📖 Non-Detailed Text 4 — The Magic Flute (translated by Abhi Subedi): A beautiful, emotional story about Sukumar, an orphan boy whose flute holds a kind of ‘magic’. Through its music he keeps the memory of his dead mother alive, finds a new family, and finally wins a hard heart and even brings his ‘sister’ back from a coma. Everything you need — summary, theme, word-meanings and all textbook answers — is here.
The Magic Flute
📝 About the Story
Set in a Himalayan village, ‘The Magic Flute’ is about an orphan boy, Sukumar, who plays the flute beautifully. His flute was a gift from his father, and through it he feels close to his dead mother. A kind village headman's wife takes him home as her ‘son’, and he gets a ‘sister’, Sayapatri. Though the father does not accept him at first, Sukumar's magical flute music finally revives the seriously-ill Sayapatri and wins the father's love.
👥 Characters
- Sukumar — an orphan boy of about eleven who plays the flute beautifully and longs for a family.
- The headman's wife — a kind, loving woman who takes Sukumar home as her own son.
- Sayapatri — the woman's young daughter, who becomes Sukumar's loving sister.
- The village headman — Sayapatri's father, who at first distrusts the orphan but finally accepts him.
📚 Summary
Section I: At sunset, Sukumar, a lonely orphan boy of about eleven, walks into a Himalayan village looking for a place to stay. Hearing a girl call her mother, he remembers his own dead mother and plays his flute. The headman's wife hears it, feels he is calling her like her own child, calls him ‘son’, and takes him home.
Section II (a flashback): Sukumar had lost his mother at five. His father told him she lived ‘in the house of the Gods’ but remained in their hearts, and that he could meet her when he played the flute. The father made Sukumar a flute and taught him, then died. The orphan set out and met the kind woman. At her home, her daughter Sayapatri gladly became his sister; but the headman said nothing to him at dinner, making Sukumar sad. Still, the woman would not let him leave.
Section III: Sukumar tells Sayapatri that, unlike her, he has lost his mother and can meet her only through his flute, and that he has not yet won her father's love — but will win it by playing his flute. The father distrusts the orphan, fearing he is undependable and a bad influence; the wife insists they must become his parents.
Section IV: Unable to win the father's love, Sukumar leaves quietly. Alone and sad in a mountain shrine, he dreams of Sayapatri and decides to return — only to find her in a coma with high fever, her ‘spirit gone in search of him’. Sukumar plays his flute softly; Sayapatri's eyes open and she recovers. Moved to tears, the father hugs Sukumar, calls him ‘my own dear son’, and vows never to let him go again.
💡 Theme / Message
The story shows the power of love and music, and an orphan's longing for a family. True love is not only of blood; kindness can make strangers into family. Sukumar's ‘magic flute’ shows how music can heal, revive and win even the hardest heart.
🏷️ Why ‘The Magic Flute’?
The flute's music works like magic: it keeps Sukumar close to his dead mother, it enchants everyone who hears it, it brings the dying Sayapatri out of her coma, and it finally wins the father's hard heart. Because of these magical effects, the story is rightly called ‘The Magic Flute’.
📖 Glossary (Word Meanings)
| Word / Phrase | Meaning |
|---|
| majestic | beautiful or impressive |
| tuck away | to hide something |
| set out | began (a journey) |
| gaze | to look at someone steadily |
| nodded | answered ‘yes’ (with the head) |
| enraptured | filled with joy |
| staring at | looking at something for a long time with wide-open eyes |
| loafing | spending time carelessly / idly |
| summit | the highest point / top (of a mountain) |
| stroked | touched in a gentle, loving way |
| flutter | to move in excitement (here, the eyelids) |
| hugged | held someone tightly, putting arms around |
| gloomy | unhappy; having no hope |
| coma | a deep unconscious state like a long sleep |
| revive | to bring back to life / consciousness |
Section I — Answer the following questions
1What was the name of the boy? Why was he going to the village?
The boy's name was Sukumar, a boy of about eleven. He was going into the village because he was alone and a stranger, and he hoped to find someone who would put him up for the night.
2Why did he play the flute?
In the distance a girl was calling her mother, which reminded Sukumar of his own dead mother. Filled with memories of her, he took out his flute to play — because he felt close to his mother through its music.
3Who was the middle-aged woman? When she met Sukumar, how did both of them feel?
She was the wife of the village headman, carrying a heavy load of grass. When their eyes met, it seemed to both of them that they had always known each other — as if there were an instant, deep bond between them, like mother and son.
4What did she ask Sukumar to do?
She lovingly asked him to come home with her. She said, ‘Come with me, my son… we must go home,’ for she felt his flute was calling her like her own child.
5Do you think Sukumar will stay in the elderly woman's house? Why / Why not?
Yes, it seems Sukumar will stay, because the woman is loving and treats him like her own son, and Sukumar, being a lonely orphan, longs for a mother's love and a home — so he gladly follows her.
Section II — Answer the following questions
1Which part of the story takes place earlier — the part in section I or the part in section II?
The part in Section II takes place earlier. It is a flashback about Sukumar's childhood — his parents, his mother's death and how he got his flute — which happened before the events of Section I.
2Sukumar had lost his mother as a child. He wanted to know where she was. What did his father tell him?
His father told him that his mother now lived in the house of the Gods, and that although she was far beyond the sky, she was with them in their hearts. He added that he could meet her in his heart when he played the flute.
3Why did Sukumar want his father to make a flute for him?
Because his father said he could meet the mother in his heart when he played the flute. So Sukumar wanted his own flute, so that he too would feel that his mother was with him whenever he played it.
4What happened when Sukumar lost his father? Why do you think he left his home?
A few days after making the flute and teaching Sukumar to play, his father died. Sukumar, now an orphan, took his flute and set out on a journey. He probably left home because he was all alone with no one left there, and went in search of love and a new family.
5Who was Sayapatri? How did the middle-aged woman introduce Sukumar to her?
Sayapatri was the headman's wife's young daughter. The woman introduced Sukumar to her saying, ‘Daughter, I've brought home… your brother.’ So Sayapatri, who had no brother, now had Sukumar, and he in turn had a sister.
6How did Sukumar feel in Sayapatri's house? Why?
During dinner, the village headman (the father) said nothing to Sukumar. This made Sukumar feel sad and uncomfortable, because he felt the father had not welcomed or accepted him.
7Sukumar wanted to leave the next morning. What happened?
The next morning Sukumar got up early and prepared to leave, but the woman stopped him, saying, ‘We're mother and son. I won't let you leave your home.’ So Sukumar stayed with the family.
Section III — Answer the following questions
1What reason did Sukumar give Sayapatri for being sad?
Sukumar said that Sayapatri had her own mother who loved her, but his own mother was gone and the only way he could ever meet her was by playing his flute. He also said that, unlike her, he did not yet have the love of her father.
2How did he plan to win Sayapatri's father's heart?
Sukumar planned to win the father's heart by playing his flute — he believed his music would one day touch and win the father's love.
3Why did Sayapatri's father not like Sukumar?
The father thought that orphans are not dependable. He feared Sukumar would one day get up and leave, would just loaf around living off their kindness, and would be a bad influence on Sayapatri.
4What do you think Sukumar will do now?
Sukumar, hurt that the father does not accept him, may decide to leave the house — which, in the next part, he does. But his longing for family and his magical flute will bring him back.
Section IV — Answer the following questions
1Why did Sukumar leave Sayapatri's house?
Despite all his efforts, Sukumar was still unable to win the love of Sayapatri's father. Feeling sad and unwanted, he quietly left the house in the pre-dawn hours while the family slept.
2Why did Sukumar feel sad in the temple (shrine)?
Inside the shrine on the mountain summit, he felt very lonely and sad, because he felt that by leaving Sayapatri and her mother he had once again lost his family.
3Why did Sukumar decide to return to Sayapatri's house?
The next night, sleeping in the shrine, he dreamed of Sayapatri standing before him and asking him to follow her. When he awoke, he knew he would return home to Sayapatri's house.
4When Sukumar entered the house, what did he see?
He saw many villagers around the yard with gloomy faces. Inside, Sayapatri lay seriously ill in her mother's lap, in a coma.
5According to her mother, what was wrong with Sayapatri?
The mother said that on the night Sukumar left, Sayapatri suddenly came down with a very high fever and had been in a coma since. She felt that Sayapatri's spirit had left her body and gone off in search of Sukumar.
6What did Sukumar do when he heard Sayapatri's mother? What happened to Sayapatri then?
Sukumar brought out his flute and began to play it very quietly. As the tune floated across the room, Sayapatri's eyelids fluttered, her eyes opened, and she recognised her brother — she recovered from her coma.
7Sayapatri's father did something unexpected. What was it?
The father suddenly moved next to Sukumar and, with tears in his eyes, hugged the boy to his chest, saying, ‘Truly you're my own dear son. Never, never will I let you go again’ — thus fully accepting Sukumar.
8Do you think this is a happy story or a sad story? Why?
It is a happy story. Though it has sad moments (Sukumar is an orphan, Sayapatri falls dangerously ill), it ends happily: Sayapatri recovers, the father accepts Sukumar as his own son, and Sukumar at last finds the love and family he had longed for.
9Why is the story entitled ‘The Magic Flute’? How was the flute magical?
The story is called ‘The Magic Flute’ because the flute's music had a magical power. Through it Sukumar felt close to his dead mother, it enchanted all who heard it, it brought the dying Sayapatri out of her coma, and it finally won the father's hard heart. These wonderful effects make the flute truly ‘magic’.
D. Let's Write — Answer in about 50 words each
1Why and how did Sukumar learn to play the flute?
After his mother died, Sukumar's father played the flute every evening, saying he could meet the mother in his heart when he played. Sukumar wanted to feel his mother too, so he asked for a flute. His father carefully made him one and taught him how to play it.
2How did he come to Sayapatri's house?
After his father's death, the orphaned Sukumar set out on a journey. While he was playing his flute at sunset in a village, the headman's wife heard it, felt he was calling her like her own son, called him ‘son’, and took him home — to Sayapatri's house.
3Why did Sayapatri's father not want Sukumar in his house?
The father believed that orphans are not dependable. He feared Sukumar would one day leave, would idle about living off their kindness, and would be a bad influence on his daughter Sayapatri. So he did not want the orphan boy in his house.
4Why did Sukumar go back to Sayapatri's house?
In the shrine Sukumar had a dream in which Sayapatri stood before him, asking him to follow her. When he woke, he knew he must return home. On reaching, he found Sayapatri seriously ill in a coma, as if her spirit had gone in search of him.
5How did Sayapatri recover?
When Sukumar played his flute very softly beside the unconscious Sayapatri, the tune floated across the room. Her eyelids fluttered, her eyes opened, and she recognised her brother. The magical music of the flute brought her out of her coma and revived her.