The Best Christmas Present in the World – Class 8 English NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for “The Best Christmas Present in the World,” Class 8 English NCERT. This heartwarming story teaches us valuable lessons about humanity, peace, and hope. It shows how even in times of war, human connections and kindness can prevail. The story also emphasizes the power of love and memories, as demonstrated through Connie’s undying love for Jim and her preservation of his letter for so many years.

Summary (English)

The story revolves around a narrator who discovers an old letter in a roll-top desk he bought from a junk shop. The letter, written by Jim Macpherson to his wife Connie during World War I, describes a remarkable Christmas Day truce between British and German soldiers in 1914. On this day, soldiers from both sides came together to celebrate Christmas, shared food, and even played football in no-man’s land. The narrator finds Mrs. Macpherson, now 101 years old, in a nursing home and returns the letter to her. Due to her age and confusion, she mistakes him for her long-lost husband Jim, considering his visit as “the best Christmas present in the world.”

सारांश (Hindi)

यह कहानी एक व्यक्ति के बारे में है जो एक पुरानी डेस्क में से एक पत्र खोजता है। यह पत्र प्रथम विश्व युद्ध के दौरान जिम मैकफर्सन ने अपनी पत्नी कॉनी को लिखा था। पत्र में 1914 के क्रिसमस दिन का वर्णन है जब ब्रिटिश और जर्मन सैनिकों ने एक साथ क्रिसमस मनाया, भोजन बांटा और फुटबॉल भी खेला। कहानीकार कॉनी मैकफर्सन को एक नर्सिंग होम में ढूंढ लेता है, जो अब 101 वर्ष की हैं। बुढ़ापे और भ्रम के कारण वह कहानीकार को अपना पति जिम समझ लेती हैं और उनकी यह मुलाकात उनके लिए “दुनिया का सबसे अच्छा क्रिसमस उपहार” बन जाती है।

Word Meanings

Comprehension Check

1. What did the author find in a junk shop?

The author found an old roll-top desk from the 19th century in the junk shop. The desk was in poor condition – it was made of oak but had several defects including a broken top, scratch marks on one side, and one leg was clumsily mended. Despite its condition, the author saw potential in the piece and decided to buy it for restoration.

2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had put it in there?

In the secret drawer, the author discovered a small tin box containing a letter. The letter was written on lined note paper and had sellotape on top with a message stating it should be buried with the owner’s wife. Mrs. Macpherson (Connie) had likely placed it there, as it was her husband Jim’s last letter to her from the war, and she wanted to preserve this precious memory forever.

3. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?

The letter was written by Jim Macpherson to his beloved wife Connie on December 26, 1914, during World War I. Jim was a British soldier fighting against the Germans, and he wrote this letter to share a remarkable Christmas experience with his wife.

4. Why was the letter written? What was the wonderful thing that had happened?

Jim wrote the letter to share an extraordinary event that occurred on Christmas Day during the war. The wonderful thing was that British and German soldiers temporarily stopped fighting and came together to celebrate Christmas in no-man’s land. They shared food and drinks, exchanged stories, and even played a friendly football match. This spontaneous truce showed how humanity can triumph over conflict, even in the darkest times of war.

5. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when they were not soldiers?

In their civilian lives before the war, Hans Wolf was a professional cellist who played in the orchestra at Dusseldorf, while Jim Macpherson worked as a school teacher in Dorset, in the west of England. This detail shows how war brings together people from different walks of life who might otherwise never have met.

6. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?

No, Hans Wolf had never physically visited Dorset. However, he said he knew it well because he had learned about England through his education and his love for English literature. He was particularly fond of Thomas Hardy’s works, especially “Far from the Madding Crowd,” which is set in Dorset. This shows how literature can help us understand and feel connected to places we’ve never visited.

7. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How do you know this?

No, Jim Macpherson likely didn’t return from the war. Several clues in the story suggest this:

• The note on the letter mentioned it should be buried with his wife
• Mrs. Macpherson lived alone and had no family visits, as mentioned by her neighbor
• The nurse at the nursing home mentioned she had no family and never received visitors
• This was his last letter, and no more correspondence followed

8. Why did the author go to Bridport?

The author went to Bridport because he felt guilty about reading someone else’s private letter and wanted to return it to its rightful owner. After discovering Mrs. Macpherson’s address in the letter, he decided to personally deliver the letter to her, showing his sense of responsibility and respect for others’ privacy.

9. How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?

Mrs. Macpherson was 101 years old and was residing at Burlington House, a nursing home located on Dorchester Road. She had been moved there after her house (Copper Beeches) caught fire, possibly due to her habit of using candles instead of electricity.

10. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?

When the narrator visited her with the tin box containing the letter, Connie Macpherson mistook him for her husband Jim. Due to her advanced age and confused state of mind, she believed that Jim had finally returned home, fulfilling his promise to come back for Christmas.

11. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try to hide his identity?

The sentence “I explained about the desk, about how I had found it, but I don’t think she was listening” clearly shows that the visitor attempted to explain his true identity to Mrs. Macpherson. He was honest about how he came across the letter and tried to tell her the truth, but she was too lost in her own happiness to comprehend his explanation.

Working with Text

1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for your answer.

Connie had kept Jim’s letter for around 87 years (from 1914 to the present time in the story). We can determine this because:

• The letter was written in December 1914 during World War I
• Connie was now 101 years old in the nursing home
• She mentioned reading the letter every day to hear Jim’s voice
• The letter was so precious to her that she wanted it to be buried with her

2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?

The desk was likely sold after Connie’s house (Copper Beeches) caught fire. This probably happened recently because:

• The house was described as a “burned-out shell”
• Connie had been moved to the nursing home after the fire incident
• The fire was caused by her habit of using candles instead of electricity
• Her belongings, including the desk, would have been sold or disposed of when she moved to the nursing home

3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving conflicts? Do you agree?

Jim and Hans believed that sports and games were better ways to resolve conflicts because:

• Nobody dies in a game – unlike in war
• No children become orphans
• No wives become widows
• It promotes friendly competition instead of deadly conflict
• It brings people together rather than dividing them

4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different from each other? Find evidence from the story.

The story clearly shows that soldiers from both armies were very similar to each other, despite fighting on opposite sides. Evidence includes:

• Both sides willingly participated in the Christmas celebration
• They shared food, drinks, and stories like friends
• Hans and Jim found common ground in their love for literature
• Both sides played football together and enjoyed the game
• They sang carols together, showing shared cultural traditions
• Both sides expressed a desire for peace and to return home to their families

5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers become friends and find things in common at Christmas.

The British and German soldiers bonded in several ways during their Christmas celebration:

• Shared food and drinks – rum ration, sausages, and Christmas cake
• Engaged in conversation about books, culture, and personal lives
• Played a friendly football match together
• Exchanged Christmas carols (Silent Night and While Shepherds Watched)
• Showed respect and understanding for each other’s situations
• Discovered common interests and shared humanity

6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present in the world”?

Connie’s Christmas present was the unexpected visit from the narrator, whom she mistook for her husband Jim. It became “the best Christmas present in the world” because:

• In her mind, Jim had finally kept his promise to return home for Christmas
• It gave her the joy of reuniting with her long-lost husband
• The timing coincided with Christmas, making it more special
• It fulfilled her decades-long wait to see Jim again
• Even though it was an illusion due to her confused state, it brought her genuine happiness and peace

7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any other title(s)?

Yes, “The Best Christmas Present in the World” is a very suitable title for this story because:

• It captures multiple Christmas celebrations – the wartime truce and Connie’s reunion
• It reflects both the physical gift (the letter) and the emotional gift (the visitor’s presence)
• It emphasizes how the greatest presents aren’t always material things
• It connects the past (1914 Christmas) with the present (Connie’s Christmas)

• “The Christmas Letter” – focusing on the letter that connects past and present
• “A Christmas Miracle” – highlighting the extraordinary events in both timelines
• “The Last Christmas Promise” – emphasizing Jim’s promise to return
• “Memories of Christmas Past” – connecting the two Christmas celebrations

Working with Language

1. Past Tense Exercise

(i) Verbs in past tense from the passage:

• got, sat, was, took, arrested, held, freed

My little sister is very naughty. When she came back from school yesterday, she had torn her dress. We asked her how it had happened. She said she had quarreled with a boy. She had beaten him in a race and he had tried to push her. She had told the teacher and so he had chased her, and she had fallen down and had torn her dress.

2. Phrasal Verbs in the Story

• burn out – to be destroyed by fire (House number 12 turned out to be nothing but a burned-out shell)
• light up – to become bright with happiness (That was the moment her eyes lit up with recognition)
• look on – to watch without participating (Hans Wolf and I looked on and cheered)
• run out – to be completely used up or finished (the schnapps and the rum and the sausage had long since run out)
• keep out – to prevent from entering (to keep out the cold as much as anything)

3. Matching Nouns with Adjectives

Writing

1. Write a diary entry as Jim OR a letter as the visitor

Diary Entry as Jim:

25 December 1919

It’s Christmas today, but the town looks completely different from what I remember. The war has left its deep scars everywhere – not just on the buildings, but in people’s hearts too. The streets that once buzzed with festive cheer now seem subdued. Many shops have closed down, and familiar faces are missing.

The war has changed everything. I still wake up sometimes hearing the echo of explosions, and my mind drifts back to that extraordinary Christmas of 1914 when we played football with the Germans in no-man’s land. How strange life is – we were enemies then, but we shared such a human moment.

Coming back home to Connie has been my only solace. She hasn’t changed a bit – her smile still lights up the room just as it did before I left. Our house feels like the only place untouched by the war’s darkness. Today, she made her special Christmas cake with marzipan, just like the one I shared with Hans Wolf that day. I wonder if he made it back home to his family.

Perhaps someday, the town will regain its Christmas spirit. Until then, I’m grateful to be alive, to be home, and to have Connie by my side. That’s the best Christmas present I could have asked for.

– Jim

2. Story Construction

Title: The Wait That Never Ended

Dr. Anand Kumar was not just a skilled physician but also a passionate freedom fighter. Newly married to Priya, his life was filled with both the joy of helping patients and the burning desire to see his country free. However, his participation in the independence movement caught the attention of the British authorities.

One dark night, he was arrested and exiled to the infamous Cellular Jail in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The jail, known for its brutal treatment of political prisoners, became his new home. Despite the torture and inhuman conditions, Dr. Kumar’s spirit remained unbroken. He organized peaceful protests inside the jail and provided medical care to fellow inmates.

The British authorities grew increasingly frustrated with his influence over other prisoners. When a major revolt broke out in the jail, Dr. Kumar was accused of being its mastermind. Without a fair trial, he was sentenced to death by hanging.

Back home, Priya waited. Days turned into months, months into years. She never remarried, keeping her sindoor fresh and her hope alive. The village people often saw her walking to the post office, expecting a letter that never came.

As age caught up with her, her hair turned silver, but her eyes never lost their hopeful gleam. She would tell anyone who listened about her brave husband who sacrificed his life for the nation. Even at ninety, she would sit by her window every evening, waiting for her husband’s return.

Though Dr. Kumar never returned, his sacrifice and Priya’s unwavering faith became a legend in their village. Their story remained a powerful reminder of the price paid for India’s freedom and the strength of eternal love.