8th English New Text Book

Honeydew
Textbook in English for Class VIII

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2022-23
0849 – HONEYDEW
ISBN 978-81-7450-821-8
Textbook for Class VIII
First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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2022-23
Foreword
T HE National Curriculum Framework (NCF), 2005,
recommends that children’s life at school must be linked
to their life outside the school. This principle marks a
departure from the legacy of bookish learning which
continues to shape our system and causes a gap between
the school, home and community. The syllabi and
textbooks developed on the basis of NCF signify an
attempt to implement this basic idea. They also attempt
to discourage rote learning and the maintenance of sharp
boundaries between different subject areas. We hope
these measures will take us significantly further in the
direction of a child-centered system of education outlined
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in the National Policy of Education (1986).

The success of this effort depends on the steps that
school principals and teachers will take to encourage
children to reflect on their own learning and to pursue
imaginative activities and questions. We must recognise
that, given space, time and freedom, children generate
new knowledge by engaging with the information passed
on to them by adults. Treating the prescribed textbook
as the sole basis of examination is one of the key reasons
why other resources and sites of learning are ignored.
Inculcating creativity and initiative is possible if we
perceive and treat children as participants in learning,
not as receivers of a fixed body of knowledge.
These aims imply considerable change in school
routines and mode of functioning. Flexibility in the daily
time-table is as necessary as rigour in implementing
the annual calendar so that the required number of
teaching days are actually devoted to teaching. The
methods used for teaching and evaluation will also
determine how effective this textbook proves for making
children’s life at school a happy experience, rather than
2022-23
a source of stress or boredom. Syllabus designers have
tried to address the problem of curricular burden by
restructuring and reorienting knowledge at different
stages with greater consideration for child psychology
and the time available for teaching. The textbook
attempts to enhance this endeavour by giving higher
priority and space to opportunities for contemplation and
wondering, discussion in small groups, and activities
requiring hands-on experience.
The National Council of Educational Research and
Training (NCERT) appreciates the hard work done by
the textbook development committee responsible for this
book. We wish to thank the Chairperson of the advisory
committee in languages, Professor Namwar Singh, and
the Chief Advisor for this book, Professor R. Amritavalli,
for guiding the work of this committee. Several teachers
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contributed to the development of this textbook; we are

grateful to their principals for making this possible. We
are indebted to the institutions and organisations which
have generously permitted us to draw upon their
resources, materials and personnel. We are especially
grateful to the members of the National Monitoring
Committee, appointed by the Department of Secondary
and Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource
Development under the Chairpersonship of Professor
Mrinal Miri and Professor G.P. Deshpande for their
valuable time and contribution. As an organisation
committed to systemic reform and continuous
improvement in the quality of its products, NCER T
welcomes comments and suggestions which will enable
us to undertake further revision and refinements.
Director
New Delhi National Council of Educational
30 November 2007 Research and Training
iv
2022-23
Textbook Development Committee
CHAIRPERSON, ADVISORY COMMITTEE IN LANGUAGES
Professor Namwar Singh, formerly Chairman, School of
Languages, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
CHIEF ADVISOR
R. Amritavalli, Professor, English and Foreign
Languages University, Hyderabad
CHIEF COORDINATOR
Ram Janma Sharma, Former Professor and Head,
Department of Education in Languages, NCERT,
New Delhi
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MEMBERS
Beena Sugathan, PGT (English), Loreto Convent, Delhi
Cantonment, New Delhi
Madhavi Gayathri Raman, Lecturer, English and
Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad
Rooma Palit, PGT (English), Delhi Public School,
Nalcognar Angul, Orissa
Shyamala Kumaradas, (formerly of CIEFL), Hyderabad,
3C Sheetal Haven, Peringavu, Trichur
MEMBER–COORDINATOR
Nasiruddin Khan, Former Reader in English,
Department of Education in Languages, NCERT,
New Delhi
2022-23
Acknowledgements
The National Council of Educational Research and
Training is grateful to Professor M.L. Tickoo, formerly of
the Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages,
Hyderabad, and the Regional Language Centre,
Singapore, for going through the manuscript and making
valuable suggestions. Special thanks are due to Professor
R. Amritavalli for specific suggestions in addition to
overall monitoring and assistance as Chief Advisor.
For permission to reproduce copyright material in
this book, NCERT would like to thank the following:
Michael Morpurgo for ‘The Best Christmas Present in
the World’ from The Gaurdian, UK; Publications Division
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Government of India, New Delhi for ‘Glimpses of the

Past’ from Our Freedom Movement by S.D. Sawant; Katha,
New Delhi for ‘Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory’ from
The Nose Doctor; Firdaus Kanga for ‘A visit to Cambridge
from Heaven on Wheels, Bloomsbury; and to Ruskin Bond
for ‘A Short Monsoon Diary’ from Ruskin Bond’s Book of
Nature, Penguin Books, New Delhi.
Every effort has been made to trace all copyright
holders. We apologise for some omissions, and will
gratefully acknowledge them as soon as they can be traced.
Our special thanks are due to Dr. Meenakshi Khar,
DEL and Prof. Kirti Kapur, DCS, NCERT for developing
the content.
Special thanks are also due to the Publication
Department, NCER T, for their support. NCER T also
acknowledges the contributions made by Parash Ram
Kaushik, Incharge, Computer Station; Mohmad Harun
and Arvind Sharma, DTP Operators; Neena Chandra and
Hari Darshan Lodhi Copy Editor and Mathew John, Proof
Reader.
2022-23
Contents
Foreword iii
NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 1-3) 1-8
1. The Best Christmas Present 9
in the World
The Ant and the Cricket 21
2. The Tsunami 24
Geography Lesson 34
3. Glimpses of the Past 36

Macavity : The Mystery Cat 50
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4. Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory 59
The Last Bargain 73
5. The Summit Within 75

The School Boy 83
6. This is Jody’s Fawn 86
7. A Visit to Cambridge 96
When I set out for Lyonnesse 105

8. A Short Monsoon Diary 109
On the Grasshopper and Cricket 118
9. The Great Stone Face–I 120
10. The Great Stone Face–II 128
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CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
Part IV A (Article 51 A)
Fundamental Duties
Fundamental Duties – It shall be the duty of every citizen of India —
(a) to abide by the Constitution and respect its ideals and institutions, the National
Flag and the National Anthem;
(b) to cherish and follow the noble ideals which inspired our national struggle for
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freedom;
(c) to uphold and protect the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India;
(d) to defend the country and render national service when called upon to do so;
(e) to promote harmony and the spirit of common brotherhood amongst all the people
of India transcending religious, linguistic and regional or sectional diversities; to
renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women;
(f) to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture;
(g) to protect and improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers,
wildlife and to have compassion for living creatures;
(h) to develop the scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform;
(i) to safeguard public property and to abjure violence;
(j) to strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity so
that the nation constantly rises to higher levels of endeavour and achievement;
(k) who is a parent or guardian, to provide opportunities for education to his child or,
as the case may be, ward between the age of six and fourteen years.
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Before you read
There are some dates or periods of time in the history
of the world that are so significant that everyone
knows and remembers them. The story you will read
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mentions one such date and event: a war between

the British and the Germans in 1914. Can you guess
which war it was?
Do you know which events the dates below refer to?
(a) 4 July 1776 (b) 17 December 1903
(c) 6 August 1945 (d) 30 January 1948
(e) 12 April 1961 (f) 20 July 1969
The answers are on page 23. spotted it:
saw it; found it
I (informal)
scorch marks:
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport, a roll-top desk.
burn marks
The man said it was early nineteenth century, and oak.
was going for:
I had wanted one, but they were far too expensive. This was selling for
one was in a bad condition, the roll-top in several pieces, (informal)
one leg clumsily mended, scorch marks all down one restore:
side. It was going for very little money. I thought I could (here) repair
restore it. It would be a risk, a challenge, but I had to veneer:
have it. I paid the man and brought it back to my a thin layer of
workroom at the back of the garage. I began work on it plastic or
decorative
on Christmas Eve.
wood on
I removed the roll-top completely and pulled out the furniture of
drawers. The veneer had lifted almost everywhere — it cheap wood
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looked like water damage to me. Both fire and water had
taken their clearly taken their toll on this desk. The last drawer was
toll on: stuck fast. I tried all I could to ease it out gently. In the
damaged end I used brute force. I struck it sharply with the side of
stuck fast: my fist and the drawer flew open to reveal a shallow space
shut tight
underneath, a secret drawer. There was something in
there. I reached in and took out a small black tin box.
Sello-taped to the top of it was a piece of lined notepaper,
and written on it in shaky
handwriting: “Jim’s
last letter, received
January 25, 1915.
To be buried with
me when the
time comes.” I
knew as I did
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it that it was
wrong of me to
open the box,
but curiosity
got the better of
scruples: my scruples. It
feelings that usually does.
make you
Inside the box there was an envelope. The address
hesitate to do
something read: “Mrs Jim Macpherson, 12 Copper Beeches, Bridport,
wrong Dorset.” I took out the letter and unfolded it. It was written
in pencil and dated at the top — “December 26, 1914”.
Comprehension Check
1. What did the author find in a junk shop?
2. What did he find in a secret drawer? Who do you think had
put it in there?
II
Dearest Connie,
I write to you in a much happier frame of mind because
something wonderful has just happened that I must tell
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you about at once. We were all standing to in our trenches standing to:
yesterday morning, Christmas morning. It was crisp and taking up
positions
quiet all about, as beautiful a morning as I’ve ever seen, as
trenches:
cold and frosty as a Christmas morning should be. long deep
I should like to be able to tell you that we began it. ditches in the
But the truth, I’m ashamed to say, is that Fritz began it. ground where
First someone saw a white flag waving from the trenches soldiers hide
opposite. Then they were calling out to us from across from the
enemy
no man’s land, “Happy Christmas, Tommy! Happy
Fritz:
Christmas!” When we had got over the surprise, some of (here), a name
us shouted back, “Same to you, Fritz! Same to you!” I for a German
thought that would be that. We all did. But then suddenly soldier (Fritz is
one of them was up there in his grey greatcoat and waving a common
a white flag. “Don’t shoot, lads!” someone shouted. And German name)
Tommy:
no one did. Then there was another Fritz up on the
a common
parapet, and another. “Keep your heads down,” I told the English name,
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men, “it’s a trick.” But it wasn’t. used here to

One of the Germans was waving a bottle above his refer to British
head. “It is Christmas Day, Tommy. We have schnapps. soldiers
We have sausage. We meet you? Yes?” By this time there that would be
that:
were dozens of them walking towards us across no man’s
that was all;
land and not a rifle between them. Little Private Morris that was the
was the first up. “Come on, boys. What are we waiting end of the
for?” And then there was no stopping them. I was the matter
officer. I should have stopped them there and then, I schnapps
suppose, but the truth is that it never even occurred to (pronounced,
sh-naps):
me I should. All along their line and ours I could see a German
men walking slowly towards one another, grey coats, drink made
khaki coats meeting in the middle. And I was one of from grain
them. I was part of this. In the middle of the war we
were making peace.
You cannot imagine, dearest Connie, my feelings as
I looked into the eyes of the Fritz officer, who approached cello:
a musical
me, hand outstretched. “Hans Wolf,” he said, gripping instrument
my hand warmly and holding it. “I am from Dusseldorf. like a large
I play the cello in the orchestra. Happy Christmas.” violin
The Best Christmas Present in the World 11
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“Captain Jim Macpherson,” I replied. “And a Happy
Christmas to you too. I’m a school teacher from Dorset,
in the west of England.”
“Ah, Dorset,” he smiled. “I know this place. I know it
very well.” We shared my rum ration and his excellent
sausage. And we talked, Connie, how we talked. He spoke
almost perfect English. But it turned out that he had
never set foot in Dorset, never even been to England.
He had learned all he knew of England from school,
and from reading books in English. His favourite writer
was Thomas Hardy, his favourite book Far from the
Madding Crowd. So out there in no man’s land we talked
of Bathsheba and Gabriel Oak and Sergeant Troy and
Dorset. He had a wife and one son, born just six months
ago. As I looked about me there were huddles of khaki
and grey everywhere, all over no man’s land, smoking,
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laughing, talking, drinking, eating. Hans Wolf and I

shared what was left of your wonderful Christmas cake,
marzipan: Connie. He thought the marzipan was the best he had
a sweet ever tasted. I agreed. We agreed about everything, and
covering on a he was my enemy. There never was a Christmas party
cake made
from sugar,
like it, Connie.
eggs and Then someone, I don’t know who, brought out a
almonds football. Greatcoats were dumped in piles to make
goalposts, and the next thing we knew it was Tommy
against Fritz out in the middle of no man’s land. Hans
Wolf and I looked on and cheered, clapping our hands
and stamping our feet, to keep out the cold as much as
anything. There was a moment when I noticed our
breaths mingling in the air between us. He saw it too
and smiled. “Jim Macpherson,” he said after a while,
“I think this is how we should resolve this war. A football
match. No one dies in a football match. No children are
orphaned. No wives become widows.”
“I’d prefer cricket,” I told him. “Then we Tommies
could be sure of winning, probably.” We laughed at
that, and together we watched the game. Sad to say,
12 Honeydew
2022-23
Connie, Fritz won, two goals to one. But as Hans Wolf
generously said, our goal was wider than theirs, so it
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wasn’t quite fair.

The time came, and all too soon, when the game was
finished, the schnapps and the rum and the sausage
had long since run out, and we knew it was all over.
I wished Hans well and told him I hoped he would see
his family again soon, that the fighting would end and
we could all go home.
“I think that is what every soldier wants, on both
sides,” Hans Wolf said. “Take care, Jim Macpherson.
I shall never forget this moment, nor you.” He saluted
and walked away from me slowly, unwillingly, I felt.
He turned to wave just once and then became one of
the hundreds of grey-coated men drifting back towards
their trenches.
That night, back in our dugouts, we heard them dugout:
singing a carol, and singing it quite beautifully. It was a shelter for
soldiers made
Stille Nacht, Silent Night. Our boys gave them a rousing
by digging a
chorus of While Shepherds Watched. We exchanged hole in the
carols for a while and then we all fell silent. We had had ground and
our time of peace and goodwill, a time I will treasure as covering it
long as I live.
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Dearest Connie, by Christmas time next year, this
war will be nothing but a distant and terrible memory.
I know from all that happened today how much both
armies long for peace. We shall be together again soon,
I’m sure of it.
Your loving, Jim.
Comprehension Check
1. Who had written the letter, to whom, and when?
2. Why was the letter written — what was the wonderful thing
that had happened?
3. What jobs did Hans Wolf and Jim Macpherson have when
they were not soldiers?
4. Had Hans Wolf ever been to Dorset? Why did he say he knew it?
5. Do you think Jim Macpherson came back from the war? How
do you know this?
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III
I folded the letter again and slipped it carefully back
into its envelope. I kept awake all night. By morning I
knew what I had to do. I drove into Bridport, just a few
miles away. I asked a boy walking his dog where Copper
Beeches was. House number 12 turned out to be nothing
burned out:
but a burned-out shell, the roof gaping, the windows
destroyed by
fire boarded-up. I knocked at the house next door and asked
boarded-up: if anyone knew the whereabouts of a Mrs Macpherson.
covered with Oh yes, said the old man in his slippers, he knew her
wooden well. A lovely old lady, he told me, a bit muddle-headed,
boards but at her age she was entitled to be, wasn’t she? A
muddle- hundred and one years old. She had been in the house
headed:
when it caught fire. No one really knew how the fire had
confused
started, but it could well have been candles. She used
candles rather than electricity, because she always
thought electricity was too expensive. The fireman had
got her out just in time. She was in a nursing home
now, he told me, Burlington House, on the Dorchester
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road, on the other side of town.
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Comprehension Check
1. Why did the author go to Bridport?
2. How old was Mrs Macpherson now? Where was she?
I found Burlington House Nursing Home easily enough.

There were paper chains up in the hallway and a lighted
Christmas tree stood in the corner with a lopsided angel
on top. I said I was a friend come to visit Mrs Macpherson
to bring her a Christmas present. I could see through
into the dining room where everyone was wearing a paper
hat and singing. The matron had a hat on too and
seemed happy enough to see me. She even offered me a
mince pie. She walked me along the corridor. lit up:
became bright
“Mrs Macpherson is not in with the others,” she told
with happi-
me. “She’s rather confused today so we thought it best ness, excite-
if she had a good rest. She has no family you know, no ment
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one visits. So I’m sure she’ll be only too pleased to see suffused with:
you.” She took me into a conservatory with wicker chairs (glow of
and potted plants all around and left me. happiness)
spread all over
The old lady was sitting in a wheelchair, her hands
her face
folded in her lap. She had silver white hair pinned into a
wispy bun. She was gazing out at
the garden. “Hello,” I said. She
turned and looked up at me
vacantly. “Happy Christmas,
Connie,” I went on. “I found
this. I think it’s yours.” As I was
speaking her eyes never left my
face. I opened the tin box and
gave it to her. That was the
moment her eyes lit up with
recognition and her face
became suffused with a sudden
glow of happiness. I explained
about the desk, about how I
had found it, but I don't think
she was listening. For a while
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she said nothing, but stroked the letter tenderly with her
fingertips.
Suddenly she reached out and took my hand. Her
eyes were filled with tears. “You told me you’d come home
by Christmas, dearest,” she said. “And here you are,
the best Christmas present in the world. Come closer,
Jim dear, sit down.”
I sat down beside her, and she kissed my cheek. “I
read your letter so often Jim, every day. I wanted to
hear your voice in my head. It always made me feel you
were with me. And now you are. Now you’re back you
can read it to me yourself. Would you do that for me,
Jim dear? I just want to hear your voice again. I’d love
that so much. And then perhaps we’ll have some tea.
I’ve made you a nice Christmas cake, marzipan all
around. I know how much you love marzipan.”
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MICHAEL MORPURGO
Comprehension Check
1. Who did Connie Macpherson think her visitor was?
2. Which sentence in the text shows that the visitor did not try
to hide his identity?
1. For how long do you think Connie had kept Jim’s letter? Give reasons for
your answer.
2. Why do you think the desk had been sold, and when?
3. Why do Jim and Hans think that games or sports are good ways of resolving
conflicts? Do you agree?
4. Do you think the soldiers of the two armies are like each other, or different
from each other? Find evidence from the story to support your answer.
5. Mention the various ways in which the British and the German soldiers
become friends and find things in common at Christmas.
6. What is Connie’s Christmas present? Why is it “the best Christmas present
in the world”?
7. Do you think the title of this story is suitable for it? Can you think of any
other title(s)?
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1. Look at these sentences from the story.
I spotted it in a junk shop in Bridport... The man said it was made in
the early nineteenth century… This one was in a bad condition…
The italicised verbs are in the past tense. They tell us what happened in
the past, before now.
(i) Read the passage below and underline the verbs in the past tense.
A man got on the train and sat down. The compartment was empty
except for one lady. She took her gloves off. A few hours later the
police arrested the man. They held him for 24 hours and then freed
him.
Now look at these sentences.
The veneer had lifted almost everywhere. Both fire and water had
taken their toll on this desk.
Notice the verb forms had lifted, had taken (their toll).
The author found and bought the desk in the past.
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The desk was damaged before the author found it and bought it.
Fire and water had damaged the desk before the author found it
and bought it.
We use verb forms like had damaged for an event in the ‘earlier
past’. If there are two events in the past, we use the ‘had…’ form for
the event that occurred first in the past.
We also use the past perfect tense to show that something was
wished for, or expected before a particular time in the past. For
example, I had always wanted one…
Discuss with your partner the difference in meaning in the
sentences below.
When I reached the station, the train left.
When I reached the station, the train had left.
(ii) Fill in the blanks using the correct form of the verbs in brackets.
My little sister is very naughty. When she __________ (come) back
from school yesterday, she had __________ (tear) her dress.
We __________ (ask) her how it had __________ (happen). She __________
(say) she __________ __________ (have, quarrel) with a boy. She
__________ __________ (have, beat) him in a race and he __________
__________ (have, try) to push her. She __________ __________ (have,
2022-23
tell) the teacher and so he __________ __________ (have, chase) her,
and she __________ __________ (have, fall) down and __________
__________ (have, tear) her dress.
(iii) Underline the verbs and arrange them in two columns, Past and Earlier
past.
(a) My friends set out to see the caves in the next town, but I stayed
at home, because I had seen them already.
(b) When they arrived at the station, their train had left. They came back
home, but by that time I had gone out to see a movie!
(c) So they sat outside and ate the lunch I had packed for them.
(d) By the time I returned, they had fallen asleep!
Past Earlier past

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2. Dictionary work
By the end of the journey, we had run out of drinking water.
Look at the verb run out of in this sentence. It is a phrasal verb: it has
two parts, a verb and a preposition or an adverb. Phrasal verbs often
have meanings that are different from the meanings of their parts.
Find these phrasal verbs in the story.
burn out light up look on run out keep out
Write down the sentences in which they occur. Consult a dictionary and
write down the meaning that you think matches the meaning of the
phrasal verb in the sentence.
3. Noun phrase
Read the following sentence.
I took out a small black tin box.
The phrase in italics is a noun phrase.
It has the noun — box — as the head word, and three adjectives
preceding it.
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2022-23
Notice the order in which the adjectives occur — size (small), colour
(black) and material (tin) of which it is made.
We rarely use more than four adjectives before a noun and there is no
rigid order in which they are used, though there is a preferred order of
modifiers/adjectives in a noun phrase, as given below.
determiner modifier 1 modifier 2 modifier 3 modifier 4 head word

(opinion, (size, shape, age) (colour) (material)
feeling)
a/an/ nice/lazy/ tall/ red/white/ silk/cotton/ woman
round/ man/
the beautiful light/dark woollen
old/young table/chair
4. The table below contains a list of nouns and some adjectives. Use as
many adjectives as you can to describe each noun. You might come
up with some funny descriptions!
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Nouns Adjectives
elephant circular, striped, enormous, multicoloured,
face round, cheerful, wild, blue, red, chubby,
large, medium-sized, cold
building
water
1. In groups discuss whether wars are a good way to end conflicts between
countries. Then present your arguments to the whole class.
2. What kind of presents do you like and why? What are the things you keep
in mind when you buy presents for others? Discuss with your partner.
(For example, you might buy a book because it can be read and re-read
over a period of time.)
2022-23
1. Imagine that you are Jim. You have returned to your town after the war. In
your diary record how you feel about the changes you see and the events
that occur in your town. You could begin like this
25 December, 1919
It’s Christmas today, but the town looks…..
Or
Suppose you are the visitor. You are in a dilemma. You don't know whether
to disclose your identity and disappoint the old lady or let her believe that
her dear Jim has come back. Write a letter to a friend highlighting your
anxiety, fears and feelings.
2. Given below is the outline of a story. Construct the story using the outline.
A young, newly married doctor _______________ freedom fighter
_______________ exiled to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands by the
British _______________ infamous Cellular Jail _______________ prisoners
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tortured _______________ revolt by inmates _______________ doctor

hanged _______________ wife waits for his return _______________
becomes old _______________ continues to wait with hope and faith.
War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity; it destroys

religion, it destroys states, it destroys families.
— Martin Luther
This book is to be neither an accusation nor a confession, and least of
all an adventure, for death is not an adventure to those who stand face
to face with it. It will try simply to tell of a generation of men who, even
though they may have escaped shells, were destroyed by the war.
— Erich Maria Remarque, author of All Quiet on the Western Front
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A fable is a story, often with animals as characters, that conveys
a moral. This poem about an ant and a cricket contains an idea
of far-reaching significance, which is as true of a four-legged
cricket as of a ‘two-legged one’. Surely, you have seen a cricket
that has two legs!
A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing

Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring,
Began to complain when he found that, at home,
His cupboard was empty, and winter was come.
Not a crumb to be found
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On the snow-covered ground;

Not a flower could he see,
Not a leaf on a tree.
“Oh! what will become,” says the cricket, “of me?”
At last by starvation and famine made bold,

All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold,
Away he set off to a miserly ant,
To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant
Him shelter from rain,
And a mouthful of grain.
He wished only to borrow;
He’d repay it tomorrow;
If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow.
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Says the ant to the
cricket, “I’m your servant
and friend,
But we ants never
borrow; we ants never
lend.
But tell me, dear cricket,
did you lay nothing by
When the weather was
warm?” Quoth the cricket,
“Not I!
My heart was so light

That I sang day and night,
For all nature looked gay.”
“You sang, Sir, you say?
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Go then,” says the ant, “and dance the winter away.”
Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wicket,

And out of the door turned the poor little cricket.
Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true:
Some crickets have four legs, and some have two.
adapted from Aesop’s Fables
accustomed to sing: used to singing; in the habit of singing

famine: scarcity of food; having nothing to eat
lay nothing by: save nothing
quoth: (old English) said
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1. The cricket says, “Oh! what will become of me?” When does he say it,
and why?
2. (i) Find in the poem the lines that mean the same as “Neither a borrower
nor a lender be” (Shakespeare).
(ii) What is your opinion of the ant’s principles?
3. The ant tells the cricket to “dance the winter away”. Do you think the word
‘dance’ is appropriate here? If so, why?
4. (i) Which lines in the poem express the poet's comment? Read them aloud.
(ii) Write the comment in your own words.
If you know a fable in your own language, narrate it to your classmates.

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Answers to Questions on page 9.

(a) American Declaration of Independence.
(b) Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first flight, remaining in the air
for 12 seconds and covering 120 feet.
(c) Hiroshima Day: an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in Japan on
this day.
(d) Assassination of Mahatma Gandhi.
(e) Yuri A. Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth.
(f) Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the Moon.
The Ant and the Cricket 23
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Before you read
Look at the map of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands given here.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
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92° North
Andaman Now read the sentences
below. Rewrite the incorrect
Middle ones after correcting the
Andaman mistakes.
1. Katchall is an island.
Lower 2. It is part of the Andaman
Andaman
group
Port Blair of islands.
Andaman Sea 3. Nancowry is an island in
Little the Nicobar group.
Andaman
ANDAMAN
4. Katchall and Nancowry
ISLANDS
10°
are more than a hundred
miles apart. (Hint: the
scale of the map is given.)
Indian Car Nicobar 5. The Andaman and
Ocean
Nicobar Islands are to the
NICOBAR west of India.
ISLANDS
6. The Nicobar Islands are to
Tarasa 100 the north of the
Noncowry 0 km
Katchall Andaman Islands.
70
Great
24 Honeydew Little miles
Nicobar Nicobar
92°
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A tsunami is a very large and powerful wave caused by
earthquakes under the sea. On 26 December 2004, a tsunami
hit Thailand and parts of India such as the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, and the Tamil Nadu coast. Here are some
stories of courage and survival.
Did animals sense that a tsunami was coming? Some stories
suggest that they did.
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I archipelago:
These stories are all from the Andaman and Nicobar a group of
many islands
archipelago.
and the
Ignesious was the manager of a cooperative society surrounding
in Katchall. His wife woke him up at 6 a.m. because she sea
felt an earthquake. Ignesious carefully took his television tremor:
set off its table and put it down on the ground so that it a slight shake
would not fall and break. Then the family rushed out of Earth tremors:
the earth’s
the house.
shakes during
When the tremors stopped, they saw the sea rising. an earthquake
In the chaos and confusion, two of his children caught chaos:
hold of the hands of their mother’s father and mother’s complete
brother, and rushed in the opposite direction. He never disorder or
saw them again. His wife was also swept away. Only the confusion
[pronounced,
three other children who came with him were saved.
kay-os]
The Tsunami 25
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Sanjeev was a policeman, serving in the Katchall island
of the Nicobar group of islands. He somehow managed to
save himself, his wife and his baby daughter from the
waves. But then he heard cries for help from the wife of
John, the guesthouse cook. Sanjeev jumped into the water
to rescue her, but they were both swept away.
Thirteen year-old Meghna was swept away along with
her parents and seventy-seven other people. She spent
two days floating in the sea, holding on to a wooden door.
relief Eleven times she saw relief helicopters overhead, but they
helicopters: did not see her. She was brought to the shore by a wave,
helicopters
and was found walking on the seashore in a daze.
bringing help
to people (e.g. Almas Javed was ten years old. She was a student of
during floods) Carmel Convent in Port Blair where her father had a
petrol pump. Her mother Rahila’s home was in
Nancowry island. The family had gone there to celebrate
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Christmas.
When the tremors came early in the morning, the
family was sleeping. Almas’s father saw the sea water
recede: recede. He understood that the water would come
move back rushing back with great force. He woke everyone up
from where it and tried to rush them to a safer place.
was
As they ran, her grandfather was hit on the head by
something and he fell down. Her father rushed to help
him. Then came the first giant wave that swept both of
them away.
Almas’s mother and
aunts stood clinging to the
leaves of a coconut tree,
calling out to her. A wave
uprooted the tree, and they
too were washed away.
Almas saw a log of wood
floating. She climbed on to
it. Then she fainted. When
she woke up, she was in a
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2022-23
hospital in Kamorta. From there she was brought to
Port Blair.
The little girl does not want to talk about the incident
with anyone. She is still traumatised. traumatised:
greatly
Comprehension Check shocked and
distressed
Say whether the following are true or false.
1. Ignesious lost his wife, two children, his father-in-law, and
his brother-in-law in the tsunami.
2. Sanjeev made it to safety after the tsunami.
3. Meghna was saved by a relief helicopter.
4. Almas’s father realised that a tsunami was going to hit the
island.
5. Her mother and aunts were washed away with the
tree that they were holding on to.
II
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Tilly Smith (a British school girl) was able to save many

lives when the tsunami struck Phuket beach in Thailand.
Though she has won a number of awards, her parents
have not allowed their daughter to be interviewed on
television and made into a heroine. Why do you think they
took that decision?
Now here is a story from Thailand. resort:
The Smith family from South-East England were a place where
celebrating Christmas at a beach resort in southern people go on
Thailand. Tilly Smith was a ten-year-old schoolgirl; her holiday
sister was seven years old. Their parents were Penny triggered:
caused
and Colin Smith. (describes a
It was 26 December 2004. Deadly tsunami waves sudden,
were already on their way. They had been triggered violent
by a massive earthquake off northern Sumatra earlier reaction –
that morning. here, an
undersea
“The water was swelling and kept coming in,” Penny earthquake
Smith remembered. “The beach was getting smaller and caused the
smaller. I didn’t know what was happening.” tsunami)
The Tsunami 27
2022-23
But Tilly Smith sensed that something was wrong.
Her mind kept going back to a geography lesson she
had taken in England just two weeks before she flew
out to Thailand with her family.
Tilly saw the sea slowly rise, and start to foam, bubble
and form whirlpools. She remembered that she had seen
this in class in a video of a tsunami that had hit the
Hawaiian islands in 1946. Her geography teacher had
shown her class the video, and told them that tsunamis
can be caused by earthquakes, volcanoes and landslides.
Tilly started to scream at her family to get off the
beach. “She talked about an earthquake under the sea.
hysterical: She got more and more hysterical,” said her mother
when you are Penny. “I didn’t know what a tsunami was. But seeing
hysterical, you my daughter so frightened, I thought something serious
shout, laugh
or cry in a
must be going on.”
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wild excited Tilly’s parents took her and her sister away from the
way, without beach, to the swimming pool at the hotel. A number of
any control other tourists also left the beach with them. “Then it
over yourself was as if the entire sea had come out after them. I was
screaming, ‘Run!’”
refuge: The family took refuge in the third floor of the hotel.
shelter or The building withstood the surge of three tsunami waves.
protection If they had stayed on the beach, they would not have
from danger
been alive.
withstood:
endured
The Smiths later met other tourists who had lost
without entire families. Thanks to Tilly and her geography lesson,
collapsing they had been forewarned. Tilly went back to her school
surge: in England and told her classmates her terrifying tale.
force;
momentum Comprehension Check
Answer the following in a phrase or sentence.
1. Why did Tilly’s family come to Thailand?
2. What were the warning signs that both Tilly and her mother saw?
3. Do you think Tilly’s mother was alarmed by them?
4. Where had Tilly seen the sea behaving in the same strange
fashion?
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2022-23
5. Where did the Smith family and the others on the
beach go to escape from the tsunami?
6. How do you think her geography teacher felt when
he heard about what Tilly had done in Phuket?
III
Look carefully at the picture of the boy and his dog, and
try to describe the things that you see, using just words
and phrases. Either the teacher or one of the students
can write down the words and phrases on the blackboard.
This is how you can start —
calm, blue sea …. ruined huts……… When do you
Before the giant waves slammed into the coast in think this picture
was taken?
India and Sri Lanka, wild and domestic animals seemed
to know what was about to happen. They fled to safety. Did you know
According to eyewitness accounts, elephants screamed that very few
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and ran for higher ground; dogs refused to go outdoors; animals

flamingoes abandoned their low-lying breeding areas; actually died
in the
and zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could
tsunami?
not be enticed to come back out.
Many people believe that animals possess a sixth
sense and know when the earth is going to shake. Some
experts believe that animals’ more acute hearing helps
them to hear or feel the earth’s vibration. They can sense
an approaching disaster long before humans realise
what’s going on.
We cannot be sure whether animals have a sixth
sense or not. But the fact is that the giant waves that
rolled through the Indian Ocean killed more than
150,000 people in a dozen countries; but not many
animals have been reported dead.
Along India’s Cuddalore coast, where thousands of
people perished, buffaloes, goats and dogs were found
unharmed. The Yala National Park in Sri Lanka is home
to a variety of animals including elephants, leopards,
and 130 species of birds. Sixty visitors were washed
away from the Patanangala beach inside the park; but
The Tsunami 29
2022-23
no animal carcasses were found, except for two water
buffaloes. About an hour before the tsunami hit, people
at Yala National Park had observed three elephants
running away from the Patanangala beach.
A Sri Lankan gentleman who lives on the coast near
Galle said his two dogs would not go for their daily run
on the beach. “They are usually excited to go on this
outing,” he said. But on that day they refused to go,
and most probably saved his life.
Comprehension check
Answer using a phrase or a sentence.
1. In the tsunami 150,000 people died. How many animals died?
2. How many people and animals died in Yala National Park?
3. What do people say about the elephants of Yala National Park?
4. What did the dogs in Galle do?
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Discuss the following questions in class. Then write your own answers.
1. When he felt the earthquake, do you think Ignesious immediately worried
about a tsunami? Give reasons for your answer. Which sentence in the text
tells you that the Ignesious family did not have any time to discuss and
plan their course of action after the tsunami struck?
2. Which words in the list below describe Sanjeev, in your opinion?
(Look up the dictionary for words that you are not sure of.)
cheerful ambitious brash brave careless

heroic selfless heartless humorous
Use words from the list to complete the three sentences below.
(i) I don’t know if Sanjeev was cheerful, ___________ or ___________.
(ii) I think that he was very brave,___________ and___________.
(iii) Sanjeev was not heartless, ___________or___________.
3. How are Meghna and Almas’s stories similar?
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2022-23
4. What are the different ways in which Tilly’s parents could have reacted to
her behaviour? What would you have done if you were in their place?
5. If Tilly’s award was to be shared, who do you think she should share it with
— her parents or her geography teacher?
6. What are the two different ideas about why so few animals were killed in the
tsunami? Which idea do you find more believable?
1. Go through Part-I carefully, and make a list of as many words as you can
find that indicate movement of different kinds. (There is one word that occurs
repeatedly — count how many times!) Put them into three categories.
fast movement slow movement neither slow nor fast
Can you explain why there are many words in one column and not in the
others?
2. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below (the verbs given in brackets will
give you a clue).
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(i) The earth trembled, but not many people felt the _________. (tremble)
(ii) When the zoo was flooded, there was a lot of _________ and many
animals escaped into the countryside. (confuse)
(iii) We heard with _________ that the lion had been recaptured. (relieve)
(iv) The zookeeper was stuck in a tree and his _________ was filmed by the
TV crew. (rescue)
(v) There was much _________ in the village when the snake charmer came
visiting. (excite)
3. Study the sentences in the columns A and B.
A B
Meghna was swept away. The waves swept Meghna away.
Almas's grandfather was hit on the Something hit Almas’s grandfather on

head. the head.
Sixty visitors were washed away. The waves washed away sixty visitors.
No animal carcasses were found. People did not find any animal carcasses.
The Tsunami 31
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Compare the sentences in A to the ones in B. Who is the ‘doer’ of the
action in every case? Is the ‘doer’ mentioned in A, or in B?
Notice the verbs in A: ‘was swept away’, ‘was hit’, ‘were washed away’,
‘were found’. They are in the passive form. The sentences are in the
Passive Voice. In these sentences, the focus is not on the person who
does the action.
In B, the ‘doer’ of the action is named. The verbs are in the active form.
The sentences are in the Active Voice.
Say whether the following sentences are in the Active or the Passive voice.
Write A or P after each sentence as shown in the first sentence.
(i) Someone stole my bicycle. __A__
(ii) The tyres were deflated by the traffic police. _______________
(iii) I found it last night in a ditch near my house. _______________
(iv) It had been thrown there. _______________
(v) My father gave it to the mechanic. _______________
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(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. _______________
1. Suppose you are one of the volunteers who went to the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands for relief work after the tsunami. You work in the relief camps,
distributing food, water and medicine among the victims. You listen to the
various stories of bravery of ordinary people even as they fight against odds
to bring about some semblance of normalcy in their lives. You admire their
grit and determination. Write a diary entry.
You may start in this way.
31 December, 2004
The killer tsunami struck these islands five days ago. But the victims
are being brought in even now. Each one has a story to tell...
2. The story shows how a little girl saved the lives of many tourists when a
tsunami struck the beach, thanks to the geography lesson that she had
learnt at school. She remembered the visuals of a tsunami and warned
her parents.
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Do you remember any incident when something that you learnt in the
classroom helped you in some way outside the classroom?
Write your experiences in a paragraph of about 90–100 words or narrate it
to the whole class like an anecdote.
Katchall is one of the largest islands in the central group.

It is about 61 sq miles in area. It is slightly hilly at the
centre, but otherwise remarkably flat.
Betty at the Party

Party
‘When I was at the party,’
Said Betty, aged just four,
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‘A little girl fell off her chair

Right down upon the floor;
And all the other little girls
Began to laugh, but me –
I didn’t laugh a single bit’,
Said Betty seriously.
‘Why not?’– her mother asked her,
Full of delight to find
That Betty – bless her little heart! –
Had been so sweetly kind.
‘Why didn’t you laugh, my darling?
Or don’t you like to tell?’
‘I didn’t laugh,’ said Betty,
‘Because it was I that fell.’
–Unknown
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Can you imagine what your city would look like if you saw it
from ten thousand feet above the ground? Neatly planned and
perfect in proportion like a geometric design, it would strike you
as something very different from what it actually is while you
are in the thick of it.
Here is a poet's description of just such a view of the city, and
some questions that come to his mind.
When the jet sprang into the sky,

it was clear why the city
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had developed the way it had,

seeing it scaled six inches to the mile.
There seemed an inevitability
about what on ground had looked haphazard,
unplanned and without style
When the jet sprang into the sky.
When the jet reached ten thousand feet,

it was clear why the country
had cities where the rivers ran
and why the valleys were populated.
The logic of geography —
that land and water attracted man —
was clearly delineated
When the jet reached ten thousand feet.
When the jet rose six miles high,

it was clear the earth was round
and that it had more sea than land.
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But it was difficult to understand
that the men on the earth found
causes to hate each other, to build
walls across cities and to kill.
From that height, it was not clear why.
ZULFIKAR GHOSE
inevitable: that cannot be avoided

haphazard: without plan or order
delineated: shown
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1. Find three or four phrases in stanzas one and two which are likely to
occur in a geography lesson.
2. Seen from the window of an aeroplane, the city appears
(i) as haphazard as on ground.
(ii) as neat as a map.
(iii) as developed as necessary.
Mark the right answer.
3. Which of the following statements are examples of “the logic of geography”?
(i) There are cities where there are rivers.
(ii) Cities appear as they are not from six miles above the ground.
(iii) It is easy to understand why valleys are populated.
(iv) It is difficult to understand why humans hate and kill one another.
(v) The earth is round, and it has more sea than land.
4. Mention two things that are
(i) clear from the height.
(ii) not clear from the height.
Geography Lesson 35
2022-23
Before you read
Here are some pictorial glimpses of the history of our
country from 1757 to 1857. These pictures and
‘speech bubbles’ will help clarify your understanding
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of the conditions that led to the event known as the

First War of Independence in 1857.
1. The Martyrs At a function in Delhi
Oh my countrymen!
Let your eyes fill with tears,
as you recall the sacrifices of
India’s martyrs.
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2. The Company’s conquests (1757-1849)
With its superior weapons, the British Indian princes were short-sighted.
East India Company was extending its
power in 18th century India. That upstart Rajah
Bah! Call the English
merchants. They will
help me to defeat him.
INDIA 1765
Indian Princes
British
Territory
The people had no peace due to such constant fights.
The rivalries helped the East India Company A far-seeing ruler like the
and it could easily subdue Indian princes brave Tipu of Mysore
one by one. fought the British till he
died fighting!
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Thank God, there is peace How did Indians react to these conquests? Some kings were not
in the country now! No good, but after all,
more wars and no looting The white man has they were of this land.
by thugs ! Our destiny killed or dethroned
is linked our kings.
with them!
It is God
who sent
the British!
Now we have
become slaves
of foreigners!
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2022-23
3. British Rule (1765-1836)
Religious leaders preached ideas like untouchability and child marriage.
Anyone who crosses the

seas loses his religion.
All the misery in the

world is due to women.
The truth was that Indians had lost self-respect. Being merchants, the British wanted quick profits, their
The British scorned them. heavy taxes forced farmers to abandon their fields.
But your men are You are still in

arrears. If you don’t
taking all my crop!
pay next week. I will
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send you to jail.
The natives are

unworthy of trust,
incapable of
honesty–
True, your honour,

but I am honest.
Inevitably famines followed. Between 1822 and

Still, the British invented other methods 1836 fifteen lakh Indians died of starvation.
which gave them more profits.
The British policies

ruined the expert
artisans and their
business.
The goods manufactured

in England should not A good
have any import duty idea!
when brought into India.
The East India Company’s

laws began to cripple
Indian industries.
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4. Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833)
Ram Mohan Roy, a learned man from Bengal, He told his wife Uma–
understood what was wrong with the country.
Let us not despise ourselves, our ancient culture is Cows are of different colours, but
great. And we are capable of greater achievements. the colour of their milk is the
We must first reform our society. same. Different teachers have
Superstitions have been different opinions but the essence
ruining us. of every religion is the same.
He was attracted by
science and modern
knowledge.
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Knowledge should
be practical and
scientific.
He crossed the seas and
went to England to see what
made the British powerful.
There he told them–
We accept you as rulers,

and you must accept us
as subjects. But you
must remember the
responsibility a ruler
owes to his subjects.
He started
newspapers but
the suspicious
British stopped
them in 1823.
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5. Oppression (1765-1835)
But the British continued to oppress Indians. In All the time British officers in India
1818, they had passed Regulation III. Under it, an drew big salaries and also made
Indian could be jailed without trial in a court. fortunes in private business.
By 1829, Britain was

exporting British goods
worth seven crore
rupees to India.
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The British prospered on

the Company’s loot
Governor-General Bentinck reported while Indian industries
back home – began to die.
“The bones of cotton weavers are bleaching

the plains of India.”
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6. Dissatisfaction (1835-56)
Education in India was in Persian and English education produced clerks to whom the British gave petty
Sanskrit. In 1835, a Englishman named jobs under them. Incidentally, it also produced a new generation
Macaulay suggested a change. of intellectuals.
We must And try to For that we must
educate our improve their convey our grievances
We should teach the to the British
brothers. material
natives through the Parliament.
English language. conditions.
I agree.
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By 1856, the
British had
conquered the
They cared little about the needs of Indians.
whole of India.
Our kings have
become puppets,
and we have lost And
our old jobs. lands. They are You only talk!
converting Do something
our brothers! to drive then
out!
States
British
area
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7. The Sparks (1855-57)
Taxes continued to ruin the peasants. In
Bengal, the Santhals who had lost their lands
under new land rules, became desperate. In
1855, they rose in rebellion and massacred
Europeans and their supporters alike.
Discontent was brewing in the East India Company’s army too. Thousands of other sepoys revolted. They
were stripped of their uniforms,
The white
soldier gets While we get a The Angrez asks us to cross
huge pay, pittance and slow the sea which is against our
mansions to promotions ! religion. Who
live in, is the topiwala
servants. to abolish our
age-old
customs?
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We must
drive
out the
Angrez.
Sepoy Mangal Pande attacked the adjutant of his regiment and

was executed. humiliated and put in irons.
Soon, chapaties were sent from village Similarly lotus

Few Englishmen had cared to understand Indian
customs or the to village to tell the people that their flowers
Oh, proud Brahmin emperor would want their services. circulated
soldiers, do you know people’s mind.
among Indian
that the grease on the
bullet you have to bite is The white soldiers.
What ?
made from the fat of man has
cows and pigs? Death to the
deceived
foreigner !
us too!
Yes, all my
village men
will be ready.
The masses
gave all help
and shelter to
the patriots.
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8. Revolt (1857)
The sepoys marched to Delhi.
Then there was a violent outbreak at Meerut.
Long live our

Emperor
Bahadur Shah !
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The rebellion spread wider. Many landlords had lost their lands because of the British
policies, and they were sore.
The white man’s Yes, we will

rule must end! help you.
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9. The Fight for Freedom (1857)
Many former rulers like Begum Hazrat Popular leaders like Maulvi Ahmedulla of Faizabad told
Mahal of Lucknow were bitter. the people –
Rise, brothers, rise !

The white man has The Angrez is ruining
taken away my our land !
kingdom !
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They joined the upsurge against the The people rose everywhere, in Bareilly, Kanpur and
foreigner. Allahabad.
Azimulla Khan We should have Peshwa Nana Eighty-year old Kunwar Singh of Bihar received
told Tatya Tope Saheb as our leader in this a bullet in his wrist.
war of independence
Mother Ganga !
This is my last
offering to you !
The patriots pounced upon the

British and fought pitched
battles all over North India.
from Our Freedom Movement

S.D. SAWANT
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Comprehension Check
1. Look at picture 1 and recall the opening lines of the original song
in Hindi. Who is the singer? Who else do you see in this picture?
2. In picture 2 what do you understand by the Company’s
“superior weapons”?
3. Who is an artisan? Why do you think the artisans suffered?
(picture 3)
4. Which picture, according to you, reveals the first sparks of
the fire of revolt?
Answer the following questions.

1. Do you think the Indian princes were short-sighted in their approach to
the events of 1757?
2. How did the East India Company subdue the Indian princes?
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3. Quote the words used by Ram Mohan Roy to say that every religion teaches
the same principles.
4. In what ways did the British officers exploit Indians?
5. Name these people.
(i) The ruler who fought pitched battles against the British and died fighting.
(ii) The person who wanted to reform the society.
(iii) The person who recommended the introduction of English education
in India.
(iv) Two popular leaders who led the revolt (Choices may vary.)
6. Mention the following.
(i) Two examples of social practices prevailing then.
(ii) Two oppressive policies of the British.
(iii) Two ways in which common people suffered.
(iv) Four reasons for the discontent that led to the 1857 War of
Independence.
In comics what the characters speak is put in bubbles. This is direct narration.
When we report what the characters speak, we use the method of indirect narration.
2022-23
Study these examples.
First farmer: Why are your men taking away the entire crop?
Second farmer: Your men have taken away everything.
Officer: You are still in arrears. If you don’t pay tax next week, I’ll send you to jail.
l The first farmer asked the officer why his men were taking away the entire crop.
l The second farmer said that their men had taken away everything.
l The officer replied that they were still in arrears and warned them that if
they did not pay tax the following week, he (the officer) would send them
(the farmers) to jail.
1. Change the following sentences into indirect speech.
(i) First man: We must educate our brothers.
Second man: And try to improve their material conditions.
Third man: For that we must convey our grievances to the British Parliament.
The first man said that ______________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
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The second man added that _______________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
The third man suggested that ________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
(ii) First soldier: The white soldier gets huge pay, mansions and servants.
Second soldier: We get a pittance and slow promotions.
Third soldier: Who are the British to abolish our customs?
The first soldier said that ___________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
The second soldier remarked that __________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
The third soldier asked __________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
1. Playact the role of farmers who have grievances against the policies
of the government. Rewrite their ‘speech bubbles’ in dialogue form first.
46 Honeydew
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2. Look at the pictures.
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Fox accidentally falls into a well
“How do I get out of here?” “Hello! Is this water sweet?”
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“Too sweet! I’ve had so “Let me taste it.”
much, I might faint.”
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“Thanks for the help. “My mother used to say:

Come out when you can.” Be careful how you take the
advice of people you don’t know.”
(i) Ask one another questions about the pictures.

l Where is the fox? l How did it happen?
l What is the fox thinking? l Who is the visitor?
l What does she want to know? l What is the fox’s reply?
l What happens next? l Where is the goat?
l Where is the fox now? l What is the goat thinking?
(ii) Write the story in your own words. Give it a title.

______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
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3. Read the following news item.
History becomes fun at this school

Mumbai: Students in the sixth grade of a certain school in Navi Mumbai love
their history lessons thanks to a novel teaching aid. It is not surprising given
the fact that their study material includes comic books and they use their
textbooks for reference to put things into perspective. Besides, students are
encouraged to tap other sources of information as well. During history classes,
students pore over comic strips of historical periods, enact characters of
emperors and tyrants, and have animated discussions on the subject. History
has become fun.
In the class students are asked to read the comic strip aloud, after which
they break up into groups of four, discuss what they have heard and write a
summary. Each group leader reads his group's summary aloud and the
whole class jumps into discussion and debate, adding points, disagreeing
and qualifying points of view. A sixth grade student says, “It’s a lot of fun
because everyone gets a chance to express themselves and the summary
takes everyone's ideas into account.”
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According to the school principal the comic strip format and visuals appeal
to students. A historian feels that using comics in schools is a great idea.
Comics and acting help students understand what characters in the story
are actually thinking.
(adapted from The Times of India, New Delhi, October 2007)
Based on this news item, write a paragraph on what you think about this
new method of teaching history.
4. Find the chapters in your history book that correspond to the episodes and
events described in this comic. Note how the information contained in a few
chapters of history has been condensed to a few pages with the help of pictures
and ‘speech bubbles’.
5. Create a comic of your own using this story.
Once the Sun and the Wind began to quarrel, each one saying that he
was stronger than the other. At last they decided to test each other’s
strength. A man with a cloak around his shoulders was passing by.
The Wind boasted, “Using my strength I can make that man take off
the cloak.” The Sun agreed. The Wind blew hard. The man felt so cold
that he clasped his cloak round his body as tightly as possible.
Now it was the turn of the Sun which shone very hot indeed. The
man felt so hot that he at once removed the cloak from his body.
Seeing the man taking off the cloak, the Wind conceded defeat.
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Macavity : The Mystery Cat
Do you have a pet cat? Have you ever noticed anything
mysterious about it? It is not easy to say whether every cat is a
mystery, but Macavity is one, for sure. What is it that makes
him a perfect mystery cat? Read the poem and find out.
Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden

Paw —
For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.
He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s
despair:
For when they reach the scene of crime — Macavity’s
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not there!
Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like

Macavity,
He’s broken every human law, he breaks
the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir
stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime
— Macavity’s not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you
may look up in the air —
But I tell you once and once again,
Macavity’s not there!
Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and

thin;
You would know him if you saw him, for
his eyes are sunken in.
His brow is deeply lined with thought, his
head is highly domed;
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His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.
He sways his head from side to side, with movements
like a snake;
And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.
Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,

For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.
You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in
the square —
But when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!
T.S. ELIOT
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defy: disobey or resist openly

Scotland Yard: the headquarters of the London police force
Flying Squad: a group of police or soldiers ready to move into action quickly
levitation: floating in the air without support
fiend: devil
feline: of, or relating to, a cat
depravity: moral corruption
1. Read the first stanza and think.

(i) Is Macavity a cat really?
(ii) If not, who can Macavity be?
2. Complete the following sentences.
(i) A master criminal is one who ___________________
(ii) The Scotland Yard is baffled because ___________________
(iii) ___________________ because Macavity moves much faster than them.
3. “A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through”.
(Jules Verne)
Which law is Macavity breaking in the light of the comment above?
Macavity : The Mystery Cat 51
2022-23
4. Read stanza 3, and then, describe Macavity in two or three sentences of
your own.
5. Say ‘False’ or ‘True’ for each of the following statements.
(i) Macavity is not an ordinary cat.
(ii) Macavity cannot do what a fakir can easily do.
(iii) Macavity has supernatural powers.
(iv) Macavity is well-dressed, smart and bright.
(v) Macavity is a spy, a trickster and a criminal, all rolled in one.
6. Having read the poem, try to guess whether the poet is fond of cats. If so,
why does he call Macavity a fiend and monster?
7. Has the poet used exaggeration for special effect? Find a few examples of it
and read those lines aloud.
Rick: What did Papa Firefly tell Mama Firefly?

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Hick: I don’t know.

Rick: Isn’t our child bright for his age!
Mary: Why isn’t a nose twelve inches long?

Jo: I don’t know. Why?
Mary: Because if it was twelve inches long it would be
a foot.
Anita: I got a hundred in school today.

Mother: That’s wonderful. What did you get a hundred in?
Anita: Forty in Maths and sixty in English.
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Before you read
Do you have a good memory? Has your memory ever
played any tricks on you?
Forgetfulness often puts you in a tight spot. But forgetting
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a part of your life completely may drive you crazy. In this

story, Bepin Babu goes nearly crazy because he cannot
recollect his stay at Ranchi. He has never been to Ranchi,
he insists, though there are many witnesses to the
contrary. What is the suspense all about?
I
Every Monday, on his way back from work, Bepin
Choudhury would drop in at Kalicharan's in New Market
to buy books. Crime stories, ghost stories and thrillers.
He had to buy at least five at a time to last him through
the week. He lived alone, was not a good mixer, had few
friends, and didn’t like spending time in idle chat. Today, idle chat:
at Kalicharan’s, Bepin Babu had the feeling that unnecessary,
someone was observing him from close quarters. He routine
conversation
turned round and found himself looking at a round
faced, meek looking man who now broke into a smile. meek:
“I don’t suppose you recognise me.” quiet; humble
“Have we met before?” asked Bepin Babu.
The man looked greatly surprised. “We met every day for a
whole week. I arranged for a car to take you to the Hudroo falls.
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In 1958. In Ranchi. My name is Parimal Ghose.”
“Ranchi?”
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Now Bepin Babu realised that it was not he but this

man who was making a mistake. Bepin Babu had never
been to Ranchi. He had been at the point of going several
times, but never made it. He smiled and said, “Do you
know who I am?”
The man raised his eyebrows, bit his tongue and
said, “Do I know you? Who doesn’t know Bepin
Choudhury?”
Bepin Babu now turned towards the bookshelves and
said, “Still you’re making a mistake. One often does.
I’ve never been to Ranchi.”
The man now laughed aloud.
“What are you saying, Mr Choudhury? You had a
fall in Hudroo and cut your right knee. I brought you
iodine. I had fixed up a car for you to go to Netarhat the
next day, but you couldn’t because of the pain in the
knee. Can’t you recall anything? Someone else you know
was also in Ranchi at that time. Mr Dinesh Mukerji.
You stayed in a bungalow. You said you didn’t like hotel
food and would prefer to have your meals cooked by a
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bawarchi. Mr Mukerji stayed with his sister. You had a
big argument about the moon landing, remember? I’ll
tell you more: you always carried a bag with your books
in it on your sight-seeing trips. Am I right or not?”
Bepin Babu spoke quietly, his eyes still on the books.
“Which month in ’58 are you talking about?”
The man said, “October.”
“No, sir,” said Bepin Babu. “I spent Puja in ’58 with
a friend in Kanpur. You’re making a mistake. Good day.”
But the man didn’t go, nor did he stop talking.
“Very strange. One evening I had tea with you in a
veranda of your bungalow. You spoke about your family.
You said you had no children, and that you had lost
your wife ten years ago. Your only brother had died
insane, which is why you didn’t want to visit the mental
hospital in Ranchi...”
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When Bepin Babu had paid for the books and was
leaving the shop, the man was still looking at him in
utter disbelief. utter disbelief:
complete
Comprehension Check surprise
1. Why did the man stare at Bepin Babu in disbelief?
2. Where did Bepin Babu say he went in October '58?
3. Mention any three (or more) things that Parimal Ghose knew
about Bepin Babu.
II
Bepin Babu’s car was safely parked in Bertram Street
by the Lighthouse Cinema. He told the driver as he got
into the car, “Just drive by the Ganga, will you, Sitaram.”
Driving up the Strand Road, Bepin Babu regretted
having paid so much attention to the intruder. He had
never been to Ranchi — no question about it. It was (his) head
reeled:
inconceivable that he should forget such an incident he was
which took place only six or seven years ago. He had an shocked and
excellent memory. Unless — Bepin Babu’s head reeled. confused
Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory 61
2022-23
losing his Was he losing his mind? But how could that be? He
mind: was working daily in his office. It was a big firm, and he
becoming
mad
was doing a responsible job. He wasn’t aware of anything
ever going seriously wrong. Only today he spoke for
half an hour at an important meeting. And yet...
And yet the man knew a great deal about him. How?
intimate: He even seemed to know some intimate details. The bag
very personal of books, wife’s death, brother’s insanity... The only
and private mistake was about his having gone to Ranchi. Not a
mistake; a deliberate lie. In ’58, during the Pujas, he
was in Kanpur at his friend Haridas Bagchi’s place.
All Bepin Babu had to do was write to — no, there was
no way of writing to Haridas. Bepin Babu suddenly
remembered that Haridas had left with his wife for Japan
some weeks ago, and he didn’t have his address.
But where was the need for proof? He himself was
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fully aware that he hadn’t been to Ranchi — and that

was that.
bracing: The river breeze was bracing, and yet a slight
stimulating discomfort lingered in Bepin Babu’s mind.
Around Hastings, Bepin Babu decided to roll up his
trousers and take a look at his right knee.
There was the mark of an old inch-long cut. It was
impossible to tell when the injury had occurred.
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Had he never had a fall as a boy and cut his knee? He
tried to recall such an incident, but couldn’t.
Then Bepin Babu suddenly thought of Dinesh
Mukerji. The man had said that Dinesh was in Ranchi
at the same time. The best thing surely would be to ask
him. He lived quite near — in Beninandan Street. What
about going right now? But then, if he had really never
been to Ranchi, what would Dinesh think if Bepin Babu
asked for a confirmation? He would probably conclude
Bepin Babu was going nuts. No; it would be ridiculous going nuts:
to ask him. going mad/
And he knew how ruthless Dinesh’s sarcasm crazy
could be.
Sipping a cold drink in his air-conditioned living
room, Bepin Babu felt at ease again. Such a nuisance!
Just because they have nothing else to do, they go about
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getting into other people’s hair. getting into

A fter dinner, snuggling in bed with one of the new people’s hair:
interfering
thrillers, Bepin Babu forgot all about the man in New
with and
Market. annoying
Next day, in the office, Bepin Babu noticed that with people.
every passing hour, the previous day’s encounter was
occupying more and more of his mind. If the man knew
so much about Bepin Babu, how could he make such a
mistake about the Ranchi trip?
Just before lunch Bepin Babu decided to ring up
Dinesh Mukerji. It was better to settle the question over
the phone; at least the embarrassment on his face
wouldn’t show.
Two-Three-Five-Six-One-Six. Bepin Babu dialled
the number.
“Hallo.”
“Is that Dinesh? This is Bepin here.”
“Well, well — what’s the news?”
“I just wanted to find out if you recalled an incident
which took place in’ 58.”
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“’58? What incident?”
“Were you in Calcutta right through that year? That’s
the first thing I’ve got to know.”
“Wait just a minute... ’58... just let me check in
my diary.”
For a minute there was silence. Bepin Babu could
feel that his heartbeat had gone up. He was sweating
a little.
“Hallo.”
“Yes.”
“I've got it. I’d been out twice.”
“Where?”
“Once in February — nearby — to Krishnanagar to a
nephew’s wedding. And then... but you’d know about
this one. The trip to Ranchi. You were there too. That’s
sleuthing: all. But what’s all this sleuthing about?”
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investigating “No. I just wanted to — anyway, thanks.”

(an event) Bepin Babu slammed the receiver down and gripped
his head with his hands. He felt his head swimming. A
chill seemed to spread over his body. There were
sandwiches in his tiffin box, but he didn’t eat them. He
had lost his appetite.
Comprehension Check
1. Why did Bepin Babu worry about what Parimal Ghose had said?
2. How did he try to decide who was right—his memory or
Parimal Ghose?
3. Why did Bepin Babu hesitate to visit Mr Mukerji? Why did
he finally decide to phone him?
4. What did Mr Mukerji say? Did it comfort Bepin Babu, or add
to his worries?
III
After lunch-time, Bepin Babu realised that he couldn’t
carry on: possibly carry on sitting at his desk and working. This
continue had never happened in the twenty-five years he had
been with the firm. He had a reputation for being a
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tireless, conscientious worker. But today his head was conscientious:
in a whirl. careful and
correct
Back home at two-thirty, Bepin Babu lay down in head was in a
bed and tried to gather his wits together. He knew that whirl:
it was possible to lose one’s memory through an injury (here)
in the head, but he didn’t know of a single instance of confused and
someone remembering everything except one particular unable to
think clearly
incident — and a fairly recent and significant one at gather his wits
that. He had always wanted to go to Ranchi; to have together:
gone there, done things, and not to remember was make an effort
something utterly impossible. to become
At seven thirty, Bepin Babu’s servant came and calm and
think clearly
announced, “Chuni Babu, sir. Says it’s very important.”
Bepin Babu knew what Chuni had come for. Chunilal
had been at school with him. He’d been having a rough having a
time lately and had been coming to see him about a rough time:
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job. Bepin Babu knew it was not possible to do anything having a lot of
problems
for him and, in fact, told him so. But Chuni kept turning turning up
up like a bad penny. like a bad
Bepin Babu sent word that not only was it not penny:
possible for him to see Chuni now, but not in several appearing at a
weeks. place where
one is not
But as soon as the servant stepped out of the room, welcome
it struck Bepin Babu that Chuni might remember
something about the ’58 trip. There was no harm in
asking him.
Bepin Babu hurried down the stairs and into the didn’t beat
about the
living room. Chuni was about to leave, but seeing Bepin bush:
Babu appear, he turned round hopefully. came straight
Bepin Babu didn’t beat about the bush. to the point
“Listen, Chuni - I want to ask you something. You off and on:
have a good memory, and you've been seeing me off now and then
throw your
and on for a long time. Just throw your mind back and mind back:
tell me - did I go to Ranchi in ’58?” think back
Chuni said, “’58? It must have been ’58. Or was it and recall a
’59?” past event
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“You’re sure that I did go to Ranchi?”
Chuni’s look of amazement was not unmixed with
worry.
“D’ you mean you have doubts about having gone at
all?”
“Did I go? Do you remember clearly?”
Chuni sat down on the sofa, fixed Bepin Babu with
a long, hard stare and said, “Bepin, have you taken to
drugs or something? As far as I know, you had a clean
record where such things were concerned. I know that
old friendships don’t mean much to you, but at least
you had a good memory. You can’t really mean that
you’ve forgotten about the Ranchi trip?”
Bepin Babu had to turn away from Chuni’s
incredulous stare.
“Do you remember what my last job was?” asked
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Chunilal.
“Of course. You worked in a travel agency.”
“You remember that and you don’t remember that it
was I who fixed up your railway booking for Ranchi? I
went to the station to see you off; one of the fans in
your compartment was not working — I got an electrician
to fix it. Have you forgotten everything? Whatever is the
matter with you? You don’t look too well, you know.”
Bepin Babu sighed and shook his head.
“I’ve been working too hard,” he said at last. “That
must see about must be the reason. Must see about consulting a
consulting: specialist.”
(here) may
Doubtless it was Bepin’s condition which made
have to
consult Chunilal leave without mentioning anything about a job.
Paresh Chanda was a young physician with a pair of
bright eyes and a sharp nose. He became thoughtful
when he heard about Bepin Babu’s symptoms. “Look,
Dr Chanda,” said Bepin Babu desperately, “You must
cure me of this horrible illness. I can’t tell you how it's
affecting my work.”
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Dr Chanda shook his head.
“You know what, Mr Choudhury,” he said. “I’ve never
had to deal with a case such as yours. Frankly, this is
quite outside my field of experience. But I have one
suggestion. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth a
try. It can do no harm.”
Bepin Babu leaned forward anxiously.
“As far as I can make out,” said Dr Chanda, “And I
think you’re of the same opinion — you must have been
to Ranchi, but due to some unknown reason, the entire
episode has slipped out of your mind. What I suggest is
that you go to Ranchi once again. The sight of the place
may remind you of your trip. This is not impossible.
More than that I cannot do at the moment. I’m
prescribing a nerve tonic and a tranquilliser. Sleep is tranquilliser:
essential, or the symptoms will get more pronounced.” a medicine to
reduce stress
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Bepin Babu felt somewhat better the next morning.

and anxiety
After breakfast, he rang up his office, gave some
instructions and then procured a first class ticket for procured:
Ranchi for the same evening. got (with a
little difficulty)
Comprehension Check
1. Who was Chunilal? What did he want from Bepin Babu?
2. Why was Dr Chanda puzzled? What was unusual about
Bepin Babu's loss of memory?
IV
Getting off the train at Ranchi next morning, he realised
at once that he had never been there before.
He came out of the station, took a taxi and drove
around the town for a while. He realised that the streets,
the buildings, the hotels, the bazaars, the Morabadi Hill
— with none of these had he the slightest acquaintance.
Would a trip to the Hudroo Falls help? He didn't believe
so, but, at the same time, he didn't wish to leave with the
feeling that he hadn’t tried enough. So he arranged for a
car and left for Hudroo in the afternoon.
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At five o’clock the same afternoon in Hudroo, two
Gujarati gentlemen from a group of picnickers discovered
Bepin Babu lying unconscious beside a boulder. When
came round: he came round, the first thing Bepin Babu said was,
regained “I’m finished. There’s no hope left.”
consciousness
Next morning, Bepin Babu was back in Calcutta. He
realised that there was truly no hope for him. Soon he
would lose everything: his will to work, his confidence,
his ability, his balance of mind. Was he going to end up
in the asylum at...? Bepin Babu couldn’t think any more.
Back home, he rang up Dr Chanda and asked him to
come over. Then, after a shower, he got into bed with an
ice bag clamped on his head. Just then the servant brought
him a letter which someone had left in the letter box.
A greenish envelope with his name in red ink on it.
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Above the name it said ‘Urgent and Confidential’. In

spite of his condition, Bepin Babu had a feeling that he
ought to go through the letter. He tore open the envelope
and took out the letter. This is what he read —
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Dear Bepin,
I had no idea that affluence would bring about the kind of change in
you that it has done. Was it so difficult for you to help out an old friend
down on his luck? I have no money, so my resources are limited.
What I have is imagination, a part of which I used in retribution of your in retribution
unfeeling behaviour. of:
Well, you’ll be all right again now. A novel I’ve written is being as a
considered by a publisher. If he likes it enough, it'll see me through the punishment
next few months. for
Yours, Chunilal
When Dr Chanda came, Bepin Babu said, “I’m fine.

It all came back as soon as I got off the train at Ranchi.”
“A unique case,” said Dr Chanda. “I shall certainly
write about it in a medical journal.”
“The reason why I sent for you,” said Bepin Babu, “is
that I have a pain in the hip from a fall I had in Ranchi.
If you could prescribe a pain killer…”
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SATYAJIT RAY
Comprehension Check
1. Had Bepin Babu really lost his memory and forgotten all
about a trip to Ranchi?
2. Why do you think Chunilal did what he did? Chunilal says
he has no money; what is it that he does have?
1. The author describes Bepin Babu as a serious and hardworking man.

What evidence can you find in the story to support this?
2. Why did Bepin Babu change his mind about meeting Chunilal? What was
the result of this meeting?
3. Bepin Babu lost consciousness at Hudroo Falls. What do you think was
the reason for this?
4. How do you think Bepin Babu reacted when he found out that Chunilal
had tricked him?
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1. Look at these two sentences.
He had to buy at least five books to last him through the week.
Bepin had to ask Chuni to leave.
Had to is used to show that it was very important or necessary for
Bepin Babu to do something. He had no choice. We can also use ‘have
to’/ ‘has to’ in the same way.
Fill in the blanks below using ‘had to’/ ‘have to’/ ‘has to’.
(i) I ________________ cut my hair every month.
(ii) We ________________ go for swimming lessons last year.
(iii) She ________________ tell the principal the truth.
(iv) They ________________ take the baby to the doctor.
(v) We ________________ complain to the police about the noise.
(vi) Romit ________________ finish his homework before he could come
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out to play.
(vii) I ________________ repair my cycle yesterday.
2. Here are a few idioms that you will find in the story. Look for them in the
dictionary in the following way.
First, arrange them in the order in which you would find them in a
dictionary.
(Clue: An idiom is usually listed under the first noun, verb, adjective or
adverb in it. Ignore articles or prepositions in the idiom).
To help you, we have put in bold the word under which you must look
for the idiom in the dictionary.)
(i) at/from close quarters (close: adjective)
(ii) break into a smile (break: verb; look under ‘break into
something’)
(iii) carry on (carry: verb)
(iv) have a clean record (you may find related meanings under
both these words)
(v) beat about the bush (verb)
Now refer to your dictionary and find out what they mean.
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3. Study the sentences in the columns below.
A B
I saw this movie yesterday. I have seen this movie already.
Bepin Babu worked here for a week Bepin Babu has worked here since
last year. 2003.
Chunilal wrote to a publisher last Chunilal has written to a publisher.
week.
I visited Ranchi once, long ago. I have visited Ranchi once before.
Compare the sentences in the two columns, especially the verb forms.
Answer the following questions about each pair of sentences.
(i) Which column tells us that Bepin Babu is still working at the same
place?
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(ii) Which column suggests that Chunilal is now waiting for a reply from
the publisher?
(iii) Which column suggests that the person still remembers the movie he
saw?
(iv) Which column suggests that the experience of visiting Ranchi is still
fresh in the speaker's mind?
4. Given below are jumbled sentences. Working in groups, rearrange the words
in each sentence to form correct sentences.
You will find that each sentence contains an idiomatic expression that you
have come across in the lesson. Underline the idiom and write down its
meaning. Then use your dictionary to check the meaning.
One sentence has been worked out for you as an example.
Jumbled sentence: vanished/ The car/ seemed to/ into thin/ have/
air.
Ans: The car seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Idiom: vanished into thin air: disappeared or vanished in a mysterious way
(i) Stop/and tell me/beating about/what you want/the bush
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
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(ii) don’t pay/If you/ attention/you might/the wrong train/to the
announcement/board
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(iii) The villagers/tried/the crime/on the young woman/to pin
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(iv) Bepin Babu/orders to/telling people/under/loved/doctor’s/eat
early/that he was
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
(v) the students/The teacher/his eyebrows/when/said that/all their
lessons/raised/they had revised
Ans: _______________________________________________________
Idiom: _____________________________________________________
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1. What do you think happened after Bepin Babu came to know the truth?
Was he angry with this friend for playing such a trick on him? Or do you
think he decided to help a friend in need?
2. Imagine you are Bepin Choudhury. You have received Chunilal’s letter
and feel ashamed that you did not bother to help an old friend down on
his luck. Now you want to do something for him. Write a letter to Chunilal
promising to help him soon.
Or
A prank is a childish trick. Do you remember any incident when someone
played a prank on you or your friends? Describe the prank in a paragraph.
There was an old woman

Who lived under a hill,
And if she’s not gone
She lives there still.
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A bargain is an agreement in which both parties promise to do
something for each other. Someone is looking for work, waiting
to be hired. He strikes a bargain but thinks it worthless. He
tries twice again but doesn't like either. Finally, in the last
bargain, when he is hired for nothing whatever, he is happy as
never before. What is the bargain, and why is it the best?
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“Come and hire me,” I cried, while in the morning

I was walking on the stone-paved road.
Sword in hand the King came in his chariot.
He held my hand and said, “I will hire you with
my power,”
But his power counted for naught, and he went away in
his chariot.
In the heat of the mid-day the houses stood with

shut doors.
I wandered along the crooked lane.
An old man came out with his bag of gold.
He pondered and said, “I will hire you with my money.”
He weighed his coins one by one, but I turned away.
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It was evening. The garden hedge was all aflower.
The fair maid came out and said, “I will hire you with
a smile.”
Her smile paled and melted into tears, and she went
back alone into the dark.
The sun glistened on the sand, and the sea waves broke
waywardly.
A child sat playing with shells.
He raised his head and seemed to know me and said,
“I hire you with nothing.”
From henceforward that bargain struck in child’s play
made me a free man.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE
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1. Who is the speaker in the poem?

2. “The king, sword in hand” suggests
(i) wealth
(ii) power
(iii) more power than wealth.
Mark the appropriate item in the context of stanza 1.
3. The old man offered the speaker a lot of money.
Why did he turn down the offer?
4. Find in the poem, lines that match the following. Read both one after another.
(i) I have nothing to give you
except goodwill and cheer.
(ii) Her happiness was no more
than sorrow in disguise.
(iii) The king’s might was not worth much.
5. How did the speaker feel after talking to the child on the beach?
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Before you read
Major H.P.S. Ahluwalia was a member of the first
successful Indian expedition to Mount Everest in 1965.
How did he feel when he stood on the highest point in
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the world? Let us hear his story in his words —

climbing the summit and, then, the more difficult task
of climbing the summit within.
Of all the emotions which surged through me as I stood surged:

on the summit of Everest, looking over miles of arose
panorama below us, the dominant one I think was suddenly and
intensely
humility. The physical in me seemed to say, ‘Thank
panorama:
God, it’s all over!” However, instead of being jubilant, view of a wide
there was a tinge of sadness. Was it because I had already area
done the ‘ultimate’ in climbing and there would be jubilant:
nothing higher to climb and all roads hereafter would very happy
lead down? because of
By climbing the summit of Everest you are success
overwhelmed by a deep sense of joy and thankfulness. tinge:
trace/shade
It is a joy which lasts a lifetime. The experience changes
you completely. The man who has been to the mountains
is never the same again.
As I look back at life after climbing Everest I cannot
help remarking about the other summit — the summit
of the mind — no less formidable and no easier to climb.
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Even when getting down from the summit, once the
exhaustion: physical exhaustion had gone, I began asking myself
fatigue;
the question why I had climbed Everest. Why did the
tiredness
act of reaching the summit have such a hold on my
imagination? It was already a thing of the past,
something done yesterday. With every passing day, it
would become more remote. A nd then what would
remain? Would my memories fade slowly away?
All these thoughts led me to question myself as
to why people climb mountains. It is not easy to
answer the question. The simplest answer would
be, as others have said, “Because it is there.” It
presents great difficulties. Man takes delight in
overcoming obstacles. The obstacles in climbing a
mountain are physical. A climb to a summit means
endurance, persistence and will power. The
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demonstration of these physical qualities is no doubt

exhilarating, as it was for me also.
I have a more personal answer to the question. From
exhilarating: my childhood I have been attracted by mountains. I
very exciting had been miserable, lost, when away from mountains,
communion:
in the plains. Mountains are nature at its best. Their
beauty and majesty pose a great challenge, and like
many, I believe that mountains are a means of
communion with God.
Once having granted this, the question remains: Why
state or feeling Everest? Because it is the highest, the mightiest and
of close rela- has defied many previous attempts. It takes the last
tionship
ounce of one’s energy. It is a brutal struggle with rock
defied: and ice. Once taken up, it cannot be given up halfway
frustrated;
resisted
even when one’s life is at stake. The passage back is as
difficult as the passage onwards. And then, when the
summit is climbed, there is the exhilaration, the joy of
having done something, the sense of a battle fought
and won. There is a feeling of victory and of happiness.
Glimpsing a peak in the distance, I get transported
to another world. I experience a change within myself
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which can only be called mystical. By its beauty, mystical:
aloofness, might, ruggedness, and the dif ficulties spiritual
encountered on the way, the peak draws me to it — as
Everest did. It is a challenge that is difficult to resist.
Looking back I find that I have not
yet fully explained why I climbed
Everest. It is like answering a question
why you breathe. Why do you help your
neighbour? Why do you want to do good
acts? There is no final answer possible.
And then there is the fact that Everest
is not just a physical climb. The man who
has been to the mountain-top becomes
conscious in a special manner of his own
smallness in this large universe.
The physical conquest of a mountain
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is only one part of the achievement.

There is more to it than that. It is
followed by a sense of fulfilment. There
is the satisfaction of a deep urge to rise
above one’s surroundings. It is the
eternal love for adventure in man. The experience is not
merely physical. It is emotional. It is spiritual.
Consider a typical climb, towards the summit on the
last heights. You are sharing a rope with another
climber. You firm in. He cuts the steps in the hard ice. firm in:
Then he belays and you inch your way up. The climb is make yourself
grim. You strain every nerve as you take every step. firm
belays:
Famous climbers have left records of the help given by fixes a rope
others. They have also recorded how they needed just
that help. Else they might have given up. Breathing is
difficult. You curse yourself for having let yourself in for
this. You wonder why you ever undertook the ascent. ascent:
There are moments when you feel like going back. It climb
would be sheer relief to go down, instead of up. But
almost at once you snap out of that mood. There is
something in you that does not let you give up the
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struggle. And you go on. Your companion keeps up with
you. Just another fifty feet. Or a hundred, maybe. You
ask yourself: Is there no end? You look at your
companion and he looks at you. You draw inspiration
from each other. And then, without first being aware of
it, you are at the summit.
Looking round from the summit you tell yourself
that it was worthwhile. Other silvery peaks appear
through the clouds. If you are lucky the sun may be on
them. The surrounding peaks look like a jewelled
necklace around the neck of your summit. Below, you
see vast valleys sloping into the distance. It is an
ennobling, enriching experience to just look down from
make your the summit of a mountain. You bow down and make
obeisance: your obeisance to whichever God you worship.
show your
I left on Everest a picture of Guru Nanak. Rawat left
obedience or
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submission a picture of Goddess Durga. Phu Dorji left a relic of the

Buddha. Edmund Hillary had buried a cross under a
cairn (a heap of rocks and stones) in the snow. These
are not symbols of conquest but of reverence.
The experience of having
climbed to the summit
changes you completely.
There is another summit.
It is within yourself. It is in
your own mind. Each man
carries within himself his
own mountain peak. He
must climb it to reach to a
fuller knowledge of himself.
It is fearful, and unscalable.
It cannot be climbed by
anyone else. You yourself
have to do it. The physical
act of climbing to the The author and Phu-Dorji on the
summit of a mountain summit of Mount Everest
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outside is akin to the act of climbing the mountain
within. The effects of both the climbs are the same.
Whether the mountain you climb is physical or
emotional and spiritual, the climb will certainly change
you. It teaches you much about the world and about
yourself.
I venture to think that my experience as an Everester
has provided me with the inspiration to face life’s ordeals ordeals:
resolutely. Climbing the mountain was a worthwhile painful
experience. The conquest of the internal summit is experiences
equally worthwhile. The internal summits are, perhaps, resolutely:
higher than Everest. with
determination
H.P.S. AHLUWALIA or firmness
Comprehension Check
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1. Standing on Everest, the writer was

(i) overjoyed.
(ii) very sad.
(iii) jubilant and sad.
Choose the right item.
2. The emotion that gripped him was one of
(i) victory over hurdles.
(ii) humility and a sense of smallness.
(iii) greatness and self importance.
(iv) joy of discovery.
Choose the right item.
3. “The summit of the mind” refers to
(i) great intellectual achievements.
(ii) the process of maturing mentally and spiritually.
(iii) overcoming personal ambition for common welfare.
(iv) living in the world of thought and imagination.
(v) the triumph of mind over worldly pleasures for a noble cause.
(vi) a fuller knowledge of oneself.
Mark the item(s) not relevant.
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1. Answer the following questions.
(i) What are the three qualities that played a major role in the author’s
climb?
(ii) Why is adventure, which is risky, also pleasurable?
(iii) What was it about Mount Everest that the author found irresistible?
(iv) One does not do it (climb a high peak) for fame alone. What does one do
it for, really?
(v) “He becomes conscious in a special manner of his own smallness in
this large universe.” This awareness defines an emotion mentioned in
the first paragraph. Which is the emotion?
(vi) What were the “symbols of reverence” left by members of the team on
Everest?
(vii) What, according to the writer, did his experience as an Everester teach
him?
2. Write a sentence against each of the following statements. Your sentence
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should explain the statement. You can pick out sentences from the text and
rewrite them. The first one has been done for you.
(i) The experience changes you completely.
One who has been to the mountains is never the same again.
(ii) Man takes delight in overcoming obstacles.
_________________________________________
(iii) Mountains are nature at its best.
_________________________________________
(iv) The going was difficult but the after-effects were satisfying.
_________________________________________
(v) The physical conquest of a mountain is really a spiritual
experience.
_________________________________________
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1. Look at the italicised phrases and their meanings given in brackets.
Mountains are nature (nature’s best form and appearance)
at its best.
Your life is at risk. (in danger; you run the risk of losing
your life.)
He was at his (it was his best/worst performance.)
best/worst in the
last meeting.
Fill in the blanks in the following dialogues choosing suitable phrases
from those given in the box.
at hand at once at all at a low ebb at first sight
(i) Teacher: You were away from school without permission. Go to the
principal ________________ and submit your explanation.
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Pupil: Yes, Madam. But would you help me write it first?

(ii) Arun: Are you unwell?
Ila: No, not ________________ Why do you ask?
Arun: If you were unwell, I would send you to my uncle.
He is a doctor.
(iii) Mary: Almost every Indian film has an episode of love ________________.
David: Is that what makes them so popular in foreign countries?
(iv) Asif: You look depressed. Why are your spirits ________________ today?
(Use such in the phrase)
Ashok: I have to write ten sentences using words that I never heard
before.
(v) Shieba: Your big moment is close ________________.
Jyoti: How should I welcome it?
Shieba: Get up and receive the trophy.
2. Write the noun forms of the following words adding -ance or -ence to each.
(i) endure ________________ (ii) persist ________________
(iii) signify ________________ (iv) confide ________________
(v) maintain ________________ (vi) abhor ________________
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3. (i) Match words under A with their meanings under B.
A B
remote difficult to overcome
means most prominent
dominant be overcome/overpowered
formidable method(s)
overwhelmed far away from
(ii) Fill in the blanks in the sentences below with appropriate words from
under A.
(a) There were ________________ obstacles on the way, but we reached
our destination safely.
(b) We have no ________________ of finding out what happened there.
(c) Why he lives in a house ________________ from any town or village
is more than I can tell.
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(d) ________________ by gratitude, we bowed to the speaker for his

valuable advice.
(e) The old castle stands in a ___________ position above the sleepy town.
Write a composition describing a visit to the hills, or any place which you found
beautiful and inspiring.
Before writing, work in small groups. Discuss the points given below and
decide if you want to use some of these points in your composition.
Consider this sentence
Mountains are a means of communion with God.
Think of the act of worship or prayer. You believe yourself to be in the presence
of the divine power. In a way, you are in communion with that power.
Imagine the climber on top of the summit—the height attained; limitless
sky above; the climber’s last ounce of energy spent; feelings of gratitude,
humility and peace.
The majesty of the mountains does bring you close to nature and the
spirit and joy that lives there, if you have the ability to feel it.
Some composition may be read aloud to the entire class afterwards.
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The school boy in the poem is not a happy child. What makes
him unhappy? Why does he compare himself to a bird that lives
in a cage, or a plant that withers when it should blossom.
I love to rise in a summer morn,

When the birds sing on every tree;
The distant huntsman winds his horn,
And the skylark sings with me.
O! what sweet company.
But to go to school in a summer morn,

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O! it drives all joy away;

Under a cruel eye outworn,
The little ones spend the day,
In sighing and dismay.
Ah! then at times I drooping sit,

A nd spend many an anxious hour.
Nor in my book can I take delight,
Nor sit in learning’s bower,
Worn thro’ with the dreary shower.
How can the bird that is born for joy,

Sit in a cage and sing.
How can a child when fears annoy,
But droop his tender wing,
And forget his youthful spring.
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O! Father and Mother, if buds are nip’d,
And blossoms blown away,
And if the tender plants are strip’d
Of their joy in the springing day,
By sorrow and cares dismay,
How shall the summer arise in joy,

Or the summer fruits appear?
WILLIAM BLAKE
nip’d: (nipped) ‘to nip something in the bud’ is to stop or

destroy it at an early stage of its development
strip’d: stripped
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plants strip’d of joy: if joy is taken away from plants
1. Find three or four words/phrases in stanza 1 that reflect the child's

happiness and joy.
2. In stanza 2, the mood changes. Which words/phrases reflect the
changed mood?
3. ‘A cruel eye outworn’ (stanza 2) refers to
(i) the classroom which is shabby/noisy.
(ii) the lessons which are difficult/uninteresting.
(iii) the dull/uninspiring life at school with lots of work and no play.
Mark the answer that you consider right.
4. ‘Nor sit in learning’s bower
worn thro’ with the dreary shower’
Which of the following is a close paraphrase of the lines above?
(i) Nor can I sit in a roofless classroom when it is raining.
(ii) Nor can I learn anything at school though teachers go on lecturing
and explaining.
(iii) Nor can I sit in the school garden for fear of getting wet in the rain.
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Read the following poem and compare it with The School Boy.
The One Furrow

When I was young, I went to school
With pencil and footrule
Sponge and slate,
And sat on a tall stool
At learning’s gate.
When I was older, the gate swung wide;

Clever and keen-eyed
In I pressed,
But found in the mind’s pride
No peace, no rest.
Then who was it taught me back to go

To cattle and barrow,
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Field and plough:

To keep to the one furrow,
As I do now?
R.S. THOMAS
The Other Way Round

Quicksand works slowly.
There is no egg in eggplant, no ham in hamburger
and neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
Boxing rings are square.
There are noses that run and feet that smell.
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Before you read
Often, instead of rushing to the doctor to treat a small
cut or burn, we find quick and effective cures using
things available at home. Can you think of some such
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‘home remedies’ for

a cut on your knee?
a burn on your arm?
a bee sting?
In this story, Jody’s father has been bitten by a
rattlesnake. He quickly kills a doe and uses its heart
and liver to draw out the poison. Jody wonders what
will happen to the little fawn left without a mother.
I
drift back to: Jody allowed his thoughts to drift back to the fawn. He
go back to could not keep it out of his mind. He had held it, in his
dilated: dreams, in his arms. He slipped from the table and went
enlarged
to his father’s bedside. Penny lay at rest. His eyes were
a close shave:
a narrow
open and clear, but the pupils were still dark and dilated.
escape Jody said, “How are you feeling, Pa?”
kept your “Just fine, son. O1d Death has gone thieving elsewhere.
head: But wasn’t it a close shave!”
stayed calm in “I agree.”
a difficult Penny said, “I’m proud of you, boy, the way you kept
situation
your head and did what was needed.”
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“Pa-”
“Yes, son.”
“Pa, do you recollect the doe and the fawn?”
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“I can never forget them. The poor doe saved me,

that’s certain.”
“Pa, the fawn may be out there yet. It might be hungry
and very scared.”
“I suppose so.”
“Pa, I’m a big boy now and don’t need to drink milk.
Why don’t I go and see if I can find the fawn?”
“And bring it here?”
“And raise it.”
Penny lay quiet, staring at the ceiling.
hemmed in:
“Boy, you’ve got me hemmed in.” (here) caught
“It won’t take much to raise it, Pa. It’ll soon start in a situation
eating leaves and acorns.” where one
“You are smarter than boys of your age.” can’t say ’no’
“We took its mother, and it wasn’t to blame.” acorns:
“Surely it seems ungrateful to leave it to starve. Son, I can’t small brown
nuts
say ‘No’ to you. I never thought I’d live to see another day.”
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“Can I ride back with Mill-wheel and see if I can
find it?”
“Tell your Ma I said you can go.”
He sidled back to the table and sat down. His mother
sidled back:
walked back
was pouring coffee for everyone.
quietly, trying He said, “Ma, Pa says I can go bring back the fawn.”
not to be She held the coffee pot in mid-air.
noticed “What fawn?”
“The fawn belonging to the doe we killed. We used
the doe’s liver to draw out the poison and save Pa.”
She gasped.
“Well, for pity sake—”
“Pa says it would be ungrateful to leave it to starve.”
Doc Wilson said, “That’s right, Ma’am. Nothing in
the world comes quite free. The boy’s right and his
daddy’s right.”
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Mill-wheel said, “He can ride back with me. I’ll help
him find it.”
She set down the pot helplessly.
“Well, if you’ll give it your milk—we’ve got nothing
else to feed it.”
M ill-wheel said,
“Come on, boy. We’ve got
to get riding.”
Ma Baxter asked
anxiously, “You’ll not be
gone long?”
Jody said, “I’ll be back
before dinner for sure. ”
Mill-wheel mounted
his horse and pulled
Jody up behind him.
He said to Mill-wheel,
“Do you think the
fawn’s still there? Will
you help me find him?”
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“We’ll find him if he’s alive. How you know it’s a he?”
“The spots were all in a line. On a doe-fawn, Pa says every which
the spots are every which way…” way:
in different
directions
Comprehension Check
1. What had happened to Jody’s father?
2. How did the doe save Penny’s life?
3. Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?
4. How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?
II
Jody gave himself over to thoughts of the fawn. They
passed the abandoned clearing.
He said, “Cut to the north, Mill-wheel. It was up here
that Pa got bitten by the snake and killed the doe and I
saw the fawn.”
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Suddenly Jody was unwilling to have Mill-wheel with

him. If the fawn was dead, or could not be found, he
could not have his disappointment seen. And if the fawn
was there, the meeting would be so lovely and so secret
that he could not endure to share it.
He said, “It’s not far now, but the scrub is very thick
for a horse. I can make it on foot.”
“But I’m afraid to leave you, boy. Suppose you got
lost or got bitten by the snake, too?”
“I’ll take care. It might take me a long time to find
the fawn, if he’s wandered. Leave me off right here.”
“All right, but you take it easy now. You know north
here, and east?” makes a
“There, and there. That tall pine makes a bearing.” bearing:
acts as a
“So long.”
compass and
“So long, Mill-wheel. I’m obliged.” helps to
He waited for the sound of the hooves to end, then identify
cut to the right. The scrub was still. Only his own directions
crackling of twigs sounded across the silence. He
wondered for an instant if he had mistaken his direction.
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buzzard: Then a buzzard rose in front of him and flapped into
a large bird the air. He came into the clearing under the oaks.
like the
vulture that
Buzzards sat in a circle around the carcass of the doe.
eats the flesh They turned their heads on their long scrawny necks
of dead and hissed at him. He threw his bough at them and
animals they flew into an adjacent tree. The sand showed large
adjacent: cat prints but the big cats killed fresh, and they had left
nearby the doe to the carrion birds.
parted: He parted the grass at the place where he had seen
moved or
the fawn. It did not seem possible that it was only
pushed aside
yesterday. The fawn was not there. He circled the
clearing. There was no sound, no sign. The buzzards
clacked their wings, impatient to return to their
business. He returned to the spot where the fawn had
emerged and dropped on all fours, studying the sand
for the small hoof prints. The night’s rain had washed
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away all tracks except those of cat and buzzards.
Comprehension Check
1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What
were they?
2. Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?
III
Movement directly in front of him startled him so that
he tumbled backward. The fawn lifted its face to his. It
turned its head with a wide, wondering motion and
shook him through with the stare of its liquid eyes. It
quivering: was quivering. It made no effort to rise or run. Jody
shaking
could not trust himself to move.
slightly
He whispered, “It’s me.”
delirious:
(here)
The fawn lifted its nose, scenting him. He reached
extremely out one hand and laid it on the soft neck. The touch
excited made him delirious. He moved forward on all fours until
convulsion: he was close beside it. He put his arms around its body.
shiver A light convulsion passed over it but it did not stir.
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He stroked its
sides as gently
as though the
fawn were a a china deer:
china deer and a clay deer
he might break that is easily
broken
it. Its skin was
sleek:
very soft. It was smooth and
sleek and clean shiny
and had a
sweet scent of
grass. He rose
slowly and hoist:
lifted the fawn from the ground. Its legs hung limply. pull up higher
They were surprisingly long and he had to hoist the
fawn as high as possible under his arm.
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He was afraid that it might kick and bleat at sight

and smell of its mother. He skirted the clearing and
pushed his way into the thicket. It was difficult to fight
through with his burden. The fawn’s legs caught in the
bushes and he could not lift his own with freedom. He
tried to shield its face from prickling vines. Its head
bobbed with his stride. His heart thumped with the
marvel of its acceptance of him. He reached the trail
and walked as fast as he could until he came to the
intersection with the road home. He stopped to rest and
set the fawn down on its dangling legs. It wavered on
them. It looked at him and bleated.
He said, enchanted, “I’ll carry you after I get my breath.”
He remembered his father saying that a fawn would
follow if it had first been carried. He started away slowly.
The fawn stared after him. He came back to it and
stroked it and walked away again. It took a few wobbling
steps toward him and cried piteously. It was willing to light-headed:
follow him. It belonged to him. It was his own. He was unable to
light-headed with his joy. He wanted to fondle it, to run think clearly
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romp: and romp with it, to call to it to come to him. He dared
play not alarm it. He picked it up and carried it in front of
alarm: him over his two arms. It seemed to him that he walked
frighten
without effort.
His arms began to ache and he was forced to stop
again. When he walked on, the fawn followed him at
once. He allowed it to walk a little distance, then picked
it up again. The distance home was nothing. He could
have walked all day and into the night, carrying it and
watching it follow. He was wet with sweat but a light
breeze blew through the June morning, cooling him.
The sky was as clear as spring water in a blue china
cup. He came to the clearing. It was fresh and green
after the night’s rain. He fumbled with the latch and
was finally obliged to set down the fawn to manage it.
Then, he had an idea — he would walk into the house,
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into Penny’s bedroom, with the fawn walking behind

balked: him. But at the steps, the fawn balked and refused to
(also baulked) climb them. He picked it up and went to his father.
was unwilling Penny lay with closed eyes.
(to do
Jody called, “Pa! Look!”
something)
Penny turned his head. Jody stood beside him, the
fawn clutched hard against him. It seemed to Penny
that the boy’s eyes were as bright as the fawn’s. He
said, “I’m glad you found him.”
Jody then went to the kitchen. The fawn wobbled
after him. A pan of morning’s milk stood in the kitchen
safe. The cream had risen on it. He skimmed the cream
into a jug. He poured milk into a small gourd. He held
it out to the fawn. It butted it suddenly, smelling the
milk. He saved it precariously from spilling over the
floor. It could make nothing of the milk in the gourd.
He dipped his fingers in the milk and thrust them
into the fawn’s soft wet mouth. It sucked greedily. When
he withdrew them, it bleated frantically and butted him.
He dipped his fingers again and as the fawn sucked, he
lowered them slowly into the milk. The fawn blew and
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sucked and snorted. It stamped its small hoofs
impatiently. As long as he held his fingers below
the level of the milk, the fawn was content.
It closed its eyes dreamily. It was
ecstasy to feel its tongue
against his hand. Its small tail
flicked back and forth. The last
of the milk vanished in a swirl
of foam and gurgling.
MARJORIE KINNAN RAWLINGS
Comprehension Check
1. How did Jody bring the fawn back home?
2. Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you
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find at least three words or phrases which show how he felt?

3. How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?
4. Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had
thought it would?
1. Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?
2. What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes
quite free”?
3. How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for
doing this?
4. How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the
fawn home? Why does she react in this way?
1. Look at these pairs of sentences.

Penny said to Jody, “Will you be back before dinner?”
Penny asked Jody if he would be back before dinner.
“How are you feeling, Pa?” asked Jody.
Jody asked his father how he was feeling.
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Here are some questions in direct speech. Put them into reported speech.
(i) Penny said, “Do you really want it son?”
(ii) Mill-wheel said, “Will he ride back with me?”
(iii) He said to Mill-wheel, “Do you think the fawn is still there?”
(iv) He asked Mill-wheel, “Will you help me find him?”
(v) He said, “Was it up here that Pa got bitten by the snake?”
2. Look at these two sentences.
He tumbled backward.
It turned its head.
The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object.
The second sentence has a transitive verb. It has a direct object. We
can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer: “Its head. It turned its
head.”
Say whether the verb in each sentence below transitive or intransitive. Ask
yourself a ‘what’ question about the verb, as in the example above. (For
some verbs, the object is a person, so ask the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).
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(i) Jody then went to the kitchen.

(ii) The fawn wobbled after him.
(iii) You found him.
(iv) He picked it up.
(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk.
(vi) It bleated frantically and butted him.
(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers.
(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk.
(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently.
(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk.
(xi) The fawn followed him.
(xii) He walked all day.
(xiii) He stroked its sides.
(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose.
(xv) Its legs hung limply.
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3. Here are some words from the lesson. Working in groups, arrange them
in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary. Write down
some idioms and phrasal verbs connected to these words. Use the
dictionary for more idioms and phrasal verbs.
close draw make wonder scrawny

parted clearing sweet light pick
1. Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give

reasons for your answer.
2. Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your
doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too
happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it?
Discuss it in groups and present your arguments to the class.
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1. Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph
describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here
are some words and phrases that you could use.
frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic,
companion, sharing, friend, rolls in mud, dirties the bed, naughty,
lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk,
runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead
2. Human life is dependent on nature (that’s why we call her Mother Nature).
We take everything from nature to live our lives. Do we give back anything
to nature?
(i) Write down some examples of the natural resources that we use.
(ii) Write a paragraph expressing your point of view regarding our
relationship with nature.
3. In This is Jody’s Fawn, Jody’s father uses a ‘home remedy’ for a snake
bite. What should a person now do if he or she is bitten by a snake? Are all
snakes poisonous? With the help of your teacher and others, find out
answers to such questions. Then write a short paragraph on — What to do
if a snake chooses to bite you.
2022-23
Before you read
This is the story of a meeting between two
extraordinary people, both of them ‘disabled’, or
‘differently abled’ as we now say. Stephen Hawking
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is one of the greatest scientists of our time. He suffers

from a form of paralysis that confines him to a
wheelchair, and allows him to ‘speak’ only by punching
buttons on a computer, which speaks for him in a
machine-like voice. Firdaus Kanga is a writer and
journalist who lives and works in Mumbai. Kanga was
born with ‘brittle bones’ that tended to break easily
when he was a child. Like Hawking, Kanga moves
around in a wheelchair.
The two great men exchange thoughts on what it
means to live life in a wheelchair, and on how the so
called ‘normal’ people react to the disabled.
Cambridge was my metaphor for England, and it was

strange that when I left it had become altogether something
astrophysicist: else, because I had met Stephen Hawking there.
scholar of It was on a walking tour through Cambridge that
astrophysics the guide mentioned Stephen Hawking, ‘poor man, who
— branch of
is quite disabled now, though he is a worthy successor
physics
dealing with to Issac Newton, whose Chair he has at the university.’
stars, planets, And I started, because I had quite forgotten that this
etc. most brilliant and completely paralysed astrophysicist,
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the author of A Brief History of Time, one of
the biggest best-sellers ever, lived here.
When the walking tour was done, I rushed
to a phone booth and, almost tearing the cord
so it could reach me outside, phoned Stephen
Hawking’s house. There was his assistant on
the line and I told him I had come in a
wheelchair from India (perhaps he thought I
had propelled myself all the way) to write
about my travels in Britain. I had to see
Professor Hawking — even ten minutes would
do. “Half an hour,“ he said. “From three-thirty
to four.”
A nd suddenly I felt weak all over. Growing
up disabled, you get fed up with people asking you to
be brave, as if you have a courage account on which
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you are too lazy to draw a cheque. The only thing

that makes you stronger is seeing somebody like you,
achieving something huge. Then you know how much
is possible and you reach out further than you ever
thought you could.
“I haven’t been brave,” said his disembodied
computer-voice, the next afternoon. “I’ve had no choice.”
Surely, I wanted to say, living creatively with the
reality of his disintegrating body was a choice? But I
kept quiet, because I felt guilty every time I spoke to
him, forcing him to respond. There he was, tapping at
the little switch in his hand, trying to find the words on
his computer with the only bit of movement left to him,
his long, pale fingers. Every so often, his eyes would
shut in frustrated exhaustion. And sitting opposite him
I could feel his anguish, the mind buoyant with thoughts buoyant:
that came out in frozen phrases and sentences stiff as intensely
corpses. active and
vibrant
“A lot of people seem to think that disabled people
are chronically unhappy,” I said. “I know that’s not true
myself. Are you often laughing inside?”
A Visit to Cambridge 97
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About three minutes later, he responded, “I find it
amusing when people patronise me.”
“And do you find it annoying when someone like me
comes and disturbs you in your work?”
The answer flashed. “Yes.” Then he smiled his one-
way smile and I knew, without being sentimental or
silly, that I was looking at one of the most beautiful
men in the world.
A first glimpse of him is shocking, because he is like a
still photograph — as if all those pictures of him in
magazines and newspapers have turned three-dimensional.
Then you see the head twisted sideways into a slump,
torso: the torso shrunk inside the pale blue shirt, the wasted
upper part of legs; you look at his eyes which can speak, still, and
the body they are saying something huge and urgent — it is hard
to tell what. But you are shaken because you have seen
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something you never thought could be seen.

Before you, like a lantern whose walls are worn so
thin you glimpse only the light inside, is the
incandescence: incandescence of a man. The body, almost irrelevant,
inner glow or exists only like a case made of shadows. So that I, no
light believer in eternal souls, know that this is what each of
accessory: us is; everything else an accessory.
not essential “What do you think is the best thing about being
but extra,
disabled?” I had asked him earlier.
though
decorative “I don’t think there is anything good about being disabled.”
“I think,” I said, “you do discover how much kindness
there is in the world.”
“Yes,” he said; it was a disadvantage of his voice
inflection: synthesiser that it could convey no inflection, no shades
rise and fall of or tone. And I could not tell how enthusiastically he
the voice in agreed with me.
speaking
Every time I shifted in my chair or turned my wrist
to watch the time — I wanted to make every one of our
thirty minutes count — I felt a huge relief and
exhilaration in the possibilities of my body. How little it
mattered then that I would never walk, or even stand.
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I told him how he had been an inspiration beyond
cliche´ for me, and, surely, for others — did that thought cliché:
help him? phrase or idea
“No,” he said; and I thought how foolish I was to ask. used so often
that it loses
When your body is a claustrophobic room and the walls its meaning
are growing narrower day by day, it doesn’t do much claustrophobic:
good to know that there are people outside smiling with very small and
admiration to see you breathing still. suffocating
“Is there any advice you can give disabled people, (‘Claustrophobia’
something that might help make life better?” is abnormal
fear of being
“They should concentrate on what they are good at; I in an enclosed
think things like the disabled Olympics are a waste of time.” space)
“I know what you mean.” I remembered the years I’d
spent trying to play a Spanish guitar considerably larger
than I was; and how gleefully I had unstringed it one night. gleefully:
The half-hour was up. “I think I’ve annoyed you very happily
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enough,” I said, grinning. “Thank you for...”

“Stay.” I waited. “Have some tea. I can show you the garden.”
The garden was as big as a park, but Stephen
Hawking covered every inch, rumbling along in his
motorised wheelchair while I dodged to keep
out of the way. We couldn’t talk very much;
the sun made him silent, the letters on his
screen disappearing in the glare.
An hour later, we were ready to leave. I didn’t
know what to do. I could not kiss him or cry. I
touched his shoulder and wheeled out into the
summer evening. I looked back; and I knew he
was waving, though he wasn’t. Watching him,
an embodiment of my bravest self, the one I
was moving towards, the one I had believed in
for so many years, alone, I knew that my
journey was over. For now.
FIRDAUS KANGA
from Heaven on Wheels
2022-23
Comprehension Check
Which is the right sentence?
1. “Cambridge was my metaphor for England.” To the writer,
(i) Cambridge was a reputed university in England.
(ii) England was famous for Cambridge.
(iii) Cambridge was the real England.
2. The writer phoned Stephen Hawking’s house
(i) from the nearest phone booth.
(ii) from outside a phone booth.
(iii) from inside a phone booth.
3. Every time he spoke to the scientist, the writer felt guilty
because
(i) he wasn’t sure what he wanted to ask.
(ii) he forced the scientist to use his voice synthesiser.
(iii) he was face to face with a legend.
4. “I felt a huge relief... in the possibilities of my body.” In the
given context, the highlighted words refer to
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(i) shifting in the wheelchair, turning the wrist.

(ii) standing up, walking.
(iii) speaking, writing.

1. (i) Did the prospect of meeting Stephen Hawking make the writer nervous?
If so, why?
(ii) Did he at the same time feel very excited? If so, why?
2. Guess the first question put to the scientist by the writer.
3. Stephen Hawking said, “I’ve had no choice.” Does the writer think there
was a choice? What was it?
4. “I could feel his anguish.” What could be the anguish?
5. What endeared the scientist to the writer so that he said he was looking at
one of the most beautiful men in the world?
6. Read aloud the description of ‘the beautiful’ man. Which is the most beautiful
sentence in the description?
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7. (i) If ‘the lantern’ is the man, what would its ‘walls’ be?
(ii) What is housed within the thin walls?
(iii) What general conclusion does the writer draw from this comparison?
8. What is the scientist’s message for the disabled?
9. Why does the writer refer to the guitar incident? Which idea does it
support?
10. The writer expresses his great gratitude to Stephen Hawking. What is the
gratitude for?
11. Complete the following sentences taking their appropriate parts from both
the boxes below.
(i) There was his assistant on the line ...
(ii) You get fed up with people asking you to be brave, ...
(iii) There he was, ...
(iv) You look at his eyes which can speak, ...
(v) It doesn’t do much good to know ...
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A
tapping at a little switch in his hand
and I told him
that there are people
as if you have a courage account
and they are saying something huge and urgent
B
trying to find the words on his computer.
I had come in a wheelchair from India.
on which you are too lazy to draw a cheque.
smiling with admiration to see you breathing still.
it is hard to tell what.
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1. Fill in the blanks in the sentences below using the appropriate forms of the
words given in the following box.
guide succeed chair travel pale draw true
(i) I met a ____________ from an antique land.

(ii) I need special ____________ in mathematics. I can’t count the number
of times I have failed in the subject.
(iii) The guide called Stephen Hawking a worthy ____________ to Issac
Newton.
(iv) His other problems ____________ into insignificance beside this
unforeseen mishap.
(v) The meeting was ____________ by the youngest member of the board.
(vi) Some people say ‘yours ____________’ when they informally refer to
themselves.
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(vii) I wish it had been a ____________ match. We would have been spared
the noise of celebrations, at least.
2. Look at the following words.
walk stick
Can you create a meaningful phrase using both these words?

(It is simple. Add -ing to the verb and use it before the noun. Put an
article at the beginning.)
..a walking stick
Now make six such phrases using the words given in the box.
read/session smile/face revolve/chair
walk/tour dance/doll win/chance
3. Use all or both in the blanks. Tell your partner why you chose one
or the other.
(i) He has two brothers. _______ are lawyers.
(ii) More than ten persons called. _______ of them wanted to see you.
(iii) They _______ cheered the team.
(iv) _______ her parents are teachers.
(v) How much have you got? Give me _______ of it.
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4. Complete each sentence using the right form of the adjective given in brackets.
(i) My friend has one of the _______ cars on the road. (fast)
(ii) This is the _______ story I have ever read. (interesting)
(iii) What you are doing now is _______ than what you did yesterday. (easy)
(iv) Ramesh and his wife are both _______. (short)
(v) He arrived _______ as usual. Even the chief guest came _______ than
he did. (late, early)
1. Say the following words with correct stress. Pronounce the parts given in
colour loudly and clearly.
camel balloon
decent opinion
fearless enormous
careful fulfil
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father together
govern degree
bottle before
In a word having more than one syllable, the stressed syllable is the one
that is more prominent than the other syllable(s)
A word has as many syllables as it has vowels.
man (one syllable)
´manner (two syllables)
The mark (´) indicates that the first syllable in ‘manner’ is more prominent
than the other.
2. Underline stressed syllables in the following words. Consult the dictionary
or ask the teacher if necessary.
artist mistake accident moment

compare satisfy relation table
illegal agree backward mountain
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3. Writing a notice for the School Notice Board.
Step 1
Discuss why notices are put up on the notice board.
What kinds of ‘notices’ have you lately seen on the board?
How is a notice different from a letter or a descriptive paragraph?
Step 2
Suppose you have lost or found something on the campus.
What have you lost or found?
You want to write a notice about it. If you have lost something, you
want it restored to you in case someone has found it. If you have found
something, you want to return it to its owner.
Step 3
Write a few lines describing the object you have lost or found. Mention
the purpose of the notice in clear terms. Also write your name, class,
section and date.
Step 4
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Let one member of each group read aloud the notice to the entire class.
Compare your notice with the other notices, and make changes, if
necessary, with the help of the teacher.
or
Imagine that you are a journalist.
You have been asked to interview the president of the village
panchayat.
Write eight to ten questions you wish to ask.
The questions should elicit comments as well as plans regarding
water and electricity, cleanliness and school education in the village.
A Crooked Rhyme
There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked coin against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.
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As a young apprentice architect, British poet and novelist
Thomas Hardy once visited a parish to supervise the restoration
of a church. On his return from the parish, people noticed two
things about him — a new glow in his eyes and a crumpled
piece of paper sticking out of his coat pocket. That paper, it is
recorded in one of his biographies, contained the draft of a poem.
You are going to read that very poem inspired by a visit to a
place which the poet calls Lyonnesse.
When I set out for Lyonnesse

A hundred miles away,
The rime was on the spray;
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And starlight lit my lonesomeness

When I set out for Lyonnesse
A hundred miles away.
What would bechance at Lyonnesse

While I should sojourn there,
No prophet durst declare;
Nor did the wisest wizard guess
What would bechance at Lyonnesse
While I should sojourn there.
When I returned from Lyonnesse

With magic in my eyes,
All marked with mute surmise
My radiance rare and fathomless,
When I returned from Lyonnesse
With magic in my eyes.
THOMAS HARDY
2022-23
Lyonnesse: (in Arthurian legend) the mythical birthplace of Sir Tristram, in
England, believed to have been submerged by the sea; here an
imaginary place.
rime: frost
the spray: leaves and branches of trees; foliage
durst: (poetic word for) dared
bechance: happen/chance to happen
sojourn: stay
radiance: glow
fathomless: so deep that the depth can’t be measured
1. In the first stanza, find words that show

(i) that it was very cold.
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(ii) that it was late evening.

(iii) that the traveller was alone.
2. (i) Something happened at Lyonnesse. It was
(a) improbable.
(b) impossible.
(c) unforeseeable.
(ii) Pick out two lines from stanza 2 to justify your answer.
3. (i) Read the line (stanza 3) that implies the following.
‘Everyone noticed something, and they made
guesses, but didn’t speak a word’.
(ii) Now read the line that refers to what they noticed,
Springtime
Question: Why is it unsafe to walk about in spring?
Answer: Because the grass has blades, the flowers
have pistils and the trees are shooting.
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Lyonnesse: (in Arthurian legend) the mythical birthplace of Sir Tristram, in
England, believed to have been submerged by the sea; here an
imaginary place.
rime: frost
the spray: leaves and branches of trees; foliage
durst: (poetic word for) dared
bechance: happen/chance to happen
sojourn: stay
radiance: glow
fathomless: so deep that the depth can’t be measured
1. In the first stanza, find words that show

(i) that it was very cold.
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(ii) that it was late evening.

(iii) that the traveller was alone.
2. (i) Something happened at Lyonnesse. It was
(a) improbable.
(b) impossible.
(c) unforeseeable.
(ii) Pick out two lines from stanza 2 to justify your answer.
3. (i) Read the line (stanza 3) that implies the following.
‘Everyone noticed something, and they made
guesses, but didn’t speak a word’.
(ii) Now read the line that refers to what they noticed,
Springtime
Question: Why is it unsafe to walk about in spring?
Answer: Because the grass has blades, the flowers
have pistils and the trees are shooting.
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Before you read
Do you know what a diary is? It is a record of personal
experiences written day after day over a long period
of time. You can also use a diary to note down things
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you plan to do immediately or in future.

One of the most famous diaries published as a book is
The Diary of Anne Frank.
Here are a few extracts from Ruskin Bond’s diary in
which he portrays the silent miracles of nature and
life’s little joys and regrets. Read on.
I
June 24
The first day of monsoon mist. And it’s strange how all
the birds fall silent as the mist comes climbing up the melancholy:
hill. Perhaps that’s what makes the mist so melancholy; very sad (the
not only does it conceal the hills, it blankets them in mist is called
silence too. Only an hour ago the trees were ringing melancholy
because it
with birdsong. And now the forest is deathly still as makes people
though it were midnight. feel
Through the mist Bijju is calling to his sister. I can melancholy)
hear him running about on the hillside but I cannot blankets:
see him. covers
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June 25
Some genuine early-
monsoon rain, warm
and humid, and not
that cold high-altitude
stuff we’ve been having
all year. The plants
seem to know it too,
and the first cobra lily
rears its head from the
fern: ferns as I walk up to the
a flowerless bank and post office.
plant with The mist affords a
feathery green
leaves certain privacy.
A school boy asked
me to describe the hill
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station and valley in

heralded: one sentence, and all I could say was: “A paradise that
announced or might have been.”
brought the
news of June 27
imprecations: The rains have heralded the arrival of some seasonal
curses visitors—a leopard, and several thousand leeches.
bloodletting: Yesterday afternoon the leopard lifted a dog from near
losing blood the servants’ quarter below the school. In the evening it
(Decades ago, attacked one of Bijju’s cows but fled at the approach of
leeches were
used to
Bijju’s mother, who came screaming imprecations.
remove blood As for the leeches, I shall soon get used to a little
from a bloodletting every day.
patient’s body) Other new arrivals are the scarlet minivets (the
scarlet females are yellow), flitting silently among the leaves
minivet: like brilliant jewels. No matter how leafy the trees, these
bright red bird
like a cuckoo
brightly coloured birds cannot conceal themselves,
although, by remaining absolutely silent, they
drongo:
a song-bird sometimes contrive to go unnoticed. Along come a pair
with a stout of drongos, unnecessarily aggressive, chasing the
bill minivets away.
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A tree creeper moves rapidly up the trunk of the
oak tree, snapping up insects all the way. Now that
the rains are here, there is no dearth of food for the
insectivorous birds.
Comprehension Check
1. Why is the author not able to see Bijju?
2. What are the two ways in which the hills appear to change
when the mist comes up?
II
August 2
All night the rain has been drumming on the drumming:
corrugated tin roof. There has been no storm, no falling noisily
thunder, just the steady swish of a tropical downpour.
It helps me to lie awake; at the same time, it doesn’t
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keep me from sleeping.

It is a good sound to read by — the rain outside, the
quiet within — and, although tin roofs are given to
springing unaccountable leaks, there is a feeling of being
untouched by, and yet in touch with, the rain.
August 3
The rain stops. The clouds begin to break up, the sun
strikes the hill on my left. A woman is chopping up
sticks. I hear the tinkle of cowbells. In the oak tree, a
crow shakes the raindrops from his feathers and caws
disconsolately. Water drips from a leaking drainpipe. disconsolately:
And suddenly, clean and pure, the song of the whistling unhappily
thrush emerges like a dark sweet secret from the depths
ravine:
of the ravine. valley
August 12
Endless rain, and a permanent mist. We haven’t seen
the sun for eight or nine days. Everything damp and
soggy. Nowhere to go. Pace the room, look out of the
window at a few bobbing umbrellas. At least it isn’t cold
A Short Monsoon Diary 111
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rain. The hillsides are lush
as late-monsoon flowers
begin to appear — wild
balsam, dahlias, begonias
and ground orchids.
August 31
It is the last day of August,
and the lush monsoon
growth has reached its
peak. The seeds of the
cobra lily are turning red,
signifying that the rains are coming to an end.
In a few days the ferns will start turning yellow, but
right now they are still firm, green and upright. Ground
orchids, mauve lady’s slipper and the white butterfly
orchids put on a fashion display on the grassy slopes of
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Landour. Wild dahlias, red, yellow and magenta, rear

crevices:
narrow their heads from the rocky crevices where they have
openings or taken hold.
cracks in rock Snakes and rodents, flooded out of their holes and
or wall burrows, take shelter in roofs, attics and godowns. A
shrew: shrew, weak of eyesight, blunders about the rooms,
(find its Hindi much to the amusement of the children.
equivalent in
the next
“Don’t kill it,” admonishes their grandmother.
sentence) “Chuchundars are lucky — they bring money!”
And sure enough, I receive a cheque in the mail. Not
a very large one, but welcome all the same.
October 3
We have gone straight from monsoon into winter rain.
Snow at higher altitudes.
After an evening hailstorm, the sky and hills are
suffused with a beautiful golden light.
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January 26
Winter Rains in the Hills
In the hushed silence of the house
when I am quite alone, and my
friend, who was here
has gone, it is very lonely, very quiet,
as I sit in a liquid silence, a silence
within,
surrounded by the rhythm of rain,
the steady drift
of water on leaves, on lemons, on roof,
drumming on drenched dahlias and
window panes,
while the mist holds the house in a
dark caress.
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As I pause near a window, the rain stops.

And starts again. caress:
touching or
And the trees, no longer green but grey,
holding
menace me with their loneliness. lovingly
March 23 menace:
threaten
Late March. End of winter.
The blackest cloud I’ve ever seen squatted over
Mussoorie, and then it hailed marbles for half an hour.
Nothing like a hailstorm to clear the sky. Even as I write,
I see a rainbow forming.
RUSKIN BOND
Comprehension Check
1. When does the monsoon season begin and when does it
end? How do you prepare to face the monsoon?
2. Which hill-station does the author describe in this diary
entry?
3. For how many days does it rain without stopping? What
does the author do on these days?
4. Where do the snakes and rodents take shelter? Why?
5. What did the author receive in the mail?
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1. Look carefully at the diary entries for June 24-25, August 2 and March
23. Now write down the changes that happen as the rains progress from
June to March.
2. Why did the grandmother ask the children not to kill the Chuchundar?
3. What signs do we find in Nature which show that the monsoons are about
to end?
4. Complete the following sentences.
(i) Bijju is not seen but his voice is heard because __________________.
(ii) The writer describes the hill station and valley as __________________.
(iii) The leopard was successful in __________________ but had to flee when
______________________________________________________.
(iv) The minivets are easily noticed because __________________.
(v) It looks like a fashion display on the slopes when __________________.
(vi) During the monsoon season, snakes and rodents are found in roofs
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and attics because __________________________.

5. ‘Although tin roofs are given to springing unaccountable leaks, there is a
feeling of being untouched by, and yet in touch with, the rain.’
(i) Why has the writer used the word, ‘springing’?
(ii) How is the writer untouched by the rain?
(iii) How is the writer in touch with the rain at the same time?
6. Mention a few things that can happen when there is endless rain for days
together.
7. What is the significance of cobra lily in relation to the monsoon season, its
beginning and end?
1. Here are some words that are associated with the monsoon. Add as many
words as you can to this list. Can you find words for these in your
languages?
downpour floods mist cloudy powercuts cold umbrella
2. Look at the sentences below.

(i) Bijju wandered into the garden in the evening.
(ii) The trees were ringing with birdsong.
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Notice the highlighted verbs.
The verb wandered tells us what Bijju did that evening. But the verb
was ringing tells us what was happening continually at same time in
the past (the birds were chirping in the trees).
Now look at the sentences below. They tell us about something that
happened in the past. They also tell us about other things that
happened continually, at the same time in the past.
Put the verbs in the brackets into their proper forms. The first one is done
for you.
(i) We (get out) of the school bus. The bell (ring) and everyone (rush) to
class.
We got out of the school bus. The bell was ringing and everyone was
rushing to class.
(ii) The traffic (stop). Some people (sit) on the road and they (shout)
slogans.
(iii) I (wear) my raincoat. It (rain) and people (get) wet.
(iv) She (see) a film. She (narrate) it to her friends who (listen) carefully.
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(v) We (go) to the exhibition. Some people (buy) clothes while others
(play) games.
(vi) The class (is) quiet. Some children (read) books and the rest (draw).
3. Here are some words from the lesson which describe different kinds of
sounds.
drum swish tinkle caw drip
(i) Match these words with their correct meanings.

(a) to fall in small drops
(b) to make a sound by hitting a surface repeatedly
(c) to move quickly through the air, making a soft sound
(d) harsh sound made by birds
(e) ringing sound (of a bell or breaking glass, etc.)
(ii) Now fill in the blanks using the correct form of the words
given above.
(a) Ramesh ____________ on his desk in impatience.
(b) Rain water ____________ from the umbrella all over
the carpet.
(c) The pony ____________ its tail.
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(d) The _________________ of breaking glass woke me up.
(e) The ____________ of the raven disturbed the child’s sleep.
4. And sure enough, I received a cheque in the mail.
Complete each sentence below by using appropriate phrase from the ones
given below.
sure enough colourful enough serious enough
kind enough big enough fair enough
brave enough foolish enough anxious enough
(i) I saw thick black clouds in the sky. And ___________ ___________ it
soon started raining heavily.
(ii) The blue umbrella was ___________ ___________ for the brother and
sister.
(iii) The butterflies are ___________ ___________ to get noticed.
(iv) The lady was ___________ ___________ to chase the leopard.
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(v) The boy was ___________ ___________ to call out to his sister.
(vi) The man was ___________ ___________ to offer help.
(vii) The victim’s injury was ___________ ___________ for him to get
admitted in hospital.
(viii) That person was ___________ ___________ to repeat the same mistake
again.
(ix) He told me he was sorry and he would compensate for the loss.
I said, ‘___________ ___________.’
1. Do you believe in superstitions? Why, or why not? Working with your

partner, write down three superstitious beliefs that you are familiar with.
2. How many different kinds of birds do you come across in the lesson? How
many varieties do you see in your neighbourhood? Are there any birds
that you used to see earlier in your neighbourhood but not now? In groups
discuss why you think this is happening.
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1. The monsoons are a time of great fun and even a few adventures: playing in
the rain and getting wet, wading through knee-deep water on your way to
school, water flooding the house or the classroom, powercuts and so on.
Write a paragraph describing an incident that occurred during the rains which
you can never forget.
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or
Write a poem of your own about the season of spring when trees are
in full bloom.
The Oak
Oak
The oak stands straight and tall,
but not in boots,
nor any shoes at all:
just in roots.
—Norma Farber
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Unlike The Ant and the Cricket (page 21), which tells a story, this
is a nature poem. In it, the grasshopper and cricket do not appear
as characters in a story. Rather, they act as symbols, each
suggesting something else. Read the poem and notice how ‘the
poetry of earth’ keeps on through summer and winter in a never-
ending song. Who sings the song?
The poetry of earth is never dead:

When all the birds are faint with the hot sun,
And hide in cooling trees, a voice will run
From hedge to hedge about the new-mown mead,
That is the grasshopper’s — he takes the lead
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In summer luxury — he has never done

With his delights, for when tired out with fun
He rests at ease beneath some pleasant weed.
The poetry of earth is ceasing never:
On a lone winter evening when the frost
Has wrought a silence, from the stone there shrills
The cricket’s song, in warmth increasing ever,
And seems to one in drowsiness half lost;
The grasshopper’s among some grassy hills.
JOHN KEATS
wrought: brought about

shrills: comes through loud and clear
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1. Discuss with your partner the following definition of a poem.
A poem is made of words arranged in a beautiful order. These words,
when read aloud with feeling, have a music and meaning of their own.
2. ‘The poetry of earth’ is not made of words. What is it made of, as suggested
in the poem?
3. Find in the poem lines that match the following.
(i) The grasshopper’s happiness never comes to an end.
(ii) The cricket’s song has a warmth that never decreases.
4. Which word in stanza 2 is opposite in meaning to ‘the frost’?
5. The poetry of earth continues round the year through a cycle of two seasons.
Mention each with its representative voice.
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Same is different
different
The bandage was wound around the wound.
The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
They were too close to the door to close it.
There is no time like the present to present the present.
On the Grasshopper and Cricket 119
2022-23
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Before you read

Seen from a distance, hilltops and huge rocks seem to
assume various shapes. They may resemble an animal
or a human figure. People attribute stories to these
shapes. Some stories come true; others don’t.
The Great Stone Face is one such shape that reminds
the inhabitants of the valley of a prophecy. What was
it? Did it come true?
One afternoon, when the sun was going down, a mother

and her little boy sat at the door of their cottage, talking
about the Great Stone Face. They had only to lift their
eyes and there it was, plain to be seen, though miles
away, with the sunshine brightening all its features.
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And what was the Great Stone Face?
The Great Stone Face was a work of nature, formed on
the perpendicular side of a mountain by some immense perpendicular:
rocks, which had been thrown together so that, when (cliff or rock-
face) rising
viewed at a proper distance, they resembled the features
very steeply
of a human face. If the spectator approached too near, he
immense:
lost the outline of the enormous face and could see only a huge
heap of gigantic rocks, piled one upon another. But seen enormous:
from a distance, the clouds clustering about it, the Great very big
Stone Face seemed positively to be alive. It was the belief gigantic:
of many people that the valley owed much of its fertility to immense
the benign face that was continually beaming over it. clustering:
A mother and her little boy, as we said earlier, sat at gathering
the door of their cottage, gazing at the Great Stone Face benign:
and talking about it. The child’s name was Ernest. kind, gentle
“Mother,” said he, while the Great Face smiled on
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him, “I wish that it could speak, for it looks so very

kindly that its voice must indeed be pleasant. If I
ever see a man with such a face, I should love him
very much.”
“If an old prophecy should come to pass,” answered prophecy:
his mother, “we may see a man some time, with exactly statement
that tells what
such a face as that.”
will happen in
“What prophecy the future
do you mean, dear
Mother?” eagerly
inquired Ernest.
“Please tell me about
it.”
So his mother told
him a story that her
own mother had told
her, when she herself
was younger than
little Ernest; that, at
some future day, a
child should be born
The Great Stone Face - I 121
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near here, who was destined to become the greatest and
noblest person of his time and whose face, in manhood,
should bear an exact resemblance to the Great Stone
Face. Many still had faith in this old prophecy. But
others took it to be nothing but idle talk. At all events
the great man of the prophecy had not yet appeared.
“O, Mother,” cried Ernest, clapping his hands above
his head, “I do hope that I shall live to see him!”
His mother was an affectionate and thoughtful
woman. It was proper, she thought, not to discourage
the fanciful hopes of her little boy. So she said to him,
“Perhaps you may.”
And Ernest never forgot the story that his mother
told him. It was always in his mind whenever he looked
upon the Great Stone Face. He spent his childhood in
the log-cottage where he was born, was dutiful to his
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mother and helpful to her in many things, assisting

her much with his little hands, and more with his loving
pensive: heart. In this manner, from a happy yet often pensive
thoughtful child he grew up to be a mild and quiet youth.
Ernest had had no teacher, but the Great Stone Face
became one to him. When the work of the day was over,
he would gaze at it for hours, until he began to imagine
that those vast features recognised him, and gave him a
smile of kindness and encouragement.
About this time there went a rumour throughout
the valley that the great man, who was to bear a
resemblance to the Great Stone Face, had appeared at
last. It seems that, many years before, a young man
had left the valley and settled at a distant seaport.
Gathergold, which was his name, had set up as a
shopkeeper and, being sharp in business matters, had
become so very rich that it would have taken him a
hundred years only to count his wealth. In time he
thought of his native valley, and decided to go back
there, and end his days where he had been born.
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Ernest had been deeply stirred by the idea that the stirred:
great man, the noble man, the man of prophecy, after moved
so many ages of delay, was at length to be seen in his
native valley. While the boy was still gazing up the valley
one day and imagining that the Great Stone Face
returned his gaze, the noise of wheels was heard, and a
crowd of people cried. “Here comes the great
Mr Gathergold.”
A carriage, drawn by four horses, dashed round the
turn of the road. Within it, thrust partly out of the window
appeared the face of an old man with yellow skin.
“The very image of the Great Stone Face!” shouted
the people. “Sure enough, the old prophecy is true. Here
we have the great man, at last!”
And, what greatly puzzled Ernest, they seemed
actually to believe that here was the likeness which they
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spoke of. He turned away sadly from the wrinkled

shrewdness of that unpleasant face, and gazed up the
valley, where the Stone Face seemed to say: He will come!
Fear not, Ernest; the man will come!
II
The years went on, and Ernest grew to be a young
man. He attracted little notice from the inhabitants of inhabitants:
the valley. They saw nothing remarkable in his way of people living
in the valley;
life, except that, when the labour of the day was over,
dwellers
he still loved to gaze upon the Great Stone Face. Their
labour:
idea was that this was a folly, but pardonable, because work
Ernest was industrious, kind and neighbourly. They
did not know that the Great Stone Face had become a
teacher to him, and that the sentiment which was
expressed in it would enlarge the young man's heart,
and fill it with deeper sympathies than other hearts. sympathies:
feelings (of
They did not know that from this would come a better sorrow,
wisdom than could be learnt from books. Neither did approval,
Ernest know that the thoughts which came to him so understanding)
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naturally, in the fields and at the fireside, were of a
higher tone than those which all men shared with him.
A simple soul — simple as when his mother first told
beheld: him the old story — he beheld the marvellous face
saw looking down the valley, and still wondered, why its
human likeness was so long in coming.
By this time poor Mr Gathergold was dead and
buried. His wealth, which was the body and spirit of
his existence, had disappeared before his death. Since
the melting away of his gold, it had been generally
agreed that there was no great likeness, after all,
between the ruined merchant and the majestic face
upon the mountain.
It so happened that another son of the valley had
become a soldier many years before. After a great deal of
hard fighting, he was now a famous commander. He was
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known on the battlefield by the name of Blood-and-

Thunder. Old and tired now, he had lately expressed a
desire to return to his native valley. The inhabitants, his
old neighbours and their grown up children, prepared to
renowned: welcome the renowned commander. It was being said that
famous at last the likeness of the Great Stone Face had actually
appeared. Great, therefore, was the excitement
throughout the valley, and many people who had never
once thought of glancing at the Great Stone Face now
spent much time in gazing at it, for the sake of knowing
exactly how General Blood-and-Thunder looked.
On the day of the general’s arrival, Ernest and all
the other people of the valley left their work, and
banquet: proceeded to the spot where a great banquet had been
feast prepared. Soldiers stood on guard, flags waved and the
crowd roared. Ernest was standing too far back to see
Blood-and-Thunder’s face. However, he could hear
several voices.
“It’s the same face, exactly!” cried one man, dancing
for joy.
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“Wonderfully like
it, that’s a fact!” replied
another.
“And why not?”
cried a third; “he’s the
greatest man of this or
any other age, beyond
a doubt.”
Ernest at last could
see the general’s face;
and in the same
glance, to the side, he
could also see the
Great Stone Face. If
there was such a
likeness as the crowd
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proclaimed, Ernest could not recognise it. proclaimed:

“Fear not, Ernest,” said his heart, as if the Great (here) said
Stone Face was whispering to him, “fear not, Ernest; loudly,
announced
he will come.”
Comprehension check
Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.
1. The Great Stone Face stood near where Ernest and
his mother lived. ______
2. One would clearly distinguish the features of the
Stone Face only from a distance. ______
3. Ernest loved his mother and helped her in her
work. ______
4. Though not very rich, Gathergold was a skilful
merchant. ______
5. Gathergold died in poverty and neglect. ______
6. The Great Stone Face seemed to suggest that Ernest
should not fear the general. ______
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1. (i) What was the Great Stone Face?
(ii) What did young Ernest wish when he gazed at it?
2. What was the story attributed to the Stone Face?
3. What gave the people of the valley the idea that the prophecy was about to
come true for the first time?
4. (i) Did Ernest see in Gathergold the likeness of the Stone Face?
(ii) Who did he confide in and how was he proved right?
5. (i) What made people believe General Blood-and-Thunder was their man?
(ii) Ernest compared the man’s face with the Stone Face. What did he conclude?
1. Look at the following words.

like - likeness
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punctual - punctuality
The words on the left are adjectives and those on the right are their noun
forms.
Write the noun forms of the following words by adding -ness or -ity to them
appropriately. Check the spelling of the new words.
(i) lofty ______________ (vi) enormous ______________
(ii) able ______________ (vii) pleasant ______________
(iii) happy ______________ (viii) dense ______________
(iv) near ______________ (ix) great ______________
(v) noble ______________ (x) stable ______________
2. Add -ly to each of the following adjectives, then use them to fill in the blanks.
perfect near kind pleasant eager
(i) Why didn’t you turn up at the meeting? We all were _______ waiting for you.
(ii) _________ write your name and address in capital letters.
(iii) I was _________ surprised to see him at the railway station. I thought
he was not coming.
(iv) It is _________ believable that I am not responsible for this mess.
(v) He fell over the step and _________ broke his arm.
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3. Complete each sentence below using the appropriate forms of the verbs
in brackets.
(i) I _________ (phone) you when I _________ (get) home from school.
(ii) Hurry up! Madam _________ (be) annoyed if we _________ (be) late.
(iii) If it _________ (rain) today, we _________ (not) go to the play.
(iv) When you _________ (see) Mandal again, you _________ (not/recognise)
him. He is growing a beard.
(v) We are off today. We _________ (write) to you after we _________ (be) back.
1. Imagine you are Ernest. Narrate the story that his mother told him.
Begin like this: My mother and I were sitting at the door of our cottage.
We were looking at the Great Stone Face. I asked her if she had ever seen
any one who looked like the Stone Face. Then she told me this story.
2. Imagine you are Gathergold. Write briefly the incident of your return to the
valley.
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Begin like this: My name is Gathergold. I left the valley of the Great Stone
Face fifty years ago. I am now going back home. Will the people of the
valley welcome me? Do they know that I am very rich?
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Before you read

Many years passed. Ernest was now a man of middle
age. To his neighbours, who never suspected that he
was anything more than an ordinary and familiar face,
he was only a humble and hardworking, though
thoughtful, person.
But what about the old prophecy? Was it ever fulfilled?
Let us read and find out.
The years hurried on, and brought white hairs upon
the head of Ernest, and made wrinkles across his
furrows: forehead and furrows in his cheeks. He was an old man.
deep lines But not in vain had he grown old; more numerous than
the white hairs on his head were the wise thoughts in
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his mind. And Ernest had ceased to be obscure. obscure:
Unsought for, undesired, had come the fame which so not well
known
many seek. He had become famous beyond the limits of
the valley. College professors, and even the active men
of cities, came from far to see and converse with Ernest,
and he received them with gentle sincerity, and spoke
freely with them of whatever came uppermost, or lay
deepest in his heart or their own. While they talked
together, his face would brighten, unawares, and shine unawares:
upon them, as with a mild evening light. unknowingly
While Ernest had been growing old, God had granted
a new poet to this earth. He, too, was a native of the
valley, but had spent the greater part of his life in distant
cities, pouring out his sweet music everywhere. Neither
was the Great Stone Face forgotten, for the poet had
celebrated it in a poem. The songs of this poet found
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their way to Ernest. He read them after his customary customary

toil, seated on the bench before his cottage door. As he toil:
usual work
read he lifted his eyes to the mountain.
“O Great Stone Face,” he said, “is not this man worthy
to be your likeness?”
The face seemed to smile, but did not answer.
Now it happened that the poet, though he lived so
far away, had not only heard of Ernest but had thought
much about his character and wished to meet this man
whose wisdom walked hand in hand with the noble
simplicity of his life. One summer day, therefore, he
arrived at Ernest’s door, where he found the good old
man holding a book in his hand, which he read and,
then, with a finger between the leaves, looked lovingly
at the Great Stone Face.
“Good evening,” said the poet. “Can you give a
traveller a night’s shelter?”
“Gladly,” answered Ernest; and then he added, hospitably:
smiling, “I think I never saw the Great Stone Face look (here) gently,
so hospitably at a stranger.” kindly
The Great Stone Face -II 129
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The poet sat down beside him, and he and Ernest
talked together. Never before had the poet talked with a
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man like Ernest, so wise, and gentle, and kind. Ernest,

on the other hand, was moved by the living images flung
out of the poet’s mind.
As Ernest listened to the poet, he imagined that the
Great Stone Face was bending forward to listen too. He
gazed into the poet’s eyes.
“Who are you, my gifted guest?” he asked.
The poet laid his finger on the book that Ernest had
been reading.
“You have read these poems,” said he. “You know
me, then, for I wrote them.”
Again and again, Ernest examined the poet’s
features; he turned towards the Great Stone Face then
back. He shook his head and sighed.
“Why are you sad?” inquired the poet.
“Because,” replied Ernest, “all through life I have
awaited the fulfillment of a prophecy, and when I read
these poems, I hoped that it might be fulfilled in you.”
“You hoped,” answered the poet, faintly smiling, “to
find in me the likeness of the Great Stone Face. I am
not worthy to be its likeness.”
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“And why not?” asked Ernest. He pointed to the book.
“Are not those thoughts worthy?”
“You can hear in them the distant voice of a heavenly
song. But my life, dear Ernest, has not corresponded corresponded:
with my thoughts. I have had grand dreams, but they been in
have been only dreams. Sometimes I lack faith in my harmony with
own thoughts. Why, then, pure seeker of the good and
true, should you hope to find me in the face of the
mountain?”
The poet spoke sadly and his eyes were wet with tears.
So, too, were those of Ernest.
At the hour of sunset, as had long been his custom, custom:
Ernest was to speak to a group of neighbours in the habit
open air. Together he and the poet went to the meeting
place, arm in arm. From there could be seen the Great
Stone Face.
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Ernest threw a look of familiar kindness around upon

his audience. He began to speak to the people what was
in his heart and mind. His words had power, because
they agreed with his thoughts; and his thoughts had
reality and depth, because they harmonised with the harmonised
life which he had always lived. It was not mere breath with:
corresponded
that the preacher uttered; they were the words of life. A
with; agreed
life of good deeds and selfless love was melted into them. with
The poet, as he listened, felt that the life and character
of Ernest were a nobler strain of poetry than he had
ever written. His eyes filled with tears and he said to
himself that never was there so worthy a sage as that sage:
mild, sweet, thoughtful face, with the glory of white hair wise man
diffused about it. diffused:
At a distance, but clearly to be seen, high up in the spread all
golden light of the setting sun, appeared the Great Stone around
Face, with white mists around it, like the white hairs
around the brow of Ernest. At that moment, Ernest’s
face took on an expression so grand that the poet was
moved to throw his arms up and shout. “Behold! Behold!
Ernest is himself the likeness of the Great Stone Face!”
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Then all the people looked, and saw that what the
poet said was true. The prophecy was fulfilled. But
Ernest, having finished what he had to say, took the
poet’s arm, and walked slowly homeward, still hoping
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that some wiser and better man than himself would

by and by appear, bearing a resemblance to the Great
Stone Face.
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE
(abridged)
Comprehension Check
Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following
statements.
1. E rnest’s words reminded people of the wise old
sayings. ______
2. Total strangers from far away, who visited Ernest in
the valley, found his face familiar. ______
3. The Great Stone Face confirmed Ernest’s view that
the poet could be worthy of its likeness. ______
4. When Ernest and the poet met, they respected and
admired each other equally. ______
5. The poet along with Ernest addressed the inhabitants
of the valley. ______
6. The poet realised that Ernest’s thoughts were far
nobler than his own verses. ______
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1. How was Ernest different from others in the valley?
2. Why did Ernest think the poet was like the Stone Face?
3. What did the poet himself say about his thoughts and poems?
4. What made the poet proclaim Ernest was the Stone Face?
5. Write ‘Ernest’ or ‘Poet’, against each statement below.
(i) There was a gap between his life and his words.
(ii) His words had the power of truth as they agreed with his thoughts.
(iii) His words were as soothing as a heavenly song but only as useful as
a vague dream.
(iv) His thoughts were worthy.
(v) Whatever he said was truth itself.
(vi) His poems were noble.
(vii) His life was nobler than all the poems.
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(viii) He lacked faith in his own thoughts.

(ix) His thoughts had power as they agreed with the life he lived.
(x) Greatness lies in truth. Truth is best expressed in one’s actions. He
was truthful, therefore he was great.
6. (i) Who, by common consent, turned out to be like the Great Stone Face?
(ii) Did Ernest believe that the old prophecy had come true?
What did he say about it?
1. Mark the meaning that best fits the word or a phrase in the story.
(i) (sun) going down (a) becoming smaller
(b) weakening
(c) setting
(ii) brightening (a) making (it) look bright and cheerful
(b) lending (it) a special glow
(c) causing (it) to appear hopeful
(iii) spacious (a) lonely and wild
(b) big and wide
(c) special and important
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(iv) prophecy (a) proverb
(b) prediction
(c) rumour
(v) marvellous (a) wonderful
(b) surprising
(c) shocking
(vi) proclaim (a) reveal
(b) declare
(c) shout
(vii) cease (a) happen
(b) stop
(c) remain
(viii) (a night’s) shelter (a) stay
(b) safety
(c) hospitality
(ix) gazed (a) wandered about
(b) stared at
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(c) thought of
(x) took on (a) challenged
(an expression) (b) resembled
(c) assumed
2. (i) Read the following sentences.
(a) I do hope I’ll live to see him.
(b) He will come! Fear not, Ernest; the man will come.
(c) Gathergold is arriving tomorrow, people said.
(d) Blood-and-Thunder starts his journey back to the valley next
week, everyone proclaimed.
(e) The great man is going to spend his old age in his native town.
Notice that in the above sentences, verbs in bold type are in four
different forms, denoting four important ways of expressing future
time. None of these can be said to be exclusively used to show future
time, though each is used to refer to some action in future.
(ii) Which form of the verb is more natural in these sentences? Encircle
your choice.
(a) I’m not free this evening. I will work/am working on a project.
(b) Have you decided where you will go for your higher secondary?
Yes, I have. I will go/am going to the Kendriya Vidyalaya.
(c) Don’t worry about the dog. It won’t hurt/isn’t hurting you.
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(d) The weatherman has predicted that it will snow/is snowing in
Ranikhet tonight.
(e) Swapna can’t go out this evening. Her father will come/is coming to
see her.
3. (i) Complete these pieces of conversation using will or going to with the
verbs given.
(a) Rani : Why are you turning on the radio?
Ravi : I ___________ (listen) to the news.
(b) Rani : Oh, I can’t buy this book. I have no money.
Ravi : Don’t worry. I ___________ (lend) you some.
(c) Rani : Look at those dark clouds.
Ravi : I think it ___________ (rain).
(d) Rani : What shall we have for dinner?
Ravi : I can’t decide.
Rani : Make up your mind.
Ravi : All right, then. We ___________ (have) fried rice and dry
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beans.
(e) Rani : Why are you filling the kettle with water?
Ravi : I ___________ (make) coffee.
(f) Rani : We need some bread and butter for breakfast.
Ravi : All right. I ___________ (go) to the bakery and get
some.
(Before he goes out, Ravi talks to their father.)
Ravi : I ___________ (get) some bread and butter. Do you want
any thing from the bakery?
Father : Yes, I want some salt biscuits.
Ravi : Fine, I ___________ (get) you a packet.
(ii) Let pairs of children take turns to speak aloud the dialogues.
1. Each of the following words has the sound/f/ as in feel. The words on the left
have it initially. Those on the right have it finally. Speak each word clearly.
flail life fact tough
Philip puff fail laugh
flowed deaf fast stiff
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2. Underline the letter or letters representing/f/in each of the following words.
file slough faint lift
cough defence afford enough
photograph staff tough aloof
affront philosophy sophistry
3. Imagine that you are the poet. You have come to your native valley to meet
a famous preacher called Ernest. Narrate the incident of your first meeting
with him.
4. (i) Put each of the following in the correct order to construct sentences.
l a resident of Noida near Delhi,/is visually impaired/George Abraham,
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
l confidence and competitive spirit/and infuses discipline among the
participants/It provides
_____________________________________________________
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_____________________________________________________
l he has helped/The brain behind the World Cup Cricket,/the disabled
to dream
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
l to the blind school in Delhi/It was a chance visit/that changed
his life
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
l sport is a powerful tool/the disabled/He believes that/for
rehabilitation of
_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
(ii) Now rearrange the sentences above to construct a paragraph.
George Abraham, _______________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
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General
Learning a language means using it for a wide variety of
purposes. Language is best acquired when attention is focused
on meaning, not on form.
Words and phrases not closely related to objects and action
remain empty and lifeless to young learners. Language comes
alive when presented in meaning-making contexts.
Words/phrases that are used to accomplish many useful
purposes follow a certain system inherent in the language itself.
Learners become familiar with the system through continuous
exposure to the language in meaning-focused situations.
Interaction, discussion and sharing of ideas among learners
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provide opportunities that elicit ‘real’ information about them

and their experiences and opinions.
Encourage learners to work in pairs and small groups and let
them go beyond the textbook by providing a variety of
language inputs for spontaneous and natural use of language.
Build on the exercises given in the textbook and design more
tasks/activities in keeping with learners’ interests, needs and
surroundings. Employ free-response exercises (with more than
one possible response).
Promote reading habits through story reading (not merely
teaching stories as texts), story retelling, choral reading, shared
reading, etc.
Create class libraries for exchange of books and shared
reading. The library may also move with children to the next
higher class.
Poems need not be taught line by line, word by word. You may
give a model reading but let every child read the poem on her/his
own to feel the richness of language, rhythm and music of words.
Exercises accompanying the poem are more for understanding
the poem as a whole than for teaching language items.
Advertisement is also literary genre. You will find that some
advertisements have been given on the inner covers of the
textbook. Have a discussion in the class on these concerns. You
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may ask them to do a project on these social issues and concerns.
Such as educating the girlchild, environment protection.
Encourage learners to tell new stories, narrate anecdotes,
compose short poems in English or their own language, talk
about pictures, illustrations in the book and cartoons in
newspapers/magazines. Don’t get anxious about the errors they
will make. Constant exposure, practice and correction in the
form of feedback will help them improve themselves by and by.
Every page has a column for words and meanings. Encourage
children to write down other words they find difficult, along
with their meanings, in this column.
UNITS 1-3
The Best Christmas Present in the World
Some suggestions given below are applicable to all prose lessons
in the book.
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A war story against the backdrop of Christmas, a festival

marked by family reunion, exchange of presents and universal
bonhomie. Connie, aged 101, receives a present from a stranger
whom she mistakes for her long-awaited husband. What is
the present — the letter or the mistaken identity of the visitor?
Spend about 20 minutes discussing the dates and events given
under Before you read. Since the answers are given later in the
book, the focus should be on the nature of each event — whether,
in human terms, the event recalls defeat and destruction or
endeavour and success. Let children express their own views.
Even if their observations do not reveal any understanding of
the nature of events, the discussion session will provide an
excellent base for initiating work on the story under reference.
The story is sectioned into three parts. Parts II and III may be
sectioned further according to convenience and time available.
Discuss each illustration with reference to the story.
Illustrations are given for better comprehension and sharper
visual appeal.
Comprehension Check at the end of each section is a recall of
what children have read so far. Design while-reading
comprehension exercises in the form of factual comprehension
questions, multiple choice questions and/or completion of
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Here is one example in three formats:
Factual or inferential comprehension (Answer the question
in your own words.)
Why is Jim ‘ashamed to say’ that Fritz ‘began it’?
Multiple choice (Mark the right answer.)
Jim is ‘ashamed to say’ that Fritz ‘began it’ because
(i) he didn’t know how to do it.
(ii) he wishes he had done it first.
(iii) he didn’t want to do it.
Sentence completion : (Choose the right item and complete
the sentence.)
But it is true, _______________, that Fritz began it.
(much to my delight / shame / dismay)
A related item here is the use of ‘begin’ and ‘start’ in appropriate
contexts.
Use ‘begin’ or ‘start’ appropriately in the following sentences.
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(i) What time do you _________ work in the morning?

(ii) If we want to get there, we should ___________ now.
(iii) The film ___________ at 7 pm.
(iv) No matter how you try, the car won’t ___________.
Very often ‘begin’ and ‘start’ can be used in the same way,
though ‘start’ is more common in informal speech. [See
sentences (i) and (iii)]
In some constructions only ‘start’ can be used. [See
sentences (ii) and (iv)].
Questions under working with the text to be answered orally,
later to be written in the copy book.
At the end of the lesson, draw children’s attention to the two
quotations given in the box. Let them discuss how the story
illustrates the same ideas. Then, ask them to find sentences in
the story which appeal to them most. Here are some examples:
We agreed about everything and he was my enemy.
No one dies in a football match. No children are orphaned.
No wives become widows.
I know from all that happened today how much both armies
long for peace. We shall be together again, I’m sure of it. (It’s
a good example of the use of ‘irony’ in the story.)
Notes for the Teacher 3
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The Ant and the Cricket
Spend about 15 minutes eliciting, and listening to, fables or
fable-like stories from children, preferably in their own
language(s). Help them retell one or two in English by providing
appropriate words and phrases.
The story about the Sun and the Wind at the end of ‘Glimpses
of the Past’ may be used here. Ask them if it’s a fable, though
there are no animals in it.
Try the following writing task.
Rearrange the following sentences to construct a story. Start
with sentence 4.
1. One cold day, a hungry grasshopper came to the anthill
and begged for a little something to eat.
2. He replied, “Alas! I spent all my time singing and playing
and dancing, and never thought about winter.”
3. One ant asked him how he had spent his time during
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summer and whether he had saved anything for winter.

4. A nest of ants had been occupied all through the summer
and autumn collecting food for winter.
5. They carefully stored it in the underground chambers of
their home.
6. Then we have nothing to give you.
7. Thus, when winter came, they had plenty to eat.
8. People who play and sing all summer should only dance
in winter.
9. The ant answered.
Find three adjectives in the first stanza associated with summer

and spring.
Find four phrases/lines in the same stanza associated with
the onset of winter.
Suppose the last line of the first stanza were to be rewritten as
‘Oh! What will become of me? Says the cricket.’ Would you
find it acceptable in the poem? If not, why not?
Speak the words given below. Ask children to write the word,
and against it two new words that rhyme.
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· sing ____________ ___________
· crumb ____________ ___________
· through ____________ ___________
· wished ____________ ___________
(Last sound in ‘crumb’ is ‘m’. In ‘wished’ it is ‘t’.)
Activity 4 under working with language needs patience and
time. Punctuation in writing sentences is an important teaching
point. Since the activity is to be taken up in groups, there will
be several versions of each sentence to begin with. Encourage
children to discuss why only one version is grammatically
acceptable and not the other.
The Tsunami
A natural calamity causing huge destruction and loss of life
and property. Alongside the story of deep sorrow are reassuring
details of courage, survival and resilience.
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While covering sections and sub sections of the text, focus on

situations in which children realise the importance of doing
whatever possible to save human and animal life, to participate
in relief work and to understand the concept of disaster
management.
Elicit their comments on, and reactions to, the stories of
Meghna and Almas. Focus on values such as courage, care
and compassion in the bitter struggle for survival and
rehabilitation.
The activity under Before you read is like an elementary
geography lesson. Map reading along with language work
(asking/answering questions, spotting location/ direction and
describing them with precision) is a good example of softening
subject boundaries and conforming to the idea of language
across the curriculum. Use other maps from the geography/
history textbook for further practice.
While dealing with ‘Active/Passive voice’ (working with
language: Activity 3), provide samples of texts exemplifying
the use of passive voice such as short newspaper reports and
descriptions of processes/experiments. As far as possible, avoid
a mechanical transformation exercise confined to isolated
sentences. Try a simple exercise given here.
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Complete the passage using passive forms of the verbs given
in brackets.
Olive oil ________ (use) for cooking, salad dressing, etc.
Olives_____ (pick) in autumn when they are ripe. They
______(shake) from the trees and ________ (gather) up, usually
by hand. Then they _______ (grind) to a thick paste which
_______ (spread) onto special mats. The mats then ______ (layer)
up on the pressing machine which will gently squeeze them to
produce olive oil.
The last activity under speaking and writing is a step towards
reducing the gap between children’s life at school and their
life outside the school.
Geography Lesson
Children already know words like ‘aeroplane, airport’, etc.
Draw their attention to words like ‘jetliner’, ‘jet engine’ and
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‘jetlag’ in the following activity.

(i) Match items under A with those under B
A B
Jetliner • fatigue/tiredness after a long flight
Jetlag • rich social group flying around the
world for business or pleasure
Jet engine • aircraft powered by a jet engine
(the) jet set • engine that emits high-speed hot
gases at the back when it moves
forward.
(ii) Check the meaning of ‘jet black’ and ‘jetsam’ in the
dictionary. Complete the idiom : jetsam and _________
Today, if there is a border dispute or any other contentious
issue between two countries, an organisation called the United
Nations acts as a mediator to keep peace and order in the world.
Encourage children to gather information about the UN and its
constituent bodies.
Peace Memorial Park is the only park of its kind in the world.
It is in Hiroshima, Japan, and marks the spot where the first
atomic bomb was dropped on ___________ (Children will
remember the date and event if they recall the activity under
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Before you read in The Best Christmas Present in the World).
A mini project could be planned on this.
Ask children to draw a map of their locality/village depicting
its physical features and distances between places, etc.
Recite and write on the blackboard the following poem and
discuss the items given at the end of the poem.
Wake
gently this morning
to a different day.
Listen
There is no bray
of buses,
no horns blow.
There is only
the silence
of a city
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hushed
with snow.
Name a few cities in India which the poem reminds you of.
Which words/phrases in the poem evoke images different from
those suggested by ‘the silence of the city’?
Glimpses of the Past

‘Glimpses’ of the history of our country to be understood
through pictures with strips of text for support. Children have
a natural enthusiasm for this kind of material in the textbook.
Children may read the comic strip aloud. Then they break up
into small groups, discuss what they have read and write a
summary. Each group presents its summary one by one. The
whole class then enters into a general discussion, and a
consolidated draft of the composition is prepared with the active
support of the teacher.
Conversely, divide the class into small groups. Let each group
look at and describe a set of pictures (assigned to them) and
construct their own text. Texts thus produced can be put
together to form a coherent story, to be edited for accuracy.
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If necessary, texts may first be produced in the child’s own
language and the teacher can help them to reformulate these
in English. For children fluent in English, this may be an
opportunity to formulate equivalent texts in their own
languages.
Some details of each ‘glimpse’ of the past may be had from the
history textbook of the same class. The history teacher may
be invited to facilitate the activity.
Picture reading under speaking and writing to be attempted
in the same manner.
Creating a comic (Activity 5) will be great fun if children can be
persuaded to draw/learn to draw matchstick figures. Enlist
the help of the art teacher.
Macavity – The Mystery Cat

Have you ever wondered why people generally communicate
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with their pet dog mainly in English?

What would you say to persuade your cat to leave the mouse
alone? Try to say it in English.
Which sentence about Macavity has been repeated four times
in the poem? Why has it been repeated? Think about it.
Mention a couple of ‘crimes’ discovered in the kitchen, and
your Macavity was nowhere to be seen.
a fiend in feline shape
Does it remind you of a similar expression about a wolf? What
is it, and what does it mean?
Here are four lines about someone’s cat. Read them and say
whether it is a mystery cat.
My kitten walks on velvet feet
And makes no sound at all.
And in the doorway nightly sits
To watch the darkness fall.
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UNITS 4-7
Bepin Choudhury’s Lapse of Memory
A Satyajit Ray story with a surprise ending that brings in its wake
the much needed psychological relief to the sophisticated executive
beleagured by a conspiracy, which is a humorous take after all.
Before asking children to read the text, tell the story part by part,
each part ending where the listener wonders what comes next.
Activity 3 under working with language is about two tense
forms — simple past and present perfect. Notice how both
have been used in conjunction with each other. The following
explanatory notes may be useful.
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• The present perfect tense is used to refer to an action

initiated and completed in the past and is associated with
the present. It has its effect on the present situation.
I have seen the Taj. (I know what it looks like.)
He has arrived. (He is here.)
I have finished my work. (I am free now.)
Present perfect tense is usual with already, so far,not yet, ever,
never etc.
It is not used with ago, yesterday, last week/month/year, etc.
The Last Bargain

Here is a method of teaching that may be tried.
(a) Let children read the first stanza silently.
Ask the following questions.
(i) How many persons/characters are there?
(ii) Who are they?
(iii) Who is big and who is small?
(iv) What does the person in the first line say?
(v) What does the other one in the fourth line say?
(vi) Do they stay together or part company? Why?
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(b) Now reconstruct the episode. Begin like this.
I was walking on the road looking for work. I saw the king in
his chariot. He had a sword in his hand. He was very kind to
me. He shook my hand and offered to hire me. I did not
accept his offer. To me, power is not a valuable thing. It is not
permanent. It won’t make me happy. I was looking for
something else as a reward for my work.
What is he looking for?
Let us read the next stanza.
(c) Do the other stanzas in the same way.
The clue to what the person is looking for lies in the last line.
The operative phrases are ‘the child’s play’ and ‘a free man’.
The child and her/his play is a metaphor for innocence and inward
happiness, which gives this person a sense of fulfilment and
freedom from stress and strife. He feels genuinely free and happy
in the company of the child.
Recite each stanza with feeling, pausing at the right places.
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The method suggested may work better for a poem with a story.
The Summit Within

Adventure and the world of nature – the arduous task of
reaching the highest summit in the world makes the climber
reflect on the ‘internal summits’ which are, perhaps, higher
than the Everest. The text underscores the physical, emotional
and spiritual aspects of the adventure in a single perspective.
Divide the text into three parts. A convenient division is
suggested here.
‘...............that mountains are a means of communion with
God’. (end of Part-I)
‘It is emotional. It is spiritual’. (end of Part-II)
The remaining is Part-III.
Design while-reading comprehension questions for each part.
The multiple choice items are given at the end of the lesson. You
may try the following as additional questions.
What is the author’s personal answer to the question as to
why people climb mountains?
How is the same question answered in Part-II in a different way?
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Famous climbers have recorded how they needed just that
help? Explain the italicised phrase.
Looking round from the summit, you tell yourself that
_____________________________.
(a) Complete this sentence using the same words as in the
text without referring to the book.
(b) Now complete it using a clause/phrase of your own
without changing meaning.
Activities 2 and 3 under working with language provide ample
opportunities for vocabulary development. Extend Activity 2
by choosing new words from the text to cover their adjective
and/or adverb forms.
remark – remarkable – remarkably
type – typical – typically
Use each item in a meaningful context, involving more than one
sentence.
‘What you say is not appropriate, though it’s a good remark.’
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‘Isn’t that remarkable?’

‘It may be so, but it doesn’t mean you are remarkably objective.’
You may not find the dialogue above remarkable enough, but
it meets the immediate requirement appropriately.
Re-read and discuss passages where the author’s admiration
for the mountains and passion for adventure comes through.
The School Boy

A school is a place where children and teachers assemble every
morning to learn from one another. Find out if any child would
like to describe school in a different way.
An interesting discussion on different types of schools,
supported by pictures from magazines/newspapers, may
ensue — a village school where children are sitting on the floor;
another school where they are sitting at long desks; an outdoor
lesson under a tree, etc.
Ask children how they reach school. Do they walk or take a
bus, etc.? What problems others in remote areas may face in
reaching school on time?
Any suggestions as to how to make school an interesting and
enjoyable place!
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This is Jody’s Fawn
A story about a child’s emotional preoccupation with the fawn
whose mother had to be killed to save his father’s life. The
story highlights values such as compassion and justice, care
and concern for human and animal life.
Spend some time on a discussion about ‘home remedies’ for
commonplace health problems/ailments. Should we see a
doctor about every little thing, or should we talk to the
grandmother first?
The growing concern about preservation of environment and
protection of animal life has gone a long way in persuading schools
to refrain from dissecting animals for experiment. Elicit children’s
comments on the issue and on the law that punishes humans
for hurting animals.
Activity 1 under working with language is about reporting
questions – yes/no and wh-questions. The use of ‘if/whether’
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in the case of yes/no type questions should be explicitly

explained. Devise separate exercises for teaching the use of
‘if/whether’, the appropriate reporting verb, the changes in
pronominals in the reported speech and the sequence of tenses.
Here is a simple exercise to exemplify some of these points.
Choose the correct word to complete statements in indirect speech
given below. Write words in the blanks given.
(a) “Where do you come from?”
I ___________(said/asked) him where ______________ (he/
you) come from.
(b) “What is your name?”
He asked me what ____________ (my/his) name. (is/was)
(c) “Are you happy?”
I asked him ______________ (if/whether) he _____________
(is/was) happy.
(d) “Do you live here?”
He asked me ___________ (whether/if) I ____________ (live/
lived) ___________ (here/there).
(e) “Why are you crying?”
The teacher asked the child ______________ (if/why) she
_____ (is/was/were) crying.
56 Honeydew
2022-23
Here is another exercise.
Read the following dialogue between Jody and his father. Rewrite
their conversation in indirect speech.
Penny lay quiet, staring at the ceiling.
“Boy, you’ve got me hemmed in.”
“It won’t take much to raise the fawn.
It will soon start eating leaves.”
“You are smarter than boys of your age.”
“We took its mother, and it wasn’t to blame.”
“It seems ungrateful to leave it to starve.”
Begin like this:
Penny lay quiet staring at the ceiling. He said to Jody that
______________________________________________. Jody replied
that it wouldn’t _________________________
Activity 2 under working with language deals with transitive
and intransitive verbs.
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Ask children to underline the direct object in the following

sentences.
He brought me a colourful umbrella.
I will write a letter to him.
You should give yourself a chance.
Activity 3 under writing may be linked with the first task
covering home remedies under ‘Before you read,’ It will be
useful to take it up separately also.
A Visit to Cambridge
Excerpt from a travelogue highlighting exchange of views
between two extraordinary persons on what it means to be
‘differently abled’. A tour through Cambridge had a surprise,
both pleasant and poignant, for the author. He met the brilliant
and completely paralysed author of A Brief History of Time,
and talked to him for a full half-hour.
Activity 2 under working with language is about the present
participle (dancing/walking) used as adjective.
Running on the road, he saw __________. (participle)
The train is running. __________ (verb)
2022-23
The running train __________ (adjective)
The use of past participle as adjective may also be illustrated
here.
He has broken the window. (verb)
The window was broken when the almirah was taken out
(verb — in passive)
See the broken window. (adjective)
Activity 3 under speaking and writing may be done as a project.
Lot of oral work to precede the writing task. The final draft should
be edited and improved before it is put up on the board.
Activities 1 and 2 under speaking and writing are about word
stress. Stressed syllables to be pronounced clearly and loudly.
Some words of more than one syllable from the text may also be
listed according to whether the stress falls on the first or the
second syllable.
When I Set Out for Lyonnesse

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The poem has a clear beginning-middle-end structure. The

beginning is ‘setting out’, the middle is ‘sojourn’ and the end
is ‘return’.
Draw children’s attention to appropriate words/phrases/lines
that suggest and reinforce each phase of the journey.
‘Lyonnesse’ to be pronounced as lie-an-ness. The last syllable
receives the primary stress.
If feasible and useful, explain the rhyme scheme and its musical
effect on the listener.
Stanza 1 – ABBAAB Lyonnesse - A
Stanza 2 – ACCAAC away - B
Stanza 3 – ADDAAD there - C
eyes - D
58 Honeydew
2022-23
UNITS 8-10
A Short Monsoon Diary
Some extracts from the diary of a nature lover who enjoys the
monsoon in the hills and observes the accompanying changes
in the world of flora and fauna.
Activities under working with language are numerous and of
different types. Spend sufficient time on each activity and
devise, wherever necessary, new but related exercises for
further practice.
The following project may be tried under writing.
Do you notice the changes that occur in nature as the
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seasons change? Write five or six sentences about what

you see in nature in your part of the country during the
months of May, August and December.
Record the daily temperature for a fortnight and note down
the maximum and minimum temperatures.
Comment on the rise and fall in temperature.
Record the time of sunrise and sunset for a fortnight and
check if there is any appreciable change in the time.
On the Grasshopper and Cricket

This poem is relatively difficult. The difficulty lies in its brevity
of expression and complexity of thought.
The introductory note and activities under working with the
poem should be done elaborately adding additional
explanatory notes/tasks, wherever necessary.
Compare it with The Ant and the Cricket to bring out
differences of style and theme clearly with examples.
To concretise ‘the poetry of earth’ or ‘the sounds of nature’,
use the poem given below, which is all about animal cries.
2022-23
Ask children to rearrange the lines taking note of the words
that rhyme. The last line of each stanza begins with ‘But’.
Cows moo.
Lions roar.
But I speak.
Bears snore.
Doves coo.
Crickets creak.
Dogs growl.
Horses neigh.
But I talk.
Wolves howl.
Donkeys bray.
Parrots squawk.
The Great Stone Face – I and II

A classic piece of American fiction juxtaposing mellowness of
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humanism with magnificence of art. Ernest, an unschooled

dweller of the valley, has close affinity with the ‘Stone Face’ atop
the hills beyond. Who resembles the splendid Stone Face — not
someone for all his wealth, not someone else for all his heroic
deeds, and not someone else yet again for his poetry and sublime
ideas. It is none other than Ernest who personifies a rare blend of
basic simplicity, practical wisdom and deep love for humanity.
The original story has been heavily abridged. Simplification
has been avoided in the interest of authenticity. You may like
to read the unabridged text for pleasure and edification.
Design three or four while-reading comprehension questions
for each section of the text (parts I and II)
The writing activity (Part-II : IV) is for further practice in language
analysis. Rearranging phrases to construct sentences and then
rearranging sentences to construct a paragraph will provide
many opportunities for thinking about cohesion and coherence.
Activities 1 and 2 under working with language (Part I) on
adding -ness and -ity for forming nouns and adding -ly to
adjectives for forming adverbs should be completed in three
or four sessions. One period may be devoted to each item
including resolving intermittent queries and offering
explanations and the writing work involved.
108 Honeydew
2022-23

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Honeydew

Textbook in English for Class VIII

First Edition ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

in the National Policy of Education (1986).

contributed to the development of this textbook; we are

Government of India, New Delhi for ‘Glimpses of the

3. Glimpses of the Past 36

NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 4-7) 53-58

5. The Summit Within 75

6. This is Jody’s Fawn 86

NOTES FOR THE TEACHER (UNITS 8-10) 107-108

9. The Great Stone Face–I 120

10. The Great Stone Face–II 128

mentions one such date and event: a war between

men, “it’s a trick.” But it wasn’t. used here to

The Best Christmas Present in the World 11

laughing, talking, drinking, eating. Hans Wolf and I

wasn’t quite fair.

I found Burlington House Nursing Home easily enough.

The Best Christmas Present in the World 17

Past Earlier past

burn out light up look on run out keep out

determiner modifier 1 modifier 2 modifier 3 modifier 4 head word

The Best Christmas Present in the World 19

tortured _______________ revolt by inmates _______________ doctor

War is the greatest plague that can afflict humanity; it destroys

A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing

On the snow-covered ground;

At last by starvation and famine made bold,

My heart was so light

Go then,” says the ant, “and dance the winter away.”

Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wicket,

accustomed to sing: used to singing; in the habit of singing

If you know a fable in your own language, narrate it to your classmates.

Answers to Questions on page 9.

The Ant and the Cricket 23

Tilly Smith (a British school girl) was able to save many

and ran for higher ground; dogs refused to go outdoors; animals

cheerful ambitious brash brave careless

Almas's grandfather was hit on the Something hit Almas’s grandfather on

(vi) The mechanic repaired it for me. _______________

Katchall is one of the largest islands in the central group.

Betty at the Party

‘A little girl fell off her chair

When the jet sprang into the sky,

had developed the way it had,

When the jet reached ten thousand feet,

When the jet rose six miles high,

inevitable: that cannot be avoided

of the conditions that led to the event known as the

Glimpses of the Past 37

Anyone who crosses the

All the misery in the

But your men are You are still in

send you to jail.

The natives are

True, your honour,

Inevitably famines followed. Between 1822 and

The British policies

The goods manufactured

tortured _ revolt by inmates _ doctor