Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Scarlet Pimpernel Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, The Ghost of the Mountains and Life with Robots so, you can check these posts as well.
The Scarlet Pimpernel Questions & Answers
Question 1: Complete these sentences:
1. The carts went out of the city to bring fruits and vegetables from the nearby village, for the market next morning.
2. When Bibot caught a person trying to escape, it would be a quick trial and then the beheading.
3. People said the getaways were organized by a group of brave English noblemen led by the scarlet Pimpernel.
4. Bibot was deceived because he was overconfident.
Question 2: Read the line and answer the questions:
1. “lf I had been at the North Gate last week, l would never have let them escape.”
(a) Who said these words to whom?
Answer: Sergeant Bibot said these words to the crowd gathered there.
(b) Who had been at the North Gate?
Answer: Sergeant Grospierre had been at the North Gate.
(c) Who does ‘them’ refer to? How had they escaped?
Answer: Here, ‘them’ refers to the Duke of Chalis and his family. Sergeant Grospierre was keeping watch that evening at the North Gate. He was checking the market carts that were going through the Gate. There was one laden with barrels; it was being driven by an old man with a boy beside him. Grospierre looked into some of the barrels and finding then empty, let the cart go out of the gate. Half an hour later, a captain of the guard came with a dozen soldiers following him and asked Grospierre if he had allowed a cart to go through the gates. The captain angrily shouted at him for having allowed the cart to pass and warned Grospierre that he would go to the guillotine as the Duke of Chalis and his family had been hiding in that cart. Saying this, the captain and his soldiers rushed out of the gate. This is how the Duke of Chalis and his family escaped for they had disguised themselves as the captain and his soldiers. The captain of the guard was the Scarlet Pimpernal and every one of his soldiers was a member of the Duke of Chalis family.
2. “lt was the Englishman-the Scarlet Pimpernel”.
(a) Who said these words to whom?
Answer: A captain of the guard said these words to Sergeant Bibot.
(b) Who does ‘it’ refer to?
Answer: Here, ‘it’ refers to the cart driver who was actually the Scarlet Pimpernal in disguise.
(c) What had the Scarlet Pimpernal just done?
Answer: The Scarlet Pimpernal had just helped the countess of Tournay and her two children, all of them condemned to be beheaded, to escape. He had disguised himself as an old woman, driving a covered cart that hid the countess of Tournay and her children. Pretending to be an old woman, Scarlet Pimpernal had told sergeant Bibot that her grandson had smallpox and indicated that he was in the covered cart. Since, smallpox was considered to be a terrible and contagious disease, Bibot allowed the cart to pass without checking it. This helped the Scarlet Pimpernal and the noble family to escape.
Question 3: Why did people gather near the West Gate every evening?
Answer: The people gathered near the West Gate every evening to watch Sergeant Bibot catch French aristocratic families that tried to escape to England.
Question 4: What steps had been taken to capture the Scarlet Pimpernal that day?
Answer: Since many noble families had succeeded in escaping from France and reaching England safely with the Scarlet Pimpernal’s help, extra steps had been taken to capture the latter that day. The Sergeants in command, at the various gates, had special orders to be extra watchful. The number of guards at the gates had been increased and a reward of five thousand francs would be given to the man who would capture the Scarlet Pimpernal.
Question 5: Why was the crowd scared to hear about how Duke of Chalis and his family had escaped?
Answer: The crowd was scared to hear about how Duke of Chalis and his family had escaped because they realised how brave and indomitable the Scarlet Pimpernal was. He actually had the courage to appear in front of Sergeant Grospierre as a captain of the guard and even talk to him.
Question 6: What spoilt the mood of the evening’?
Answer: The mention of the word ‘smallpox’ by the old woman driving the cart made Bibot and the crowd step back. Everyone was filled with horror at the thought of the terrible disease. This spoilt the mood of the evening because the people were frightened of fatal diseases like smallpox.
So, these were The Scarlet Pimpernel Questions & Answers.