Back to: Karnataka Board Class 9th Notes & Solutions
Introduction
A young farm kid innocently misconstrues a church message regarding Christmas Eve gifts in the short tale “The Goat and the Stars. “No Gift Is Too Large”, it reads on the notice. “No Gift is too little. Donate freely.” This Implies “You”. The words have a profound impact on the little youngster, who is distressed each time he sees the message.
THIS MEANS YOU?
He continually feels as though God is keeping a watchful eye on him. He therefore chooses to get a gift. But he is unable to make up his mind until the night before Christmas. But on Christmas Eve, he chooses to present a goat child. He feels it is a significant sacrifice to make because he adores the goat child so much. He is pleased to present his companion, a live being. Under the cover of night, he takes the baby goat. But he faces a challenge. He is unaware of how offerings are handled at the church. He believes he can go to church and inform the men in charge about the goat-kid sacrifice.
Consequently, when he arrives to church, everyone starts to laugh. He arrives at the church right before the service. The church is packed to its full capacity. The priest speaks about the gifts of frankincense and myrrh that the three wise men gave to baby Jesus during the ceremony. A gentleman and his wife smell something unusual at this very time. At first, they are unable to identify the smell’s source. They question if frankincense and myrrh could have such an odd fragrance given that the lecture was about them. They discover later that the boy and the goat are the source of the odour.
They dissuade the youngster by telling him that such presents cannot be offered when they learn of his intention. Without delivering the gift, the youngster goes back home. Deep down the boy is happy as his friend, the goat child would continue to remain his. But, the lack of snow, little bells, and a moving star, the author continues, amaze the young kid. The little farm boy’s disappointment, according to the author, is what causes this phenomenon.
