📖 The Rattrap – Chapter Case Based MCQs| Class 12 English (Flamingo) | CBSE 2025

The Rattrap

Chapter Case Based MCQs

Class 12 English (Flamingo) 

CBSE 2025

Case based questions 

📌 Case 1: The Peddler’s Belief about the World

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“The peddler went around selling small rattraps. He had no real home or money. He often had to resort to petty thievery and begging. He had an idea that the whole world was a big rattrap. It offered riches and joys, shelter and food, heat and clothing, just as the rattrap offered cheese and pork. As soon as someone was tempted, they would get trapped in the same way as a rat does in a rattrap.”

Q1. What does the peddler compare the world to?

A) A prison

B) A battlefield

C) A rattrap

D) A jungle

✅ Answer: C) A rattrap

Q2. According to the peddler, what tempts people into the ‘trap’?

A) Money and comforts

B) Hard work and honesty

C) Knowledge and wisdom

D) Fear and punishment

✅ Answer: A) Money and comforts

Q3. Why does the peddler think the world is a rattrap?

A) Because he is jealous of rich people

B) Because he believes life is full of suffering

C) Because people are lured by material things and get trapped

D) Because he loves selling rattraps

✅ Answer: C) Because people are lured by material things and get trapped

📌 Case 2: The Peddler’s Encounter with the Crofter

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“One evening, the peddler knocked at the door of a little gray cottage by the roadside. The owner, a crofter, was an old man without a family. He welcomed the peddler, gave him food, and even showed him the thirty kronor he had earned. The next morning, the peddler stole the money and ran away. But soon, he found himself lost in the forest, feeling that he had been caught in a trap.”

Q4. Why did the crofter welcome the peddler into his home?

A) He wanted to arrest him

B) He was feeling lonely and wanted company

C) He wanted to sell him a rattrap

D) He mistook him for a friend

✅ Answer: B) He was feeling lonely and wanted company

Q5. What mistake did the crofter make that led to the theft?

A) He kept his door unlocked

B) He trusted the peddler too much and showed him the money

C) He forced the peddler to stay

D) He left the peddler alone in the house

✅ Answer: B) He trusted the peddler too much and showed him the money

Q6. How did the peddler feel after stealing the money?

A) Happy and satisfied

B) Guilty but excited

C) Trapped and scared

D) Proud of his cleverness

✅ Answer: C) Trapped and scared

📌 Case 3: The Ironmaster and Edla’s Hospitality

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“The ironmaster and his daughter Edla Willmansson found the peddler at their mill. The ironmaster mistook him for an old acquaintance and insisted that he come home with them. The peddler refused at first, but when Edla kindly persuaded him, he agreed. Unlike her father, Edla saw something unusual in the man—his sadness, fear, and hesitation.”

Q7. Why did the ironmaster invite the peddler to his home?

A) He wanted to help the peddler find a job

B) He mistook him for an old friend

C) He wanted to get rid of him

D) He knew he was a thief

✅ Answer: B) He mistook him for an old friend

Q8. How did Edla’s treatment differ from her father’s?

A) She treated the peddler with kindness and respect

B) She ignored the peddler completely

C) She was suspicious and rude

D) She asked him to leave immediately

✅ Answer: A) She treated the peddler with kindness and respect

Q9. Why did the peddler agree to go to the ironmaster’s house?

A) He was tired and hungry

B) He wanted to steal from them

C) He was afraid of being caught by the police

D) Edla’s kindness made him feel safe

✅ Answer: D) Edla’s kindness made him feel safe

📌 Case 4: The Peddler’s Transformation

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“The next morning, the peddler dressed in borrowed clothes looked different. The ironmaster realized his mistake and angrily asked him to leave. However, Edla, unlike her father, insisted that he stay for Christmas. Touched by her kindness, the peddler later left a small rattrap as a gift along with a note and the stolen money, proving that kindness had transformed him.”

Q10. How did the ironmaster react after realizing his mistake?

A) He became furious and wanted to call the police

B) He laughed and let the peddler stay

C) He forgave the peddler and offered him a job

D) He forced the peddler to leave immediately

✅ Answer: A) He became furious and wanted to call the police

Q11. What did the peddler leave behind before leaving the house?

A) A letter and a rattrap with the stolen money inside

B) A thank-you note for the ironmaster

C) A letter apologizing for his crimes

D) A map of his journey

✅ Answer: A) A letter and a rattrap with the stolen money inside

Q12. What message did the peddler’s letter convey?

A) That he was sorry for stealing and had changed

B) That he would return soon

C) That he wanted to work for the ironmaster

D) That he would never come back

✅ Answer: A) That he was sorry for stealing and had changed

📌 Case 5: The Peddler’s Life and His Philosophy

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“The peddler went around selling small rattraps made of wire. His business was not profitable, so he resorted to begging and petty thievery. He lived a lonely life with no one to care for him. During his wanderings, he developed a philosophy that the world itself was a rattrap. It lured people with riches and joys, just as a real rattrap lured rats with cheese. Those who were tempted by worldly pleasures got caught and could never escape.”

Q13. What does the peddler’s philosophy about the world reveal about his character?

A) He is wise and knowledgeable

B) He is cynical and distrustful

C) He is kind and generous

D) He is happy and content

✅ Answer: B) He is cynical and distrustful

✔ The peddler sees the world as a trap because of his own struggles.

✔ His philosophy shows that he has a negative and mistrustful outlook on life.

Q14. What does the peddler mean when he says the world is a rattrap?

A) People fall into poverty easily

B) People are deceived by materialistic temptations

C) People are treated like rats in society

D) The world is full of criminals

✅ Answer: B) People are deceived by materialistic temptations

✔ The peddler believes that wealth, luxury, and comforts attract people into a trap of endless desires and struggles.

Q15. How does the peddler survive in his daily life?

A) By working honestly

B) By selling rattraps, begging, and stealing

C) By receiving charity from kind strangers

D) By working as a blacksmith

✅ Answer: B) By selling rattraps, begging, and stealing

✔ Since his business is not profitable, the peddler relies on stealing and begging to survive.

📌 Case 6: The Peddler’s Encounter with the Crofter

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“One evening, the peddler knocked on the door of a lonely crofter’s cottage. The crofter was an old man who lived alone. He was happy to have company and welcomed the peddler inside. They shared food, and the crofter proudly showed the peddler the thirty kronor he had earned by selling milk. The next morning, after the crofter had left for work, the peddler stole the money and fled.”

Q16. Why did the crofter welcome the peddler into his house?

A) He wanted to sell him a rattrap

B) He mistook him for an old friend

C) He was lonely and wanted someone to talk to

D) He wanted to report him to the police

✅ Answer: C) He was lonely and wanted someone to talk to

✔ The crofter was living alone and was desperate for company.

Q17. How did the peddler betray the crofter’s trust?

A) He insulted the crofter before leaving

B) He stole the crofter’s 30 kronor and ran away

C) He refused to eat the food given by the crofter

D) He spread rumors about the crofter in the village

✅ Answer: B) He stole the crofter’s 30 kronor and ran away

✔ The crofter trusted the peddler and showed him his money, but the peddler betrayed him by stealing it.

Q18. How did the peddler feel after stealing the crofter’s money?

A) He felt proud of himself

B) He felt trapped and scared

C) He felt excited and wanted to steal more

D) He felt nothing and moved on

✅ Answer: B) He felt trapped and scared

✔ The peddler soon realized that he was lost in the forest and felt that he had fallen into his own metaphorical rattrap.

📌 Case 7: The Ironmaster and Edla’s Kindness

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“The ironmaster saw the peddler at his mill and mistook him for an old friend. He invited him to stay at his house, but the peddler refused. Later, the ironmaster’s daughter, Edla, convinced him to come home. She treated him with kindness, which made him feel safe for the first time in his life.”

Q19. Why did the ironmaster invite the peddler to his house?

A) He wanted to give him a job

B) He thought the peddler was an old army friend

C) He recognized the peddler as a thief

D) He wanted to help the poor

✅ Answer: B) He thought the peddler was an old army friend

✔ The ironmaster mistook the peddler for an old acquaintance and invited him home.

Q20. Why did the peddler refuse to go with the ironmaster at first?

A) He was scared of being caught as a thief

B) He did not want to leave the mill

C) He wanted to steal more before leaving

D) He did not like the ironmaster

✅ Answer: A) He was scared of being caught as a thief

✔ The peddler knew he had stolen money and was afraid he might be caught if he went to the ironmaster’s house.

Q21. How did Edla’s kindness affect the peddler?

A) It made him trust people again and change his ways

B) It made him leave immediately

C) It made him angry at himself

D) It made him steal from Edla

✅ Answer: A) It made him trust people again and change his ways

✔ Edla’s kindness and compassion transformed the peddler, making him return the stolen money.

📌 Case 8: The Peddler’s Redemption

📜 Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow:

“On Christmas morning, Edla and her father discovered that the peddler had left. However, instead of stealing anything, he left a small rattrap as a gift. Inside it was a letter and the stolen money from the crofter. In the letter, he thanked Edla for her kindness and wrote that he had escaped the ‘rattrap’ of life.”

Q22. What did the peddler leave behind before leaving?

A) A thank-you letter and a rattrap with the stolen money inside

B) A note apologizing for deceiving them

C) A letter requesting to stay longer

D) A new rattrap as a gift for Edla

✅ Answer: A) A thank-you letter and a rattrap with the stolen money inside

✔ The peddler proved that he had changed by returning the stolen money and thanking Edla.

Q23. What does the peddler’s final action symbolize?

A) The power of education

B) The importance of wealth

C) The impact of kindness and second chances

D) The dangers of trusting strangers

✅ Answer: C) The impact of kindness and second chances

✔ The peddler’s transformation shows that kindness and compassion can change even the most lost individuals.

Q24 Why did the peddler call himself “Captain von Stahle” in the letter?

A) He wanted to joke with Edla

B) He wanted to mock the ironmaster

C) He felt respected and valued for the first time

D) He was trying to deceive them again

✅ Answer: C) He felt respected and valued for the first time

✔ Edla’s kindness made him feel like an honorable person, so he gave himself a noble identity.

📖 The Rattrap – Chapter Important Question-Answers| Class 12 English (Flamingo) | CBSE 2025

 The Rattrap 

Important Questions & Answers 

CBSE Board Exam Preparation

1. Short Answer Type Questions (2-3 Marks Each)

Q1. Why did the peddler compare the world to a rattrap?

✅ Answer: 

The peddler believed that the world was like a rattrap because it offered material possessions like wealth and luxuries as bait to trap people. Once someone was tempted, they got caught in the trap of endless struggles and misfortunes, just like a rat in a rattrap.

Q2. How did the ironmaster mistake the peddler for an old acquaintance?

✅ Answer: 

The ironmaster saw the peddler in dim light and mistook him for an old regimental comrade. The peddler's unkempt appearance further misled the ironmaster into believing he was a former soldier.

Q3. Why did the peddler decline the ironmaster’s invitation initially?

✅ Answer: 

The peddler feared that if the ironmaster realized his true identity in better light, he might get into trouble. Hence, he politely refused the invitation.

Q4. What made the peddler accept Edla’s invitation?

✅ Answer: 

Unlike her father, Edla spoke kindly and gently to the peddler. She showed trust and respect, making the peddler feel safe and valued. Her hospitality moved him, and he decided to accept her invitation.

Q5. What did the peddler do after stealing the crofter’s money?

✅ Answer: 

After stealing the 30 kronors, the peddler avoided the main road and took a forest route to escape. However, he lost his way in the dense woods and later felt trapped, just like in a real rattrap.

Q6. How did the peddler’s heart change at Edla’s house?

✅ Answer: 

The warmth and kindness shown by Edla made the peddler realize the importance of trust and compassion. He decided to change his ways and left a gift along with a letter, proving his transformation.

2. Long Answer Type Questions (5-6 Marks Each)

Q7. How does The Rattrap highlight the impact of kindness and compassion?

✅ Answer: 

The story emphasizes that kindness and compassion have the power to transform even the most hardened individuals. Initially, the peddler was a thief and a liar, believing that the world was a rattrap full of deception. However, when Edla treated him with respect and warmth, he felt valued as a human being. This emotional experience sparked his inner goodness and led him to leave the stolen money behind, proving that love and trust can bring about change in people.

Q8. How does the peddler’s experience at the ironmaster’s house bring about his transformation?

✅ Answer: 

The peddler was used to being treated with suspicion and hostility. However, at the ironmaster’s house, Edla’s genuine kindness and hospitality made him feel human again. Her unwavering faith in him touched his heart, making him rethink his dishonest ways. He left a gift and letter for Edla, addressing himself as a “captain” in gratitude. This act of self-respect and honesty marked his complete transformation from a petty thief to a redeemed man.

Q9. How does the story The Rattrap reflect the theme of materialism vs. human values?

✅ Answer: 

The peddler believed that people get trapped in the materialistic world, just like rats in a rattrap, by chasing money and possessions. However, Edla’s kindness teaches him that human values like trust, love, and compassion are more powerful than material wealth. His final act of leaving the stolen money and embracing honesty proves that human goodness triumphs over greed.

Q10. Explain the significance of the title The Rattrap.

✅ Answer: 

The title is a symbolic representation of the central theme of the story. The peddler views life as a rattrap where materialistic desires act as bait, trapping people in suffering. His own life experience—stealing money, getting lost, and eventually transforming due to kindness—reinforces the idea that the world can be a rattrap, but love and compassion can free a person from it. The title perfectly captures the moral lesson and theme of the story.

3. Value-Based & Creative Thinking Questions

Q11. “No one is born a criminal; circumstances make a person one.” How does this statement relate to the story The Rattrap?

✅ Answer: 

The peddler in The Rattrap was not a born thief but was forced into stealing due to poverty and loneliness. He had no means of survival and was mistreated by society. However, Edla’s compassion transformed him, proving that kindness can change a person. This highlights that people are shaped by their circumstances, but given the right environment, they can change for the better.

Q12. Imagine you are the peddler. Write a diary entry expressing your thoughts on your transformation.

✅ Answer:

"Today, for the first time in my life, I felt like a respected man. Edla treated me as a guest, not as a thief. Her kindness made me realize that there is still goodness in this world. I do not want to live as a rat anymore, trapped in lies and deceit. I am leaving this house as a new man, grateful and changed. I hope to live a life of honesty from now on."

The Rattrap – Chapter Summary & Explanation | Class 12 English (Flamingo) | CBSE 2025

The Rattrap – Chapter Summary with Key Points

Author: Selma Lagerlöf

Book: Flamingo (Class 12 English)

Theme: Human Kindness and Redemption

📌 Summary:

The Rattrap is a heartwarming story about a poor peddler who sells rattraps for a living and believes that the world itself is a giant rattrap, full of temptations that trap people. However, an act of kindness by a young woman transforms his life, proving that goodness exists in everyone.

📌 Key Points:

1️⃣ Introduction – The Rattrap Peddler

✔ The protagonist is a poor, homeless man who sells rattraps to survive.

✔ He steals and begs to make ends meet.

✔ He views the world as a rattrap, where riches and luxuries tempt people, only to trap them later.

2️⃣ The Stealing Incident & Forest Trap

✔ One day, he steals money from an old crofter (farmer) who had been kind to him.

✔ Feeling guilty and scared, he escapes into a dense forest but gets lost.

✔ He realizes he has fallen into his own metaphorical rattrap.

3️⃣ The Ironmaster’s House – A Second Chance

✔ The ironmaster mistakes him for an old friend and invites him home.

✔ The peddler hesitates, fearing exposure, but later accepts when Edla, the ironmaster’s daughter, insists.

✔ Edla treats him with kindness, despite knowing he is a thief.

4️⃣ The Transformation – Kindness Redeems

✔ Edla’s compassion changes the peddler’s heart.

✔ He leaves a gift (a rattrap) for Edla, along with a letter confessing his crime and returning the stolen money.

✔ The letter thanks her for making him feel like a dignified human being rather than a thief.

📌 Key Themes:

✔ The World as a Rattrap – Temptations (money, luxuries) trap people like a rattrap.

✔ Human Kindness & Redemption – Edla’s goodness transforms the peddler.

✔ Guilt & Self-Realization – The peddler reflects on his mistakes and changes.

✔ Second Chances – People can change if given love and respect.

📌 Conclusion:

The story teaches us that love and kindness have the power to transform even the most hardened individuals. The peddler, once a thief, realizes that human dignity is greater than material wealth, proving that everyone deserves a second chance.