NCERT MCQ Solutions for Class 5 English Marigold Chapter 8 Nobody’s Friend, The Little Bully

The poem clearly states that “She had some sweets that she wouldn’t share, She had a book that she wouldn’t lend, She wouldn’t let anyone play with her doll”.
These three items – sweets, book and doll – are specifically mentioned as things the girl refused to share with others, which made her nobody’s friend.

The poem states “He had some toffee and ate every bit” which clearly indicates that the boy consumed all of his toffee without sharing any of it with others.
This selfish behavior, along with not lending his tricycle and not letting anyone play with his train, made him nobody’s friend.

In the final stanza, the speaker says “But I’ll share all of my sweets with you, My ball and my books and my games I will lend, Here’s half my apple and half my cake — I’m your friend!”
The use of “I” indicates that the narrator or speaker of the poem is offering to share and be a friend, contrasting with the selfish children described earlier.

The generous child in the last stanza offers to share multiple items: “I’ll share all of my sweets with you, My ball and my books and my games I will lend, Here’s half my apple and half my cake”.
This comprehensive list shows the child’s willingness to share both toys/books and food items, demonstrating true friendship.

Both children are described as “nobody’s friend” because of their unwillingness to share their possessions.
The girl won’t share her sweets, lend her book, or let anyone play with her doll.
The boy ate all his toffee, wouldn’t lend his tricycle and never let anyone play with his train. Their selfish behavior isolates them from potential friendships.

The poem contrasts selfish children who won’t share (and thus have no friends) with a generous child who offers to share everything and declares “I’m your friend!”
The clear message is that sharing your belongings and being generous with others is what makes you a good friend, while selfishness leads to loneliness.

The poem specifically mentions “He had a tricycle he wouldn’t lend” as one of the selfish behaviors of the boy.
Along with eating all his toffee and not letting anyone play with his train, refusing to lend his tricycle contributed to him being nobody’s friend.

In the poem, “lend” refers to allowing someone to temporarily use your belongings with the expectation that they will return them.
The generous child says “My ball and my books and my games I will lend”, meaning they will let others use these items temporarily, which is an act of kindness and sharing that builds friendships.

The poem effectively shows the difference between selfish and generous behavior by contrasting the first two stanzas (which describe children who won’t share and are “nobody’s friend”) with the last stanza (which describes a child who offers to share everything and declares friendship).
This structure highlights how sharing leads to friendship while selfishness leads to isolation.

The poem uses repetition as its primary literary device, particularly with the phrase “nobody’s friend” and the structure of listing what each child won’t share.
The repetitive pattern “She had… she wouldn’t…” and “He had… he wouldn’t…” emphasizes the selfish behavior, while the repetition of sharing actions in the last stanza emphasizes generosity.

The story clearly states that “What he loved to do most was to pinch. He could make a big bruise appear in half a second”.
This was Hari’s primary way of bullying other children, along with pricking them with a pin. His pinching was so effective and painful that it made all the children hate him.

The story mentions “It so happened that the class went for a picnic to the seaside for a whole day. All the children were most excited”.
The seaside setting is crucial to the story because it’s where Hari encounters the sea creatures that teach him a lesson about bullying.

The story explicitly states “They crowded into the train and sat down — but nobody wanted to sit next to Hari because he always pinched”.
His reputation for pinching other children made everyone avoid sitting near him, showing how his bullying behavior had isolated him from his classmates.

The story provides a detailed list of Hari’s lunch: “There were two hard-boiled eggs, six jam sandwiches, three pieces of bread and butter, a ginger cake and a bar of chocolate”.
This generous lunch becomes important later when the sea creatures eat it after teaching Hari his lesson.

The story states “Hari saw a monster crab walking sideways out of the pool. His eyes were on the ends of short stalks and he looked most queer”.
This crab was the first creature to approach Hari and begin the lesson about how it feels to be pinched and bullied.

The story describes how the crab “held out his front claw to Hari.
Hari put out his hand to shake the crab’s claw, but to his surprise and anger the crab opened his pincers and nipped his hand so hard that the little boy yelled”.
This deceptive greeting mirrors how Hari might have bullied others unexpectedly.

When Hari leapt to his feet crying after being pinched by the creatures, “His lunch rolled into the pool and when the crabs and lobsters saw it they ran to it and began to feast eagerly”.
The creatures eating his lunch added to his punishment and loss, making him realize the consequences of his behavior.

Hari’s realization is clearly stated: “They only did to me what I keep doing to the other children,” he thought.
“But how it hurt! And how I hated those crabs and lobsters! I suppose the other children hate me too. Well, I jolly well shan’t pinch or prick any more”. He understood how his victims felt and decided to change his behavior.

The story is clearly attributed to Enid Blyton, as indicated at the end of the text with “ENID BLYTON (Adapted)”.
Enid Blyton was a famous British children’s author known for her moral tales and adventure stories that often taught valuable lessons to young readers.

The phrase “black and blue” is an idiom meaning covered with bruises.
The story explains that the sea creatures “pricked Hari till he was soon black and blue with their pinching”, indicating that his body was covered with bruises from being pinched by the crabs, lobsters, shrimps and prawns.
This physical evidence of the pain he experienced helped him understand what he had been doing to others.