Wisdom Paves the Way (Class 8 English Chapter 3): the four travellers who read a camel's tracks

1. They have walked for ten days towards Ujjain.
2. They hope the King will recognise their talents and appoint them to his service.

Answer: They are looking for employment and hope the King of Ujjain will give them work.

Check: The purpose is stated before the camel episode, so it is not invented from the ending.

1. The four describe the missing camel's limp, blind right eye, short tail and stomach pain in exact detail.
2. They then claim never to have seen it, which the Merchant finds impossible to believe.

Answer: He thinks only thieves who had seen the camel could describe it so accurately.

Check: His accusation follows the contrast between perfect description and claimed unfamiliarity.

1. Only three of the camel's feet left distinct impressions in the dust.
2. The fourth impression was faint, showing that the animal was not bearing its weight evenly.

Answer: The faint fourth footprint showed a limp, so the camel was lame.

Check: A sound animal would place weight more evenly on all four feet.

1. The camel had nibbled only the foliage on the left of the road.
2. The foliage on the right remained untouched, as if that side went unseen.

Answer: It ate only from the left, so Shiv Datt inferred that the camel could not see from its right eye.

Check: The feeding pattern matches one-sided vision.

1. He noticed small droplets of blood along the track, likely from mosquito bites.
2. A camel with a long tail could have fended the pests off more easily.

Answer: The blood droplets suggested mosquito bites that a short tail could not prevent.

Check: The clue points to a tail too short to swat away insects effectively.

1. The forefeet prints were deep and clear.
2. The sound hind foot's prints were faint, as if the camel drew up its hind legs and stepped cautiously under a burdened belly.

Answer: The cautious hind-foot impressions suggested a stomach pain.

Check: The movement pattern differs from the even gait expected of a comfortable camel.

1. The men never saw the camel.
2. They reached true conclusions from tracks, feeding marks and droplets by observing and reasoning.

Answer: Their wisdom let them know the camel accurately without seeing it.

Check: Every conclusion is tied to a visible clue and a logical inference.

1. He hears each deduction and sees intelligence, judgement and composure.
2. He calls such minds rare and offers to make the four men his advisers.

Answer: He offers them places as his advisers so their counsel can guide the kingdom.

Check: The reward matches their original search for employment.

1. The King calls his accusations baseless after hearing the deductions.
2. He tells the Merchant to be mindful of whom he accuses, and the Merchant leaves chastened and ashamed.

Answer: He learns not to accuse people on appearances alone.

Check: The accusation fails because the exact description has an innocent explanation.

1. A play tells its story through spoken lines and stage directions.
2. Directions such as pausing thoughtfully or speaking indignantly tell actors how to speak and move.

Answer: A play asks the reader to picture the scene, tone and movement from dialogue and stage directions rather than from a narrator's description.

Check: The courtroom tension comes through what characters say and how the directions ask them to act.