The Book that Saved the Earth

 

Summary

The story begins with a stage show of twenty-fifth century in which a historian is sitting in the museum and she explains the truth about the Martian invasion that happened in the twentieth century.

 

In the next scene, two characters are shown one of them who has a balloon brain is shown as the master. His name is Think Tank and another one is his assistant Noodle. Both of them are discussing their plan to invade earth. They think that earth is a ridiculous plan and they should invade earth so as to establish their kind rule over the planet. So, the master think tank sends one of his crew to inspect earth.

 

The crew lands into a library and looks confused as they know nothing about the items (books) of the library. So, they consult it with their master Think Tank whom they think is very intelligent. He asks them to show the item and tells them that they are sandwiches, is a staple diet of the earthlings. He commands his crew to eat it, which they then consider as tasteless eatable.

 

His assistant Noodle corrects him and tells him that they are communication devices. He on hearing this, asks his crew to listen to the information from the devices. They try to hear it but they get nothing to hear from them. Once again Noodle corrects his master Think Tank that they are to be read and not heard. So with the help of the vitamins provided by the chemical department of Mars, the crew tries to read the book. It was a book of rhymes, Mother Goose. But they are unable to understand the book.

 As Oop started reading the book of nursery rhymes they take the literal meaning of rhymes. Think Tank called his Martians team and says that they have gathered some information about earthlings, and they should be postponing the idea of invasion. Then Oop read the rhyme Humpty Dumpty, and they all saw the picture of Humpty who looked like Think Tank. Think Tank drew an inference that the earthlings have identified him and will kill him soon. So, he asked his team to run immediately from there and thus a dusted book of rhymes saved us from the Martian invasion.

 Answers to Textual Questions

Q1-Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does he manage to do that?

A1-Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes in a very clever way. He used to present his ideas as a thing of less importance but this would help think tank in correcting his mistakes.

 

Q2- If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?

A2- If I would have been at Noodle’s place I would have handled the situation just like Noodle did. I would have suggested my master the right things but in a way that he may not feel being pointed out by a subordinate.

 

Q3-Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away with books altogether?

A3- Yes it is true to some extent that books are being replaced by the electronic media but we cannot do away with the books completely. It is so because books still serve the purpose of deriving information from them. It is so because still there are many things which are sometimes not available on the electronic media.

 

Q4- Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion?

A4- Books are man’s best companion because they not only provide us with information but also sometimes become a good source of entertainment.

Read and Find out: Page 63

 1. Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the book’?

There were books for everything, from anteaters to Zulus in the twentieth century. Books taught people what to do, how to do, when to do and why to do. Books explained, educated, directed and decorated. So, twentieth century was called the eta of books.

2. Who tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century?
Martians tried to invade the Earth in the twenty first century.

 

Page 65

3. What guesses are made by Think-Tank about the books found on Earth?
Think-Tank first guesses books to be sandwiches. Then he calls them communication devices. After that he thinks them to be some kind of eye communication devices that have to be devices watched.

 Think About It:  (Page 74)

1. Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time he corrects his mistakes. How does he manage to do that?
Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank while correcting his mistakes by presenting his own thoughts, but referring to them as being of no particular importance. Whenever he had to say something contrary to what Think-Tank said, he would do this. In this way he would correct Think-Tank’s errors without making Think-Tank feel that he was being corrected.

2. If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?
If I were in his place, I would do the same. I would politely and gently suggest the corrections.

3. Do you think books are being replaced by the electronic media? Can we do away with books altogether?     
Yes, these days online reading has replaced traditional books to a large extent. The internet, social media like Facebook, Twitter etc. have decreased interest in reading. But, the truth is that books cannot be totally replaced. Books can never go out of life although they may exist in a different form.

4. Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion?

A book is a man’s best companion because it is always there. It never leaves us alone. It is there with us even when everyone else is gone. Books guide us, instruct us, make us laugh, inform us, inspire us and are always true to us.

Talk About It (Page 74)

 

1. In what ways does Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as threats to the Martians? Can you think of any incidents where you misinterpreted a word or an action? How did you resolve the misunderstanding?
The words like ‘shell’ and ‘silver’ make Think-Tank think that humans grew them in farms. Then, there js a line about ‘cow’ and ‘ ‘moon’. Also, the picture of Humpty-Dumpu and the rhyme of‘great fall’ make Think- ink think that humans were about to invade Mats. Yes, I had a similar misunderstanding wirh a friend. But, I was fortunate as I got to know the actual truth just in time. I did not believe what 1 had heard earlier.
2. The aliens in the play speak English. Do you think this is their language? What could be the language of i.e aliens?
No, English was not their language. If it had been so, they would not have misinterpreted the- nursery rhymes. They could be speaking some Martian language.