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.
