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English Language & Literature — CBSE Class 10 board question

Q1. [3]
A well known book of nursery rhymes saved the world from a Martian invasion. Comment with reference to 'The Book that Saved the Earth'.
Previously asked in CBSE board exam
2024 2/2/1 Q9 (iii)
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-15 07:18 · grounding rag
Model Answer

In the play The Book that Saved the Earth, Think-Tank, the arrogant Martian commander, came across a copy of Mother Goose in a library and ordered his crew to decode it. He wildly misinterpreted the nursery rhymes: "Mistress Mary" suggested Earthlings could grow silver and explosives; "Hey Diddle Diddle" indicated animals were trained in space techniques; "Humpty Dumpty" terrified him as he resembled Humpty and feared Earth planned to invade Mars. In panic, Think-Tank called off the invasion and fled to Alpha Centauri. Thus, simple nursery rhymes, completely misread, saved Earth without a single shot being fired.

Source: 'The Book that Saved the Earth', Scene 2

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Explanation

Examiners expect you to: (1) name the book — Mother Goose, (2) briefly explain Think-Tank's three key misinterpretations, and (3) state the outcome — invasion cancelled. Quoting the rhyme titles (not full verses) is enough. Avoid retelling the whole play; 3 marks = 3 focused points in a compact paragraph.

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