A Horse and Two Goats (Q6 to 10)
A Horse and Two Goats
Treasure Trove (Short Stories)
Extracts 6 to 10
Extract VI.
1. The statue referred to in the extract is a life-sized statue of a horse, situated beside the highway outside Kritam. The statue was made of brightly coloured burnt clay. It stood with its head high and its forelegs in the air.
2. The statue of the warrior was a life sized statue of a man. The warrior is depicted as a man of strength through his appearance as a warrior with scythe like mustachios, bulging eyes and aquiline nose.
3. The villagers or the vandals didn't notice the splendour of the horse statue because they didn't notice its existence.
4. Muni didn't go back home early because he wanted to give his wife time to cool off her temper. He knew his wife would arrange food for him if he didn't make her angry.
5. The American was a wealthy man. He was rich enough to travel around a foreign country. He smoked expensive cigarettes, lived and worked in air-conditioned buildings. On the other hand, Muni was very poor. He rarely went outside his village. His house was made of mud and straws. It didn't have any electricity either.
The American is linked with materialism and Muni with spiritualism. For the American, the statue was a decorative item, but for Muni it held religious importance. Muni believed that at the end of 'Kaliyuga', the statue would come to life and save the good people and run over evil people.
Extract VII.
1. The red faced foreigner entered the story in a strange yellow vehicle. He stopped it, got down and went around it, poked under the vehicle because his car ran out of fuel.
2. The foreigner was an American who was visiting India with his wife. When he saw the statue he exclaimed "Marvellous".
3. As soon as Muni saw the foreigner his first impulse was to run away but he was not able to do so due to his old age. He thought that the foreigner was a policeman because he was wearing Khakhi clothes.
4. The foreigner was Khakhi clothes. It made Muni think that he was a policeman. To put Muni at ease, the foreigner pressed his palms together and said "Namaste".
5. Having exhausted his English vocabulary, Muni said in Tamil that his name was Muni and the goats belonged to him. He also said that the village was full of liars who would claim that the goats did not belong to Muni.
Extract VIII.
1. The foreigner was tourist in India. He was a rich American businessman who dealt in coffee.
2. The foreigner took a cigarette to smoke. As a courtesy he offered a cigarette to Muni. This is referred to as 'courtesies of the season'. Muni answered "Yes, no" because he knew only these two words in English.
3. Muni remembered the cigarette the shopkeeper had given him on credit once. He recalled that it had tasted good.
When the foreigner flicked the light open, Muni was confused about how to act as he hadn't seen a lighter before. So, he blew on the light and put it out.
4. Muni started coughing. The experience was painful yet extremely pleasant.
5. Muni feared that the business card was an arrest warrant and he moved back. He thought that the foreigner was a policeman because he was wearing Khakhi clothes. Muni thought that the foreigner was there to arrest Muni for the murder that took place at the village border.
Extract IX.
1. Muni thought that the foreigner was a policeman because he was wearing Khakhi clothes. Muni thought that the foreigner was there to arrest him for the murder that took place at the village border. So, Muni spoke in a fearful tone.
2. There had been a murder at the border between Kritam and Kuppam. This case is referred to here.
Muni said that he did not know anything about the case as he assumed that the foreigner was a policeman. It reveals that Muni was an innocent God-fearing man who was afraid of Police.
3. Muni mistook the foreigner's Khakhi dress and thought that the foreigner was a policeman who was investigating a murder that took place at the border between Kritam and Kuppam. It reveals that Muni was an innocent God-fearing man who was afraid of Police.
4. Though Muni is the story's main character, the major part of the story is the conversation between Muni and the foreigner about the horse statue. At the end the foreigner pays Hundred rupees to Muni for the statue, but Muni thought the foreigner is paying him for his goats. So, 'A Horse and Two Goats' is an apt title for the story.
5. The story brings about the clash of cultures between East and West. Muni represents East. He is poor, rural, illiterate. He speaks only Tamil and has no knowledge of English.
The foreigner represents West. He is ignorant of the poverty, hunger and other everyday troubles of the people in the East.
The East-West opposition is highlighted through the conversation between Muni and the foreigner in their native languages.
Extract X.
1. The foreigner said that Tamil "sounds wonderful" to him and he "gets a kick" out of every word spoken by Muni in Tamil.
The foreigner that Muni was giving a sales talk about statue. He assured Muni that he is ready to buy the statue and that he could give a better sales talk to the people in America.
2. Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by the Tamil people. During Pongal, Muni and his father used to cut the harvest. After the harvest, Muni would go out to play with his friends.
3. Muni told the foreigner that he could not attend school in his childhood as he was from lower caste and only the Brahmins could go to school at that time. This hints at the caste and class distinction between the rich and the poor in Kritam
4. Muni told the foreigner that the head of the village was a very rich man who hid money under the carpet, in the temple inside his house. This shows that Muni was gossip-monger.
5. Muni's wife was a typical Indian woman who took up the responsibilities and duties of her household. She was an honest and hardworking woman. In the story, we learn that child marriage was prevalent at that time. Women were considered as nurturers. They were regarded as weak and it was thought that they needed a man to support them.