Say the Right Thing

1. About the text & its background

‘Say the Right Thing’ is a humorous folk-style story included in the new NEP Class 7 English textbook Poorvi. Stories of this kind — about a kind-hearted but rather simple-minded person who keeps making innocent blunders — are found in many cultures across India and the world. They are popular because they make us laugh at the character’s mistakes while quietly teaching us something about life.

The story belongs to the family of ‘noodlehead’ or ‘simpleton’ tales, in which the central figure does exactly the wrong thing every time, usually by following advice too literally. The comedy comes from repetition: we know the young man will blunder again, and we wait to see how. Behind the laughter lies a clear message about the importance of speaking sensibly and reading a situation correctly.

2. Summary — Part 1: The simpleton sets out

The story centres on a simple, good-natured young man who genuinely wants to be polite and to please everyone, but who lacks the common sense to judge a situation. His mother (or elder) worries that he never knows the proper thing to say, so she sends him out into the world with the gentle hope that he will learn good manners by watching others and copying what they do.

The young man means well. He listens carefully and tries hard to remember the ‘correct’ words. The trouble is that he treats every situation as if it were exactly the same as the last one. He does not understand that words that please people in one place may insult them in another. With his head full of one fixed phrase, he steps confidently into the next place — and disaster follows.

3. Summary — Part 2: The chain of blunders

The heart of the story is a chain of comic mistakes, each following the same pattern. The young man arrives somewhere, repeats the phrase he was praised for last time, and is scolded or beaten because that phrase is completely unsuitable for the new occasion.

For example, he may pass a group of workmen carrying a heavy load and cheerfully wish them, “May you carry this forever!” — words that would be a fine blessing for something joyful, but a cruel curse to tired labourers. They beat him for it. When he reaches home, his mother tells him he should have said something kind and helpful instead, such as offering to lend a hand. He memorises that.

At the next place — perhaps a funeral or a house of mourning — he loudly offers to help carry the load or says a cheerful greeting, which is shockingly out of place among grieving people. Again he is driven away. Again he comes home, and again he is told the ‘right’ words — words of sympathy and comfort. He stores those words too, ready to use them at the wrong moment.

4. Summary — Part 3: Right words, wrong place

The comedy deepens because the young man is always one step behind. He arrives at a wedding full of music and joy and solemnly offers words of mourning and sympathy, which he had learnt for the funeral. The happy guests are offended and chase him off. The lesson is repeated again and again: the phrase itself is not ‘wrong’ — it is simply being used at the wrong place and the wrong time.

Through these blunders the story makes its point vividly. Saying the right thing is not about learning a list of polite phrases by heart. It is about understanding the moment — whether people are sad or happy, busy or resting, mourning or celebrating — and then choosing words that match their feelings.

5. Summary — Part 4: The lesson is finally learnt

By the end of the story, the young man — through repeated hard lessons — begins to understand that he must look, listen and think before he speaks. The closing of such tales usually shows either a final happy accident in which his words at last fit the occasion, or a clear realisation that he must judge each situation freshly rather than mechanically repeating yesterday’s phrase.

The reader is left smiling but also wiser. We laugh at the simpleton, yet we recognise a little of his mistake in ourselves: how often do we blurt out something we ‘heard somewhere’ without thinking whether it suits the present moment?

6. Theme & message

• Say the right thing at the right time: The same words can comfort one person and hurt another. Good speech depends on the situation, not on a fixed formula.
• Common sense matters more than memorisation: The young man knows many polite phrases, yet keeps failing because he does not think. Real manners come from awareness, not parroting.
• Read people’s feelings: Before speaking we should notice whether others are happy, sad, busy or grieving, and speak in a way that respects those feelings — this is the foundation of empathy.
• Think before you speak: Hasty, thoughtless words cause trouble. A moment’s thought can prevent embarrassment and hurt.
• Learning from mistakes: The young man slowly improves through experience. Mistakes, if we learn from them, are good teachers.

7. Character analysis

The young man (the simpleton) — He is the hero of the story and the source of all its humour. He is good-hearted, sincere and obedient: he truly wants to please people and faithfully does what he is told. But he is foolish and lacks common sense — he copies words mechanically without understanding their meaning or the occasion. His greatest flaw is that he does not think for himself or read the mood around him. By the end, however, he shows that he can learn from his repeated mistakes, which makes him a likeable rather than a hateful character.

The mother / guide — She is caring and patient. She keeps correcting the young man and supplying the ‘right’ words after each blunder. Yet, in a gently ironic way, even her advice cannot help him, because the real problem is not a lack of phrases but a lack of judgement. Her role highlights the moral: you cannot simply hand someone the right words — they must learn to choose the right words themselves.

The people he meets (workmen, mourners, wedding guests) — They represent the different situations of life. Their angry reactions show how strongly words can affect people and how important it is to match speech to the moment.

8. Why the title is apt

The title ‘Say the Right Thing’ sums up the whole story in four words. Every episode is about the young man failing to say the right thing — not because his words are bad in themselves, but because they do not fit the occasion. The title is also a gentle piece of advice to the reader: in life, we should always try to say the right thing at the right time and place. It captures both the comedy (he never manages it) and the moral (we should try to).

9. Word meanings (glossary)

• Simpleton — a foolish or rather silly person.
• Blunder — a careless or stupid mistake.
• Mourners — people who are sad because someone has died.
• Funeral — a ceremony held when a person has died.
• Sympathy — sharing in another person’s sorrow; pity and kindness.
• Occasion — a particular event or situation.
• Appropriate — suitable; proper for the situation.
• Common sense — good practical judgement.
• Greeting — words said when you meet someone.
• Blessing — words wishing good things for someone.
• Curse — words wishing harm to someone.
• Mechanically — without thinking; like a machine.
• Awareness — knowing and noticing what is happening around you.
• Empathy — the ability to understand and share another’s feelings.