Honeydew
Chapter 6: This is Jody's Fawn
Comprehension Check (Page 90)
1. What had happened to Jody’s father?
Ans. Jody’s father had been bitten by a rattlesnake.
2. How did the doe save Penny’s life?
Ans. Jody’s father killed the doe or she dear. He used her heart and liver to draw out the snake’s
poison. In this way, the doe saved Penny’s life.
3. Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?
Ans. Jody’s father had killed the doe. Without the mother-deer, the fawn was likely to starve to
death in the forest. So Jody wanted to bring the young fawn home.
4. How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?
Ans. The spots on the fawn’s body made Jody know that it was a male.
Comprehension Check (Page 91)
1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they?
Ans. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel to join him in the search for the fawn. The reason was that he was
not sure about the fawn’s safety. He didn’t want Mill-wheel to see his disappointment.
2. Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?
Ans. Mill-wheel was afraid that Jody might be lost in the jungle.
Comprehension Check (Page 94)
1. How did Jody bring the fawn back home?
Ans. Jody picked up the fawn into his arms and proceeded home. After some distance, he kept
the fawn down and took a rest. Later on, the fawn followed him. Thus he brought the fawn back
home.
2. Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you find at least three words or
phrases that show how he felt?
Ans. (i) (The fawn) shook him through with the stare of its liquid eye.
(ii) The touch of the fawn made him delirious.
(iii) As though the fawn were a china deer.
3. How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?
Ans. Jody dipped his fingers in the milk. Then he left the fawn to suck his fingers. He did so several
times. Finally, the fawn drank off all the milk from the gourd.
4. Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would?
Ans. The fawn didn’t know how to raise its feet to climb the steps.
Working With the Text (Page 94)
Questions 1:
Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?
Answer:
Penny was convinced by Jody’s argument that it would be ungrateful if they left the fawn in the
forest to starve. He realized that Jody was right.
Question 2:
What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes quite free”?
Answer:
Doc Wilson meant that Penny must pay back to the doe whom he had killed for his own gain by
bringing up her fawn.
Question 3:
How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for doing this?
Answer:
Jody looked after the fawn-like mother. He made it drink milk with his fingers dipped in milk.
This is how a mother feeds her baby. Jody was glad that he had found the fawn.
Question 4:
How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the fawn home? Why does she react in this way?
Answer:
Jody’s mother turned her nose when she heard that he was going to bring back the fawn. She
gasped with surprise because she didn’t want to see an animal in her home.
Working With Language (Page 94)
Question 1:
Look at these pairs of sentences.
Penny said to Jody, “Will you be back before dinner?”
Penny asked Jody if he would be back before dinner.
“How are you feeling, Pa?” asked Jody.
Jody asked his father how he was feeling.
Here are some questions about the indirect speech. Put them into reported speech.
1. Penny said, “Do you really want it son?”
1. Penny asked his son if he really wanted the fawn.
2. Mill-wheel said, “Will he ride back with me?”
2. Mill-wheel enquired if Jody would ride back with him.
3. He said to Mill-wheel, “Do you think the fawn is still there?”
3. Jody asked Mill-wheel if he thought the fawn was still there.
4. He asked Mill-wheel, “Will you help me find him?”
4. He asked Mill-wheel if he would help him find the fawn.
5. He said, “Was it up here that Pa got bitten by the snake?”
5. Mill-wheel wanted to know if that was the place where Pa had got bitten by the snake.
Question 2:
Look at these two sentences.
He tumbled backward.
It turned its head.
The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object. The second sentence has a
transitive verb. It has a direct object. We can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer. “It's head. It turned its head.”
Say whether the verb in each sentence below is transitive or intransitive. Ask yourself a “what’
question about the verb, as in the example above. (For some verbs, an object is a person, so ask
the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).
(i) Jody then went to the kitchen.
(I) intransitive
(ii) The fawn wobbled after him.
(ii) intransitive
(iii) You found him.
(iii) transitive
(iv) He picked it up.
(iv) transitive
(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk.
(v) transitive
(vi) It bleated frantically and butted
(vi) intransitive, transitive
(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers.
(vii) transitive
(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk.
(viii) transitive
(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently.
(ix) transitive
(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk,
(x) transitive
(xi) The fawn followed
(xi) transitive
(xii) He walked all day.
(xii) intransitive
(xiii) He stroked its sides.
(xiii) transitive
(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose.
(xiv) transitive
(xv) Its legs hung limply.
(xv) intransitive
Question 3:
Here are some words from the lesson. Working in groups, arrange them in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary. Write down some idioms and phrasal verbs connected to these words. Use the dictionary for more idioms and phrasal verbs
Answer:
Idioms or phrasal verbs are connected to the above words.
Clearing: clearing, campaign
Close: close shave, close up, close quarters
Draw: draw the curtain on/over, draw a blank
Light: in the light of, bring to light
Make: make the most of, makeup
Part: part with, parted comparing
Pick: pick up, pick and choose
Scrawny: the scrawny neck
Sweet: have a sweet tooth, sweet seventeen, sweet-tongued, sweet nothings
Wonder: wonder world, wonder load, nine day’s wonder, wonder about, do wonder.
Speaking (Page 96)
Question 1:
Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer:
Most of the animals are our friends. Dogs, horses, elephants, cows are a few such animals that
serve us. But man has been killing codfish or the whales for oil. Tigers are killed for their skin and
bones. This is not fair. But there is no harm if any of them are killed strictly to save human life,
property, and agriculture.
However, killing animals is a crime. It is wrong to kill wildlife for their hide or for pleasure.
Question 2:
Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it? Discuss it in groups and present your arguments to the class.
Answer:
The young ones of cats, dogs, and some birds attract us as does a human child. When I was a
child, I wanted to adopt a kitten or a puppy as a pet. I found a good breed puppy at my doorstep one
day. But it created a commotion in the house. My mother got irritated at the very presence of pets
in the house. They bite and bark, enter the kitchen or sit on our beds and make things dirty. But I
assured her that I would look after my puppy and train it. The loyal dog would act as a security guard
and a playmate. My parents finally relented and let me have the poor puppy as a pet.
Writing (Page 96)
Question 1:
Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here are some words and phrases that you could use. frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic, companion, sharing, friend, rolls in mud, dirty the bed, naughty, lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead.
Answer:
I have taken a kitten as my pet. It is female with silky fur and skin. She keeps me busy. My mother
does not take interest in my pet. She curses the little one for doing mischief, for moving about in
the house, for making the bed and floor dirty. The kitten enters the kitchen and drinks up milk. She
is naughty and disobedient also. She is most unlike a dog that is loyal, obedient, and strong. Still
I like my pet because it is lively, playful, and frisky.
Question 2:
Human life is dependent on nature (that’s why we call her Mother Nature). We take everything
from nature to live our lives. Do we give back anything to nature?
(i) Write down some examples of the natural resources that we use.
(ii) Write a paragraph expressing your point of view regarding our relationship with nature.
Answer:
(i) Man and nature are complementary to each other. Man for ages has been using forests,
minerals, and chemicals for his survival. Earth and nature are our lifelines. They help us directly or
indirectly. Take for example the paper we print, our books, and newspapers. They are products of
trees. We get fruits, flowers, and fodder from nature. We get water and air free from nature. It is
unfortunate that we are overusing the limited resources and are also polluting them.
Nature is our Mother. We must not use up anything to the extent that it is not restored naturally. By
cutting down trees or killing whales we are, in a way, depriving our children of their share. Let us
give back to nature for the benefits we get from it.
(ii) Some of the natural resources that we use are water, coal, mineral oil, etc.
Question 3:
In This is Jody’s Fawn, Jody’s father uses a “home remedy’ for a snake bite. What
should a person now do if he or she is bitten by a snake? Are all snakes poisonous?
With the help of your teacher and others, find out answers to such questions. Then write a short
paragraph on—What to do if a snake chooses to bite you.
Answer:
Snakes are the most dreaded of wild creatures. This is why we use sticks to kill them. There are
many poisonous snakes. Green snakes or water snakes are not poisonous. Still, we cannot be sure
of it. So we don’t take a chance. We call in a snake charmer to draw the cobra out of the house. A
snake bite can kill the victim in a few minutes. But the victim can be saved if he gets the first aid in
the form of blood-letting and anti-venom serum. The cure for snakebite is prepared in front of the
snake’s poison.
In case I am bitten by a poisonous snake, the first thing I would do is to put a band tightly over the
bitten part. Then I shall use a blade or knife to make a small cut on the bitten part and press the
poisonous blood out. Then I shall go to the hospital for medical help. I shall not go to sleep until I feel
better and safe.
MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
When and why does Jody’s father need a remedy?
Answer:
Penny, Jody’s father, is bitten by a poisonous rattlesnake. Instead of going to a doctor, he kills a
she deer and uses her liver to draw out the poison.
Question 2:
How does Jody react to the cruelty of his father?
Answer:
Jody, the small boy, tells his father that he had left the fawn alone and defenseless to die. So it is
their moral duty to save the innocent and hungry young one of the doe.
Question 3:
How does Penny take his son’s argument?
Answer:
Penny agreed with Jody’s argument that it would be ungrateful to leave the fawn to starve.
Question 4:
What did Doc Wilson say about Jody’s suggestion?
Answer:
Doc Wilson said that they had to pay the price for everything. He justified the plan of Jody and
Penny about the fawn.
Question 5:
Why did Jody see only vultures and kites feeding on the dead body of the doe?
Answer:
The sand showed large footprints of tigers or leopards but they did not eat up the dead doe. The
reason was that the big cats killed an animal themselves to eat its flesh. Vultures and kites are
birds of prey. They also feed on the dead bodies.
Question 6:
How did Jody approach and win the trust of the fawn?
Answer:
The fawn shook with fear as Jody drew near. It lifted its nose and scented the
visitor. Jody moved forward on all fours and put his arms around its body.
Question 7:
How did Jody feel as he touched the fawn’s skin?
Answer:
Jody found the fawn’s skin very soft and clean. He stroked its sides gently as though it were made
of clay and would break soon.
Question 8:
How did Jody feed the fawn?
Answer:
Jody decided to give away his share of milk to the fawn. He poured the milk into a small pot. Then
he dipped his fingers in the milk and put them into its mouth. The fawn sucked slowly until the
milk vanished.
Question 9:
What message does the story of the fawn convey to the readers?
Answer:
The story highlights two things. It is not fair to kill an animal for its use as a cure. Secondly, one
should have pity and love for the animals.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
How did Jody persuade his father to go to the forest to bring back the fawn?
Answer:
Jody was a small, brave, and sensitive boy. He was with his father when he (his father) was bitten
by a rattlesnake. His father quickly killed a doe and used its heart and liver to draw out the snake’s
poison. Jody was happy to see that his father got a new life but at the same time he was worried
for the little fawn who was left alone without its mother. He wanted to bring back the fawn. He
requested his father to allow him to go to the forest to find the fawn. He told him that he didn’t
need to drink milk because he was now a big boy. He would give the milk to the fawn. He also said
that it was ungrateful to leave the fawn to starve. His father was in a fix. He couldn’t say “no’ to his
son. And finally allowed him (Jody) to go to the forest to find the fawn.
Question 2:
How did Jody feed the little fawn?
Answer:
Jody poured milk into a small gourd. He dipped his fingers in the milk and thrust them into the
fawn’s soft wet mouth. It sucked greedily. When he withdrew them, it bleated frantically and butted
him. He dipped his fingers again and as the fawn sucked, he lowered them slowly into the milk.
The fawn blew and sucked and snorted. It stamped its small hoofs impatiently. As long as he held
his fingers below the level of the milk, the fawn was content.
Poem: On the Grasshopper and Cricket
WORKING WITH THE POEM (PAGE 123)
Question 1:
Discuss with your partner the following definition of a poem.
A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words, when read aloud with
feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.
Answer:
Very true. Poetry is different from prose because it arranges the best words in musical order.
However, a poem being short, musical, and interesting is easy to learn by heart and to remember
for a long period.
Question 2:
The poetry of earth is not made of words. What is it made of, as suggested in the poem?
Answer:
The poetry of earth is made of the chirping of birds in trees, and a grasshopper’s sound. They sing
joyfully without a long break.
Question 3:
Find in the poem lines that match the following:
(i) The grasshopper’s happiness never comes to an end.
(ii) The cricket’s song has a warmth that never decreases.
Answer:
(i) He has never done with his delights.
(ii) The cricket’s song in warmth increasing ever.
Question 4:
Which word in stanza 2 is opposite in meaning to ‘the frost’?
Answer:
“warmth’
Question 5:
The poetry of earth continues round the year through a cycle of two seasons. Mention each with
its representative voice.
Answer:
The two major seasons in a year are summer and winter. Both are rich in music. In summer, the
representative voice is that of the birds and the grasshoppers. In winter, cricket is the prime
singer.
More Questions Solved
Question 1:
Which insect is the music provider in summer?
Answer:
The grasshopper is the music provider in summer.
Question 2:
What do birds do in winter? Why?
Answer:
Birds remain silent and hide in the winter. It is because they don’t feel comfortable in the cold
weather.
Question 3:
Which insect breaks the silence of the winter? How?
Answer:
There is silence all around in the winter. This silence is broken by crickets.
They start singing for merrymaking.
It So Happened
Chapter 5: Princess September
Comprehension Check (Page 38)
1. How many daughters did the royal couple have?
Ans. The Royal couple had nine daughters.
2. Why were they named after the months of the year?
Ans. They were named after the months of the year because the queen could not recall
their names easily.
3. The King had a peculiar habit. What was it? Why is it called peculiar?
Ans. The peculiar habit of the king was to give gifts on his birthday rather than receive them.
Usually, people get gifts on their birthdays.
4. (i) What was Princess September’s reaction to the loss of her parrot?
(ii) What was her Mother’s reaction to it?
(iii) What do the reactions indicate about the nature and temperament of each?
Ans. (i) Princess September took the loss of her parrot to heart. She wept continuously.
She was put to sleep without supper.
(ii) Her Mother said that Princess September’s weeping was simply nonsense. She asked the
maids to put the child to sleep without supper.
(iii) The princess was very simple-hearted and sensitive. She was stricken with grief when her
parrot died. But the Queen's mother was not moved at all. She had nothing to console the child.
5. What pulled the Princess out of her gloom?
Ans. The coming of a little songbird into her room comforted Princess September. She was so
enchanted that she forgot about her loss.
6. How did the Maids of Honour come to know that the Princess and the bird had become
intimate friends?
Ans. The Maids of Honour brought in the princess’s breakfast. The songbird ate rice out of the
princess’s hand and then sang sweetly. The Maids were surprised to find September so much
happy. They were convinced that the two had become good friends.
7. The new bird was full of new songs but the old parrots always repeated themselves. What did
they say?
Ans. The old parrots only repeated what they had been taught. They could only say ‘God save the
King’ and “Pretty Polly’.
8. What is the king’s opinion about his Councillors? Why did he form that opinion?
Ans. The King had a low opinion about his Councillors because, like parrots, they too repeated the
the same thing differently.
9. (i) The eight Princesses made an offer to Princess September. What was it?
(ii) Why, in your view, did they do it?
Ans. (i) They offered their pocket money to Princess September to buy another parrot,
(ii) They did that because they felt jealous of the song bird’s friendship with Princess
September.
10. What did the sisters advise the Princess to do about her bird?
Ans. The sisters advised the Princess to put the little bird into the cage lest it should fly away for
ever.
Comprehension Check (Page 43)
1. In the following sentence elaborate on the parts given in bold. Under the circumstances, it was a
very unfortunate remark for the bird to make.
Ans. The circumstance was that the bird hadn’t come back because of the party at his father-in-law’s house. The princess was naturally worried. The remark of the sisters added to her
worry.
2. (i) What did Princess September do to ensure the safety of her pet?
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Ans. (i) Princess September put the bird into a cage to ensure his safety.
(ii) The bird disliked his imprisonment. He stopped singing.
3. Why did the bird refuse to be taken out in her cage?
Ans. The bird said that he won’t be really happy and normal if he was taken out in her cage. The
rice-fields arid the lake looked quite different and dull when seen through the cage bars.
4. (i) What persuaded Princess September to give the bird his freedom again?
(ii) How did the bird react to it?
Ans. (i) The Princess freed the bird lest he should die in captivity.
(ii) The Princess kept the window open so that the bird might fly in and out making fresh air
charming. Freedom helped the bird to sing and enjoy himself.
5. Princess September kept her window open day and night.
(i) How did it help the bird?
(ii) How did it help the Princess herself?
Ans. (i) The bird opened his wings and flew away.
(ii) It helped the Princess herself by providing her with fresh wind and natural light. It helped her
make her beautiful.
6. The eight sisters kept their windows shut. How did it affect them?
Ans. The eight sisters who kept their windows shut all night became extremely ugly and
disagreeable. They were married to the councilors.
Exercise (Page 44)
Discuss the following questions in small groups. Write their answers later.
Question 1:
Are the sisters unkind and cruel? Find evidence in the text to support your idea.
Answer:
Yes, the eight sisters of the princess were unkind and cruel. They were jealous too. They advised
her to encage the bird. This suggestion might have killed the bird.
Question 2:
Which, to you, is the most important idea in this story, and why?
(i) importance of music (ii) value of freedom (iii) beauty of nature
Answer:
(i) value of freedom.
MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
What did the King of Siam give his daughters one year on his birthday?
Answer:
One year on his birthday, the King of Siam gave each of his daughters a green parrot in a golden
cage.
Question 2:
What happened to Princess September’s parrot one day? How did the princess react to it?
Answer:
One day, Princess September found her parrot lying dead at the bottom of its golden cage. She
burst into tears suddenly. She cried so much that the Queen got angry and told her to go to bed
without any supper.
Question 3:
What made Princess September act upon her sister’s advice?
Answer:
After the death of her lovely parrot; Princess September got the company of a little songbird. He
comforted her with his sweet songs. One day, her sisters advised her to put the bird into a cage
lest he should fly. Princess September loved the bird too much to take chances. So, she acted
upon their advice.
Question 4:
Why was the little songbird surprised?
Answer:
The little songbird was surprised to see how ruthlessly Princess September treated him one day.
She carried him over to a cage, popped him in, and shut the door on him. He became speechless.
For a moment he could think of nothing to say.
Question 5:
Who was Princess September married to? Why?
Answer:
Princess September was married to the King of Cambodia because she was extremely beautiful.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
Suppose you are Princess September. Give a brief account of your heartbreaks, sufferings, and
eventual happiness.
Answer:
I am the ninth daughter of a royal couple of Siam. My father,- the King, used to give gifts to us on
his birthdays. One year, on his birthday he gave each one of the princesses a green parrot in a
golden cage. I also got a parrot in a golden cage. All other sisters taught the bird to say ‘God save
the King’ and ‘Pretty Polly’. But I was different from them. Unfortunately, my parrot died one day. I
wept and wept. I slept without supper. At night a small songbird flew into my room. It sang so
sweetly that I forgot the loss of my parrot. I showed it to my sisters. They grew jealous of my
happiness. They advised me to put the bird in a cage. And I acted foolishly upon that advice. The
bird stopped singing. It appeared to be dead. So I set it free. I then had the last laugh. I was
married to a Prince of Combodia while my sisters were ugly and were married to my father’s
councilors.
Question 2:
Compare and contrast the characters of Princess September and her other eight sisters.
Answer:
Princess September was different from her elder sisters. She was sweet-natured and simple-hearted. She cried bitterly when her parrot died. A little bird made her happy with his song. Her
sisters were jealous, mean, and wicked. They made a plan to rob her of her happiness. They told
her to put the bird in a cage. Their wicked plan worked for a while. The bird stopped singing in
captivity. Princess September cared more for the bird’s life than her own happiness. So she let him
off. She was duly rewarded for her goodness.
Chapter 8: Jalebis
Comprehension Check (Page 65)
1. Why didn’t he pay the school fees on the day he brought money to school?
Ans. The boy couldn’t pay the school fees on the day he was brought to school because the
teacher Master Ghulam Mohammed was on leave.
2. (i) What were the coins ‘saying’ to him?
(ii) Do you think they were misguiding him?
Ans. (i) The coins in the boy’s pocket urged him to buy hot and fresh jalebis.
(ii) Yes, the coins were misguiding him because the money was meant for paying
school fees.
3. Why didn’t he take the coin’s advice? Give two or three reasons.
Ans. Initially, the boy didn’t take the advice of the coins seriously for a couple of reasons.
He could not spend the money meant for paying school fees on jalebis. Secondly, the
boy knew the harsh nature of the master and the punishment.
4. (i) What did the oldest coin tell him?
(ii) Did he follow his advice? If not, why not?
Ans. (i) The oldest coin convinced him that they were telling him for his own good. He can
pay his fee the next day with his scholarship money. So he should not suppress his desire
for jalebis.
(ii) He didn’t follow his advice. He was a promising student. He was from a good
family of repute. He didn’t want to get defamed for it.
5. He reached home with the coins in his pocket. What happened then?
Ans. After reaching home he couldn’t suppress his temptation for fresh Jalebis. He rushed
to the shop of halwai. He bought jalebis and enjoyed them.
Comprehension Check (Page 68)
1. (i) Why didn’t he eat all the jalebis he had bought?
(ii) What did he do with the remaining Jalebis?
Ans. (i) He had bought jalebis for one rupee. But he couldn’t eat all of them because of
their quantity.
(ii) He distributed the remaining jalebis among the boys from the neighborhood.
2. “The fear was killing me.” What was the fear?
Ans. He had eaten so many jalebis that there was the problem of digesting them all. His
fear was that one jalebi or two would come out with a burp.
3. “Children’s stomachs are like digestion machines.” What do you understand by that?
Do you agree?
Ans. It means that children can digest a lot of things that they overeat. I
agree with the statement but only partly.
4. How did he plan to pay the fees the next day?
Ans. He planned to pay the fees the next day when he would get his monthly scholarship.
5. When it is time to pay the fees, what does he do? How is he disobeying the elders by
doing so?
Ans. When the time draws near to pay the fees, he tucked the bag under his arm and slips
out of the school. He had disobeyed his elders by crossing the railway track.
Comprehension Check (Page 72)
1. What was the consequence of buying jalebis with the fees money?
Ans. As a result of spending his fees money on jalebis, he had to be absent from school for
the first time in his life.
2. His prayer to God is like a lawyer’s defense of a bad case. Does he argue his case
well? What are the points he makes?
Ans. He tries to please God with his requests and the recitation of the entire namaz. He
admits that he made a mistake. He wouldn’t have spent his money on jalebis if he had
known about the delay in scholarship. Thus, he argues his case like a lawyer.
3. He offers to play a game with Allah Miyan. What is the game?
Ans. The game is that he will go up to the signal, touch it and come back. And in the
meantime God should put four rupees under a big rock.
4. Did he get four rupees by playing the game? What did he get to see under the rock?
Ans. No, he didn’t get four rupees by playing the game. When he lifted the rock, he saw a
worm instead of coins.
5. If God had granted his wish that day, what harm would it have caused him in later life?
Ans. If God had granted his wish that day he wouldn’t have learned a lesson to do no wrong
in the future. He would have been like a bird and learned no skill.
EXERCISE (PAGE 72)
Work in small groups.
Question 1:
Select and read sentences that show
(a) that the boy is tempted to eat jalebis.
(d) that he is feeling guilty
(c) that he is justifying a wrong deed.
Answers:
(a)
• Jalebis are meant to be eaten, and those with money in their pocket can eat them.
• But then, these jalebis are no common sort of Jalebis They’re crisp, fresh, and full of
syrup.
• My mouth watered. I rushed out of the house barefoot and ran towards the bazaar.
(b)
• My head started to spin.
• When the recess bell rang I tucked my bag under my arm and left the school.
• Now for the crime of eating a few Jalebis, for the first time in my life I was absent
from school.
• Sitting under a tree, at first I felt like crying.
(c)
• I didn’t eat them all by myself, and I fed them to a whole lot of children.
• Allah Miyan! I am a good boy. I have memorized the entire namaz and the last –
ten surahs of the Quran by heart.
Question 2:
Discuss the following points.
(a) Is the boy intelligent? If so, what is the evidence of it?
(b) Does his outlook on the jalebis episode change after class VIII? Does he see that episode in a
new light?
(c) Why are coins made to ‘talk’ in this story? What purpose does it serve?
Answers:
(a) The boy is definitely intelligent. The first evidence is that he has won a scholarship. He is a
promising boy. He knows what is right and what is wrong. He argues his case before God like a
lawyer.
(b) Yes, his outlook changed after class VIII. He later realized that nothing comes without a price.
If God were to grant all one’s wishes for the asking, man would not learn any skill. He would be no
better than birds.
(c) The coins are made to talk because they reflect the conflict going on in his own mind.
MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
How did the coins persuade the boy to buy jalebis?
Answer:
The coins told the boy that the jalebis were fresh, crisp, and syrupy. They were meant to be eaten
and only those with money in their pocket could eat them.
Question 2:
How did the boy respond to the coins?
Answer:
The boy didn’t heed to the coins. He was a good and intelligent boy. He told the coins not to
misguide him. He got so much at home that he considered even looking at something in
the bazaar a sin.
Question 3:
Why did the boy hold all the four coins tight in his fist?
Answer:
All four coins began to speak at the same time to make the boy ready to buy the
jalebis. There was such a clamor that passersby in the bazaar stared at him and his pocket. So,
the boy grabbed all of them and held them tight in his fist to make them silent.
Question 4:
Did the boy eat all the jalebis by himself? What can you say?
Answer:
The boy didn’t eat all the jalebis by himself. He ate himself to his heart’s content and distributed
the best among the boys from the neighborhood.
Question 5:
Why did the boy’s head start to spin in the school?
Answer:
As soon as he reached the school, he came to know that the scholarship was going to be paid the
following month. This news intensified his tension so much that his head started to spin.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
Comment on the significance of the jalebis in the story.
Answer:
Jalebis are central to the story. These are hot, fresh, and syrupy. A schoolboy falls to the sweet
temptation of jalebis. He spends all his school fees money on buying jalebis. He eats himself and
also distributes them among children. He regrets his weakness later. He prays to God to send him
four rupees. But he gets no help from God. He realizes in later life that God cannot meet
everybody’s demands. Was he so generous, man would not have developed the skill of making
jalebis.
Question 2:
Write a short note on the character of the schoolboy in Jalebis.
Answer:
The schoolboy in the story Jalebis carries four rupees to school to pay the school fees. He is
an honest, God-fearing, and brilliant student. He has won a scholarship also. He has never been
punished. He enjoys prestige. He feels shy of standing in the bazaar and eating jalebis. But the
coins in his pocket persuade him to go wrong. And he repents his foolishness. He asks for God’s
help. He can recite the namaz and some portions from the Quran. His experience, however,
teaches him a valuable lesson.
Question 3:
How does the schoolboy try to please God to come to his rescue?
Answer:
The schoolboy faces a crisis after he has spent his school fees on the jalebis. He turns to Allah
Miyan for help. He apologizes to God. He promises to never repeat that mistake and recites
the namaaz and a few verses from the Quran. He hopes in vain that God will put money under the
rock. He plays a game with God. But he finds no coins but a hairy worm under the rock
Grammar
Tenses
(Formation of Tenses)
Reported Speech
(Change of Tenses)
Modals and Auxillary Verbs
AUXILIARY VERBS
A verb is used in forming the tenses, moods, and voices of other verbs. The primary auxiliary verbs in English are, do, and have; the modal auxiliaries are can, could, may, might, must, shall, should, will, and would.
There are 23 helping verbs. Am, is, are, was and were, being, been, and be, Have, has had, do, does, did, will, would, shall, and should. There are five more helping verbs: may, might, must, can, could
In English, there are two types of auxiliary verbs, primary auxiliaries, and modal auxiliaries. The three primary auxiliary verbs are 'be', 'have', and 'do'.
The main auxiliary verbs are to be, to have, and to do. They appear in the following forms: To Be: am, is, are, was, were, being, been, will be
To Have: has, have, had, having, will have
To Do: does, do, did, will do
There is another kind of auxiliary verb called a modal auxiliary verb (or modal verb). The modal auxiliary verbs are can, could, may, might, must, ought to, shall, should, will, and would. The modal auxiliary verbs never change their forms. Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Tense Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs expressing tense. In these examples, the main verbs are in bold and the auxiliary verbs are highlighted.
• She was waiting for an hour.
• She is waiting in the hall.
• She will be waiting outside. (In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb helps to form the progressive tense, which is the tense used for ongoing actions.)
• She had eaten it before we arrived.
• She has eaten it already.
• She will have eaten it by then. (In each of these examples, the auxiliary verb to have helps to form the perfect tense, which is the tense used for expressing an action's completion.)
• She had been studying before the incident.
• She has been studying.
• She will have been studying for a month at that point. (In each of these examples, the auxiliary verbs have been helping to form the perfect progressive tense, which is the tense used for expressing an ongoing action's completion.)
Read more about the tenses. Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Voice Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs expressing voice.
• Our dessert was eaten by the dog.
• The geese are driven through the snicker.
• The phone will be disconnected tomorrow. (In these examples, the auxiliary verb helps to form the passive voice. A verb is said to be in the passive voice when its subject does not act as the verb but has the action done to it.)
Read more about the voice of a verb. Examples of Auxiliary Verbs Expressing Mood Here are some examples of auxiliary verbs being used to express mood.
• Did you win? (Here, the auxiliary verb to do is used to form the interrogative mood, i.e., to ask a question.)
• Don't forget your wallet. (Here, the auxiliary verb to do (in its negative form) is used to form the imperative mood, i.e., to give an order.)
Examples of Modal Auxiliary Verbs Let’s now look at the modal auxiliary verbs. Modal auxiliary verbs combine with other verbs to express ideas such as necessity, possibility, intention, and ability. In each example below, the verb phrase is in bold and the modal auxiliary verb is highlighted.
Modal auxiliary verbs expressing necessity:
• It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light. (Greek philosopher Aristotle) • I don't say we all ought to misbehave, but we ought to look as if we could. (Actor Orson Welles)
• A baby is God's opinion that life should go on. (American Poet Carl Sandburg) Modal auxiliary verbs expressing possibility:
• It is never too late to be what you might have been. (George Eliot)
• If there were no bad people, there would be no good lawyers. (Author Charles Dickens) Modal auxiliary verbs expressing intention:
• We shall heal our wounds, collect our dead and continue fighting.
Modal auxiliary verbs expressing ability:
• No one can feel as helpless as the owner of a sick goldfish.
• Well, either side could win it, or it could be a draw. (Sometimes, more than one sense is expressed. Here, could express both ability and possibility.)
Be, have, and do are not always auxiliary verbs. Here they are as the main verbs (in bold) being supported by auxiliary modal verbs (highlighted).
• I have inspiration. If I was educated, I would be a damn fool.
• I like vampire books. I might have a problem.
• If you can dream it, you can do it.
Comments
Post a Comment