the cottage of a little woman who was making cakes. The woman in the poem has been shown as a highly stingy, miserly, greedy and mean by nature. When the saint asked her for a cake, she tried to
make the smallest cake she could, two times. But, when, she took the cakes out from the hearth, they appeared to be large in size so she did not give them to Saint Peter. The third time she tried to bake a wafer thin cake. She could not even give him that wafer thin slice. This angered St. Peter and he cursed her to be a woodpecker. According to him, a woman like her did not deserve to be in
human form, to have food, shelter and fire for warmth.