A Legend of the Northland

Thinking about the Poem

I.Question 1. Which country or countries do you think “the Northland” refers to?

Answer: The “Northland” may refer to anyone of the countries among Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, Iceland, Sweden, Finland, etc.

Question 2. What did Saint Peter ask the old lady for? What was the lady’s reaction?

Answer: Saint Peter asked the old lady for a piece of cake. She was very selfish, and so she made a very little cake so as to give him. But as she laid it for baking, it appeared her too large to give away. Thus she kept reducing the size of the cake and every time whenever she tried to give him, it appeared too large to give away.

Question 3. How did he punish her?

Answer: He punished her by changing her into a woodpecker for being so selfish.

Question 4. How does the woodpecker get her food?

Answer: The woodpecker gets her food by working very hard all day work in the hard, dry wood.

Question 5. Do you think that the old lady would have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was? What would she have done then?

Answer: I think the old lady would not have been so ungenerous if she had known who Saint Peter really was. She would have given him a piece of cake so that she could make him happy.

Question 6. Is this a true story? Which part of this poem do you feel is the most important?

Answer: No, this is not a true story. It is a legend.

The most important part of the poem is where the saint cursed the woman and changed her into a bird by saying that she was so selfish that should not live in human form having food and shelter, and fire to keep her warm.

Question 7. What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?

Answer: A legend is a traditional story that is believed to have taken place in ancient times, though there is no proof of it.

It also imparts some more lesson that needs to be followed by all of us

This poem is called a legend because it also imparts the message of being generous towards others.

Question 8. Write the story of ‘A Legend of the Northland’ in about ten sentences.

Answer: There was a saint named Saint Peter, who was travelling round the earth preaching religious sermons. While travelling round the earth, he came to the door of a cottage where a small woman was making cakes. He felt very hungry and weak as he was on fasting for the whole day, and so he asked for a piece of cake from the little woman. The waman was very selfish. She took a very little quantity of dough and laid it on the hearth. She then found it too large to give away. This way she kept reducing the size of the cake as she felt that the size of the cake was too big to be given away as alms. At last she put the cake on the shelf.

Saint Peter grew angry and cursed her that she would become a woodpecker. He said that from now onwards, she will have to peck dry, hard wood in order to get food. All her clothes got burnt in the chimney except her red cap and till this day, woodpeckers bore all day long for food and water.