He sounded the clacker till his arm ached, and at length his heart grew sympathetic with the birds' thwarted desires. They seemed, like himself, to be living in a world which did not want them. Why should he frighten them away? They took upon more and more the aspect of gentle friends and pensioners - the only friends he could claim as being in the least degree interested in him, for his aunt had often told him that she was not. He ceased his rattling, and they alighted anew.

"Poor little dears!" said Jude, aloud. "You shall have some dinner- - you shall. There is enough for us all. Farmer Troutham can afford to let you have some. Eat, then my dear little birdies, and make a good meal!"

They stayed and ate, inky spots on the nut-brown soil, and Jude enjoyed their appetite. A magic thread of fellow-feeling united his own life with theirs. Puny and sorry as those lives were, they much resembled his own.

His clacker he had by this time thrown away from him, as being a mean and sordid instrument, offensive both to the birds and to himself as their friend. All at once he became conscious of a smart blow upon his buttocks, followed by a loud clack, which announced to his surprised sense that the clacker had been the instrument of offence used. The birds and Jude started up simultaneously, and the dazed eyes of the latter beheld the farmer in person, the great Troutham himself, his red face glaring down upon Jude's cowering frame, the clacker swinging in his hand.

Which of  the following statements is true about the birds ?

A. Birds were very good and old friends of Jude

B. Jude considered birds as his only friends

C. Birds had some dinner

D. Birds were not puny

E. Birds rattled Jude's clacker

Choose the correct answer from the options given below: 

B,C Only

The correct answer is Option (3) → B, C Only

• A. Birds were very good and old friends of Jude: Incorrect. The passage states they took on the "aspect of gentle friends and pensioners" and were "the only friends he could claim," but it doesn't say they were old friends, nor does it explicitly emphasize "very good" in a way that suggests a long-standing relationship. It implies a newfound connection.

• B. Jude considered birds as his only friends: Correct. The passage says, "They took upon more and more the aspect of gentle friends and pensioners - the only friends he could claim as being in the least degree interested in him, for his aunt had often told him that she was not." This statement is True.

• C. Birds had some dinner: Jude explicitly says, "You shall have some dinner- - you shall... Eat, then my dear little birdies, and make a good meal!" and then the passage states, "They stayed and ate, inky spots on the nut-brown soil, and Jude enjoyed their appetite." This statement is True.

• D. Birds were not puny: The passage states, "Puny and sorry as those lives were, they much resembled his own." This means the birds were puny. So, this statement is False.

• E. Birds rattled Jude's clacker: Jude sounded the clacker, and later the farmer used it as an "instrument of offence." The farmer used the clacker to hit Jude, not the birds. This statement is False.