Stanza 1

Away, away in the Northland,
Where the hours of the day are few,
And the nights are so long in winter
That they cannot sleep them through;

हिंदी अर्थ:

बहुत उत्तर के शीत प्रदेश में दिन बहुत छोटे होते हैं और सर्दियों की रातें इतनी लंबी कि लोग उन्हें पूरी तरह सोकर भी खत्म नहीं कर पाते।

Explanation (English):

The poet sets a cold, far-northern scene where short days and long winter nights create a fairy-tale mood for the legend.

Stanza 2

Where they harness the swift reindeer
To the sledges, when it snows;
And the children look like bear’s cubs
In their funny, furry clothes:

हिंदी अर्थ:

जहाँ बर्फ़ पड़ने पर तेज़ रेनडियर को स्लीज से जोड़ा जाता है और बच्चे रोएँदार कपड़ों में भालू के शावकों जैसे दिखते हैं।

Explanation (English):

It shows local lifestyle—reindeer sledges, furry clothes—people adapted to severe cold.

Stanza 3

They tell them a curious story —
I don’t believe ’tis true;
And yet you may learn a lesson
If I tell the tale to you.

हिंदी अर्थ:

वहाँ एक रोचक कथा कही जाती है—शायद सच नहीं; फिर भी इससे सीख मिलती है, जिसे कवयित्री सुनाना चाहती हैं।

Explanation (English):

The poet hints it’s a folk legend—truth aside, it carries a moral lesson for readers.

Stanza 4

Once, when the good Saint Peter
Lived in the world below,
And walked about it, preaching,
Just as he did, you know,

हिंदी अर्थ:

एक समय संत पीटर पृथ्वी पर रहते और उपदेश देते हुए घूमते थे—जैसा कि आप जानते हैं।

Explanation (English):

Saint Peter enters the story—divine presence meets everyday life.

Stanza 5

He came to the door of a cottage,
In travelling round the earth,
Where a little woman was making cakes,
And baking them on the hearth;

हिंदी अर्थ:

धरती पर घूमते हुए वह एक झोंपड़ी पर पहुँचे, जहाँ एक छोटी कद की स्त्री चूल्हे पर केक बना रही थी।

Explanation (English):

A homely scene—baking at the hearth—becomes the stage for a moral test.

Stanza 6

And being faint with fasting,
For the day was almost done,
He asked her, from her store of cakes,
To give him a single one.

हिंदी अर्थ:

उपवास और दिन ढलने के कारण वे बहुत कमजोर थे; उन्होंने उससे विनती की कि उसके केकों में से एक छोटा-सा दे दे।

Explanation (English):

The saint’s polite request is a simple test of generosity.

Stanza 7

So she made a very little cake,
But as it baking lay,
She looked at it, and thought it seemed
Too large to give away.

हिंदी अर्थ:

उसने बहुत छोटा केक बनाया, पर जैसे-जैसे वह सिक रहा था, उसे लगा कि यह देने के लिए भी बड़ा है।

Explanation (English):

Her greed surfaces—she finds even a tiny cake “too large” to share.

Stanza 8

Therefore she kneaded another,
And still a smaller one;
But it looked, when she turned it over,
As large as the first had done.

हिंदी अर्थ:

उसने एक और, और भी छोटा केक गूंथा; पर जब पलटा, वह भी पहले जितना बड़ा ही लगा।

Explanation (English):

Her miserliness persists; no size seems small enough to give.

Stanza 9

Then she took a tiny scrap of dough,
And rolled and rolled it flat;
And baked it thin as a wafer —
But she couldn’t part with that.

हिंदी अर्थ:

फिर उसने आटे का बहुत छोटा टुकड़ा लिया, बहुत पतला बेल दिया—वेफर जैसा—फिर भी वह उसे देने को तैयार नहीं हुई।

Explanation (English):

Extreme selfishness—she refuses even a wafer-thin cake.

Stanza 10

For she said, “My cakes that seem too small
When I eat of them myself
Are yet too large to give away.”
So she put them on the shelf.

हिंदी अर्थ:

वह तर्क देती है—जो केक मुझे खाने को छोटे लगते हैं, वे भी किसी को देने के लिए बड़े हैं—और उन्हें शेल्फ पर रख देती है।

Explanation (English):

Self-justification: she excuses greed by twisted reasoning.

Stanza 11

Then good Saint Peter grew angry,
For he was hungry and faint;
And surely such a woman
Was enough to provoke a saint.

हिंदी अर्थ:

फिर संत पीटर क्रोधित हुए—वे भूखे और कमज़ोर थे; ऐसी स्त्री संत को भी भड़का सकती है।

Explanation (English):

Even a saint is provoked by her heartless selfishness.

Stanza 12

And he said, “You are far too selfish
To dwell in a human form,
To have both food and shelter,
And fire to keep you warm.

हिंदी अर्थ:

उन्होंने कहा—तुम इतनी स्वार्थी हो कि मानव रूप में रहने, भोजन-आश्रय और आग की गर्मी की अधिकारी नहीं।

Explanation (English):

Judgement: she is unworthy of human comforts due to selfishness.

Stanza 13

Now, you shall build as the birds do,
And shall get your scanty food
By boring, and boring, and boring,
All day in the hard, dry wood.”

हिंदी अर्थ:

अब तुम पक्षियों की तरह घर बनाओगी और सारा दिन सूखी कठोर लकड़ी में छेद करके थोड़ा-सा भोजन जुटाओगी।

Explanation (English):

Punishment mirrors vice—hard labour for scanty food, like a woodpecker’s life.

Stanza 14

Then up she went through the chimney,
Never speaking a word,
And out of the top flew a woodpecker,
For she was changed to a bird.

हिंदी अर्थ:

फिर वह चिमनी से ऊपर गई—बिना कुछ बोले—और ऊपर से एक कठफोड़वा उड़ गया; वह पक्षी में बदल गई थी।

Explanation (English):

Transformation completes the moral: selfishness dehumanises.

Stanza 15

She had a scarlet cap on her head,
And that was left the same;
But all the rest of her clothes were burned
Black as a coal in the flame.

हिंदी अर्थ:

उसके सिर की लाल टोपी वैसी ही रही; बाकी कपड़े जलकर कोयले-से काले हो गए—कठफोड़वे के रंग की लोक-व्याख्या।

Explanation (English):

Folk symbolism explains the bird’s red crown and black body.

Stanza 16

And every country schoolboy
Has seen her in the wood,
Where she lives in the trees till this very day,
Boring and boring for food.

हिंदी अर्थ:

हर ग्रामीण स्कूली बच्चा आज भी उसे जंगल में देख सकता है—वह पेड़ों में रहती है और भोजन के लिए लगातार छेद करती रहती है।

Explanation (English):

The legend ties into nature: children still see woodpeckers drilling trees for food—moral remembered through daily life.

I. Short Answers

1) Which country/countries does “the Northland” refer to?

2) What did Saint Peter ask? What was the lady’s reaction?

3) How did he punish her?

4) How does the woodpecker get her food?

5) Would she have been so ungenerous if she knew who Saint Peter was? What then?

6) Is this a true story? Which part is most important?

7) What is a legend? Why is this poem called a legend?

8) Write the story in about ten sentences.

II. Rhyme & Legends

1) More rhyming words from the poem

2) Find legends in your own language – class activity