Class 9 English - GUJARAT
Supplementary: In the Kingdom of Fools
Supplementary: In the Kingdom of Fools is a traditional Kannada folktale retold by A.K. Ramanujan, featured in the Class 9 English curriculum for Gujarat (GSEB) students. The chapter tells the amusing tale of a foolish king and his equally foolish minister who decided to turn night into day and day into night. Everything cost the same single duddu, which tempted a guru and his disciple to stay. The story highlights the dangers of living under foolish leadership and how quick thinking and clever wits can save lives. It is an important chapter for board exams as it tests reading comprehension, moral understanding, and character analysis through short and long answer questions.
Start Learning FreeKey Concepts
The Foolish Decree
The king and his minister reversed the natural order of life, ordering everyone to sleep by day and work by night under the threat of death.
The Single Duddu Economy
In this kingdom, everything—whether a measure of rice or a bunch of bananas—cost the exact same price: a single duddu, making the kingdom extremely cheap.
The Chain of Blame
A thief's death leads to a bizarre trial where the blame shifts sequentially from the owner of the house to the bricklayer, the dancing girl, the goldsmith, and finally the merchant's dead father.
The Guru's Wisdom
The wise guru recognized the danger of staying in a kingdom of fools and decided to leave, while his foolish disciple stayed behind tempted by cheap food.
The Clever Trick
To save his disciple from being executed on a newly made stake, the guru tricks the king by making up a story about the stake being holy and whoever dies first becoming the future king.
Important Formulas
Board Exam Info
In the Gujarat (GSEB) Class 9 English board assessments, this chapter typically carries around 3 to 5 marks. Questions commonly include short answer questions (SAQs) testing the sequence of blame during the trial, and long answer questions (LAQs) focusing on the moral of the story, the guru's cleverness, or character sketches of the king and the disciple.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did the guru and his disciple decide to leave the kingdom?
How did the guru save his disciple's life?
The guru tricked the foolish king and minister into believing that the stake was holy and that whoever was executed first would be reborn as the king in the next life.
Who was ultimately held responsible for the thief's death during the trial?
The rich merchant was finally held responsible because he inherited the property and sins of his dead father, who was deemed the actual culprit by the king.
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