The Lost Child Summary & Notes | NCERT Solutions | Class 9 |

The Lost Child Summary & Notes | Questions Answers | NCERT Solutions |

The Lost Child Summary

The Lost Child is a story about parents and children. It is often seen that parents scold their children for small things. But the child always wants their parent nearby and feels lost when they are not around. 

This story revolves around a child who went to a spring fair with his parents. It was crowded with people and there were different stalls set up in the fair. When the child saw toys, he wanted one but his father looked at him sternly. His mother also tried to divert his attention towards the mustard field which looked like gold in the sun. There were some dragon-flies with colorful wings over the flowers. The child tried to catch one, but his mother called him and he ran towards them. He heard doves cooing and picked up some petals in the grove. But then his parents called him again, so he made his way back towards them while he was running around the tree.

When the child went to the fair with his parents, he saw a sweetmeat seller calling out “gulab-jaman, rasagulla, burfi, jalebi.” He wanted some sweets so he asked his father to buy him one. But no one paid any attention to him. When he walked ahead with his parents, he heard a flower seller selling “A garland of gulmohur.” He liked the flowers and wanted to buy one for himself. The only problem was that there was no way his parents would let him spend money on flowers! Then, he noticed a balloon man selling rainbow balloons. He wanted to buy the balloons, but he knew that his parents would not allow him making an excuse of being older to play with such toys. So, he walked past the balloon-man with his parents.

As the child walked forward, he saw a snake-charmer playing music to a snake in a basket. He wanted to listen but his parents wouldn’t approve. So he went away from the snake-charmer and saw a merry-go-round. Many people were enjoying rides on it. He called out to his parents that he wanted to take a ride, but there was no reply from them when he turned around and they weren’t nearby anymore either. The child was lost and he didn’t know where his parents were. So, he started crying. The child started to cry and he could not find his parents. He could not see them anywhere in the crowd. He cried loudly and ran around, but he couldn’t find them. The place was crowded with many people who were much bigger than him.

All of a sudden, a man heard a little boy crying. The man picked him up and the little boy cried. The man asked the little boy about his parents but he did not know where they were. The man tried to comfort the child and asked if he wanted to go on a ride on the merry-go-round, but the child wanted his parents instead. The man took the child to the balloon-man, sweet shop and flower-seller. The boy refused to buy anything. He wanted his parents instead.

RELATED

NCERT Solutions of The Lost Child

Think about it (The Lost Child Class 9)

Question 1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

Answer: On his way to the fair, the child sees a lot of toys, mustard field, dragon flies, doves and many other things. He wants to stop at all of them and sometimes just looks at nature. That is why he lags behind in the crowd some times. His parents keep calling him so that he does not get lost.

Question 2. In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?

Answer: Given below are the things that the child wants in the fair;

• Balloons
• Sweets
• Toys
• Garlands of Gulmohar
• Ride in the swing

Question 3. When does he realize that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?

Answer: When the boy saw a roundabout turning really fast, he wanted to ride on it. But when he turned to talk to his parents, they were gone! He realized that he had lost his way. The boy was feeling anxious and insecure. He had lost his way. A cry came from his dry throat, and he ran away. His face was afraid, and tears were on his eyes. He ran in all directions looking for his mother and father, crying, “Mother! Father!”

Question 4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?

Answer: The lost child runs away from the things that he wanted earlier. Suddenly, He loses interest in all of them. All he wants is his parents. 

Question 5. What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?

Answer: I think the child finds his parents in the end. While the child was lost, his parents would have looked for him and searched him. Moreover, the gentleman, who had found him cry, would have also asked about his parents. In the end, they would have met with one another.

Do share this post if you liked The Lost Child  Summary and Notes. For more updates, keep logging on BrainyLads