📘 Poem Name: A Legend of the Northland
Poet: Phoebe Cary
Book: Beehive – CBSE Class 9
📝 1. Introduction (परिचय)
English:
“A Legend of the Northland” is a ballad written by Phoebe Cary. It is a folk tale in poetic form, from a cold region called the Northland. The poem tells the story of a greedy old woman who is punished by Saint Peter and turned into a woodpecker as a result of her selfishness.
Hindi (हिंदी):
“अ लीजेंड ऑफ द नॉर्थलैंड” फोएबे कैरी द्वारा लिखी गई एक कविता है। यह उत्तरी क्षेत्रों से संबंधित एक लोक-कथा है। इसमें एक लालची बूढ़ी औरत की कहानी है जिसे उसकी स्वार्थी प्रवृत्ति के कारण संत पीटर द्वारा कठोर दंड दिया गया और उसे कठफोड़वा पक्षी में बदल दिया गया।
📖 2. Poem Summary (कविता का सारांश)
🔹 English Summary:
The poem tells the story of Saint Peter who was traveling through the world preaching religion. One day, feeling tired and hungry, he stopped at a cottage where a woman was baking cakes. But she was so greedy that she couldn’t give him even the smallest cake. Saint Peter got angry and cursed her. He turned her into a woodpecker so that she would have to dig hard for her food as a punishment for her selfishness. Even today, we see woodpeckers pecking wood for food — a reminder of this old tale.
🔹 Hindi Summary (हिंदी सारांश):
यह कविता संत पीटर की कहानी कहती है, जो दुनिया में धर्म का प्रचार कर रहे थे। एक दिन, थके और भूखे होने पर, उन्होंने एक औरत के घर में रुककर कुछ खाने की इच्छा की। औरत के पास बहुत सारा आटा था, लेकिन वह इतनी लालची थी कि उसने संत पीटर को एक छोटा सा केक भी नहीं दिया। संत पीटर को बहुत गुस्सा आया और उन्होंने उस औरत को श्राप देकर कठफोड़वा पक्षी बना दिया। आज भी कठफोड़वा लकड़ी में चोंच मारता रहता है — यह उसी कहानी की याद दिलाता है।
✨ 3. Line-by-Line Explanation (English & Hindi)
Stanza 1:
Away, away in the Northland,
Where the hours of the day are few,
And the nights are so long in winter
That they cannot sleep them through.
Explanation (English):
The poet talks about the Northland, a cold region near the North Pole, where days are very short in winter and nights are very long.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
कवि उत्तर भूमि (Northland) की बात करते हैं, जहाँ सर्दियों में दिन बहुत छोटे होते हैं और रातें इतनी लंबी होती हैं कि लोग सोते-सोते भी थक जाएँ।
Stanza 2:
Where they harness the swift reindeer
To the sledges, when it snows;
And the children look like bear’s cubs
In their funny, furry clothes.
Explanation (English):
In the Northland, people use fast reindeers to pull sledges on snow. Children wear thick furry clothes and look like baby bears.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
वहाँ लोग बर्फ पर चलने वाली गाड़ियों को खींचने के लिए तेज़ रेनडियर का उपयोग करते हैं। बच्चे ऊनी कपड़े पहनते हैं और भालू के शावकों जैसे लगते हैं।
Stanza 3-4:
They tell them a curious story —
I don’t believe it is true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.
Explanation (English):
This is a strange story from that region. The poet says she is unsure whether it’s true or not but believes there’s a lesson to learn.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
कवयित्री कहती हैं कि यह एक अद्भुत कहानी है, शायद सच्ची नहीं है, लेकिन इससे एक नैतिक शिक्षा जरूर मिलती है।
Stanza 5:
Once, when the good Saint Peter
Lived in the world below,
And walked about it, preaching,
Just as he did, you know,
Explanation (English):
The poet introduces Saint Peter, a Christian saint who once lived on Earth and preached religion to people.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
संत पीटर का परिचय देते हुए कवयित्री कहती हैं कि वे धरती पर घूमते थे और लोगों को धर्म का उपदेश देते थे।
Stanza 6-7:
He came to the door of a cottage,
In travelling round the earth,
Where a little woman was making cakes,
And baking them on the hearth;
Explanation (English):
One day, while traveling, Saint Peter reached a woman’s cottage where she was baking cakes near the fireplace.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
संत पीटर एक बार यात्रा करते समय एक औरत के घर पहुँचे, जो वहाँ केक बना रही थी।
Stanza 8:
And being faint with fasting,
For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.
Explanation (English):
Saint Peter was tired and hungry as he hadn’t eaten all day. So he asked the woman for just one cake.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
पूरा दिन उपवास के कारण थककर उन्होंने औरत से एक केक माँगा।
Stanza 9-11:
So she made a very little cake,
But as it baking lay,
She looked at it, and thought it seemed
Too large to give away.
Explanation (English):
The woman made a small cake but then thought even this was too big to give away, so she made a smaller one.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
औरत ने एक छोटा केक बनाया, लेकिन उसे भी देने में उसे भारी लगा, तो उसने और भी छोटा केक बनाने का विचार किया।
Stanza 12-13:
Then she took a tiny scrap of dough,
And rolled and rolled it flat;
And baked it thin as a wafer—
But she couldn’t part with that.
Explanation (English):
She rolled a very tiny bit of dough to make an extremely thin cake like a wafer, but even that she didn’t give.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
उसने आटे का बहुत छोटा टुकड़ा लिया और उसे बहुत पतला बेलकर बेक किया, लेकिन वह उसे भी देने को तैयार नहीं हुई।
Stanza 14:
For she said, “My cakes that seem too small
When I eat of them myself
Are yet too large to give away.”
So she put them on the shelf.
Explanation (English):
She said her cakes feel too small for herself, yet too big to give others. So she kept them for herself.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
उसने कहा कि जो केक मुझे खुद के लिए भी छोटे लगते हैं, वे दूसरों को देने के लिए बहुत बड़े हैं — और उसने केक खुद के लिए रख लिए।
Stanza 15:
Then good Saint Peter grew angry,
For he was hungry and faint;
And surely such a woman
Was enough to provoke a saint.
Explanation (English):
Saint Peter became angry because of her greed. Even a saint could lose patience with such selfishness.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
संत पीटर को गुस्सा आ गया क्योंकि वह बहुत भूखे थे और औरत की स्वार्थी सोच ने उन्हें भी क्रोधित कर दिया।
Stanza 16:
And he said, “You are far too selfish
To dwell in a human form,
To have both food and shelter,
And fire to keep you warm.”
Explanation (English):
He told the woman she was too selfish to live like a human and enjoy basic comforts like food, shelter, and warmth.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
उन्होंने कहा कि इतनी स्वार्थी औरत को इंसान का रूप नहीं मिलना चाहिए, न ही उसे भोजन, घर और गर्मी जैसी सुविधाएँ मिलनी चाहिए।
Stanza 17:
Now, you shall build as the birds do,
And shall get your scanty food
By boring, and boring, and boring,
All day in the hard, dry wood.”
Explanation (English):
He cursed her to become a bird, living like birds and working hard to get little food by pecking dry wood.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
अब तू पक्षियों की तरह घर बनाएगी और भूखे पेट लकड़ी में चोंच मार-मारकर खाना खोजेगी — ऐसा उन्होंने श्राप दिया।
Stanza 18:
Then up she went through the chimney,
Never speaking a word,
And out of the top flew a woodpecker,
For she was changed to a bird.
Explanation (English):
The woman silently flew up through the chimney and turned into a woodpecker — as per the saint’s curse.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
औरत बिना कुछ कहे चिमनी से ऊपर उड़ गई और एक कठफोड़वा पक्षी में बदल गई।
Stanza 19-20:
She had a scarlet cap on her head,
And that was left the same;
But all the rest of her clothes were burned
Black as a coal in the flame.
Explanation (English):
The bird had a red cap (like the woman’s scarf), but the rest of her body turned black due to chimney fire.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
उस पक्षी के सिर पर लाल टोपी थी, जो औरत की ही निशानी थी, बाकी कपड़े जलकर काले हो गए।
Final Stanza:
And every country schoolboy
Has seen her in the wood,
Where she lives in the trees till this very day,
Boring and boring for food.
Explanation (English):
The poet says every child knows this bird (woodpecker) and sees her pecking wood for food — even today.
व्याख्या (हिंदी):
हर बच्चा जंगल में उस पक्षी को देखता है जो आज भी लकड़ी में चोंच मारकर खाना खोजती है।
🧠 4. Moral / Theme (नैतिक शिक्षा / विषयवस्तु)
English:
The poem teaches us the importance of generosity, kindness, and hospitality. Selfishness can lead to punishment and loss of dignity.
Hindi (हिंदी):
यह कविता हमें सिखाती है कि दूसरों की मदद करना और दयालु होना जरूरी है। लालच और स्वार्थ का अंत बुरा होता है।
🎨 5. Figures of Speech (अलंकार)
| Line | Figure of Speech | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| “Away, away in the Northland…” | Repetition | “Away” repeated for rhythm |
| “The children look like bear’s cubs…” | Simile | Comparing children to bear cubs using “like” |
| “Build as the birds do…” | Alliteration | Repetition of ‘b’ sound |
| “Boring and boring and boring…” | Repetition | Used to show continuous action |
In Hindi (हिंदी में):
- उपमा (Simile): “बच्चे भालू के शावकों जैसे दिखते हैं।”
- अनुप्रास (Alliteration): “बोरिंग, बोरिंग, बोरिंग” — ध्वनि की पुनरावृत्ति
- पुनरुक्ति (Repetition): “अवे अवे”, “बोरिंग बोरिंग बोरिंग”
📚 6. Vocabulary (शब्दार्थ)
| Word | Meaning (English) | अर्थ (हिंदी) |
|---|---|---|
| Northland | Cold northern region | उत्तरी क्षेत्र |
| Hearth | Fireplace | चूल्हा |
| Wafer | Thin, crisp cake | पतला कुरकुरा केक |
| Scanty | Very little | बहुत कम |
| Bore | Make a hole | छेद करना |
❓ 7. Extra Insights and Questions (अतिरिक्त जानकारी और प्रश्न)
Q1: Why did Saint Peter get angry?
👉 Because the woman was too greedy and did not share even a small cake.
Q2: What happened to the woman?
👉 She was turned into a woodpecker by Saint Peter.
Q3: What is the main message?
👉 Always be generous. Greed leads to downfall.
Q4: Is this a real story?
👉 No, it is a legend or folk tale with a moral.