Title Page

Copyright Page

Patterns, a Course in Communicative English, focuses on reading,writing and communicative aspects of English language to ensureholistic training. The aim of the series is to enhance the students’language skills and enable them to use the language with ease andconfidence both inside and outside the boundaries of the classroom.The teacher plays the most significant role in this process. Thereforethe books contain exhaustive Teacher’s Notes providing certainguidelines and suggestions about the way the lessons can beapproached and made interesting as well as beneficial to the students.

The Teacher’s Handbooks (1-8) contain answers to the exerciseswhich accompany the chapters. The primary purpose of these booksis to diminish the workload of the teachers and facilitate the teachingand learning processes. Apart from definite answers, they also containsuggestions which the teachers may follow while teaching a chapter.Answers to some analytical questions are not given since it is in thebest interest of the students to let them think and answer thosequestions based on their understanding of the topics. The exerciseson Writing Skills and Enrichment activities can be conducted bythe teacher following the guidelines given as part of the exercise. Theteacher should encourage students to answer the open-ended questionsdepending on their reading of the chapter.

We sincerely hope that the teachers find these books useful and theHandbooks contribute substantially to the process of learning.

Preface

Course book

Theme: Under the Banyan Tree

1. Scarecrow 1

2. Telling Tales 1

3. How Ananse Brought Stories to the World 1

4. The Story Spirits 3

5. The Storykeeper 5

Theme: Family

1. Ani’s Key 7

2. The Troublesome Twins 10

3. Unnikatha 12

4. Some Things Do Not Make Sense 15

5. They Chose Me 15

6. My Inside and Outside Self 16

Theme: Humour

1. Blowing the Horn 16

2. Dr Goray and the Giggling Ghost 19

3. Oily Mess 22

4. What I Did Last Night 23

5. Oh, Doctor! 24

6. The Nose 25

7. What My Lady Did 25

Theme: Born Free

1. How the Hippo Lost His Fur 26

2. The Bird Catcher 28

3. The Cheetah and the Sloth 31

Contents

4. The Little Fish Has Something to Say 34

5. Circus Lion Gives Evidence 34

6. Mrs Skunk Writes a Letter 35

Theme: Fear and Courage

1. The Boy Who Was Afraid 35

2. If I Were Brave 37

3. Fear of the dark 39

4. Don’t Be Afriad of the Dark 39

5. Zadingi 40

6. The Hero 42

Workbook 45-68

The Storyteller

1. The Heavenly Elephant 69

2. Totto-chan 71

3. What the Stars Saw 72

4. The Happy Lion 74

5. Kaafal Pako 76

6. Earth Magic 78

7. The Runaway Ferryboat 79

8. The Potter 82

9. The Flute Player 83

10. The Moon 84

11. One Very Small Foot 85

12. Bed Bugs 86

13. Cat Burglars 87

14. Two Little Kittens 88

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Scarecrow (Poem) Page 3

Telling Tales (Poem) Page 4

Before reading these two poems the teacher can hold a storytellingsession in class and encourage students to share their favourite stories.

How Ananse Brought Stories to the WorldNOTE: The teacher can read this story aloud in class to draw thestudents’ attention to its jargon, especially certain words and phraseswhich are very specific to African culture.

Comprehension Page 9

1. An African story-teller is telling the story.

2. Ananse spun a web up to the sky to meet the Sky God.

3. The Sky God asked Ananse to bring him Osebo, the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro, the hornets-who-sting-like-fireand Mmoatia, the fairy-whom-men-never-see.

4. ‘Yiridi’ might mean run.

NOTE: Students could be encouraged to come up with theirown explanation of the word and justify it.

Word power Page 9

This could be treated as a healthy and a funny game which can takeplace in the presence of the teacher and end up there itself.

Write the answers Page 9

1. Ananse first came across Osebo, the leopard-of-the-terrible-teeth in the jungle. Osebo was ready to eat him for lunch.Ananse requested the leopard to play the binding, bindinggame with him before eating him. As part of the game he tiedthe leopard’s foot with a vine creeper and hung the tiedleopard on a tree in the jungle.

CCCCCOURSEOURSEOURSEOURSEOURSE B B B B BOOKOOKOOKOOKOOK

Theme: Under the Banyan Tree

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2. Ananse filled a calabash with water and held a banana leafover his head like an umbrella and crept through the tallgrasses towards the hornets’ nest. When he reached the nesthe poured some of the water from the calabash over his headand the rest over the hornets’ nest and advised the hornets tofly into his calabash in order to avoid the rain. As theygratefully flew into the calabash he quickly sealed the mouthof the calabash and hung it on the tree next to the leopard.

3. Ananse carved a little doll holding a bowl full of poundedyams and covered it from head to foot with gum. Then hetied one end of a vine around the doll’s head and kept it atthe foot of a tree where the fairies danced. He hid behind abush holding the other end of the vine in his hand. In a littlewhile, Mmoatia, the fairy-whom-no-man-sees came dancing tothe foot of the tree. She saw the little doll and asked whethershe could eat some of the yams it was carrying in the bowl.As Ananse pulled at the vine the doll seemed to nod its head.The fairy ate all the yams and thanked the doll but it did notreply. She was very angry and slapped her. Unfortunately herhand got stuck to the doll’s cheek. She was very upset and asshe slapped the doll with her other hand, it got stuck as well.She pushed against the doll with her feet and they too gotstuck. Then Ananse carried her to the tree where the leopardand the hornets were trapped.

4. The Sky God asked his nobles to sing praises for Anansebecause he had satisfied his wish and brought Osebo, theleopard-of-the-terrible-teeth, Mmboro, the hornets-who-sting-like-fire and Mmoatia, the fairy-whom-men-never-see to him.The Sky God kept his word and gave Ananse all his stories inreturn.

Listening/speaking Page 9

The given activity can be conducted as per the guidelines given inthe book.

Writing skills Page 10

The teacher can initiate a discussion on the given topic encouragingstudents to come up with different ideas. Every perspective shouldbe accepted if the student is able to justify it logically.

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The Story Spirits


1. Dong Chin and Pak shared master-servant relationship. DongChin made demands and gave out orders which Pak followedblindly. Pak was also extremely loyal to his master and hecould risk his reputation as well as his own life to protect hismaster’s life.

2. • Dong Chin felt very proud when his father undid his longbraid one day before his wedding and fixed his hair in atight topknot, just like his own. Then he placed a feather-light, transparent hat of horsehair mesh on Don Chin’shead.

• ‘This moment’ signifies the moment when Dong Chin’sfather undid his long braid, tied his hair in a topknot andplaced a beautiful hat on his head.

• This expression signifies Dong Chin’s coming of age; thecompletion of his journey from boyhood to adulthood.His father’s act was an acknowledgement of his son’s abilityto take on responsibility. Dong Chin finally stepped intohis father’s shoes as he sported a hairstyle similar to hisfather’s.

3. We know that Pak told Dong Chin many stories becauseDong Chin listened to a story from Pak every night sincechildhood. But he refused to share those stories with anyone.The story spirits filled up a room. There were hundreds ofthem swarming around.

4. The story spirits planned to take revenge on Dong Chinbecause he had kept them locked up inside his room for yearsand not allowed them to move around freely in the world.

5. Dong Chin was surprised at Pak’s behaviour because his loyalservant disobeyed him on three occasions and refused to fulfilhis wishes. Finally when Pak barged into the banquet hall asDong Chin prepared to have dinner with his bride, he wasshocked.

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Word power Page 17

A. Students should pick out a phrase from the story which meansDong’s father was getting very angry and use the phrase in a sentenceof their own.

storm clouds on his father’s face

B. Students should pick out two words from the story which mean‘shocked’.

stunned speechless

C. Students should find words from the story which have the samemeaning.

1. braid

2. poker

3. mesh

4. porcelain

5. rein

6. teeming


1. The marriage ceremony took place in the garden where aplatform had been set up covered with rich weavings. Thelovely bride Mai Hee stepped onto the platform and silentlybowed to Dong Chin four times. He too bowed four timesnervously and the simple marriage ceremony was complete.

2. Pak was aware of the angry story spirits’ ploy to cause harmto Dong Chin. So he decided to protect his master at anycost. He insisted on taking part in his wedding processionand protected him from angry story spirits. Finally as DongChin and his wife prepared to have dinner, Pak barged intothe banquet hall with a long kitchen knife, lifted the carpetand revealed a great poisonous snake. Then he stabbed itrepeatedly with the knife and saved his master’s life.

3. The teacher can encourage students to express as well asestablish their own view on this matter.

4. On his wedding day Dong Chin realised his mistake of keepingthe stories he had heard from Pak to himself. He decided to

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tell them to anyone who was willing to listen and allow themto move freely in the world.


The children can be encouraged to express their own point of viewand think of different ways in which the birthday can be celebratedby the boys.

The StorykeeperPage 18-21


1. Katia did not go into the Storykeeper’s palace because shewas poor, ragged and dirty. She was neither wealthy like themerchant nor holy like the priest. So she thought that shewas not worthy of entering the Storykeeper’s house.

2. The merchant and the priest went to the Storykeeper’s palacewith the intention of winning rich rewards.

3. A proclamation is a public and official announcement. Anofficial communicates a proclamation to the people.

4. Students can be encouraged to express their own opinion onthis matter.

5. The merchant thought the Storykeeper was a great patron ofwealth while the priest thought that he was a philosopher.

6. Students can be encouraged to analyse this subject properlyand come up with their own explanation.

7. Katia believed that she had nothing to lose because she wentto the Storykeeper without any expectation. She did notwant to satisfy the Storykeeper in order to win rewards or hisfavour. So she did not stand the chance of sufferingdisappointment.

Word power Page 21

A. From the story students should pick out phrases with an adjectivethat describe some good quality of a person or thing.

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beautiful house, exotic flowers, fantastic wild animals, wonderfultales, best story, hopeful heart, holy heart, wise old woman.

B. Katia goes through different moods in the story. Students shoulddescribe when she experiences these moods respectively.

1. Katia was confused when the old woman who advised her totell the Storykeeper her own story vanished mysteriously justwhen she was about to thank her.

2. When Katia was unable to find a suitable story to tell theStorykeeper she felt tired and disheartened. She was runningout of time and did not know where to find a suitable storyfor the occasion.

3. When Katia set off to find a suitable story to tell theStorykeeper on New Year’s Eve, she was happy and hopefulabout the fact that she would finally get a chance to meet theStorykeeper.

4. When Katia finished her story and saw that the people weregenuinely touched by it, she felt worthy and hopeful.

5. Katia was fully contented when the wise old woman whomshe met in the forest advised her to tell the Storykeeper herown story.

6. When the Storykeeper appreciated Katia’s story, she felt happyand satisfied.

7. Katia felt helpless and sad when she thought that since shewas poor and ragged, she was not fit to meet the Storykeeper.

NOTE: The students can be asked to read the story very carefullyand then answer this question. They could be encouraged to comeup with their own explanations and justifications.


1. Katia decided to act upon the advice of the wise old womanwhom she met in the forest and tell the Storykeeper her ownstory. When she finished her story she saw that the peoplepresent there were genuinely moved by her tale. Some werehiding their faces in their hands, some were silently weepingand others were applauding.

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2. The Storykeeper hailed Katia’s story as the best in the landas he felt that it had come straight from the little girl’s heart.Her story lacked wonderful and fantastic elements but it wasabout her own experience of setting out in search of the rightstory worthy of the Storykeeper, her repeated failure to finda suitable story and finally her chance meeting with the wiseold woman who convinced her to tell her own story. TheStorykeeper felt that through her tale she had given him apart of herself without any pretence which no one else couldachieve.

3. He is called a Storykeeper because he is a collector of stories.

Listening and Speaking Page 22

The class can be divided into groups of four for discussing andwriting the story that katia would have told to the Storykeeper.


Both the questions can be left open to the students. They could bemotivated to write the description and the story on their own.

Theme: FamilyAni’s Key


1. We know that Ani’s parents are not rich because they have towork hard to pay for their child’s education. Her motherwashes other people’s laundry by hand and her father sortsthrough trash, in order to procure other people’s throawaysto sell. They lead a humble existence. Her friends make funof her in school. She knows that her parents cannot affordpaint, pens and such stuff which she requires in order to winthe art competition in school.

2. Ani did not want to go to school because her friends madefun of her father. They said that he smelt like garbage since hesorted through trash, cleaning up other people’s throwawaysto sell. They even claimed that Ani’s shoes were procured

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from the garbage dump. Apart from this she wanted toparticipate in an art contest in school but she knew that herparents did not have money to buy paints, pens and otherstuff which she required in order to win the competition.

3. • Ani’s mother is talking to her.• ‘This’ refers to the troubles that Ani was facing.• Ani’s mother encourages her to find the ‘key’ or the

solution to these problems in order to overcome them.

4. Ani’s treasure box did not contain jewels or coins but theitems inside the box were very precious to her. She hadcollected numerous articles from the pile of throwaways thather father had to sift through everyday. She found everythingthat she needed to participate in the art competition insideher treasure box.

5. Ani’s parents did not know that she had decided to participatein the art contest.

We know this because when Ani informed them about theart contest she did not reveal that she was taking part in it.They asked her whether they should go there and she repliedthat that they should since it would be interesting.

They finally got to know when they saw the beautiful butterflythat their daughter had made. She made it with all the itemsthat she had gathered from the junk that her father had tosort everyday.

Word power Page 28

A. Students should look up the dictionary and find out the differentmeanings of the word ‘key’. They should write which meaning fitsin the sentences given.

1. a solution or explanation

2. instrument for moving the bolt of a lock

B. Students should read the given expression and then answer thequestions.

1. Sunset has been described here.

2. ‘Wink’ is the act of closing and opening one’s eye quickly,especially as a gesture.

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3. Students can be encouraged to come up with their ownexplanations.

C. The teacher can encourage students to analyse the characters wellbefore answering this question.

D. Students should answer who they think a professional artist is.

A professional artist is someone who earns a living by practising hisart.

E. The students should describe Ani as an artist in one word.

amateur


1. Ani was sad because her friends in school made fun of herfather who sorted trash to procure items to sell. They said hesmelt like garbage. She was also unhappy about the fact thatshe did not have paints and pens like her friends which wererequired to participate in the art contest to be held in herschool.

2. Ani’s grandmother had told her that raw egg white was thebest glue in Indonesia. So she acted upon her grandmother’sadvice and used raw egg white as glue.

3. Though Ani’s box was filled with junk the author called it atreasure box because she utlilised all the items contained inthe box to make the beautiful butterfly which everyoneadmired in the art contest.


All the activities can be carried out in the manner described in thetext. Children could be encouraged to express their opinion withlogical justification.


The students can be asked to write the letter on their own. They cantake help from the teacher and the key points given in the book.

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The Troublesome TwinsComprehension Page 36

1. ‘Please’ is spelt as ‘Pleeese’ here in order to emphasise therequest as well as express the desperation of the twins. It isnot a spelling error but a literary trope.

2. The person who has to find out the hidden players in thegame of hide-and-seek is called a ‘den’.

3. The twins never seem to tire. They are always energetic andenthusiastic, even after a strenuous session of pillow-fighting.This quality in them amazes their sister.

4. The twins were always ganging up against their sister andplaying pranks on her. But everyone in the family found themadorable. The elder sister often felt sorry for herself for beingan outsider in her own house.

5. The sister made that remark in order to get some reactionfrom the twins who were thoroughly enjoying her misery. Shethought that her comment might make them complacent andthey might reveal themselves which would put an end to herworries.

6. When the ‘den’ fails to identify the hidden player correctly,it is called a ‘wrong call’.

In this case whenever Shanti identified one of the twins, theyalways claimed that it was the other one. This made the taskof identifying the twins extremely difficult for her since it wasimpossible to tell whether they were lying or speaking thetruth.

7. The writer describes one of the twins in this manner becauseonly his left eye, left ear and mop of hair were visible andthese aspects of his appearance constructed the twin’s identity.So it seemed as if the left eye, the left ear and the mop of haircalled out ‘wrong call’.

8. By reading this sentence we know that the sister was not sternand authoritative. She was also quite adventurous, but not asmuch as her brothers.

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Word power Page 36

A. Students should say what the following sentence means.

The twins were hiding on top of the tallest tree in the garden andwere in a dangerous situation since they could neither climb ontothe roof of the house nor come down. Their desperate cry for helpfrom the top reaches the sister’s heart as she stood at the bottomof the tree.

B. Students should find out the meanings of the followingexpressions.

1. to be nervous, uncertain

2. someone who gets very worried and nervous easily

3. expressing nervousness, stress

4. to be very nervous about something happening

Page 37

C. The words given below are synonyms of laugh. Students shouldfind out their meanings and use them as nouns in sentences of theirown.

1. to laugh in a shrill, broken manner2. to laugh softly, usually with satisfaction3. to laugh in a silly, often high-pitched way4. to assume a facial expression indicating pleasure5. to smile broadly6. to smile in a smug way


1. The sister tries her best to take full advantage of being sixyears older than the twins and act bossy, especially when theirparents are not around. Whenever the twins would pester herwith their repeated requests trying to convince her toparticipate in their game of hide-and-seek, she would commandthem to stop bothering her. However her air of superioritywould not last very long since the kinds would tug at herskirt, pull at her plait and keep repeating their request untilshe relented. However she would tell them sternly that shewould only play for five minutes.

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2. The twins tug at her skirt, pull her plait and repeat theirrequest many times till the sister exasperatedly agreed toparticipate in their game of hide-and-seek. She would thenimmediately be made the den.

3. The first half of the question could be answered by the studentson their own. The teacher can discuss the concept of a tomboybefore they answer this question. A tomboy is an energetic,boisterous girl whose behaviour and pursuits are more typicalof boys than girls.

The sister could climb trees and tall ladders quite effortlessly.She participated in the games played by the twins and wasquite energetic and boisterous.

4. Seeing the affection and camaraderie between the twins andShanti, in spite of the fact that she met with an accidentwhile trying to rescue the twins, one of their parents’ friendsfelt that they were more like triplets.

5. The students should read the story carefully before answeringthis question.


The answer may vary. The students can be encouraged to expresstheir opinion in a logical sequence as instructed in the question.Afterwards, they can fill in the table in pairs.

Writing skills

A. The question could be left open to student’s imagination.

B. The conversation can be written by the students with teacher asa helper.

Unnikatha

A. Comprehension Page 45

1. • It was Muttashi’s habit to hear a story from Unni everydaywas established by the fact that she could not sleep withouthearing a story from Unni.

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• Unni’s mother expressed her displeasure at this practicewhen she told Muttashi that Unni needed to study withoutwasting his time telling Muttashi a story.

• We know that Pannikan was a rich man from the fact thathis palanquin was accompanied by a retinue of servantsand a lamp bearer who were always at his service. He alsocarried a fan all the time and lived in a mansion. WhenMelkkoran succeeded in building the beautiful glass tree,he showered many rich rewards on him.

• We know that Muttashi was a kind-hearted person becauseshe felt sad when in the Melkkoran felled the champakatree and the birds who had built their nests in that treelost their homes, their eggs as well as their fledglings. Alsowhen the urchins cut their fingers when they picked up theglittering shards of glass to play with, she was concerned.

2. Images flashed in front of him on the bare wall and Unniwove his tale by looking at those images.

3. • Melkkoran says this.

• Melkkoran claimed that such a tree existed in the west.

Students should come up with their own explanations whileanswering the two questions that follow.

4. From this line we know that Muttashi was a kind-heartedperson, sensitive to the pain of trees and birds. Melkkoran,on the other hand, did not care about nature and wasinterested in achieving his own goal. So he mercilessly pulleddown the champaka tree to build a tree that would nevergrow old. This act pained Muttashi.

5. The teacher could encourage students to express their opinionfreely while answering this question.

6. Panikkan would be happy with the glass tree as it was hispride. Melkkoran too was happy since it got him rich rewards.

Muttashi, on the other hand, was unhappy because it was anartificial tree whose flowers had no fragrance and no birdscame to rest there.

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Word power Page 45

A. Students should pick out words and phrases from the storywhich describe the two trees.

Champaka tree Glass treelush foliage exquisitegnarled boughs unmatched in beautyheavy with flowers wondrousfilled the air with a heady transparency drenched in thefragrance glow of dawngraying glass leafold and worn out glass flower

Page 46

B. Students should fill in the table with words and phrases used todescribe the three people.

Muttashioldher body shrivelled and shrunk to the size of a child’s

Kurumanalways carried a fan in his handbewithchedpride and joy

Melkkoranwell-dressedcropped hairwore a t-shirtobsessed with building the new treedeftly chipping awayC. Students should form pairs and try to guess the meanings of thehighlighted words/phrases.

1. shriveled and shrunk — to contract and wrinkle

2. lush foliage — luxuriant leaves

grnarled boughs — bent, twisted branches

heady fragrance — intoxicating scent

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3. bewitched — captivated

4. glow of dawn — the light emitted when the sun rises blush ofthe setting sun — the sky turning crimson as the sun sets


The question should be left open to student’s imagination.

Some Things Do Not Make SenseComprehension Page 47

1. The fact that in spite of claiming that he is the most adorablechild, his mother has another baby, does not make sense tothe child.

The speaker is a boy.

2. We know this because his mother refers to him as ‘…littleguy’.

They Chose MeComprehension Page 47

1. For the poet the ‘birth mother’ is the woman who gave birthto him. The ‘blood father’ is his biological father. ‘Mum’ and‘dad’ adopted him and gave him a home and a lot of love.

2. The poet is very proud of the fact that he has two mothersand two fathers. Among all the other babies, his mum anddad chose to adopt him and make him their child. Hecelebrates the day he was born as well as the day he wasadopted with equal merriment. He cuts two cakes on thesetwo occasions respectively and invites his friends to celebratethese two special days of his life.

3. The child expresses his gratitude and joy at being chosen bymum and dad as their son among all the babies born in theworld by repeating stanza 2.

The teacher can encourage students to come up with theirown explanations.

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My Inside and Outside SelfComprehension Page 49

1. Her ‘outside self’ is how she behaves with people and the waythe world knows her.

Her ‘inside self’ is a combination of all the things that shewants to achieve and the way she would like herself to be. Itis concealed from the world because it is very private as wellas precious to her.

2. The outside self that she presents to the world is not her realself since it is modeled on the way the world would like herto be. If she reveals her inside self to the world, then they willknow the real person that she is because her inside self isconstructed by her own aspirations, likes and dislikes.

3. This is an analytical question. The teacher can have a classdiscussion on this and encourage the students to express theiropinions freely.

Word power Page 50

This question could be left open to the students.


This is an analytical question. The teacher can initiate a discussionon this and express their opinion. Answer may vary. Every opinionwith justification could be accepted.

Theme: HumourBlowing the Horn


1. Gopal Bhand was Raja Krishna Chandra’s court jester.

A court jester is a man employed by a noble or a royal forentertainment.

2. Reading the first two paragraphs we know that Gopal Bhandwas the beloved court jester of Raja Krishna Chandra. He was

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a big, cheerful man with an outsized tummy and bald head.

3. Gopal Bhand was upset because he was not sure how well hiswife would be able to manage all affairs after his death.

4. Gopal thought that the Maharaja would not give a singlepenny to his wife after his death.

5. ‘To live by one’s wit’ means to survive using one’s intelligence.

6. Gopal’s wife took up the challenge to prove that she couldlive by her wit. She wanted to achieve this by earning somemoney in a day by her own means while Gopal stayed athome.

7. In the first paragraph the author mentions that Gopal Bhandwas Maharaja Krishna Chandra’s beloved court jester. WhenGopal’s wife falsely informed him that Gopal was dying dueto lack of treatment for want of money, the Maharaja becamevery upset. He said that his dear court jester’s life was veryprecious and immediately ordered hundred gold coins to bepaid to his wife for Gopal’s treatment. This also proves theMaharaja’s love for Gopal.

8. The Maharaja was very angry to see Gopal walking into hiscourt cheerfully the very next day after his wife had tearfullyinformed him that Gopal was about to die. He thought thatGopal and his wife had deceived him.

Word power Page 56

A. Students should write two meanings of the phrase ‘to blow thehorn’.

• to blow into the musical instrument called horn in order toproduce sound.

• to die

B. Students should write down a few phrases describing Gopal’swife’s hair, sari and expression when they go to visit the Maharaja.

cheerful face

wearing gorgeous sari

NOTE: The teacher can encourage students to come up with moresuch phrases.

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C. Students should discuss what emotion these expressions convey.

1. tense and worried

2. expressing anger

3. expressing sympathy

4. the Maharaja was no longer angry

C. Students should write six more words that begin with ‘un’ andend with ‘able’.

1. unthinkable

2. unspeakable

3. unmentionable

4. unforgettable

5. unreliable

6. untouchable


1. Gopal’s wife was surprised to see her otherwise cheerfulhusband scratching his head, looking worried. He seemed tohave lost his appetite as well. When she got to know that hewas worried about her, she considered it a pleasant changesince he was always thinking about himself.

2. Gopal’s wife promised her husband that she would earn somemoney completely by her own means in one day in order toprove that she would be able to survive in case Gopal diedbefore her. She went to the Maharaja’s court wearing acrumpled sari with rumpled hair, looking disheveled. Shewailed and said that her husband was about to ‘blow thehorn’ and there was no money for treatment. The Maharajawas very upset to hear this. He immediately ordered hundredgold coins to be given to her in order to save his belovedcourt jester’s life.

3. The next day just when the Maharaja was about to enquireabout Gopal, Gopal and his wife entered, smiling. TheMaharaja was angry to see Gopal in fine health. He felt thatGopal and his wife had deceived him. Gopal said that he hadseriously blown the musical instrument horn throughout the

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day which had formed blisters in his lips. Gopal’s wife fell onthe king’s feet and apologised for her attempt to mislead him.She explained the reason why she had acted in that mannerand returned all the money the Maharaja had given her. TheMaharaja discovered that Gopal’s wife was even cleverer thatGopal and happily insisted that she deserved the money thathe gave her since she had earned it by her wits.


The students can be helped by the teacher in collecting more storiesabout Gopal Bhand which can be then read in the class.


The conversation can be completed by the students on their own.

Dr Goray and the Giggling Ghost


1. Dr Goray was at the hospital.

2. He was curious about the strange giggling that he wouldfrequently hear but could never trace its source.

3. He did not get an answer to his question.

4. curiousbotheredgoing bonkersbabbling in his sleepabsent-minded at workworried

Page 60

5. Here ‘crazy like this’ refers to Dr Goray yelling loudly infright.

6. He was trying to look for a file on one of his patients.

7. He had to climb a screechy metal ladder to reach the topmostshelf of the cupboard.

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8. As Dr Goray fell off the ladder and landed on a swivel chair,files rained down on him and a bottle of indelible ink fell allover his bald head. Instantly the peculiar giggle was heard.This made Dr Goray furious.

9. After this incident Dr Goray decided to trap the prank-playinggiggling ghost.

10. The meaning of ‘poltergeist’ is a ghost or spirit that makes itspresence felt by making strange noises, knockings, etc.

Page 61

11. Normally, the word ‘buzz’ means a low vibrating hummingsound especially the one made by bees.

Here ‘buzz’ characterises the curiosity among people aboutthe presence of a ghost in the hospital and its mischievousacts. Their worried voices produced a sound similar to a buzz.

12. The hospital was abuzz with discussion about the presence ofa poltergeist in the hospital.

13. When Dr Goray tried to open a closed door he realized thatit was stuck fast. He tried his best to open it but did notsucceed. He thought this was another trick played by theghost on him.

14. When one becomes cross eyed he has one or both eyes turnedinwards towards the nose.

15. One utters the expression ‘Jai Bajrangbali’ addressed to LordHanuman in order to eliminate all fears.

16. This answer will depend on the students’ understanding ofthe chapter.

17. This answer will vary from student to student.

Page 63

18. The poltergeist was actually an old tap which had run dry foryears and had never been closed properly. The air trappedinside the half-open tap produced the strange giggling sound.

Word power Page 63

A. Students should match the following to the onomatopoeia thatdescribes them.

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1. buzz 2. smash 3. pop 4. bang

5. crunch 6. click 7. tinkle

B. The students should come up with sentences of their own.

Page 64

C. Students should write their own similes and complete thefollowing sentences.

1. bell 2. a peacock 3. rain

4. cats and dogs 5. storm


1. The two instances which suggested that Dr Goray was becomingabsent-minded were the acts of putting the thermometer inone patient’s pocket instead of under his tongue and shakinghands with the skeleton in his room mistaking him for adoctor.

2. The first thought that would have come to Dr Goray’s mindwas that he was losing his sanity.

3. This question could be left open to student’s interpretation.


The activity could be conducted as per the guidelines given in thequestions.


A. The students can be asked to write the story on their ownincorporating a lot of onomatopoeic words of their own.

B. It should be left open to student’s imagination.

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Oily MessComprehension Page 70

1.

2. Vishrut offered to help Suma because

• He wanted to be kind to his sister who was on the vergeof tears following their grandmother’s reaction to hercooking.

• He liked playing with soapsuds which his mother rarely lethim do. So he wanted to fulfil this desire in their mother’sabsence by washing dishes.

Page 71

3.Needed by Needed for Used for

Perfumed oil Suma Suma’s hairs frying eggsand oil bath

Grease father to oil the hinges grandmother’sof the door medicine

Medicine grandmother indigestion oiling thehinges

Ghee Vishrut frying eggs beautyeatmentby Suma

4. When their mother returned and their father assured her thatthey managed fine without her, Suma and Vishrut exchangedglances remembering the disasters that they had gone throughone after another during the day.

Vishrut

he somehow managed toeat the toast without ex-pressing his dissatisfactionkeeping in mind Suma’sextremely touchy nature.

Grandmother

Grandmother grimacedas she tried to eat the‘dalia’ which stuck to herspoon. She instructedSuma’s father to get hera bottle of medicinefrom the chemist in caseshe fell sick.

Father

Father appreciated herdaughter’s effort tocook breakfast in hermother’s absence so hecongratulated hisdaughter for cookingexcellent breakfast.

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Word power Page 71

A. Students should look at the following words and say what iscommon about them. Then they should use them in sentences oftheir own. These are all manners of speaking.

B. Students have to unscramble the jumbled words.

whisper request mumble shout scream

C. Students have to pick out the onomatopoeic words from thestory.

clatter, creaking, sizzling

D. Students have to pick out words which describe food from thestory.

burnt, lumpy, gluey, fried, sizzled, fragrant


A. In order to answer this question students will need to describeall the events that happen in the story in passive voice.

B. The students can be asked to write the narrative ontheir own.

What I did Last NightComprehension Page 74

1. The narrator is like all children because he dreams of performingimpossible tasks in his sleep.

2. On seeing Normal reaction of What the narratorchildren did

a ghost they are frightened he terrified an oldghost at night

On seeing a they would try he bit the monstermonster to run away

With a robot they would he fought with thebe amused robot and defeated it

On seeing a they would he caught an oldwitch be terrified witch and painted

her white

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3. In all his encounters the narrator defeated powerful creaturesfeared by human beings.

4. The answer to this story will vary from child to child and willdepend on how each child individually interprets the poem.

5. In real life the narrator is very imaginative and an avid readerof fantasy tales. He is probably scared of all the creatures hedefeats in his dreams. He overcomes his fears in his dreams.

Word power Page 73

A. Students should underline the words and phrases which describethe narrator in his dreams.

brave, courageous, dare-devil, sure of oneself, gallant, unshaken, heroic,lion-hearted, fearless, daring

B. Students should write two rhyming words for each of the followingwords.

guess – less, dressbone – tone, coneflame – tame, shamewitch – teach, reachdream – team, beam

Oh, Doctor!Comprehension Page 75

1. The ‘I’ in stanza 1 is a doctor.

2. The ‘I’ in stanza 2 is a patient.

3. The patient was terrified of heights.

4. The doctor advised the patient to stay away from ladders,open stairs, cliffs and tops of buses.

5. The tips given by the doctor were not suitable because thepatient was a twenty foot giraffe.


The answer can be written after a classroom discussion. The studentscan be encouraged to come up with their views and feelings.

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The NoseComprehension Page 77

1. The nose went off on its own thinking that since it had apersonality of its own it did not need to remain associatedwith a body.

2. ‘To flower’ means to express one’s personality fully.3. When it was attached to a face it was being blown constantly

as a result of which it caught all sorts of germs and it alsochanged colour frequently.

4. The nose enjoyed its new found freedom by walking aheadleisurely, enjoying the sights, sounds and scents of nature. Itpranced about, jumped, danced and felt elated.

5. The nose was moving merrily along its path but in the darknessof the evening, it accidentally came into the path of a mouthand it was devoured.

6. Students can be encouraged to answer this question dependingon their own understanding of the poem.


The answer can be written after a classroom discussion. The studentscan be encouraged to come up with their views and feelings.

What My Lady DidComprehension Page 79

Item Guess about What explainsthe lady the guess

silver flute she was a the fact that she had amusician mild temperament

comb hairdresser her soft and billowingcurls

slippers dancer her suppleness and grace

picture a painter the steadiness of her eyes

fountain pen poet strange stories she told

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2. No, poet did not know that the lady was really a thief. He finallygot to know his lady’s true identity when she told him that she wasunder arrest.

The teacher can encourage students to answer questions 3 and 4based on their reading of the humour poems.

Theme: Born FreeHow the Hippo Lost His Fur


1. The three friends—Mr Hippo, Mr Jackal and Mr Fire werehappy because they lived in a large stretch of jungle wherethere was plenty of food and water available.

2. Mr Hippo was fond of his thick coat of grey fur and hisfriends.

3. • Mr Hippo liked Mr Jackal because the little animal wascleverer than him.

• Mr Hippo did not realise that he had stepped on MrJackal’s tail and on he went, singing happily.

• Mr Jackal came to know that Mr Hippo had stepped onhis tail when he discovered large foot marks of the Hippoon the wet ground.

4. Hippo’s beautiful fur shone in the sun, and he felt warm andhandsome, coming fresh out of Mr Fire’s house.

5. Hippo cordially invited his dear friend, Mr Fire to his houseone day following Jackal’s advice. Mr Fire was initially unsureabout entering Hippo’s house but Hippo insisted that heshould accept the invitation. As a result, the moment Firesteeped inside, the whole house went up in flames and mostunfortunately, Hippo’s beautiful coat also caught fire.

6. Mr Fire lived on a stony patch. It was the best place for himto stay since there was no risk of spreading fire.

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7. Mr Jackal screamed in pain since Mr Hippo had stepped onhis tail with his fat and padded feet without realising.

Mr Hippo screamed in pain because his beautiful fur coatcaught fire when Mr Fire came to visit him.

Word power Page 87

A. students should pick out words from the story which meanliked.

fond, admired, loved

B. Students should answer how the word even adds meaning to thesecond sentence.

Mr Hippo had a thick coat of grey fur which normally kept himwarm and protected him from the cold when the other less fortunateanimals suffered. However on rare days it would be so cold that evenHippo’s thick coat would not be enough to shield him from thecold.

C. Students should find out the other meanings of the word coatand use them in sentences of their own.

a full length garment with sleevean enclosing or covering layer of a structurea single application of paint or similar material

D. Students should write the meaning of foot in the phrase at thefoot of a hill. They should also look up two more meanings that theword foot has and make sentences with the three different meaningsof foot.

In the phrase ‘foot of a hill’, foot means the lowest portion of thehill.

The other two meanings of foot are—part of the leg below the ankleon which a person or animal stands or walks and a unit of linearmeasure equal to 12 inches.

E. Students should indicate how the words fire and cold have beenused in the given sentences.

1. adjective 2. noun 3. noun 4. verb5. noun 6. adjective 7. noun 8. noun9. noun 10. noun

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The answers to the first two questions will depend upon the child’sunderstanding of the story.

3. Mr Fire used to keep Mr Hippo warm on extremely chillydays when the cold penetrated even Hippo’s thick fur.Therefore, he proved to be a good friend to Hippo onnumerous occasions. However, unfortunately Hippo lost hisdearest possession, his fur because of Mr Fire. He invitedMr Fire to his house one day and in spite of Fire’sunwillingness, Hippo requested Fire to come inside the house.The moment he stepped in, everything caught fire, includingHippo’s beautiful coat and he lost his prize possession forever.On this occasion Fire proved to be an enemy to Hippo.


A. This should be left open to student’s imagination.

B. The students should try writing the story on their own with thehelp of the given clues.

The Bird CatcherComprehension Page 94

1. The ducks came to the frozen lake in winter in search of smallfish and worms.

2. Gombe trapped ducks and sold them in the market to earnhis living.

3. The thought of catching a hundred ducks on a single day andselling them in the market for a lot of money seemedwonderful to Gombe. If he could achieve it, he would be ableto spend ninety days comfortably without worrying aboutmoney.

4. Gombe used to stand in the freezing cold for hours in orderto catch a duck or two.

5. In spite of the severe cold Gombe hummed a merry tunebecause he was excited about the prospect of catching ahundred ducks on a single day and selling them in the market.

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Page 95

6. • A slow coach is someone who moves slowly.

• Gombe is calling the last duck, that he was supposed tocatch in order to achieve the magic figure of catching ahundred ducks in day, a slow coach.

7. Suddenly all the ninety-nine ducks that Gombe had trappedgave a tremendous heave and rose up into the sky altogether.

8. As the ducks flew into the sky, they carried Gombe, who washanging onto the ropes along. He had to hold onto the ropetightly in order to prevent himself from falling.

9. Gombe changed into a duck.

As Gombe flew along with the ducks, clutching the rope, herealised that instead of hands he had developed wings whichwere beating up and down. His mouth stretched long andpointed into a beak and he cried ‘Quack Quack’ as he triedto speak. He was turned into a duck as punishment for hiscruelty towards the birds.

10. As Gombe repented for his cruel action and tears floweddown his cheeks, he started turning into a human being again.

Word power Page 95

A. Against each of the following phrases students should write whenGombe is in that mood.

1. when the last duck was taking a long time to enter the trap

2. when all the ninety-nine captive ducks suddenly flew into theair.

3. Gombe would feed the birds, play with them and tend tothose which were hurt or sick after he realised that he hadbeen cruel to the birds.

4. when he counted that forty ducks had waddled into his trap

5. when he turned into a human being again after realising hismistake

6. when he realised that instead of hands he had wings and hismouth stretched into a long beak

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7. when he struggled to free himself, being caught in the sametrap that he had made for the ducks

8. when he realised that he had been cruel to the ducks, planningto catch a hundred of them in one day and sell them in themarket to earn a lot of money.

9. when he saw the ducks walking into his trap one after another

B. Students should find out the meanings of the following phraseswith breath and use them in sentences of their own.

breath of fresh air: new and refreshing

to say something under your breath: to mutter, deliberately ensuringthat you are inaudible

out of breath: breathing with difficulty

hold your breath: be excited or anxious


1. While flying with the ducks when he tied to clutch the ropeeven tighter in order to prevent himself from falling, he realisedthat instead of hands he had wings that beat up and down.His mouth had stretched into a beak and he cried out ‘QuackQuack’ when he tried to speak.

2. When the slip-knot rope-trap wound tightly around his legwith a painful tug and a pull and Gombe, the duck tumbledon his face, then he realised how the trapped ducks felt.

3. Before he realised his mistake, Gombe was a selfish personwho was cruel to birds in order to achieve his selfish means.


The students should listen carefully to the teacher and fill out theplan.


A. The students can be made to write the paragraph on their ownafter holding a class discussion on what all they can include in theparagraph.

B. The students can be asked to write the conversation along thegiven lines.

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The Cheetah and the Sloth


1. The Sloth dared to run a race with the Cheetah because theCheetah would always make fun of the Sloth by calling him‘Slow Silly Sloth’.

2. By ‘exclusive interviews’ the announcer means interviewingeach participant exclusively.

3. The Cheetah, undeniably the fastest animal in the world isconfident about winning the race.

4. The Sloth hopes that may the best animal win.

5. The expression which means ‘slow and steady’ is ‘taking itone step at a time’.

6. By ‘post-race wrap up’ the announcer means wrapping up therace by interviewing the winner after their fate has been decidedin the race.

He wrapped up the race by interviewing the winner of therace the Sloth.

Word power Page 103

A. Students should pick out words from the play which convey theabsolute confidence of the Cheetah and write them.

positively, undeniably, unquestionably, incredible

Students should unscramble these words and phrases which conveyconfidence and use them in sentences of their own.

1. assuredly

2. of course

3. unmistakably

4. without doubt

Page 104

B. This question should be left open to student’s interpretation.

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C. Students should pick out expressions from the play which areused to cheer up Cheetah and Sloth.

Yay, Cheetah! Go for it! Run, Cheetah, run!

Come on, Sloth. You can do it! Move Sloth, move!

C’mon, Cheetah! Get up, Cheetah, get up!

Faster, Sloth, faster! You can catch the Cheetah!

Go, Sloth, go! You can win this race!

Wake up, Cheetah, wake up! Sloth is going to beat you!

Yay, Cheetah! We know you could do it!

The second part of the question should be left open to the students.

D. Students should say what taking a nap means. They have to saywhether there is a contradiction in the phrase a long nap.

The phrase ‘taking a nap’ means sleeping for a short while in orderto rejuvenate oneself.

Nap means sleep for a short time. So there is a contradiction in thephrase ‘a long nap’.

Students should say why the Cheetah uses the word hibernate. Theyshould write what he means by it.

Some animals spend winter in close quarters in dormant conditionin order to avoid extreme cold. This state is known as hibernation.The Cheetah claims that even if he goes off to sleep for six monthshe will still wake up to find that the Sloth has not reached thefinishing line and he will easily beat it.

E. Students should match the following sleep expressions with theirmeanings.

1. sleep it off sleep to get over something

2. sleep like a log not wake up easily

3. sleep soundly to sleep very well

4. grab some sleep have a short sleep

5. toss and turn to keep changing one’s position in bed

6. not sleep a wink not to sleep at all

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1. The question should be left open to students. A discussioncan be initiated and students can be encouraged to come upwith their ideas.

2. The turn of events is the moment when the normal course ofaction is suddenly disturbed.

In this play the turn of events happens at the point where theCheetah complacently goes into the forest to take a nap,thinking that he would wake up and still beat the Sloth inthe race.

3. There were some surprises which made the race between theCheetah and the Sloth memorable. Driven by complacencythe Cheetah decided to take a nap in the forest in the middleof the race. He was confident about the fact that in spite ofthe loss of time he would still be able to defeat the Sloth inthe race. However the Cheetah woke up to find that theSloth had almost reached the finishing line. In order to winthe race the Cheetah came driving a car at tremendous speedand reached the finishing line ahead of the Sloth. But theJudge pronounced the Sloth as the winner since the Cheetahhad broken the rules by driving across the finishing line in acar. Therefore, the announcer said, ‘I have never seen a racewith so many surprises’.

4. The most important reason for Cheetah’s defeat was hiscomplacency. He was too full of himself, always mocking theSloth for being exceptionally slow. Being the fastest animal inthe world, the Cheetah was sure that he would win the raceby miles so he decided to take a nap in the middle of therace. Meanwhile the Sloth, in spite of being the slowest animalin the world progressed steadily, and ultimately defeated theCheetah. When the Cheetah realised that he was losing, heresorted to unfair means to win. He came driving a car atgreat speed. However the Sloth’s hinesty and perseverancewere rewarded when he was pronounced the winner. TheCheetah’s pride proved to be his undoing.

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The Little Fish Has Something to SayComprehension Page 107

1. In school the fish has learnt to pass whenever it sees a hook.

2. The fish is talking about a fishhook which is used to catchfish.

3. The fish dreams to go to the university.

4. He thinks human beings are silly.

5. By saying it will ‘not end up in the frying pan’ the fish meansit will never become an item of human meal.

Word power Page 107

The teacher can read the poem in class and ask the students to readit carefully before answering this question. All students may notwrite the identical words to describe the fish.

Circus Lion Gives EvidenceComprehension Page 108

1. Yes, the lion was not happy.

2. One day people started cheering him and appreciating his actso much that each clap produced a roaring sound which rungin his ears.

3. By the expression ‘which I closed forever’ the lion means heate up his trainer.

4. The answer to this question may vary from student to student.The teacher could encourage all kinds of explanations as longas they are justified.

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Mrs Skunk Writes a LetterComprehension Page 109

1. The teacher can encourage students to answer this questionfreely and honestly.

2. The skunks defend themselves with the help of their foulbreath.


The debate can be conducted in the manner given in the book.Students could be encouraged to speak up their mind openly andthey should also be able to justify their viewpoint.

Theme: Fear and CourageThe Boy Who Was Afraid


1. The first thing that the ‘gang’ found funny about Soumya washis name since it sounded like a girl’s.

2 The answer to this question will depend on the students’understanding of the story and the characters of Soumya andSonali.

3. Anita makes this remark because on that night they left Soumyain that desolate spot in the dark and came back home.

4. The answer to this question may vary from child to child.

Word power Page 119

A. Students should pick out words and phrases from the box thatcan be used with the word ‘photo’ and use them in sentences oftheir own.

take photoblack and white photoscan photopassport size photodevelop photo

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glossy photophoto framephoto shootblow up photoenlarge photonewspaper photofamily photostill photosigned photoB. Students should read the following expressions carefully and saywhat they refer to. They should write five more similar expressions.

These expressions suggest fast movement.

Similar expressions: zipped past, whizzed by, speedily, like a flash,scampered

C. Students should say what the difference between already and allready is. They should make sentences using the two, to bring outtheir difference.

already – by this or that time

all ready – when everything is ready or in order


1. Soumya did not fit in with the gang for the following reasons:

They found his name funny as well as feminine.

He was shy.

Initially he answered their questions only in terms of ‘yes’ and‘no’.

He could not make interesting conversation.

He was not good at games like badminton and hide-and-seek.He was only interested in scrabble.

He was scared of a lot of things.

2. The parents of the children who belonged to the ‘gang’ likedSoumya because he was a quiet child, well-behaved and goodin studies.

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3. When the children heard the snuffling noise in the dark, theywere scared. So they ran off the picnic spot leaving a lot ofstuff including Vinay’s father’s camera behind. Soumya wasmissing from the group but they did not even bother to lookfor him. When Soumya did not return after the rest of themhad reached their homes, everyone got worried. The childrentoo felt guilt about their cowardly act. Just as Soumya’s dadand Anita’s dad were about to go out in search of the boy,he appeared carrying a lot of stuff and a little puppy. He toldeveryone that the snuffling noise had come from the puppy.He had collected all the stuff that the children had left behindin the picnic spot and brought the little puppy, who was indistress, along as well. He said that his love for animals wasgreater than all his fears. In this way, Soumya proved that hewas actually quite fearless.

4. The answer to this question will depend on the students’opinion on this matter.


The students should write these diary entires from three differentpoint of views. Each child can have something different to writeabout the same incident.

If I Were BraveComprehension Page 121

1. Person/animal Act of bravery

grandmother fought in freedom struggle,went to jail

sister can jump down the stairs,three at a time

friends, cousins can swim

2. The students should express their fears without any hesitation.

3. • The narrator has spent his entire life being afraid of onething or the other and it has always been like that.

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• It did not remain like that for the narrator always becausehe was able to conquer his fears. During the family picnic,the narrator’s cousins Angad and Neha got into the waterthough they did not know how to swim and happilysplashed water around. Suddenly the narrator heard adesperate cry for help. He realised that his cousin Nehawas drowning. He ran into the water though he was veryafraid and did not know how to swim and after muchstruggle managed to save Neha. Hence, he was able toovercome his worst fears.

4. The narrator lied to his cousins because they were youngerthan him and he could not tell them that he was scared ofwater. So he said that he knew how to swim but did not feellike swimming on that day because it was very hot.

5. They couldn’t swim either but they splashed about happily inMickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse plastic tubes.

The little ones splashed the water gleefully.

6. Saving Neha from drowning was uppermost in the narrator’smind at that time. He had no time to waste being afraid.

7. This sentence tells us that the narrator was a caring, affectionateand selfless child who put someone else’s suffering before hisown fears.

Word power Page 125

A. Students should pick out words and phrases which tell us howthe writer feels when he is in water.

Water surrounded me on all sidesI struggled to get a breathI gaspedEarthquakes and water were claiming me as their ownI was dying

B. Students should look up the dictionary and find out which fearsthese words relate to.

hydrophobia- waterxenophobia – strangers/foreignersclaustrophobia – narrow/enclosed places

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C. Students should form groups and find out the meanings of thesewords and make sentences with them.

trickle – to fall by drops

pour – flow/fall

running – flowing

squirt – to eject liquid in a jet

spray – liquid sent thought the air in tiny dropsspill – to cause/allow liquid to fall from a container

flow – to move along a stream

drip – to let drops fall

sprinkle – to scatter in drops/particles

gush – to flow out suddenly

drink – take water/liquid into mouth and swallow


1. The writer realised after saving Neha that one should overcomehis fears when it matters the most.

2. While everyone in the family was having a great time on thebeach, the writer felt horrible. He was scared of water so hecould not cool off in water like other members of his family.He could not participate in any sport due to his fears so hewas left alone and sulking. He was feeling hot. He finished thebook that he was reading and having nothing else to do, fellasleep.

3. To answer this question the students will have to describethe way the narrator saved his cousin’s life in passive voice.

Fear of the Dark (Poem) Page 128

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark (Poem) Page 129

The teacher can read these poems aloud in class one after the other.She can hold a class discussion where the students can talk aboutthe fearful experiences that they have had.


1. Walking through the park in the dark when trees loom up on

40

every side, shadows that seem to follow him everywhere andimaginary creatures that lurk around frighten the child in thefirst poem.

2. The child is afraid of the dark. So he may not be scared ofthe same things in the morning.

3. He runs home as fast as he can to avoid the frightful things.

4. Things which might appear perfectly normal during the dayassume dangerous character in the dark. They threaten thechild with horrible possibilities. So they become deceitful.

5. The child knows that the reason for his fear is darkness. Heconfesses that such fearful experiences occur when he is walkingthrough the dark.

6. Ruskin Bond thinks that children should not be afraid of thedark because the earth rests at night after a busy day and thestars and the moon shine to dispel all fears.

7. The poet suggests that if children regard night with the starsand the moon as their friend, they will be able to overcometheir fear of the dark.

8. The answer to this poem may vary from student to studentdepending on their individual opinion.

ZadingiComprehension Page 133

1. From the first paragraph we know that Zadingi was a self-reliant courageous woman.

2. A leech is a blood sucking parasites.

Leeches are dangerous because they get stuck to our body andsuck blood.

3. Zadingi used the lit end of a ‘bidi’ to get the leeches whichkept getting stuck to her feet to shrivel and drop off.

4. The ‘vital weak spot’ is the portion of the body where if hit,one is sure to die.

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5. Zadingi struck the tiger in its vital weak spot just above theear and killed it.

7. The people of the village were particularly excited about thefact that a woman had killed the tiger.

8. Zadingi was afraid when she experienced pin-drop silencearound her after she had killed the tiger. She felt very lonelythen.

Word power Page 133

A. Students should read the different meanings of the word ‘freeze’and find out which meaning fits in the sentence ‘…suddenly shefroze, her axe in mid air.’

to stop moving suddenly because of fear

B. Students should say what an incredible feat is and give fourexamples of such feats.

An incredible feat is a remarkable achievement.

The teacher can encourage students to come up with their ownexamples of incredible feat.

C. Students should find another expression from the story whichmeans almost the same as matter-of-fact.

did not batter an eye-lid


1. An enterprising person is someone who is resourceful andenergetic.

The elder was enterprising because he arranged for aphotographer to take a picture of the dead tiger along witha calm Zadingi and proud villagers standing around.

2. They measured the tiger in order to publicise Zadingi’s featwith proper facts and figures.

3. The ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan has been called a solemnceremony because it was conducted with great seriousness andit had a lot of prestige attached to it.

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Students could be encouraged to come up with their ownexamples of solemn ceremonies after the teacher has explainedits meaning to them properly.

4. Zadingi’s fears were related to unknown, unfamiliar spacesand the absence of familiar sights and sounds.

5. The village crier informed the villagers – 1

The villagers reached the jungle – 2

The tiger’s photograph was taken - 3

The tiger was measured - 4

News of the tiger killing reached Aizawl – 5

Zadingi was awarded the Shaurya Chakra – 6

Zadingi was invited to Delhi – 7

Zadingi received her medal at Rashtrapati Bhavan - 8

The HeroComprehension Page 141

1. Swami’s father read out the newspaper article to Swami becausehe wanted his son to know about the bravery of the boy.

2. Swami’s father thought that his son was not remotely ascourageous as the boy in the newspaper. So he challengedhim to prove his courage.

3. A challenge is an attempt to call someone to prove or justifysomething. While command is to give an authoritative order.

4. When Swami did not have a choice but to live up to thechallenge set by his father, he hesitantly made his way to thedark room where he was supposed to sleep alone because hefelt that if he did not fall asleep immediately he would perhapsdie of fear. But Granny who usually slept in the same roomas Swami, was surprised to see him going to sleep so early

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without even listening to a story. So as she started enquiring,Swami tried to silence her because he desperately needed tosleep.

5. Swami could not even sleep peacefully under the bench becausehe dreamt of a tiger who was at his back. Swami groaned indespair.

Word power Page 141

A. Students should read the words in the box and say whether thereis anything common between them.

All the words listed in the box describe a child.

B. Students should fill in the blanks using the phrases from thetext.

1. made up

2. got up

3. grow up

4. pulled out

5. cut off

6. came up

7. give up

8. turn over

9. bring up

10. pulled away


1. The answer to this question will depend on the students’understanding of strength and courage.

2. Swami’s father was not cruel. He wanted to help his son getover his fears.

3. He could not sleep in the office because he remembered allthe stories of devils and ghosts he had heard in his life.Strange noises disturbed him in his sleep. The tickling of theclock, the rustle of leaves, the sound of snoring and somevague insects humming reached his ears and frightened him.

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4. and 5. The answer to this question will depend on the students’opinion about Swami’s act.


The students can be asked to do this exercise in pairs. They canfollow the instrtuctions given in the book.


The students can be asked to make the list on their own and thenthey can try writing a poem or a story after having a class discussion.

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Page 1

You can see about 50,000 stars with a pair of powerfulbinoculars.

Our universe is huge .

Nobody knows how many stars are there.

The universe is made up of about a hundred million galaxies.

Many of these are bigger and brighter than our star, the Sun.

Subject–Verb AgreementPages 2

A. The students will mark the correct and incorrect statements.

1. Incorrect. Naina has to finish her homework.3. Incorrect. My parents are very nice people.4. Incorrect. We know the cricketer very well.6. Incorrect. I have two brothers.8. Incorrect. The farmers are hoping for good rains.9. Incorrect. My father travels a lot.

10. Incorrect. My neighbour’s dog sleeps all the time.12. Incorrect. They like to watch cartoon films.

The remaining sentences are correct.

Page 3

B. The students will circle the verbs that go with the given subjects.

2. feel, eat 3. touch

4. barks, sleeps 5. shouts, acts

6. hope, want 7. play, write

8. likes, studies, teaches

WWWWWORKBOOKORKBOOKORKBOOKORKBOOKORKBOOK

Subject and Predicate

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C. The students will underlined the correct verb.

1. teaches 2. work 3. have 4. fights

5. were

All About ShaniaPage 4

NOTE: Students should follow the sentence constructions given inthe workbook. They should write about five strengths and fiveweaknesses. They could also discuss how to overcome thoseweaknesses. Dwell on the strengths of each student, as it is importantthat their self-confidence or sense of self-worth should not be impairedat this age.

More NounsPage 6

A. The students will have to choose the correct noun to fit in theblank.

1. salt 2. glass 3. grass 4. rubbish

5. butter 6. flour 7. dirt 8. bread

B. 2. can 3. bottle 4. tube 5. spoon

6. bar 7. jar 8. string

Walking WearilyPage 7

NOTE: Students should try to use uncommon verbs and adverbsin this exercise. The answers given here are a sample of the possibleanswers. It should be noted that there might not be a verb or adverbwith every letter.

B behaving badly C crying constantly

D driving dreamily E enjoying eagerly

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F fluttering feebly G gazing gravely

H howling heartbrokenly I ignoring icily

J joking joyfully K kneeling knavishly

L laughing loudly M moving meaningfully

N neglecting nonchalantly O objecting outrageously

P pronouncing properly Q questioning quarrelsomely

R resisting remarkably S sewing shakily

T treating tactfully U uttering unaffecteously

V voting voluntarily W working wordlessly

Y yelling youthfully Z zooming zealously

We Choose To Be SilentPage 8

A. The students can be helped to write the missing silent letter ineach word.

1. l 2. t 3. r 4. l

5. t 6. w 7. t 8. l

9. s 10. b 11. k 12. l

13. c 14. n 15. k 16. t

17. k 18. w

B. Students can be encouraged to use their imagination when writingthe paragraph/story/poem. While it may not be possible to use allthe words in the list, they should try and use as many as possible.Students could also be asked to use words which are not on the list.

Word SearchPage 9

NOTE: This is a group activity where it is important to ensure thatall members of the group participate equally. You could explain tothe students that, when we read, we tend to gloss over the spellings

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of familiar words. Thus it is possible to miss out on obvious mistakesunless close attention is paid. This exercise is meant to improve thestudents’ eye for detail.

ContractionPage 10

The students will have to fill in the blanks with either the full formor the contraction depending upon what is being asked for.

1. she’s 2. it is 3. are not 4. they’ll

5. cannot 6. we’re 7. has not 8. what’s

9. they’re 10. we have 11. let’s 12. have not

13. here’s 14. he will

GrandfatherPage 11

NOTE: Students should start by identifying the various people inthe picture. They should describe which member is sitting or standingand what each of them is wearing. Encourage the students to beimaginative and guess the colours of the various dresses. Where theoutfit is not visible, students should use their creativity.

Gautam’s StoryPage 12

The students will puncutate the story.When Gautam was a very small boy, his grandmother and grandfatherand his aunts and uncles used to look at him and say:

‘He has the family nose. It’s just like Meera’s and his Grandpa’s.’

‘His eyes are exactly like mine,’ said his Grandma.

‘And his chin is like my brother’s,’ said his Grandpa.

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‘He has ears just like his cousin, Pradeep’s,’ said an aunt.

‘Why do my eyes and my ears and my nose and my hair have to belike anyone else’s? Why can’t I just be me, Gautam?’ he asked.

Gautam decided to show everyone that he was different from everyoneelse. He would do some extraordinary things. Gautam stood on hishead for five whole minutes and waved his legs in the air!

But Grandma said, ‘Look! That’s just what his Uncle Somu used todo.’

SO THAT WAS NO GOOD.

Gautam took off his clothes and painted himself green all over! ButAunt

Priya said, ‘I remember Gautam’s dad doing that! Only he paintedhimself

blue, not green.’ SO THAT WAS NO GOOD.

Gautam jumped up and down 47 times! His uncle said, ‘Funny,that’s what I used to do when I got fed up with everyone aroundme!’

SO THAT WAS NO GOOD.

At last Gautam decided to run away to a place where no one wouldsay

‘Isn’t Gautam like...his Grandpa...his aunt...his uncle...his cousin?’

He walked out of his house and he walked and he walked and hewalked!

Laugh a BitPage 13

The students will read the jokes and write the name of the personto whom the given pronoun refers.

A. 1. lady 2. boy 3. lady 4. boy 5. lady

B. 1. lady 2. kangaroo 3. zookeeper 4. lady

5. kangaroo 6. lady 7. lady 8. kangaroo

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9. lady 10. lady 11. zookeeper 12. zookeeper

13. kangaroo

The Little TreePage 14

little; good and stormy; sharp and prickly; beautiful; golden; grand;big; cold and bare; bright and shining; fierce; fresh green; crisp andnew

‘ea’, ‘ow’ and ‘ou’ SoundsPages 16-17

NOTE: The students should not require a dictionary for theseexercises initially, but later they could be encouraged to add longerwords to the lists.

Jaboti, the TurtlePages 18

NOTE: The complete story is given at the back of the Workbook.Students should be encouraged to describe each of the pictures inan interesting manner; using as many adjectives as possible.

Writing a ParagraphPages 20

A. The students will underline the links in the paragraph.

they; they; they

B. The students will have to arrange the sentences in the right order.

1. I was a seed inside an ear of wheat.

2. I grew in an open field in the form of a wheat plant.

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3. After the harvest, I was taken to a large flour mill where Iwas grounded into a fine powder called flour.

4. I was sent to the bakery to be made into a loaf of bread.

5. I am a loaf of bread.

6. I am wrapped in a fine, smooth paper.

C. After completing the first two exercises, a revision can be plannedwith the students on the use of pronouns as linking devices and theimportance of sustaining a sequential order of sentences while writinga paragraph.

Types of SentencesPage 22

A. The students will have to read the passage carefully and thenanswers the question that follows. There are three types of sentencesin the given paragraph, namely, statements, exclamations andquestions.

B. The students will have to punctuate the jokes. Afterwards theycan fill in the table on page 24.

1. Mother lion: Junior, what are you doing? (question)

Baby lion: I’m chasing a hunter around a tree. (statement)

Mother lion: How many times have I told you not to playwith your food! (exclamation)

2. A leopard stopped by to see his optician. (statement) ‘Everytime I look at my wife, I see spots before my eyes,’ he said.(statement) ‘Well, what do you expect?’ replied the optician.‘You’re a leopard, aren’t you?’ (question) ‘Yes’, said the leopard,‘but my wife is a zebra!’ (exclamation)

3. Ali: Do fish perspire? (question)

Dev: Of course, what do you think makes the sea salty!(exclamation)

4. Two houseflies were talking. (statement) One said, ‘Isn’t itfunny about people?’ (question) ‘What do you mean?’ asked

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the other. (question) ‘Well’, said the first, ‘I was just thinkinghow much money people spent building the beautiful ceilingand then they walk on the floor!’ (exclamation)

5. A man and his dog sat in the cinema, enjoying the film.(statement) When it ended, the dog applauded until his pawswere sore. (statement) After seeing this, a nearby spectatorexpressed his amazement. (statement) ‘Most astounding!’ hesaid. (exclamation) ‘Yes it is’, agreed the dog owner. ‘Spothated the book, you know.’ (statement)

‘sh’ and ‘ch’ SoundsPage 25

The teacher can encourage students to find unusual words withthese sounds.

AlliterationPage 26

A. Students should be encouraged to write as many words as theycan come up with, in groups, without resorting to a dictionary.

B. While it may not be possible to use all the words in their listto make a tongue twister, let the students exercise their imagination.

C. NOTE: The teacher can can read out other poems which are fullof alliteration, as well as nonsense poems by Edward Lear or LewisCarroll, to help the students appreciate how words, which appearto be nonsense, can be used effectively to write imaginative andentertaining poems.

Blue Pots in a Pink CityPage 30

1. The students should toy answering the questions withoutturning the pages.

a. Jaipur

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b. Maharaja Ram Singh

c. late eighteenth century

The students should read the passage carefully and then tryanswering the questions that follow.

2. a. railways

b. garbage disposal systems

3. a. amateur photography

b. flying kites

4. The king called the man because he had cut the king’s newkite.

5. The potter was terrified because he expected a swift andterrible punishment for having destroyed the king’s newplaything.

6. The special clay mixture used to make the pots had beenused to coat the kite’s string.

7. After hearing the potter’s explanation, the king asked to seesome samples of his work. The potter produced his gracefullyshaped pots, which were beautifully decorated with deepblue flowers on a white background. These pots delightedthe king so much that he promptly ordered the potter tobring his people and settle in the city. The king promisedto provide shelter, equipment and to buy the wares for hisown palace. Thus, the famous ‘Jaipur blue’ pottery cameinto being.

8. The king was a generous ruler who was concerned abouthis people. He was talented and enthusiastic about novelties.He was also a wise and just man who could appreciatebeauty wherever he found it.

9. An amateur photographer is a person who engages inphotography as a pastime rather than as a profession.

10. a. moved as if teasing or ridiculingb. looked at with intense concentration

11. a. terrified manb. dazed but happy potter

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Fear in the ForestPage 32

The students should read the passage carefully and then underlineand circle the common nouns and prepositions respectively.

Common Nouns: noise, everyone, hedgehog, quills, sparrow, flight,squirrel, tree homes, windows, frog, anyone, forest, ladybirds,butterflies, petals, flowers, something, curve, path, eyes, centipede,owner, pairs of feet, shoes, god, folk

Prepositions: around, with, about, in, from, on, top, of, amongst,just about, around, as, for, up to

SimilesPage 33

A. The students will write the correct number in the boxes.

3; 8; 4; 7; 6; 1; 5; 2

B. The students could be encouraged to come up with imaginativeand innovative comparisons.

Forming NegativesPage 34

The students will have to attach prefixes to form the opposites.

A. 1. in- 2. ir- 3. in- 4. im-

5. in- 6. in- 7. un- 8. dis-

B. 1. un- 2. un- 3. mis- 4. dis-

5. dis- 6. dis- 7. mis- 8. dis-

C. 1. im- 2. un- 3. un- 4. non-

5. im- 6. dis- 7. anti- 8. il-

9. un- 10. dis-

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Words with Double ConsonantsPage 35

A. Students could be encouraged to write as many words as theycan come up with, in groups, without resorting to a dictionary.

B. When writing paragraphs using the double-letter clusters, studentsshould not limit themselves to typical topics. They can be encouragedto exercise their imagination.

Younger or OlderPage 36

A. The students will answer on the basis of their understanding ofthe given sentences.

1. The oldest brother fell with the bike.

2. The older brothers were gathering great armfuls of the herb.

B. The students will have to fill in the blanks by adding ‘er’ to thewords given in the box.

1. wiser 2. heavier 3. longer

4. happier; kinder

5. smaller 6. faster; cleverer 7. hotter 8. fatter

C. After the students read the conversation, the teacher can discussthe uses of comparative adjectives.

D. Before the students start writing the conversations on the giventopics, discuss in class what could be the points of comparisonbetween the participants in the dialogue.

Looking for a PhrasePage 38

NOTE: The students should try matching the phrases to theirmeanings on their own, with the help of the dictionary.

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look phrases

1. find 2. examine 3. be careful

4. admire 5. consider inferior

put phrases

1. to communicate

2. write down

3. to take a firm stand when faced with opposition

4. to suggest (The question will be corrected in WB.)

5. upset or offended

6. wear

7. extinguish

8. tolerate

get phrases

1. work well together

2. escape

3. recover

4. wake up

5. annoy

6. climb down, come down

Describing ExperiencesPage 39

The importance of using the past tense when describing experiencescan be emphasised. When narrating an event using the first personsingular pronoun, the students should express their emotions atthat moment.

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One Word Fits AllPages 40-41

A. The students could be first encouraged to find the word on theirown.

1. spin 2. bread 3. key

B. The metaphorical meaning of the word key could be discussed.The students could be explained how a word might often have morethan one meaning.

SuffixesPage 42

The students can try this exercise on their own. Every possiblecombination should be written in its appropriate column.

-er cheap, fast, light, easy, tight, strange, quick, soft-est cheap, fast, light, easy, tight, strange, quick, soft-ic volcano, athletic, drama, history, artist-ful beauty, skill, plenty, fruit, success

Reading Between the LinesPage 43

NOTE: Explanation how homonyms may sometimes cause confusioncould be given to the students. A discussion on puns in each of thegiven jokes can be initiated, discussing the word whose multiplemeanings make the situation seem funny.

Onomatopoeic WordsPage 44

NOTE: Let the students make a list of the onomatopoeic wordsthey know before they start writing their own poems. You couldread out a few poems where onomatopoeia is used extensively.

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Different Moods of a VerbPage 45

NOTE: The students can read the given sentences aloud, usingproper intonation and stresses, to get a better idea of how the samemodal verb can indicate a different mood depending on the contextof its usage.

More Modal VerbsPage 46

NOTE: Before the students start writing the sentences or theinstructions, the minor differences in implication of the differentmodal verbs can be discussed.

Verbs and NounsPage 47

The students should try solving the exercise on their own.

do a crossword, your homework, a sketch

take a bath, a photo, the bus, a decision, a walk, a holiday, alook, a nap, a deep breath, a tablet

make a promise, an effort, a fuss, the bed, a mess, a cake, a film

have a party, a bite (food), an idea, a problem, nothing, patience,a cold

give a speech, a lift, your opinion

Nouns and AdjectivesPage 48

The students should try completing the table on their own.

camp refugee, makeshift, summer, indoor

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cake birthday, Christmas, delicious, chocolate, favourite

plant delicate, wild, potted, crooked, rare, ornamental

food staple, fast, tasty, spicy, vegetarian, homemade, junk,wholesome

smile broad, charming, soft, toothless, reassuring, polite, sweet

Different Forms of a VerbPage 49

A. The students will have to fill in the blanks with the correct formsof the given words.

1. to get 2. get 3. getting 4. jump5. to jump 6. jumping 7. plays 8. to play9. playing 10. knock 11. to knock 12. knocking

13. speak 14. speaking 15. to speakPage 50

B. 1. to help 2. playing 3. to catch 4. learning5. to scoop 6. to listen 7. lending 8. to go9. to buy

One Word, Many MeaningsPage 51

The students will write the correct meaning of the highlighted wordsin the given blanks.

1. lift2. getting better3. chosen4. take someone with you5. putting a finger in6. begin a fight7. answer8. finds faults

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AnagramsPage 52

NOTE: The students should complete this exercise without referringto a dictionary. After they have added their scores and placed thewords in the right list, discuss the meanings of the uncommonwords made.

Words Not Needed!Page 53

NOTE: The teacher can talk about how often in our daily life weuse such redundant expressions which need to be avoided.

The students will cross out the word which is not required.

1. back 2. in colour 3. free 4. whole

5. in appearance 6. again 7. the start of 8. in height

9. final 10. in complexion

Same, but not the Same!Page 54

The children will have to fill in the blanks with correct homophones.

1. due; dew2. him; hym3. patients, patience4. weather; whether; weather5. mayor; mare6. miners; minor7. band; banned8. whole; hole9. nose; knows

10. wait; weight

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The FuturePage 56

NOTE: The students should follow the given pattern but theyshould also exercise their imagination. It is not necessary that theyshould only think along the lines of an animal. They could explorethe possibility of a life as an inanimate object, an item of food oreven a star in a distant galaxy.

A Single Grey HairPage 57

On the basis of their reading, the students will answer the questions.

1. The first condition was that the borrower had to explain hisneed for the loan. The second condition was that he had toleave his jewels, or anything of value, with the money-lender.The final condition was that failing repayment of the debt,the money-lender would not return the property that hadbeen deposited.

2. The farmer was surprised that the money-lender had askedhim for security. Being an honest man himself, he trustedeveryone and expected their trust as well.

3. The money-lender recognised the innate honesty of the farmer.The single grey hair and the pride the old farmer took in hisproperty, even if it were not straight, proved that he was aman of integrity. Realising this, the money-lender loaned himthe money.

4. This incident seemed unbelievable to the villagers because themoney-lender had always been a shrewd businessman. Theycould not believe that he would trust the security of a singlestrand of hair.

5. The money-lender knew that the crafty fellow was dishonestand would do anything to get the money, even if it meantlosing half his hair. Obviously a man willing to pull out somuch of his hair to find a single straight hair would notbother about getting it back afterwards.

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6. a. shrewd, businesslike, good judge of character, decent atheart

b. honest, wise, trusting, man of integrity, hard-working,proud

c. good-for-nothing, dishonest, crooked, opportunist

Family DinnerPage 60

The children should try solving the exercise at their own end.

1. Uncle Somesh 2. I 3. Ambica

4. Aunt Kanta 5. Grandmother 6. Aunt Parul

7. Aunt Rina 8. Chinky 9. Uncle Rahul

Diary EntriesPage 61

NOTE: Before they start writing the diary entries, the studentscould discuss what surprise each of them would plan. They shouldrealise that a diary is a personal record which is not meant to beseen by anyone else. Thus they can write their innermost thoughtsin a diary. Keeping this in mind, students should write in depthabout their emotions before, during and after the event and not justjot down a dry record of the days’ events.

Brave or CourageousPage 63

The students will mark the sentences as correct or incorrect.1. Incorrect 2. Correct 3. Correct 4. Incorrect5. Correct 6. Incorrect 7. Correct 8. Correct9. Correct 10. Incorrect 11. Correct 12. Incorrect

13. Correct 14. Correct 15. Correct 16. Correct

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Same yet DifferentPage 64

The students will fill in the blanks correctly with the given words.

1. speak 2. talk 3. start 4. start

5. tall 6. begin 7. see 8. high

9. heard; listen 10. looked; see 11. see 12. tall

13. talk

Subject and ObjectPage 65

The students will underline the object in the given sentences.

A. 1. a church 2. There is no object.

3. There is no object. 4. food

5. the train 6. There is no object.

7. my camera 8. There is no object.

9. the burglar 10. a joke

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B. Verb opens; stretches; shows; stands; shows; stretches

Object jaws; legs; claws; four long stiff legs; sharp teeth; lip

C. NOTE: This exercise should be done with delicacy to avoidhurting anyone’s feelings, so the students should avoid using theirclassmates’ names. It should be noted that it might not be possibleto find names with all the letters of the alphabet.

Students should try and use verbs which do have objects but insome cases this might not be possible and when filling the table theymight have to leave the object column blank occasionally.

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LettersPage 69

NOTE: When writing the reply to the first letter students shouldbe careful to reply to all the questions raised. It could be explainedto the students that the tone of the two letters will be very different.The first letter is an informal letter to a member of the family, thusit can be very personal and full of little informalities. The secondletter is a semi-formal letter, since it is addressed to a figure ofauthority. Both letters should be respectful, since they are addressesto seniors but the first can be more casual than the second.

Said and Told

The students will complete the sentences with either said or told.

1. told 2. said 3. said 4. told

5. said 6. told 7. told 8. said

9. told 10. told 11. told 12. said

13. told 14. said

Building SentencesPage 71

NOTE: The emphasis of this exercise should be on the constructionof long but grammatically correct sentences. Students can useconjunctions and prepositions, other than those mentioned on thelist.

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Yelling at a TreePage 73

On the basis of their reading of the passage, the students will givethe following answers.

1. The villagers of Solomon Island scream at any tree which istoo large to be felled by an axe. They believe that if they yellat the tree for a long time, it simply die and fall over.

2. The phrase suggests a way of cutting a tree which is exceptional.

3. primitive/modern

4. yelling; hollering; screaming

5. The villagers use this method because they believe that yellingcan kill the spirit of the tree and thereafter the tree will dieon its own. In other words, the villagers believe that all livingbeings contain a spirit which keeps them alive and that crueltycan destroy this living spirit.

6. The writer describes himself as yelling at his wife, his children,the telephone, the TV and the newspaper. He adds thatsometimes he has even yelled at the sky. His neighbour yellsat his car and even at a ladder.

7. The writer thinks the villagers might have a point because herealises that yelling at machines and inanimate objects has noeffect on them, whereas yelling at living beings can destroytheir spirit indeed.

NOTE: If anyone disagrees with the writer’s judgement, theyshould logically substantiate their answer.

Your ThoughtsPage 74

NOTE: A class discussion before the students start writing mighthelp those who are less inclined to let their imagination run wild.You could draw their attention to the fact that the leaf has beenremoved from its natural environment. They should come up with

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original explanations for the sewing of the leaf. The teacher couldask them to imagine how they would feel if a needle were runthrough them. Everything that the students wish to write should beaccepted since it is an exercise in expressing their own thoughts.

Being in Someone Else’s ShoesPage 75

NOTE: After the students have described the actual experience ofwearing someone else’s shoes, they could discuss the metaphoricalmeaning of the expression. You could ask them to imagine being inthe shoes of an adult, of someone of the opposite gender, of someonefrom a different economic, religious or educational background.You could even ask them to imagine being in the shoes of celebrities.Eventually students should be guided to appreciate the fact thatsometimes it is necessary to put oneself in another person’s shoes,if only to understand them.

Book Review RecipePage 76

NOTE: Before each student starts writing the book review, therecould be a general class discussion on the factors that make a bookgood or bad. Students could be encouraged to talk about each ofthe aspects mentioned in the ‘recipe’. The best reviews could beread out in class. This chapter should motivate students to developtheir reading habit.

Verbs as AdjectivesPage 77

The students will fill in the blanks with the adjectives that can beformed from the given verbs.

1. bleeding 2. trained 3. branded 4. interesting

5. kept 6. disciplined 7. burnt 8. frozen

9. striking 10. swimming

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Noun PhrasesPage 78

A. The students will underline the noun phrases in the followingsentences.

1. to answer a question

2. drinking coffee

3. how to do it

4. walking in open fields

5. us to do well in exams

6. watching birds during winters

7. to eat guavas and green chilies

8. listening to film songs

9. healthy to brush your teeth twice a day

10. the flute beautifully

B. For this exercise, students should avoid clichés. For example,‘cats love to drink milk’ is an obvious answer but it would be betterif they could come up with something original.

We Are the Same but We Mean DifferentPage 79

A. The students will say to what part of speech does the highlightedword belong.

1. noun verb

2. verb noun adjective

3. noun verb adjective

B. Some of the words given in this exercise can be used as anadjective only after adding a suffix. The students can change theform of the verbs to suit their sentences.

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Adjective PhrasesPage 80

The students will underline the word/phrase that desires the nounand say whether it is an adjective or an adjective phrase.

3. a boy of great intelligence (adjective phrase)

4. a man of immense wealth (adjective phrase)

5. a silk turban (adjective)

6. a person with short temper (adjective phrase)

7. a motherless child (adjective)

8. a child without a mother (adjective phrase)

9. an Indian citizen (adjective)

10. medical attention (adjective)

11. a load of great weight (adjective phrase)

12. the flag of the Olympic Games (adjective phrase)

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About the story Page 6

The students will have to answer the given questions.

1. The gamarala thought the pounding vessels had stolen themissing rice because the ground surrounding the area wascovered with huge, round marks like those made by theenormous rice-pounding vessels.

2. The villagers first suggested that the most intelligent amongthem should go, whereupon every one of them began toclaim that he or she was the most intelligent. Thereafter itwas suggested that someone who could write should be sentand naturally every villager claimed that he or she was the bestwriter. In other words, because everyone wanted to go, noone could be decided on.

3. The villagers were all holding on to one another in a long lineand at the head was the gamarala who was holding the elephant’stail. When the goatherd asked how large the rice measureswere in heaven, the gamarala stretched his arms to show themeasure and in doing so let go of the elephant’s tail. As aresult the villagers fell back on earth. This was lucky for thembecause the elephant, having eaten his fill of rice, had nointentions of returning afterwards.

Word power Page 6

The students will write the meanings of the given words.

1. feeling ashamed and embarrassed

2. a state of nervous anxiety

3. to feel very nervous

4. behaving as if one is better than others

NOTE: While discussing the metaphorical meaning of theseexpressions, the students could be encouraged to narrate experiencesof their own where their reactions could be described using such

THE STORTHE STORTHE STORTHE STORTHE STORYTELLERYTELLERYTELLERYTELLERYTELLER

The Heavenly Elephant

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expressions. Let them analyse and understand how such expressionscame into existence; for example, you could ask them if they haveseen a dog with its tail between the legs.

Creative work Page 7

A. Before the students start writing out the conversation, you couldengage them in a discussion on the characterisation of Sakaraya.They should be aware that ‘the greatest of gods’ would not talk inthe same way as the villagers. Let them come up with imaginativenames for the villagers and perhaps a unique manner of speaking foreach of the participants of the conversation.

B. When narrating the story from the perspective of the whiteelephant, the students should be very clear about how they want thenarrator to think and react. It might be helpful if each student firstcreated a list of adjectives, which, in their opinion, would bestdescribe the elephant. Stress on the element of humour in the tale,and ask them to give the narrative a novel title.

Writer’s craft Page 7

Before the students start making their list, you could initiate adiscussion on how the popularity of fairy tales, legends and mythsdepends on the ‘willing suspension of disbelief’ on the part of theaudience. Let the students discuss their favourite tales of enchantmentand the elements which induce a magical quality in them.

Some of the points the students should include in their list are:

• the idea that the gamarala could believe that the poundingvessels came to life and stole the rice

• the other farmers’ concurrence with the gamarala’s belief

• an elephant floating down from the heaven on a moonbeam

• the thought that the gamarala went to heaven hanging on tothe elephant’s tail

• the various wonders he saw in heaven

• the idea that a whole train of villagers, each hanging ontoanother, could fly up to heaven, on a moonbeam, on thesupport of an elephant’s tail

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Totto-chanAbout the story Page 17

The students will write the answers on the basis of their understandingof the story.

1. Students reaction to this question might vary. Most studentswould like the idea of such a novel setting for a school butthere might be some who do not take to the idea. Accept anyanswer provided the students provide enough logic to supporttheir opinion.

2. Tomoe was very different from the previous school that Totto-chan had attended. This difference can be understood fromthe very first contrast that is expressed in the description ofthe new school’s gates. Whereas the old school had concretepillars, the two ‘gateposts’ of the new school were growingtrees. The classrooms were abandoned railroad cars and thepossibility of studying in a stationary train immediatelyappealed to Totto-chan. Thus she was very happy on enteringTomoe.

3. The first thing the headmaster did was to ask Totto-chan totalk about herself. Where the little girl had expected a barrageof questions, her interview turned out to be a longconversation where she kept talking while the senior manlistened and laughed and only asked her to go on talking. Itwas her first experience of a grown-up listening to her withsuch patience and with evident interest for over four hours.

4. This answer will contain a repetition of some of the pointsof the previous answer but you could invite the students toput themselves in Totto-chan’s shoes and imagine theiremotional reaction to such an adult before they try answeringthis question.

Word power Page 18

A. While doing this exercise, you could ask the students to makeimaginative sentences with the phrases and expressions to understandtheir usage better.

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• a vague indication• looked intently, searchingly, or with difficulty• obtain a more advantageous view• looking steadily and with fixed attention

A few examples of words/phrases related with ‘looking’ are:• taking a peek• contemplating the sight of• surveying• scrutinising

B. How the same verb is used first, with an inanimate object, andthen, with the girl’s eyes as the subject can be asked. The studentscould be asked to think of more instances of the use of this particularverb, for example, they could talk of raindrops sparkling.


From the story the students should be able to form a clear impressionof the character of the headmaster. Before they start writing, theycould be asked could be asked to imagine how such a man wouldtalk and what kind of impression he would form about the characterof this little girl.


The characters and their description are simple things for the studentsto write about but you could stress on the little details. For example,point out that Totto-chan’s mother was a basketball player and askthe students to imagine what such a woman would be like, whethershe would be tall, athletic, etc. Accept any opinion that the studentsmight put forth about the characters but ask them to describe thesetting of the story in their own words and not lift the descriptionverbatim from the text.

What the Stars SawAbout the story Page 23

The students will answer the question on the basis of theirunderstanding.

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1. This question demands a fairly straight-forward descriptiveanswer but the students should describe the scene in thekitchen in their own words. They should lay emphasis on theidioms and figures of speech that prevail in the narrative, forexample, they could point out the use of the proverb, ‘thepot calling the kettle black’. Also there are a number of puns,especially in the descriptions, for example the ‘Loaf’ is called‘crusty’, which has an idiomatic connotation apart from thereference to the actual crust of bread.

2. The word ‘hot’ would normally mean something which givesof heat, which describes a boiling kettle perfectly. However, inthe context of this line, ‘hot’ refers to the burning sensationcaused in the mouth by the sharp spicy taste of mustard.

Word power Page 23

A. The literal meaning of the saying is ‘to say something aboutsomeone else, which is actually true of you yourself’.

NOTE: You could initiate a discussion in class on how this idiomcan be used to accuse another of hypocrisy.

B. The students could be asked to fill in at least one meaning ofeach of the words on their own before they refer to a dictionary.You could discuss other homonyms in class and how the use ofsuch words in literature adds to the richness of the language. Studentscould be encouraged to bring forward examples of such words andphrases with multiple implications from their mother languages.

1. broken/shattered; insane 2. knifelike; clever/oversmart

3. bad-tasting; disagreeable 4. disrespectful; bold/brazen

5. unhurried; behind time 6. refusal to work; hit hard

7. moving; mixing 8. ease/help; even out/level

9. upset; extinguish


A. This exercise should follow naturally from the discussion of theprevious section. However, there are some subtle puns which thestudents might not grasp easily and which would need to be explained.boiled over letting off steam hot fell out cut him slow

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potatoes’ eyes smooth things down sweep away saucy sour

left in the dark cracked stirring on strike crusty sharpput out

B. The students can be encouraged to recount experiences or storieswhich explicate some of the sayings/proverbs/idioms related to thekitchen. Some examples of these are:

• everything but the kitchen sink

• If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

• Too many cooks spoil the broth.

• a fat kitchen, a lean will

• knows which side his bread is buttered on

• Never quarrel with your bread and butter.

The Happy LionAbout the story Page 30

The students will give the following answers.

1. The sparrows and squirrels were unaffected by the fact thatthe lion was roaming about freely. The humans however wereonly willing to be friendly when the lion was not in a positionto harm them. They no longer thought of the lion as afriendly animal, but as a wild beast, which might attack at anymoment, thus they reacted differently.

2. The lion could not understand why the same people whowere so friendly at the zee were reacting so violently and eitherfainting or screaming or running away.

3. The firemen must have felt very foolish indeed. They hadbeen approaching the lion warily, armed with a hose, withfear in their hearts and with the intention of subduing himby force. Thus the firemen must have felt extremely foolishwhen they saw the lion following Francois, the little son ofthe zookeeper.

Word power Page 30

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The students will try to find the meanings of the french words fromthe context.A. bonjour literally meaning ‘good day’, but loosely translated

as hello

au revoir literally meaning ‘till we see each other again’,used as a farewell expression

Mesdames plural of madam

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B. 1. continuous and profound contemplation or musing on asubject or series of subjects of a deep, philosophical orreligious nature

2. In this context, it means the lion sat and thought deeplyabout the events that had been taking place.

C. A few examples of expressions of greeting are:

• Salut (French)

• Barev (Armenian)

• Guten Tag (German)

• Grüß Gott (Bavarian and Austrian German)

• Hola (Spanish)

• Ohayou gozaimasu (Japanese)

• As-salaam-aleykum (Arabic-based languages)


A. This is an open-ended question where the students may constructan amiable conversation or a hostile one depending on whether theyfeel the two characters would be friends or not.

B. While the central character of the story is the lion, who is bynature extremely polite, the actual theme of the story is friendshipand the relationship between people and animals. However, youshould accept any answer that the students give, provided they cansubstantiate it with reasons and examples from the text.


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A. From the first paragraph we discover the setting of the story isa lovely town in France. The houses had brown tile roofs and thestreets had grey gutters. In the zoo, the lion had a large rock garden,surrounded by a moat, in the middle of a park with flowers and abandstand.

B. Most of the characters in the story are peripheral to the actionand appear only briefly in the narrative. However, the reaction ofeach of these not-so-central characters only amplifies the centraltheme of the story, which is the relationship between people andanimals.

Further they contribute by inducing an element of humour. WhenMonsieur Dupont faints, the three ladies run away, Madame Pinsonflings her bag of vegetables in the lion’s face or the town banderupts in a state of pandemonium, the reader is forced to confrontthe vast difference in the reaction of these people to the lion behindbars and out in the open.

NOTE: Students should add more examples, such as the nonchalantreactions of the sparrows and the squirrels and of course the roleplayed by the foolish fireman.

Kaafal PakoAbout the story Page 38

The students will give the following answers.

1. Nandi is a very responsible girl, willing to do her duty andhelp out wherever she can. Not only does she help her fatherin ploughing, weeding and hoeing their rice fields, she givesup her precious playtime to watch over the fruit on the kaafaltree in the backyard of their house. The day she and her fatherwere to pluck and store the fruit, she wakes early to clean thehut and fill the pots with water. All her thoughts and acts areprompted by a sense of duty and responsibility.

2. This is a question to which the text provides no direct answer.It is possible to infer that the father would bring food, butsince the text does not mention what kind of food they ate,

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these details had best be left to the students’ imagination.You could suggest that since a trip to the market would bean infrequent event for them, he might bring back clothes oritems related to the household.

3. Nandi’s transformation was caused by the fact that she hadmade a true wish on a full moon nights when the little spiritswho dance under the pine trees were said to grant wishes.

4. There is no definite answer to this question. The studentsmay wish to believe that it was a dream or a coincidence. Ifthey believe in the supernatural, they might also believe thatNandi actually transformed into a bird. You should acceptany answer, provided the student can corroborate it.

5. The people of the mountains call the small black bird KaafalPako or the bird of the Kaafal because it sings when the Kaafalfruit are ripe.

Word power Pages 38-39

A. The students will write the meanings in the given table.

ploughing to break up soil and cut furrows in preparation forsowing using a plough

weeding removing plants which are considered undesirable ortroublesome

hoeing using a hoe to break up the surface of the ground anddestroy weeds

Some more words associated with working on the land are:

• digging

• planting/sowing

• tilling

• fertilizing

• harvesting

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B. The students should try this question on their own.

Some words associated with a mall are:

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multiplex food court retail store

hangout designer wear brands

Some words associated with a roadside market are:

hawkers roadside food stalls bargains


The students can be asked to first imagine where they would wantto be. When describing the moment of wish-fulfillment, they shouldtry to imagine how they would be transported. Further they shoulddescribe the emotions that such an event would arouse.


The students’ response to this question might very greatly. Whilesome might like the story, others might find it too unrealistic.

Earth Magic!About the poem Page 42

The students will answer on the basis of their understanding.

A fly or any insect might get entangled in a spider’s web.

Word power Page 42

The students will match the words to their meanings.

1. lady’s umbrella to protect from the sun

2. calm

3. very fine thread made by spiders

4. decorative light which is hung from the ceiling

Writer’s craft Pages 42

A. The following are some of the expressions which the studentscould include in the lists.

• sight golden raingreen pathflowers embroidered on a carpet of grassflossy puffs

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glitter and shimmer of a butterfly’s wing• sound rustle of leaves

the cuckoo sing• smell fragrant breeze• touch cushions footfalls

breeze touches you softlysoaked in morning lightdeodars that touch the evening skyleaves under your feetunknowing guest might entangle himself

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B. This is an exercise which requires concentration and a great dealof imagination. Students who are good at art could draw some ofthe things they can visualise. The others could find photographswhich approximate their ideas either from the net or from magazineslike National Geographic.

The Runaway FerryboatAbout the story Page 53

The students will have to answer the given questions.

1. This story is told from the perspective of Tara, the ferryboat.

2. There is no definite answer in the text but it is possible toinfer that the island probably had no factories or industriesor markets, since the people had to cross over to the mainlandto go to work and to sell the bananas and coconuts whichgrew plentifully on the island.

3. Tara, the little ferryboat was the only way to cross the bluesea from the island of Dweep to the mainland. This Tara wasimportant in the lives of the people of the island as she wastheir only means of transport to work, to the market and toall other places on the mainland.

4. The joyous welcome the people on the island gave Tara everymorning, made her smile back happily. She felt nice about

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her importance in the lives of these people. However shestarted feeling unhappy because she was bored. She had neverhad an adventure, or any deviation from her normal routineand she was weary of the same faces, the same route and thesame jetty on the mainway.

5. Tara rebelled by making a plan to turn into the ocean tosneak a look at the world. She knew the exact hour whenCaptain Ganju would leave the bridge to have his breakfastand having observed him often she knew how to turn thesteering wheel. Thus she effectively put her plan into actionone day and steered herself away from her safe, but boring,old path and escaped into the ocean.

6. Tara became a heroine because her crew had rescued a fishermanwho was drowning after his fishing boat had overturned.

Word power Page 53

A.The motion of a see saw is gentle, while that of a giant wheel isintense and often scary. The transformation of the motion of the seaas the waves became higher and the wind started to road is beautifullydescribed by this sentence.

B. The students will pick the expressions from the story.

• she called out cheerfully

• her flags fluttering

• beamed back happily

• it was really nice to feel so important

C. The students will pick the expression from the story.

• something was terribly wrong

• grumpy and unsmiling

• heaved a long, long sigh

• moped

• so bored

• how dull everything is

• nothing exciting ever happens

• looked with envy

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D. The students will make a list of things that make rumblingsound.

• Some of the things that produce a rumbling sound are:

• thunder clouds

• fireworks

• crowds

• animals

‘My tummy is rumbling’ would mean that out ofnervousness, excitement or hunger one’s stomach startsmaking noises.

E. This kind of a funny feeling could be caused by nervousness,excitement, terror, anticipation and experiences both pleasant andunpleasant. You could let the students narrate in detail the experiencewhich gave them this feeling.


A.The first paragraph could describe Tara’s cheerful disposition andher sense of responsibility and importance. The second paragraphcould indicate why she got bored with her daily routine and wantedto be adventurous. The students could think compare Tara to anaughty girl who didn’t like the adventure she had.

B. The students could be encouraged to think out of the box. Askthem to let their imaginations go wild before they start writing theseparagraphs.


Other examples of personification in literature or the movies can bediscussed. Examples from popular culture, like Noddy’s car or ChittyChitty Bang Bang, the magical car can be talked about. Then thestudents should explain what they liked or disliked about this styleof narration.

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The PotterAbout the poem Page 56

The students will have to answer the questions.

1. In summer, the sun’s rays seem to burn things up, thus thesmile of the summer sun is described as scorching, whichmeans burning.

2. The potter’s ‘cool lifeline’ refers to the earthen pots of variousshapes and sizes which can keep the water stored in them coolfor hours.

3. The pots are described as being small, or perfectly round ortall with slender necks.

4. A tarpaulin provides a temporary shelter, especially for goodswhich are sold on the streets; thus ‘tarpaulin sky’ suggeststhat the sky is the roof over the potter and his wares. Analternative perspective could be that tarpaulin sheets are oftenbright blue in colour and the poet wants to evoke thatbrightness in describing the colour of the sky.

5. An arm cannot be grateful, but the person to whom the armbelongs can. What the poet is suggesting is that the personwho will carry the pots under her arm will be grateful to thepot for the cool water it will provide. Generally pots aretucked under the arm by women who go to collect waterfrom far, in villages or in urban areas where there is no regularsupply of drinking water.

Word power Page 56

Both the exercise in this section, test the students’ vocabulary. Youcould ask them to think of uncommon words and unusualcomparisons so that everyone does not land up with identical answers.


A. It seems unlikely that the poem could refer to the modern urbanmilieu, given the fact that almost every house in the city will havea refrigerator and people would not require earthen pots to keepwater cool. However students should keep in mind that in many

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villages there is no electricity, let alone freezers and earthen pots areused extensively across India, even today.

B. You could encourage a debate on the merits and demerits ofdrinking water from a refrigerator, especially if there are studentswho state a preference for water from an earthen pot.

C. The students can be asked if they have ever played with woodentoys. They can be told to imagine clearly what kind of toys theirfictional carpenter would make, before they start writing their ownpoems.


The uses of an exclamation mark can be discussed in brief. Let thestudents proffer their own ideas on whether they find the poet’s useof this effective.

The Flute PlayerAbout the story Page 62

1. Raman’s tunes were so beautiful, that when he played thecrows would stop cawing and the village dogs would stopbarking so that they could listen to him. When he playedhappy tunes, babies would stop crying and even the saddestperson would start smiling.

2. The second flute was made from the branch of a bamboo treewhich grew in a quiet, lonely, desolate place on the bank ofa river far from the village. The loneliness of the place seepedinto the music.

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3. The bamboo tree, from which Raman made the flute, grewthe near the village well, where women talked loudly andclanked their brass pots. Thus this flute only made raucousnoises resembling the din.

4. Raman realised that the music of the flute depended on theplace where the bamboo tree grew. He discovered that unlesshe used a branch from a tree which grew in a happy place, hecould not play happy tunes now matter how desperately hewanted to.

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Word power Page 63

Some of the adjectives which might describe ‘tune’ are:

1. cheerful 2. gay

3. melancholy 4. unforgettable


Before they make the presentation or the bulletin board display,students could approach people of various age groups and ask themwhat their reaction to music is. They could also search on the netfor examples of scientific research on the effect of music on plantsand animals.


The writer seems to suggest that music affects people and animals.But what is more interesting is the suggestion that all living objects,including plants, are affected by the environment in which theygrow. You could engage the students in a discussion of this aspectof the story.

The MoonAbout the poem Page 65

The first two stanzas describe nocturnal activities while the thirdstanza talks about things that prefer to be active in the daytime.Students should explain the difference further by contrasting themoon itself and the various animals that are about at night to theflowers and children.

Word power Page 65

A. In this poem, the word ‘quays’ has been pronounced like theword ‘keys’. The rhyming word is ‘trees’ in the last line of the firststanza.

B. A fork of a tree is the angle or opening between two of itsbranches.


After the students have finished this activity, they could be asked topoint out the difference between their poems and this one.

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One Very Small FootAbout the story Page 75

The students will give the following answers.1. The twins, Matthew and Mark looked exactly alike and even

said and did the same thing at exactly the same time. Thesnails they found were also obviously identical, being thesame shape, size and the same colour. And when they tried torace the snails the second time round, both the snailsstubbornly refused to move.

2. Sophie’s snail was small and like her it was very determined.3. Sophie’s brothers weren’t intentionally cruel or mean but,

with the self-contained callousness of innocence, they couldno doubt be very hurtful, especially when they kept ignoringtheir little sister and leaving her behind when she couldn’tkeep up with them. That they weren’t completely heartless isdemonstrated by the fact that they did try to comfort herwhen her snail was gone (even if they picked the wrong thingsto say!) Sophie’s parents were gentle and kind. Even thoughher mother did not want a snail in the house, she relentedand even gave Sophie a box to keep it in. And both of themtried to comfort her when she lost her snail.

4. Sophie realised that like all living beings, her snail needed tostay in its natural environment where it could get the food itrequired to live, and where it would be safe. So she put thesnail back in the garden.

Word power Page 75

A. These are some of the examples from the text:

Sophie

She was four and too small to keepup with her brothers.

She plodded after them.

She spoke in a small but determinedvoice and her mother had to relentand let her keep the snail.

Snail

It was very little, no bigger thanSophie’s middle fingernail.

It looked very small beside the others.

It put its best foot forward to reachthe winning post after half an hour.

Sophie’s snail kept stoutly on.

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B. The expression means embarking on a journey or task withpurpose and gusto.

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C. Some of the examples that would answer this question are:

• in an examination/interview

• in a race

• in any kind of competitive event


A. The students could be asked to make a detailed list of thecharacteristics of the twins and of Sophie before they start comparingthemselves.

B.The teacher could accept all answers to this question so long asthe students provide substantial examples from the text or fromtheir personal experiences.

C. Before the pairs start telling the story, you could remind themthat Matthew and Mark were identical twins, therefore the studentsenacting their parts should at least try to adopt similar mannerismsand ways of speaking, even if imitating each other absolutely is notpossible.

Bed BugsAbout the poem Page 79

The children should try answering the questions on their own.

1. Children tend to take things literally, thus the child mighthave taken his mother’s last words a little too close to heart.Further since the last thoughts on his mind, before he fellasleep, were his mother’s words, it is not surprising that hedreamt of bed bugs every night.

2. One night, instead of her usual rhyming goodnight wish, thechild’s mother tucked him in and simply said goodnightwithout mentioning the bedbugs. From that moment, thechild’s dreams about bedbugs stopped.

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3. The poem suggests pretty definitely that there weren’t anybedbugs outside the child’s dreams. For one thing, the bedbugsin the dreams were obviously too fantastic to be realistic. Foranother, if there had actually been bedbugs, they wouldn’thave disappeared overnight.

The last lines of the poem suggest that the child thinks hewill never dream of bedbugs again. We know this because hestates that there are no more bedbugs for him to fight.

4. Probably the reader. However, if the students come up withoriginal ideas which they can explain rationally then that isacceptable.


Both the exercises in this section involve personal recollection. Youcould encourage students to discuss their experiences at length andperhaps even write a poem on a particularly striking experience.

Cat BurglarsAbout the story Page 87

1. Haider is proud of his physical appearance as well as his wits.He boasts of his trim and smart looks and his smooth velvetyskin. He is also proud because he is the leader of a gang ofcats who outwitted the police.

2. Haider mocks humans for their fallacious beliefs about cats.He makes fun of humans for believing that it rains cats anddogs. Then he recounts the episode of the ‘robbery’ at thebank where they fooled the men in uniform.

3. The cats fooled the cops by making them believe that burglarshad attacked the bank. So a whole posse of policemansurrounded the building, armed to apprehend criminals, onlyto discover that the alarm had been set of by three cats insearch of their dinner!

Word power Pages 87

A. It means raining very heavily.

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B. It means to be ready or alert. This phrase is generally used toindicate that one should be absolutely prepared for something tohappen, especially when one is not certain how things will turn out.

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C. The students can hazard their guesses here since there is nodefinite answer to this question. Some similar statements by humanbeings would be: flash of a second; he barked out instructions.

Exercises D and E should be left to the students to answer.


When discussing this question, you could give the students examplesof how any gang of thieves or robbers generally has one leader whohas complete authority, especially during raids. Explain the term catburglars and encourage the students to compare the nocturnalactivities of cats with those of burglars sneaking about in the dark.


A. Before answering this question, you should help the studentsunderstand how self-aggrandisement would be natural to an egotistlike Haider.

B. When discussing this question, you could give examples fromfables where animals are given human characteristics. You could alsolay emphasis on the humour that arises because the story is toldfrom the perspective of a cat.

Two Little KittensAbout the poem Page 90

The students could be encouraged to answer on the basic of theirunderstanding.

1. The two kittens resemble children because of their quarrelsomenature and because they started a fight because one wantedwhat the other had.

NOTE: It could be pointed out to the students how the oldwoman in the poem is not unlike the mother of two bickeringchildren, who would prefer to throw both out without asking

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who started the fight. Also it could be stressed that the kittenscreep back into the house quietly and with every intention ofbehaving themselves, just as little children would in such asituation.

2. The lesson they learnt was that it is better to enjoy life thanto fight.

3. Neither of the cats got the mouse. The possibilities of whathappened to the mouse are endless. It might have been sweptout with the kittens; it may have been caught and eaten byanother cat; or it may have gone home to its cosy mouse holeand watched television! Let the students explore variouspossibilities and exercise their imagination.


A. The dialogue in this stanza consists of a repetition of the samewords; however the interest depends on the intonation in each line.You could ask the students enacting the parts to adopt felinemannerisms to enliven the exchange.

B. The students could be helped to understand why quarrelling israrely productive. The difference between a reasonable argument,where both parties put forward logic and attempt to use reason toreach an amiable conclusion and an all-out fist fight where theoutcome is inevitably unpleasant could be explained. After theyfinish narrating their anecdotes, they could be asked whether theyregretted the fight.

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