1 – Once upon a time, there lived a queen in the city of Benaras. Her name was Khema and she was the wife of King Bahuputtaka. One night, the Queen had a dream of a beautiful golden goose that spoke with great wisdom, almost as if he was a sage. She told her husband that she desperately wanted to see a bird just like the one in her dream.
So the King asked his ministers to find out all that they could about a bird such as this. He was told that such a bird did exist but was extremely rare and difficult to find. They advised him to build a beautiful lake on the outskirts of Benaras so that he may attract such a rare and lovely creature to reside there. In this way, the queen might have her wish.Towards the north, on Mount Cittakuta, there lived about ninety thousand wild geese headed by a beautiful golden goose called King Dhatarattha.
He got to hear of this exquisite lake surrounded by water lilies and lotuses floating on the surface. The King had invited all the birds to come and live on it; promising that none of them would ever be harmed. Corn was scattered on a daily basis in order to attract the birds. So a couple of geese went up to their King, the golden goose and told him that they were quite tired of living up on the mountains and would like to see this wonderful lake where they had been promised food and protection.
The king agreed to their request and took the flock down towards Benaras. Meanwhile, at the lake King Bahuputtaka had placed hunters all around in order to capture any golden goose that happened to pass by. So the next morning, when the headhunter saw this flock of geese approaching he was very excited to see their golden leader. He immediately went about setting up a snare amongst the water lilies and lotuses, as he knew that the leader would definitely be the first to alight. T
he whole flock came flying down in one mighty swoop and as expected it was the King‘s foot that touched the water first. He was ensnared and could not escape. Seeing this, the other geese flew into a panic. But none had the courage to try to free their king and so flew back to Mount Cittacuta for safety. All except one. He was the chief captain, Sumukha. King Dhatrattha entreated him to fly to safety too, as he would surely be captured if he stayed by his side. But Sumukha replied that he would never desert his master in the face of danger and would either try to save him or die by his side. At this point the hunter approached and as Sumukha saw him he decided to appeal to his compassion.
The hunter asked the golden goose how come he had not noticed the trap that was set. The golden goose replied that when one‘s time was up it was no use to struggle against what was fated and one must just accept it. The huntsman was very impressed with his grace and wisdom. He then turned to Sumukha and asked why he had not fled with the other birds even though he was free to do so. Sumukha answered that the golden goose was his King, best friend and master and that he could never desert him even at the cost of his own life. Hearing this, the hunter realised that these were a couple of rare birds of great nobility.
He didn’t care much for his own King‘s reward and decided to do the right thing and set them free. He told Sumukha that as he was ready to die for his King he would set them both free to fly wherever they wished
Questions
- Why were the geese keen on visiting the lake in Benaras?
(A) They were invited personally by King Bahuputtaka
(B) They were tired of their told lake
(C) They were amused by the water lilies and lotuses
(D) The lake was not very far from the mountains
(E) To lake was to be a source of good food and protection - Why did the king approach the ministers?
(A)In order to find out the best location for the lake
(B)In order to find out if a golden goose existed
(C)To enquire about his wife‘s dreams
(D) To devise a plan to capture all rare bird species
(E) To enquire about the best hunter in the locality - Why did the headhunter release the King, golden goose?
(A) He was impressed by his wisdom and nobility
(B) The geese were a rare species of birds
(C) The golden goose, King Dhatarattha promised him a handsome reward
(D) The hunter sympathised with a golden goose
(E) The hunter did not want the chief captain to lose a friend - What was the king‘s intention behind building a lake?
(A) To attract all rare species of living animals and birds
(B) To beautify the city of Benaras
(C) He did not want to go against the wishes of his wife
(D) He wanted to capture the golden goose
(E) He enjoyed bird watching and wanted to create a natural habitat for them - Why did the flock of geese panic and retreat to Mount Cittacuta?
(A) Their King took the wrong route to the lake and they lost their way
(B) Their King, the golden goose, was captured
(C) Their chief captain, Sumukha betrayed the King
(D) They spotted many hunters by the lake
(E) None of these] - What advice did the ministers give to the king?
(A) That no such golden goose existed and he was only wasting his time searching for one
(B) To create an artificial golden goose, for the queen
(C) To build a lake in order to attract the golden goose
(D) To open a sanctuary of rare birds for the queen
(E) To have a beautiful garden surrounded by flowers and trees - Which of the following statements would best describe the qualities of Sumukha?
(1) Betrayer of the flock
(2) The Selfless Goose
(3) Loyal towards the king
(4) The native and ignorant goose
(A) Only (1) (B) Only (2) (C) Only (3) and (4) (D) Only (1) and (4) (E) Only (2) and (3)
Directions: Choose the word which is most nearly the same in meaning to the word asked. - Exquisite
(A) Expensive (B) Delicate
(C) Elaborate (D) Wonderful
(E) Efficient - Snare
(A) Trap (B) Alarm
(C) Plan (D) Arrangement
(E) Efficient - Desert
(A) Displease (B) Encourage
(C) Instigate (D) Escort
(E) Abandon