Papa Panov's Special Christmas quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. Which literary genres best describe "Papa Panov's Special Christmas"?

   • Satire & Social Comedy
   • Naturalism & Social Protest
   • Adventure & Quest Tale
   • Correct answer: Parable & Christmas Story
   • Gothic Horror & Suspense

   Parable & Christmas Story is the best fit. Like a parable, it is a short, plain tale built to teach one lesson, that helping people in need is serving God, and it ends on words that echo Matthew 25. It is set on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and opens with the Nativity story.

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2. 2

   Question 2. Where and when does the story begin?

   • A farmhouse kitchen in the countryside on a snowy Easter morning
   • Correct answer: A shoemaker's shop in a little Russian village on Christmas Eve
   • A crowded inn at Bethlehem on the night Jesus was born
   • A busy city street in Moscow on New Year's Eve

   The story opens as "lights had begun to appear in the shops and houses of the little Russian village" on Christmas Eve, and "Old Papa Panov, the village shoemaker" steps outside his shop.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why does Papa Panov look sad on Christmas Eve?

   • He has quarrelled with all of his neighbours in the little village
   • He is too poor to buy any food for Christmas dinner
   • Correct answer: Christmas reminds him of the days when his wife was alive
   • His shop has had no customers for many weeks

   The sights and smells of the holiday "reminded him of past Christmas times when his wife had still been alive and his own children little. Now they had gone."

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Papa Panov set to heat on the charcoal stove on Christmas Eve?

   • Correct answer: A pot of coffee
   • Bread and cheese
   • Hot tea from a samovar
   • Cabbage soup

   He "put up the shutters and set a pot of coffee to heat on the charcoal stove." Cabbage soup is his Christmas Day dinner.

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5. 5

   Question 5. After reading about the wise men, what worries Papa Panov?

   • He has never been to church in Bethlehem
   • He cannot make out the small words in the old family Bible
   • He has no room in his house for guests
   • Correct answer: He has no gift he could give the baby Jesus

   Reading of the wise men's splendid gifts, he thinks sadly, "I have no gift that I could give him." Then he remembers the tiny shoes, "the best shoes he had ever made."

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6. 6

   Question 6. What does Jesus tell Papa Panov in the dream?

   • Jesus will come as a baby carried by his mother Mary
   • Jesus will come only if Papa Panov makes him new shoes
   • Correct answer: Jesus will come tomorrow, but will not say who he is
   • Jesus will come at midnight to the village church

   Jesus says to "look for me tomorrow" and warns, "But look carefully, for I shall not tell you who I am." That warning foreshadows the ending.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What does "Strayed" mean in this story?

   • Closed slowly with tiredness
   • Correct answer: Wandered off without meaning to
   • Filled up suddenly with tears
   • Stared hard and steadily

   While the sweeper drinks his coffee, "his eyes strayed to the window." Papa Panov is caring for his guest, but his eyes keep wandering to the street to watch for Jesus.

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8. 8

   Question 8. Who is the first person Papa Panov invites in on Christmas Day?

   • Correct answer: The road sweeper, who is given hot coffee
   • A beggar, who is given soup and bread
   • A neighbour, who is given a pair of boots
   • A carpenter, who is given a place to rest

   The street is empty except for the road sweeper, working in the cold. Papa Panov calls, "Come in and have some hot coffee to keep out the cold!"

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9. 9

   Question 9. How does the road sweeper respond when he hears about the dream?

   • Correct answer: He says Papa Panov deserves to have his dream come true
   • He promises to bring Jesus back to the shop later
   • He warns that strangers should never be let indoors on a holiday
   • He laughs at the dream and says it is foolish

   He says, "you've given me a bit of Christmas cheer I never expected to have. I'd say you deserve to have your dream come true." And he actually smiles.

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10. 10

    Question 10. What does Papa Panov put on for his own Christmas dinner?

    • Roast goose
    • Fish pie
    • Porridge
    • Correct answer: Cabbage soup

    After the sweeper leaves, "Papa Panov put on cabbage soup for his dinner."

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11. 11

    Question 11. What does "Pinched" mean in this story?

    • Hidden behind a heavy woollen shawl
    • Wrinkled with deep laughter lines
    • Correct answer: Thin and strained from cold or hunger
    • Rosy and plump from good health

    Papa Panov sees "such sadness in her face and in the pinched little face of the baby" that his heart goes out to them. Pinched describes a face drawn thin and pale by cold and want.

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12. 12

    Question 12. Why is the young mother walking through the village?

    • She is going to church to have the baby baptised
    • Correct answer: She is walking to the next village to look for work
    • She is looking for the baby's father, who has gone to the city
    • She is going home to her parents for Christmas

    She says, "I can't afford shoes, I've got no husband to bring home money. I'm on my way to the next village to get work."

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13. 13

    Question 13. Why does Papa Panov give away the shoes he was keeping for Jesus?

    • He wants to make room on his high shelf
    • The mother offers to pay him for them later
    • Correct answer: Her feet are cold, and she needs them more
    • He thinks the shoes are too small to sell

    He hesitates, because "he had been keeping those for Jesus." Then he looks again at the cold little feet and makes up his mind. "The beautiful little shoes were a perfect fit."

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14. 14

    Question 14. What is the dramatic irony as Papa Panov keeps watching the street?

    • He calls the visitor a stranger though he knows everyone in the village
    • Correct answer: He watches the window for Jesus while Jesus may already be in his room
    • He gives away his coffee though he has none left for himself
    • He reads about Bethlehem though he has never travelled there

    He worries that "It would never do to miss his special visitor" and keeps "hurrying out again in case he missed the Important Stranger," while readers start to guess that the visitor is already in the people he is helping.

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15. 15

    Question 15. What does Papa Panov give the beggars who pass his door?

    • Coffee and cake
    • Warm milk and honey
    • Apples and nuts
    • Correct answer: Hot soup and bread

    He hurries indoors "to fetch them hot soup and a generous hunk of bread."

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16. 16

    Question 16. How does Papa Panov feel when winter dusk falls?

    • Correct answer: Disappointed, believing Jesus had not come
    • Relieved that the long, busy day is over
    • Proud that he helped so many people
    • Angry that the neighbours did not visit him

    He sits down wearily and thinks, "So it had been just a dream after all. Jesus had not come."

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17. 17

    Question 17. What does "Bewildered" mean in this story?

    • Frightened and ready to run
    • Annoyed at being disturbed
    • Calm and fully understanding
    • Correct answer: Confused and unable to understand

    When the visitors pass before him whispering, "Didn't you see me, Papa Panov?", he calls out, "Who are you?" Bewildered means completely puzzled about what is happening.

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18. 18

    Question 18. What does Papa Panov learn at the end of the story?

    • Correct answer: Jesus came in every person Papa Panov helped that day
    • Jesus will come next Christmas if Papa Panov waits
    • Jesus was too busy with other houses to come
    • Jesus came disguised as one of the village neighbours

    The voice says, "I came to you today in everyone of those you helped and welcomed." Papa Panov answers with joy, "So he did come after all!"

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19. 19

    Question 19. Which Bible passage do the final words of Jesus echo?

    • The parable of the lost sheep
    • The Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai
    • Correct answer: Jesus's words in Matthew 25 about serving the least
    • The story of Noah and the flood

    "I was hungry and you fed me" echoes Matthew 25:35-40, where Jesus says that whatever is done for the least of his brothers and sisters is done for him.

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20. 20

    Question 20. What is the central theme of the story?

    • Old people should not live alone at Christmas
    • Correct answer: Serving people in need is the same as serving God
    • Dreams always come true if you are patient and wait long enough
    • Hard work matters more than prayer or faith

    Each kindness, the coffee, the milk and shoes, the soup and bread, turns out to have been done for Jesus himself, because he came in everyone Papa Panov helped.

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21. 21

    Question 21. What do the tiny leather shoes symbolize?

    • The poverty of the people in the village
    • Correct answer: Papa Panov's best gift, meant for Jesus
    • The long journey of the young mother
    • Papa Panov's wish to retire from his trade

    They are the gift he chose for Jesus, like the wise men's gifts. Giving them to a poor baby shows that a gift to someone in need is a gift to God.

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22. 22

    Question 22. Which of these events actually happened in the story?

    • Papa Panov reads the Christmas story from the big old family Bible.

      Happened

      He pulls down the family Bible and, tracing the lines with one forefinger, reads the Christmas story.

    • Papa Panov wakes on Christmas morning to the sound of bells.

      Happened

      "When at last Papa Panov awoke, the bells were ringing out and a thin light was filtering through the shutters."

    • The road sweeper refuses to come inside the shop.

      Didn't happen

      He is only too glad to put down his broom and come into the warm room.

    • Papa Panov feeds the baby warm milk from a spoon.

      Happened

      He takes the milk from the stove and carefully feeds the baby from a spoon, warming her feet at the same time.

    • A tall stranger knocks at the door after dark and says he is Jesus.

      Didn't happen

      No one knocks. Papa Panov sees the people he helped, then hears the voice from his dream.

    • The young mother wishes that all his Christmas wishes may come true.

      Happened

      As she leaves she says, "May all your Christmas wishes come true!"

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