The Little Girl Class 9 Short Summary & Explanation Notes in English

Introduction

The Little Girl is a story of a little girl who feared her father. Things changed after she realized that a fatherโ€™s love is more significant than anything in this world.

Fearsome Father

She feared her father the most. As he would depart after giving her a casual kiss, she would feel relief. In the evening, he ordered his mother to bring his papers and tea. Her mother told her to take of her fatherโ€™s boot. She stuttered in front of her father because she was too careful to speak.

Kezia (the little girl) was not expressing herself fully. According to Kezia, her father was so enormous and gigantic. On Sunday, Keziaโ€™s grandmother would send her to talk with her father and mother, but Kezia would find her mother reading and her father sleeping every time.

No Time to Talk

She would sit for some time on the stool until her father woke up. He told her that she looked like an owl. One day, her grandmother told her that it was her fatherโ€™s birthday next week and suggested that she gift her father a pin cushion.

Kezia stitched everything with the utmost difficulty. She had no idea what to fill inside the cloth. Her grandmother found some paper sheets, so she tore them into tiny pieces and filled the fabric.

The Birthday Gift

That night, there was a massive noise inside the house. The Port Authority speech of Keziaโ€™s father was missing. The family searched everything but all in vain. Her mother asked her if she had seen any of the papers. Kezia told her that she had torn all the documents and use them for her fatherโ€™s birthday. She was summoned by her father, who scolded her. Kezia tried to explain, but he did not listen.ย 

Finally, he beat her with a ruler. Hours later, her grandmother tried to help her get through the trauma, and Kezia asked her an intriguing question. Her grandmother advised her to sleep.

The Butcher with a Knife

One day, her mother fell ill, and there was no one in the house except her cook Alice. Kezia always slept with her grandma. She was too afraid to be alone. Alice told her to sleep. In the dark, she had this nightmare of a butcher who came closer and closer with a grinning smile. In the dark, suddenly, her father entered the room and asked if anything was wrong.ย 

A Big Heart

Her father took her to the big bedroom and cuddled her. Kezia had this feeling that her father worked all day and was too tired to be Mr. Macdonald (a neighbour who played with his kids). She also felt guilty for destroying her fatherโ€™s speech. She told her father that he had a big heart.