‘The Lost Child’ Question answers to book exercises are given here. Author of the ‘The Lost Child’ is Mulk Raj Anand. The answers are given in an easy language so that students could easily understand.

In the story a child goes to a fair with his parents. He is happy and excited and wants the sweets and toys displayed there. But his parents don’t buy them for him. Why does he refuse when someone else offers them to him? Read the story in the book or the summary. You can get summary and other materials by clicking the link below.

Click here for other study materials on the lesson ‘The Lost Child; Class 9 English.

The Lost Child: Exercise Solutions

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Q.1. What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?

Ans. On his way to the fair, the child seas toys, a flowering golden mustard field, dragon flies with purple wings, little insects and worms, raining petals and doves.

He lags behind because his fascinated by all these and follows them like trying to catch dragonflies.

Q.2. ‘In the fair he wants many things.’ What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?

Ans. In the fair the child wants many things like gulab-jamun, rasogulla, burfi, jalebi, and a garland of gulmohur and balloons. He wants to have his cake and eat it too. He also longs to go on the roundabout. But he knows that his father won’t be buying anything and would give some or other excuse for not doing so. So he moves on without waiting for an answer. 

Q.3. When does he realise that he has lost his way? How have his anxiety and insecurity been described?

Ans. When the child stopped near the roundabout, he desired to go on it. He called his parents to seek their permission but he got no answer. Then he looked back and shockingly discovered that they were not there. He realised that he had been lost and separated from his parents.

His panicky reactions and actions: He cried in real fear, ‘Mother, Father.’ Tears rolled down from his eyes. Panic-stricken, he ran here and there in search of his parents. He did not know where to go. His yellow turban came untied and his clothes became muddy. His cries changed into sobs. He tried to look among the patches of bright yellow clothes, but his parents were not there. This time he ran to a shrine, congested with men. He struggled to make way between their feet. He might have been trampled underfoot, had he not shrieked at the highest pitch of his voice, ‘Father, Mother!’ A man saved him. 

Q.4. Why does the lost child lose interest in the things that he had wanted earlier?

Ans. The child was Panic-stricken, he ran here and there in search of his parents. He realised what parents meant for him though they were not fulfilling his wises at the fair.

A man saved him and offered to buy him all he wanted but the child repeated his longing for his parents. The man took him to the snake-charmer, balloon-seller, flower seller, and the sweet shop. But every time he said that he wanted his parents.

All things had lost interest for the child as he had lost his parents. His childish word was beautiful in the company of his parents. Without them, his world was empty and meaningless. Thus, the man did not succeed in his mission of pacifying the child. Earlier the child was accompanied by his parents and so could get fascinated by attractive items but since he had been lost, nothing mattered to him without his parents. 

He realised the trust and security he was having while being with parents and which is why he refused all temptations as of no value compared to his parents whom he wanted the most to be with at that time.

Q.5 What do you think happens in the end? Does the child find his parents?

Ans. The chapter concludes with nothing specific. Yet it may be inferred that the child finds his parents. We can speculate that an announcement was made regarding the lost child and the parents were asked to come near the shrine to receive the child.