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Unit 01: Trustworthiness And Tolerance
The Devoted Friend
English (C)
For Class XII (All Groups)
SUMMARY
SUMMARY
By Professor rizwan Azam
The Devoted Friend," written by Oscar Wilde, is a story about a one-sided friendship between Hans and Miller. It is a short story that highlights the importance of reciprocity in true friendship. Hans is a devoted friend. The wealthy Miller takes advantage of Hans's innocence and simplicity by quoting aphoristic statements such as "Real friends should have everything in common." The Miller never gives anything to Hans in return, even though he has a hundred sacks of flour stored away in his mill. Hans works hard in his small garden. He is very happy and content during the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, but not in winter, and the Miller never visits him in winter. He used to tell his wife, "When people are in trouble, they should be left alone and not bothered by visitors." His wife was just as selfish and unkind as the Miller.On the other hand, his son showed sympathy and said that if poor Hans was in trouble, he would share half of his porridge with him and also show him his white rabbits. The Miller criticized and scolded his son, saying, "What a silly boy you are!"
After winter, the Miller visited Hans, who informed him that he had a hard time but was quite happy now that spring had arrived. Hans complained to the Miller that he had been half afraid because the Miller had forgotten about him. He further explained that winter was a very bad time for him, as he had no money to buy bread. He sold his silver buttons from his Sunday coat, then his silver chain, then his big pipe, and finally his wheelbarrow.
Now, the Miller saw an opportunity to exploit Hans by promising to give him the wheelbarrow if he did favors—such as fetching a plank of wood, filling a large basket with flowers, carrying a sack of flour to sell in the market, and finally driving the sheep to the mountain. One day, the Miller came and told Hans that he was in trouble because his little boy had fallen off a ladder and hurt himself. He asked Hans to fetch the doctor, falsely promising the wheelbarrow. Hans agreed and asked the Miller to lend him his lantern, as it was a dark, stormy night with torrential rain. The Miller did not give Hans his lantern.
Eventually, on returning with the doctor, Hans lost his way and fell into a ditch. His body was found by some goatherds floating in a large pool of water. The Miller was the chief mourner at Hans's funeral.
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SUMMARY
By Practical center
The Devoted Friend," written by Oscar WildeThere were two friends: little Hans, a gardener, and the Miller. The Miller used to visit Hans every day, take flowers from him, and never gave him anything in return. However, he never visited Hans during the winter, as Hans had no flowers. He would tell his wife, "When people are in trouble, they should be left alone and not be bothered by visitors."
One winter, the Miller visited Hans, and upon learning that Hans had sold his wheelbarrow, he became very angry with him. He then offered his broken wheelbarrow to Hans. He said, "As I have given you my wheelbarrow, you will give me your plank of wood." Hans agreed and handed over the plank of wood and some flowers, then went home.
The next day, the Miller visited Hans with a large sack of flour on his back and asked him to sell it in the market. He said, "Considering that I am giving you my wheelbarrow, you should do something in return." Hans felt he could not refuse.
Early the following morning, the Miller came to collect money for his sack of flour and scolded Hans for being in bed. Hans replied that, as he was very tired, he had stayed in bed a little longer, listening to the birds sing, because he always worked better after hearing the birds. The Miller then took the opportunity to ask Hans to come to his mill and mend his barn roof. Again, Hans could not say no.
The next day, the Miller sent Hans with his sheep to graze on the mountain. When Hans returned, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep in his chair and did not wake up until broad daylight.
One evening, little Hans was sitting by his fireside when the Miller came over. He asked Hans to get the doctor for him, as his son had hurt himself. Hans agreed and asked for his lantern, as it was very dark. However, the Miller refused, saying it was new and he would be very upset if it got spoiled in the rain. So, Hans went without the lantern.
After reaching the doctor's house, Hans asked him to come to the Miller's house, as he needed his services. The doctor rode off toward the Miller's house, while Hans continued on his way. Because of the storm and rain, Hans lost his way, fell into a large pool, and drowned.
At Hans's funeral, everyone was very sad. The Miller shed crocodile tears and pretended to be very upset. He said that he had basically given Hans the wheelbarrow and now did not know what to do with it. He claimed that, in the future, he would not be generous because one suffers for being generous.
Moral: The moral of the story is that one should not be as naive as little Hans and get exploited by the Miller.
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SUMMARY
By Sir Khalid Khan
The Devoted Friend (by Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde)Once upon a time, there was an honest little fellow named Hans. He was very kind and sincere. He lived in a small cottage all by himself, with a small garden near his cottage. In all the countryside, there was no garden as lovely as his. He worked in his garden every day, and he worked so hard that his garden was full of all sorts of beautiful flowers. Little Hans had many friends, but he thought Hugh, the Miller, was his most devoted friend. The Miller used to tell him that real friends should have everything in common. Therefore, he would take a basket full of flowers from Hans's garden whenever he passed by. Hans did not mind, for he took great pride in the Miller's friendship.
Little Hans led a very happy life during spring, summer, and autumn. But he faced a great deal of trouble in winter, when he had no fruit or flowers to carry to the market. Sometimes, poor Hans had to go to bed without any supper, but his friend the Miller no longer visited him. This showed that the Miller was a very selfish man and only pretended to be Hans's friend. The Miller used to tell his wife, "When people are in trouble, they should be left alone and not be bothered by visitors. That, at least, is my idea of friendship."
As soon as winter was over, the Miller went to see Hans, carrying a big basket. Hans was very pleased to see the Miller. The Miller greeted Hans and inquired about his health. Hans told him that he had a very hard time during the winter. He also said that he had to sell the silver button from his Sunday coat, his silver chain, his big pipe, and his wheelbarrow to keep himself alive. He hoped to buy them back after selling his flowers. The Miller consoled him and promised to give him his own wheelbarrow. However, the wheelbarrow needed repairs. Hans expressed his gratitude for the offer and told the Miller that he had a plank of wood that could be used to repair the wheelbarrow. Hearing this, the Miller decided to take advantage of the situation. He demanded the plank of wood from Hans, claiming there was a large hole in the roof of the barn, and the corn might get wet if the roof was not repaired in time.
One night, the Miller came to Hans's house with a new lantern and told him he was in great trouble because his little son had fallen off a ladder and hurt himself. He asked Hans to fetch a doctor. It was a dark and stormy night. Hans asked the Miller to give him his lantern, but the Miller refused. Hans went without a lantern and arrived at the doctor's house to ask him to see the Miller's son. The doctor rode on horseback, while Hans followed on foot. Unfortunately, Hans lost his way and drowned in a pool. His body was later found by goatherds. At Hans's funeral, the Miller pretended to be upset and said he would no longer be generous, believing it causes suffering.
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