DELHI WORLD PUBLIC SCHOOL

Vishveshwarya Campus
Session 2026–27

ENGLISH CORE — CLASS XII

Flamingo — Chapter 2: "The Rattrap" (Selma Lagerlöf)
Assignment: Mind Map, Important Points, Short & Long Answer, Critical Thinking, Application-Based and
Competency-Based Questions

A. Mind Map — Key Elements of the Story

B. Theme and Important Points

• The story follows a lonely peddler who sells small items and makeshift wire rattraps, and who has
come to see the entire world as a big rattrap that offers riches, shelter and comfort as bait to trap
the unwary.
• Central theme: the story explores how kindness, trust and respect can transform a hardened,
cynical person, showing that human beings respond to genuine affection and dignity rather than
suspicion or punishment.
• The peddler, friendless and used to being treated with suspicion, philosophically compares the
world to a rattrap — he believes people are lured into traps of wealth and comfort just as animals
are lured by cheese.
• A kind crofter offers the peddler shelter, food and conversation, even revealing that he has thirty
kronor from selling a cow; that night, the peddler steals the money and flees, embodying his
cynical worldview.
• Lost in the forest, the peddler seeks help at an ironworks, where the ironmaster mistakes him for
Captain von Stahle, an old regiment acquaintance, due to their passing resemblance, and invites
him home for company on Christmas Eve.
• Edla Willmansson, the ironmaster's daughter, treats the peddler with genuine warmth and
hospitality; even after his real identity as a tramp and thief is discovered, she insists he be
allowed to stay and be treated kindly.

Subject Teacher HOD Principal

 DELHI WORLD PUBLIC SCHOOL
Vishveshwarya Campus
Session 2026–27

• The peddler, fearing arrest, sneaks away early the next morning, but he leaves behind a small
package addressed to Edla, containing the stolen thirty kronor and the rattrap itself, as a
Christmas gift.
• In his note, the peddler explains he wanted to be seen as a captain for one day, thanks Edla for
treating him as a human being rather than a thief, and signs the letter using the name 'Captain
von Stahle.'
• Literary technique: Lagerlöf uses the rattrap as an extended metaphor that runs through the
story, linking the peddler's cynicism, his own capture by kindness, and his final act of moral
redemption.
• Message/Moral: compassion and respect have the power to redeem even those hardened by a
difficult life, and true change often comes not through force but through being treated with
unexpected kindness and trust.

C. Short Answer Questions

(Answer in about 40 words, as per CBSE word limit for 2-mark questions.)

Q1. Why did the peddler compare the world to a rattrap? [2 marks]
Ans. The peddler believed that the world offered riches, food, shelter and comfort as bait, just as
a rattrap offers cheese, and that people who were tempted by these things eventually got caught,
exactly as animals are caught in traps.

Q2. How did the peddler repay the crofter's hospitality? [2 marks]
Ans. Despite the crofter's kindness in offering him shelter, food and company, the peddler stole
the thirty kronor the crofter had received from selling his cow and fled during the night, betraying
the old man's trust.

Q3. Why did the ironmaster invite the peddler to his home? [2 marks]
Ans. The ironmaster mistook the peddler for Captain von Stahle, an old regiment acquaintance
he had not seen in years, due to a passing physical resemblance, and invited him home out of
friendliness and a wish for company.

Q4. How did Edla Willmansson treat the peddler once his true identity was revealed? [2 marks]
Ans. Even after discovering that the peddler was a tramp and a thief rather than Captain von
Stahle, Edla insisted that he be treated kindly and allowed to stay for Christmas, showing genuine
compassion rather than judgment.

Q5. What did the peddler leave behind for Edla, and why? [2 marks]
Ans. The peddler left a package containing the stolen thirty kronor and the rattrap itself as a
Christmas gift for Edla, thanking her for treating him with respect and dignity, unlike anyone else
had before.

D. Long Answer Questions

(Answer in about 120–150 words, as per CBSE word limit for 6-mark questions.)

Q1. Trace the transformation in the peddler's character over the course of the story. [6 marks]
Ans. At the start, the peddler is a cynical, friendless tramp who believes the world is nothing more
than a rattrap designed to trap the unwary with false comforts. This worldview seems confirmed
by his own behaviour when he steals the crofter's money after being shown genuine hospitality,
proving himself exactly the kind of trapped, morally compromised figure he describes. However,
his encounter with the ironmaster and especially with Edla changes this trajectory. Mistaken for a
respectable captain and treated with warmth, dignity and trust despite his shabby appearance, the
peddler experiences kindness he has likely never known. Even after Edla learns the truth about
Subject Teacher HOD Principal
 DELHI WORLD PUBLIC SCHOOL
Vishveshwarya Campus
Session 2026–27

him, her continued respect moves him deeply. In the end, he chooses to return the stolen money
and leaves a heartfelt note, showing that he has been transformed from a bitter cynic into
someone capable of gratitude, honesty and genuine moral reflection.

Q2. 'The Rattrap' shows that kindness has the power to redeem even a hardened character.' Discuss
with reference to the story. [6 marks]
Ans. Selma Lagerlöf builds her story around the idea that human beings respond more powerfully
to compassion than to suspicion or punishment. The peddler, having been treated harshly and
with mistrust throughout his life, has come to see the world cynically, as a trap set to catch the
unwary, and he behaves accordingly by stealing from the very crofter who sheltered him. The
turning point comes when the ironmaster and, more significantly, Edla treat him with respect and
warmth despite eventually learning who he really is. Edla's insistence that he be allowed to stay
and be treated as a guest, not a criminal, plants a seed of change in him. This culminates in his
decision to return the stolen money and thank Edla for treating him 'like a captain' and, more
importantly, like a human being. The story thus powerfully illustrates that genuine kindness can
reach and transform even those who seem beyond redemption.

E. Critical Thinking, Application-Based and Competency-Based Questions

(Answer in about 60–80 words unless stated otherwise, as per CBSE competency-based format.)

Critical Thinking
Q1. Do you agree with the peddler's philosophy that the world is like a rattrap? Give reasons for your
view. [4 marks]
Ans. The peddler's philosophy holds some truth, since people can indeed be tempted and
trapped by greed for wealth or comfort, as his own theft shows. However, the story itself
challenges this bleak view by showing that kindness, unlike bait, does not trap people for
exploitation but instead can genuinely transform them, as seen in the peddler's own change of
heart, suggesting that not all human connection is a trap.

Application-Based
Q2. If you met someone in your community who, like the peddler, had lost trust in others due to past
hardships, what practical steps would you take to help rebuild that trust? [4 marks]
Ans. I would start by treating the person with basic respect and patience, avoiding judgment
based on their past or appearance, much as Edla did. I would offer small, consistent acts of
kindness and genuine conversation rather than one grand gesture, and give them space to
respond in their own time, allowing trust to build gradually rather than expecting instant change.

Competency-Based (Value / Life-Skill)

Q3. What value does Edla Willmansson's conduct teach us about treating people who are different
from us or who have made mistakes? [4 marks]
Ans. Edla's conduct teaches the value of empathy and non-judgmental respect — she treats the
peddler with dignity regardless of his social status or past actions. This reminds us that everyone
deserves basic courtesy and a chance to be seen as more than their worst action, and that such
treatment can inspire genuine positive change in others.

Q4. Suggest one initiative a school or community could undertake, inspired by the story, to support
individuals who feel excluded or mistrusted by society. [3 marks]
Ans. A school or community could organise mentorship or buddy programmes that pair
marginalised or new individuals with welcoming peers, ensuring they are included in activities and
treated with genuine warmth, similar to how Edla included the peddler in the Christmas
celebration, helping rebuild their confidence and trust in others.

Subject Teacher HOD Principal