The Little Girl Summary Class 9 English

Introduction

The Little Girl by Katherine Mansfield is a story about how a little girl's feelings towards her father change from fear to understanding. Initially, the author portrays how the little is scared of her father and even stutters in front of him, but soon she understands the reason behind his actions, and thus, her feelings change from fear to love. The author has beautifully described the relationship between a father and a daughter, and at some point, you might relate to the feelings of the little girl.

About the Author

Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923) was born in 1888 in New Zealand. She was an internationally famous author who wrote short stories, poems, journals, and reviews. Her fiction, poetry, journals, and letters cover various issues such as families, sexuality, problems in a middle-class family, social issues such as wars, etc.

Here is the summary of The Little Girl by Katherine Mansfield:

Summary

The story revolves around the little girl Kezia, who lives with her parents and grandmother. She feared her father so much that she felt relieved whenever her father left for work in the morning. But as soon as he came home, she would feel uneasy. She would even stutter while speaking to him. She considered him a giant.

Her grandmother wanted to improve the little girl's bond with her parents, so every Sunday morning, she used to ask the little girl to spend time with her parents. But the little girl always found her mother reading and her father sleeping on the couch, only to wake up and ask her what time it was.

One day when she was kept at home due to a cold, her grandmother asked her to make a gift for her father's birthday. They decided she should make a pin cushion with a piece of yellow silk. Not knowing what to fill inside the cushion, she looked into her mother's room for some scrap. On the bed table, she found some sheets of paper. She tore and stuffed them inside the cushion, not realizing it was her father's great speech for Port Authority.

When Kezia's father learned about it, he punished her with a ruler on her little palms even though she tried to explain her point. Wrapped in her grandmother's shawl, Kezia sobbed and asked her grandmother, 'What did God make fathers for?' Her grandmother consoled her that she would forget about it in the morning. But the innocent child did not forget it.

Comparing her father with her neighbor, Macdonalds, who was playing and laughing with his five children, Kezia decided that not all fathers are like hers. Some are as loving as her neighbor Macdonalds.

One day, Kezia's mother fell ill. Her mother and grandmother had to rush to the hospital. Kezia was left behind with Alice, the cook. At night, Kezia tells Alice she is afraid of the dark as she has nightmares, but Alice advises her to sleep and not disturb her father. At night she had a nightmare about a butcher who came with a knife and rope. She woke up screaming and looking for her grandmother.

When she woke up, she saw her father with a candle beside her. He carried her in his arms to his room and lay her down beside her. Fearfully, she nestled her head under his arms and held his shirt tightly. Slowly she felt so comfortable and secure in his arms that the darkness did not scare her anymore. Her father also asked her to rub her cold feet against his leg to get warm.

Being tired, Kezia's father slept before her. Kezia realized that her father was not cruel; instead, he loved and cared about her. She realized he worked so hard all day that he did not have time to play with her like her neighbor Mr. Macdonald. She also realized her mistake of destroying his important and beautiful speech. She finally realizes that her father has a big generous heart.