KSEEB Class 9 · English (1st language) · KTBS Revised 2024-25
The Story-Teller
Chapter summary, hard words and model exam answers for Karnataka Board Class 9 English.
Free online summary and notes (Karnataka Board Class 9 English). Read it here, no PDF download needed.
About the author
Saki is the pen name of H.H. Munro (1870–1916), a British short-story writer famous for witty, mischievous tales. "The Story-Teller" contrasts a boring aunt's moral stories with a bachelor's irreverent tale on a railway journey. Saki satirises edifying children's fiction and adult self-righteousness.
Summary
Children fidget; aunt scolds. Attempts to keep them quiet with moral tales fail.
Children fidget; aunt scolds. Attempts to keep them quiet with moral tales fail.
He offers to tell a story better than the aunt's predictable sermons.
He offers to tell a story better than the aunt's predictable sermons.
His heroine is excessively virtuous - three medals for goodness, punctuality, and neatness.
His heroine is excessively virtuous - three medals for goodness, punctuality, and neatness.
Bertha hides in bushes but medals clink; the wolf finds and devours her.
Bertha hides in bushes but medals clink; the wolf finds and devours her.
They love the unexpected ending. The aunt calls it improper; they call it beautiful.
They love the unexpected ending. The aunt calls it improper; they call it beautiful.
The bachelor leaves having proved that honesty about human nature beats hollow moralising.
The bachelor leaves having proved that honesty about human nature beats hollow moralising.
Hard words & meanings
| satire | writing that exposes folly through humour |
| moralising | lecturing about ethics in a dull way |
| irreverent | not treating sacred topics with usual seriousness |
| fidget | to squirm from boredom or impatience |
| virtue | behaviour considered morally excellent |
| scandalous | offending polite rules - here enjoyed by children |
| edifying | intended to improve character - often boring |
| self-righteous | believing oneself morally superior to others |
| anti-moral | subverting expected lesson endings |
Model exam answers, grammar & audio
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