Summary of The Snake and the Mirror Class 9 Beehive

Answer

The narrator of the story is a doctor. He is telling this story to some of his friends. He tells the story of his encounter with a deadly snake. He is a homeopath. He says that he had just started his practice in those days when he was living in a rented room.

It was a hot summer night. The time was about ten o’clock. He had just returned home after taking his meals at a restaurant. He lighted the kerosene lamp, as his house was not electrified. After some time, he opened the two windows in the room. Then he sat down on the chair and took out a book to read. Apart from the lamp, there was a large mirror on the table. In those days, the doctor bothered much about his looks, as he was a bachelor. He picked up a comb and parted his hair. He looked at his reflection in the mirror and smiled at his own image. There were rats in the room which constantly made noises.

The doctor got up, lit a beedi and paced up and down the room. He decided that he would marry. He thought that he would marry a woman doctor who had plenty of money and good medical practice. He decided that he would marry a fat lady so that she would not be able to run after him if he wanted to run away. He resumed his seat in the chair in front of the table. There were no more sounds of rats. Suddenly something fell on the back of his chair with a thud. He was horrified to see that there was a large snake on the back of the chair. Just then the snake came on his shoulder. Before the doctor could think and act, the snake coiled itself around his left arm. Its hood was spread and its head was hardly three or four inches from his face.

The doctor was turned to stone with fear. But his mind was active. He prayed to God to save him. It appeared as if God had heard his prayer. The snake turned its head and looked into the mirror. It appeared to like its own image. Then the snake unwound itself from the doctor’s arm and fell into his lap. From there the snake crept onto the table. It moved towards the mirror. Perhaps it wanted to see its image closely. Now the doctor acted quickly. Still holding his breath, he got up slowly from the chair. Then he ran out of the house. He went to the house of one of his friends and spent the night there. Next morning, he took his friend and one or two others to his room. He had decided to shift to some other house. He was shocked to find that there was nothing left in his room. Some thief had taken away most of his things. There was no sign of the snake either.

Answer

• This is an interesting story. It is about a doctor’s encounter with a snake.
• The doctor lived in a small rented room full of rats.
• One night, he was reading a book. A kerosene lamp was burning on the table.
• There was also a large Mirror on the table.
• Suddenly something fell on the back of the chair. He turned to see what it was.
• He froze with fear when he saw that it was a big snake.
• The snake then coiled itself around the doctor’s left arm. The doctor prayed to God.
• Then the snake looked into the mirror on the table.
• Luckily, the snake liked its own image in the mirror.
• It wanted to have a closer look at its image.
• So it uncoiled itself from the arm and came on the table.
• The doctor at once got and ran out of the room.
• He spent the night at the house of one of his friends.
• The next morning he came back to his room.
• He was shocked to find that during the night some thief had taken away everything from his room.

Answer

The Doctor: In the story “The Snake and the Mirror,” the homoeopath doctor has been portrayed as a person who can assess himself critically and humorously. He honestly admits that as a new practitioner of medicine, he could not earn much and had to rent a poor, rat-infested house without even the facility of electricity. He also admits with a funny intent that he wanted to marry a fat and rich lady-doctor as it would help him run away without getting caught when he would make some silly mistakes. This witty side of the doctor is seen again at the end of the story when he remarks that the thief did not take away his dirty vest because he had a sense of cleanliness.

The doctor was quite vain about his appearance and his qualification. He often admired his reflection in the mirror and thought of ways to look more handsome. He was a bachelor and wanted to look handsome. However, his ability to admit his follies helped him to realise that to be alive was more important than to look good. His arrogance turned into modesty after his encounter with the snake. In addition, he had admirable patience and presence of mind. When the snake landed on him, he did not jump or cry. Keeping his cool, he remembered God and actively thought about the medicine he would require in case the snake bit him. He also made the most of the opportunity when the snake was absorbed in its reflection in the mirror. Thus, the doctor is a candid person, a witty man, and an interesting character who relates his encounter with the snake in a lighter vein.

Answer

कहानी का वर्णनकर्ता एक डॉक्टर है । वह अपने कुछ मित्रों को यह कहानी सुना रहा है । वह एक भयानक सांप के साथ अपने सामने की कहानी सुनाता है । वह होम्योपैथी का डॉक्टर है । वह कहता है कि उसने अपनी प्रैक्टिस उन्ही दिनों में आरंभ की थी जब वह एक किराए के कमरे में रह रहा था ।

ग्रीष्म ऋतु की गर्म रात थी । समय लगभग दस बजे का था । वह एक रेस्तरां से भोजन करके अभी-अभी लौटा था । उसने मिट्टी के तेल का लैंप जलाया, क्योंकि उसके घर में बिजली नहीं थी । कुछ समय पश्चात् उसने अपने कमरे की दो खिड़कियाँ खोल दी । तब वह कुर्सी पर बैठ गया और पढ़ने के लिए एक पुस्तक निकाल ली । लैंप के अलावा मेज पर एक बड़ा दर्पण भी था । उन दिनों में डॉक्टर अपने रूप की बहुत परवाह करता था , क्योंकि वह कुंवारा था । उसने एक कंघी उठाई और अपने बालों में फेरी । उसने दर्पण में स्वयं को देखा और अपने प्रतिबिंब पर मुस्कराया । कमरे में चूहे थे जो लगातार शोर मचा रहे थे ।

डॉक्टर उठा, उसने बीड़ी सुलगाई और कमरे में इधर-उधर चहलकदमी करने लगा । उसने फैसला किया कि वह शादी करेगा । उसने फैसला किया वह एक लेडी डॉक्टर से शादी करेगा । जो बहुत अमीर होगी और जिसकी प्रैक्टिस अच्छी होगी । उसने फैसला किया कि वह एक मोटी औरत से शादी करेगा ताकि अगर वह भागना चाहे तो वह उसके पीछे न भाग सके । यह मेज के सामने कुर्सी में फिर से बैठ गया । चूहों की आवाजें आनी बंद हो गई । अचानक उसने सुना कि कोई चीज उसकी कुर्सी पर धम्म से गिरी है । वह यह देखकर भयभीत हो गया कि कुर्सी की पीठ पर एक बड़ा सांप था । उसी समय सांप डॉक्टर की पीठ पर आ गया । इससे पहले कि डॉक्टर सोच सकता या कुछ करता, सांप उसकी बाई बाजू से लिपट गया । उसका फन फैला हुआ था और उसका सिर उसके चेहरे से मुश्किल से तीन या चार इंच दूर था ।

डॉक्टर डर से पत्थर बन गया गया । मगर उसका दिमाग चुस्त था । उसने भगवान से प्रार्थना की कि वह उसे बचा ले । ऐसा लगा जैसे भगवान ने उसकी प्रार्थना सुन ली । सांप ने अपना सिर घुमाया और दर्पण में देखा । ऐसा लगा कि जैसे उसे अपना बिंब अच्छा लगा । तब सांप ने स्वयं को डॉक्टर की बाजू से अलग कर लिया और उसकी गोद में गिर राया । वहाँ से सांप रेंगकर मेज़ पर आ गया । वह दर्पण की ओर मुड़ा । शायद वह अपना बिंब नजदीक से देखना चाहता था । अब डॉक्टर ने शीघ्रता से कार्य किया । अपना सांस थामे –थामे वह कुर्सी से उठा । तब वह घर में से बाहर भागा । वह अपने एक मित्र के घर गया और रात वहाँ बिताई । अगली प्रात: उसने अपने मित्र एवं दो अन्य व्यक्तियों को अपने साथ लिया और अपने कमरे में आया । उसने किसी अन्य घर में जाने का निर्णय ले लिया था । मगर उसे यह देखकर धक्का लगा कि उसके कमरे में कुछ भी नहीं बचा था । कोई चोर उसकी अधिकतर वस्तुएं ले गया था। न ही वहाँ सांप का कोई चिह्न था ।