Handout - in The Kingdom of Fools - Class IX - 2022-23

AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA
ENGLISH-HANDOUT, CLASS IX (2022-23)

IN THE KINGDOM OF FOOLS (MOMENTS)
LESSON AT A GLANCE: (To be written in the register)
• ‘In the kingdom of fools’ by A.K Ramanujan is an interesting story of a kingdom run by a foolish
king.
• One day, a saint and his disciple reached the kingdom. The saint was astonished to see that the
people were sleeping during the day and worked during the night. He was disturbed to see that
all the food items in the kingdom cost the same- one duddu.
• He analysed that it was a kingdom of fools and ordered his disciple to leave the place.
• The disciple did not leave with his guru as he was lured by the abundance of cheap food.
• One day, a man approached the king for justice. He claimed that his brother was committing his
ancient trade of theft and during that, the wall of a man's house fell on him and he died.
• He asked the king to get him compensated. As the king was foolish, he did not analyse that the
dead man was a criminal. On the contrary, he tried all the people who were involved in the death
of the thief- the rich merchant who was the owner of the house whose wall had broken, the man
who had built the wall, the dancing girl due to whom the bricklayer had built a weak wall and
the Goldsmith because of whom the dancing girl had to move around in the street that day.
• Finally, the king decided that the merchant’s father was the real culprit. As he was dead and his
son had inherited all his property, so, he would also get punished in place of his father.
• Another turn of events takes place when the minister feels that the merchant is too thin to be
killed by the stake. The king orders his men to find a fat person who could be punished in place of
the merchant.
• As the disciple had become very fat, the men took him to the king. The innocent man prayed to
his guru for help. The guru visualizes that his disciple is in trouble and reaches to save him.
• He uses his Intelligence and wisdom to trap the foolish king. Finally, the king and his minister get
themselves killed in place of the Guru and his disciple. The people of the kingdom beg the guru
and his disciple to become their new king and minister. The guru agreed on a condition that the
kingdom would function normally like all other kingdoms did.
MESSAGE: The first message is that one should stay away from foolish people; else one is bound to
suffer. The second message is that in order to tackle foolish people one should employ wisdom and not
logic. The guru does not argue or reason the innocence of his disciple. Rather he flatters the king and
manages to convince him that the new stake was lucky. He not only saves the life of his disciple but also
rids the kingdom of the foolish king and his silly minister. In addition, he becomes the next king and his
disciple the next minister.
RTC (Choose the most appropriate answer)
Q1. “What shall we do?” He said when suddenly it struck him that all they needed to do was to find a
man fat enough to fit the stake.
(i) Who is ‘he’?

a) The King
b) The Minister
c) The Guru
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d) The Disciple
(ii) Why is he in a dilemma?
a) He had to decide the punishment for the killer
b) The goldsmith was thin and could not fit the stake
c) The rich man was thin and could not fit the stake
d) He had to decide the punishment for the thief
(iii) What punishment was given to the person who disobeyed the order?
a) Heavy fine
b) One Week Imprisonment
c) Life Imprisonment
d) Death Penalty
(iv) They found the fat man. Who was this man?
a) The Disciple
b) The Rich merchant
c) The Goldsmith
d) The Bricklayer
Q2. “They finally agreed to rule the kingdom of the foolish king and the silly minister, on the condition
that they could change all the old laws.”
(i) Who are ‘they’ in the given lines?
a) The bricklayer and the disciple
b) The goldsmith and the guru
c) The guru and the disciple
d) The guru and the rich merchant
(ii) Which old law are they referring to?
a) People getting tried in the king’s court
b) Reversed order of day and night
c) Rich merchants being accused of a crime
d) Bricklayer making walls without permission
(iii) Which of the following reflects on the king’s foolishness?
a) His people
b) His behaviour
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c) His orders
d) All of the above
(iv) Why were they asked to take over the reign of the kingdom?
a) Because the king had decided to give up
b) Because people had finally accepted that their king is foolish
c) Because people did not have faith in their king anymore
d) The Guru had befooled the king into getting himself and the minister executed
Very Short Answer Questions (Answer in one word/phrase/sentence)
1. Name the writer/author.
2. How much did each item cost at the kingdom of fools?
3. What did the people of the kingdom do during the day?
4. Who was blamed by the king for the thief’s death and why?
5. Who was appointed as the new king?
6. What are the two things that the guru and his disciple find strange in the Kingdom of fools?
7. What are the Guru’s words of wisdom?
8. Name the people who were tried in the king’s court.
9. After the Guru left, what did the disciple do?
10. Mention the plea of the Thief’s brother.
11. Why did the thief’s brother accuse the rich merchant?
12. Why does the disciple decide to stay in the Kingdom of Fools?
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AMITY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, NOIDA

ENGLISH-HANDOUT, CLASS IX (2022-23)

LESSON AT A GLANCE: (To be written in the register)

RTC (Choose the most appropriate answer)

(i) Who is ‘he’?

(ii) Why is he in a dilemma?

a) He had to decide the punishment for the killer

d) He had to decide the punishment for the thief

b) One Week Imprisonment

b) The Rich merchant

(i) Who are ‘they’ in the given lines?

a) The bricklayer and the disciple

b) The goldsmith and the guru

c) The guru and the disciple

d) The guru and the rich merchant

(ii) Which old law are they referring to?

a) People getting tried in the king’s court

b) Reversed order of day and night

c) Rich merchants being accused of a crime

d) Bricklayer making walls without permission

(iii) Which of the following reflects on the king’s foolishness?

d) All of the above

a) Because the king had decided to give up

b) Because people had finally accepted that their king is foolish

c) Because people did not have faith in their king anymore

Very Short Answer Questions (Answer in one word/phrase/sentence)

1. Name the writer/author.

2. How much did each item cost at the kingdom of fools?

3. What did the people of the kingdom do during the day?

5. Who was appointed as the new king?

7. What are the Guru’s words of wisdom?

8. Name the people who were tried in the king’s court.

9. After the Guru left, what did the disciple do?

10. Mention the plea of the Thief’s brother.

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