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Extract from the Play
MERCHANT
:
(Breathlessly)
Good day, kind sirs.
ALL FOUR
:
Good day, brother.
MERCHANT
:
I seek your help. My camel has gone
astray
. Have you, by chance, seen it?
RAM DATT
:
Is your camel lame in one leg, by any chance?
MERCHANT
:
(Surprised)
Yes, yes, it is!
SHIV DATT
:
Is it blind in the right eye?
MERCHANT
:
Precisely! It is blind in one eye—the right one, as you say.
Summary in Bullet Points
- The Merchant tells the four friends that his camel is missing and asks whether they have seen it.
- Ram Datt asks whether the camel has trouble walking on one leg. The Merchant says yes.
- Shiv Datt then asks whether the camel is blind in its right eye. The Merchant says this is also correct.
-
The Merchant is surprised because the men already know two exact details about his camel.
astray
= away from the correct path
lame = unable to walk properly because one leg is weak or hurt
precisely = exactly
Board Pattern
Questions Mapped to Exam Format
Short Answer
2 marks
Which two details about the camel are confirmed first?
2 Marks
How to answer:
Name the details given by Ram Datt and Shiv Datt.
View Answer
Answer: Ram Datt says the camel is lame in one leg, and Shiv Datt says it is blind in the right eye.
Longer Short Answer
3 marks
Why does the Merchant become increasingly surprised during this exchange?
3 Marks
How to answer:
Explain how the questions match his camel exactly.
View Answer
Answer: The Merchant has only asked whether they have seen his camel, but the men begin describing its exact physical problems. The first two details—lameness and blindness in the right eye—are both correct. Their knowledge seems impossible to him because they have not yet said how they learnt it.
