The Bell of Atri: (English Literature): Class IV

The Bell of Atri story, adapted from an Italian folktale. Find questions and answers, explanations, MCQs, and the story.

Bell of Atri – Summary of the Story

Atri is the name of a small town in Italy; it is a very old town and in the middle of the town there is an old tower and in the tower there is an old Bell. Long ago this bell was used for a very special purpose; people who wanted to complain rang the bell and on hearing the sound of the bell, the judges would come to the marketplace, they would listen to the complaints and provide justice to the people.

However, over time, people started making less use of this bell and gradually people totally forgot about the bell. The rope that was tied to the bell also became very old and ragged.

The judges however remembered its use and ordered for a grapevine to be fixed to the Bell so that someone in need could still ring the bell.

There was a rich merchant (in some version of this story the old merchant is replaced with a soldier) who had an old horse; the horse had served his master for several years but now the horse was old and the merchant/soldier started caring less for the horse and started feeding it less because the horse was not of much use.

The hungry horse would keep on wandering through the town, and one one day he came near the tower and on seeing the grapevine he started to chew it and pull it. As he pulled the vine the Bell started to ring. Hearing the bell, the judge came to the marketplace and was surprised to see a horse ringing the bell. The judges however realized that the horse belonged to the merchant/soldier who was not taking good care of the horse. The judge ordered the merchant/soldier to take the horse home and take good care of him, feed him well.

Story Map

Title: The bell of Atri

Characters: Judge, soldier, King John, Grandmother, people, horse

Setting. Where: A small place called Atri in Italy. When: Long Time Age.

Highlights

King John was known for his goodness and wisdom

King John gave an order for a bell in Atri because he wanted to help the people.

The people of Atri almost forgot the bell because they hardly rang the bell anymore.

Because the rope became ragged, the Judge asked a town worker to tie a vine to the bell because he thought someone might need to ring a bell.

A hungry horse spots the green vine, he grabs and pulls the vine because he wanted to eat it

Questions and Answers

Question: What did the king order for the town of Atri?

Answer: To ensure justice for everyone, King John, the ruler of Atri, ordered a great bell to be hung at the town square and a strong rope was tied to the bell so that people seeking help or justice could ring the bell and the town judge would then help that person.

Question. Why was a grape vine tied to the bell of Atri?

Answer: Because the bell was hardly getting used, the old rope became ragged. so, the judge asked one of the town workers to find a long grape vine and tied it to the bell.

Question: Why did the knight (Soldier) not care for his horse? Was it because :
(a) the knight was old and poor
(b) the knight had no use of the horse anymore
(c) the knight was a miser
(d) all of the above

Answer: (d) all of the above

Question: How did the horse get justice?

Answer: The horse got justice after he mistakenly rang the bell as it started to much on the vine that was tied to the bell. The ringing bell attracted the attention of the judge who then called the soldier and ordered him to take good care of the horse.

Question: What is the moral of the story? What is the message that the author wants to give us?

Answer: The message that the story gives is that Rich and Poor, Young or Old, Male or Female, Human Beings or Animals, everyone deserves JUSTICE.

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