Three Questions --Leo Tolstoy
Descriptive Type (Marks 6):
1. What were the questions that had occurred to the Tsar? Why did he need correct answers to
those questions? What did he do when he was not satisfied with the answers of the learned men?
[3+1+2] [WBCHSE H.S. 2016, 2019]
Or,
What were the three questions the Tsar wanted to get answers of? Why did he need the answers?
Why was he not satisfied with the answers of the learned men? Whom did the Tsar finally decide
to consult? [3+1+1+1] [WBCHSE H.S. 2023,2020]
In Leo Tolstoy's short-story "Three Questions" the three questions once occurred to a certain Tsar.
The questions were--
(I) What is the most important time to begin everything?
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(II) Who are the most important people to listen to? and
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(III) What is the most important thing to do? M
*He needed correct answers to those questions because he wanted to be successful in anything
he might undertake.
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*All the answers given by the scholars and the learned men being different, the Tsar agreed with
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none of them and became dissatisfied.
When he was not satisfied with the answers of the learned men, still wishing to find the right
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answers to his questions, he decided to consult a hermit widely renowned for his wisdom.
2. "You have already been answered!"- Who said this to whom? How has the Tsar been already
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answered? Explain the line.
Ans:**In Tolstoy's story "There Questions" The hermit said this to Tsar.
**The hermit answered all the questions very aptly.
Firstly, he said the most important time is present. This is true because the Tsar in his
present spent time digging the seed beds for the hermit. This saved his life because his enemy
had waited to avenge the death of his brother at that time.
Secondly, the hermit said that the most important person is the one you are with. This is also true
because the Tsar treated the wounded man with kindness and as a result enemy turned into a
friend.
Thirdly, the hermit said that the most important job is to do good to the people. This is true. The
Tsar helped the hermit first and then the wounded man. So he escaped from death and got
answers of his three questions.
3. "Forgive me, said the bearded man." - Why
did the man ask for the Tsar's forgiveness? How did the Tsar forgive him?
Or, "The Tsar was very glad to have made peace with his enemy." - Who was the Tsar's enemy?
How did he make him his friend? How did his new friend wish to serve him?
Or, Who was the wounded man ? Why did he want to kill the Tsar ? Who wounded him and how ?
Ans: **The bearded man was an enemy of the Tsar because the Tsar had executed his brother
earlier and seized his property. The man waited in ambush to revenge his brother's death, but as
the Tsar did not return from the hermit's place, the man came out in search of the Tsar. At this time
the bodyguard of the Tsar recognized the man and wounded him. The man somehow escaped
from them and reached the Tsar.
** Without Tsar's help the man would have bled to death. The Tsar and the hermit helped the
wounded man. The Tsar washed and covered the wound of the man with his handkerchief, but the
blood would not stop flowing. The Tsar rebandeged the wound until it stopped bleeding. They took
him to the hut for taking rest and Tsar also gave him fresh water. The man felt grateful to the Tsar
for saving his life. Now the man prayed for the Tsar's forgiveness.
**He wanted to be his most faithful slave. He also promised to bid his sons to do the same.
**Tsar was very glad to have made peace with his enemy so easily. He was also happy to have his
friendship. He forgave him. He also said he would send his servants and his own physician to
attend him. He promised to restore his property.
4. What were the three questions of the Tsar? What were the hermit’s answers to the three
questions? Write each answer separately. Which answer do you like most, and why?
Ans:- **The Tsar wanted to know the reply of three questions to succeed in life. Firstly, he wanted
to know the right time for every action. Secondly, he wanted to know the most important people
for him, and finally he wanted to know the most important work for him.
*** In answer to Tsar's first question, the hermit said that there is only one important time 'Now'. It
is the only time when you have power to act.
In answer to Tsar's second question, the hermit said that the most important person is the one
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with whom we are at the present.
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In response to Tsar's third question, the hermit answered that the most important thing to do is to
do that person good.
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** I like the answer of the third question the most because the most important thing for a
man is to help others. For this purpose men are sent into this life. Helping is a noble work. This
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would keep him safe from trouble.
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