Chapter 8: A Game of Chance
Summary
The story revolves around a village fair where the narrator, Rasheed, goes with his uncle and their helper, Bhaiya. Rasheed’s uncle gets caught up with his friends, so he asks Rasheed to explore the fair with Bhaiya until he returns. They come across a shop called the Lucky Shop, where people can pay 50 paise to pick six discs and win an item based on the total number of discs. Rasheed witnesses an old man and a boy winning valuable items. Encouraged, Rasheed tries his luck but only gets low-value items. Eventually, he loses all his money. Upon returning home, Uncle explains that the winners were the shopkeeper’s friends, tricking Rasheed into spending his money. Uncle consoles Rasheed and buys him gifts. The story highlights the lesson of not falling for deceit and not being disheartened by unfortunate incidents.
Questions and Answers
QA. Complete the following sentences from memory choosing a phrase from those given in brackets.
- ————————————— was held at the time of the Eid festival.
(A big show, A big fair, A big competition) - Tradesmen came to the village with all kinds of goods—————————————.
(to display, to buy, to sell) - Uncle told me ———————————————————————— while he was away.
(not to buy anything, not to go anywhere, not to talk to anyone) - The owner of the Lucky Shop wanted everybody present ——————————————————————————.
(to play the game, to win a prize, to try their luck) - The first time I took a chance I got —————————————–—.
(a bottle of ink, two pencils, a trifle) - Uncle told me that the shopkeeper had made ————————.
(a fool of me, a good profit, friends with many people
Answer.
- A big fair was held at the time of the Eid festival.
- Tradesmen came to the village with all kinds of goods to sell.
- Uncle told me not to buy anything while he was away.
- The owner of the Lucky Shop wanted everybody present to try their luck.
- The first time I took a chance I got two pencils.
- Uncle told me that the shopkeeper had made a fool of me.
QB. Answer the following questions.
- Why do you think Rasheed’s uncle asked him not to buy anything in his absence?
- Why was the shop called ‘Lucky Shop’?
- An old man won a clock and sold it back to the shopkeeper. How much money did he make?
- How many prizes did the boy win? What were they?
- Why was Rasheed upset?
- In what way did the shopkeeper make a fool of Rasheed?
Answer.
- Rasheed’s uncle asked him not to buy anything in his absence because he wanted to ensure that Rasheed didn’t spend money unnecessarily or get involved in any unfavorable transactions. He wanted Rasheed to wait for his guidance and make wise decisions.
- The shop was called the ‘Lucky Shop’ because it offered a game of chance where people could try their luck by picking numbered discs. Depending on the total of the numbers they obtained, they would receive a corresponding prize. The idea was that luck played a significant role in determining what prize one would receive.
- The old man won a clock with a total value of 15 rupees. He then sold it back to the shopkeeper for the same amount, 15 rupees. So, he made 15 rupees by selling the clock back to the shopkeeper.
- The boy won multiple prizes. On his first try, he won a comb worth 25 paise. On his second try, he won a fountain pen worth three rupees. On his third try, he won a wristwatch worth 25 rupees. And in his fourth try, he won a table lamp worth more than 10 rupees.
- Rasheed was upset because he had bad luck and didn’t win any significant prizes despite multiple attempts. He had hopes of winning something valuable but ended up with insignificant items like two pencils and a bottle of ink, which made him feel disappointed.
- The shopkeeper made a fool of Rasheed by setting up a rigged game. Rasheed believed that the prizes were determined by luck, but in reality, the shopkeeper had arranged for his friends to win valuable prizes to entice Rasheed and others to play. It was a deceptive tactic to make Rasheed spend his money without any chance of winning significant prizes.
Word meaning
- tradesmen: shopkeepers or people who have goods to sell
- a trifle: an object of little value
- Eid – A religious festival celebrated annually.
- Fair – An event or gathering where goods are sold and various activities take place.
- Tradesmen – People engaged in trade or business.
- Goods – Products or items that are bought and sold.
- Shopkeeper – The person who owns or manages a shop.
- Lucky Shop – A shop where people can try their luck to win prizes.
- Discs – Flat circular objects used in the game at the Lucky Shop.
- Paise – The subdivision of the Indian currency, equivalent to a hundredth of a rupee.
- Trifle – Something of little value or importance.
- Fool – To deceive or trick someone.
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