Neha’s Alarm Clock

Narrator: Ring! Ring! Ring! Off goes the alarm clock at six in the morning. Neha makes a face and covering her ears with a pillow, snuggles under the warm blanket. But she knows she has to get up. She mutters to herself.

Neha: This alarm clock always rings at six and pulls me out of the bed! It’s so unfair...Oh, how I would love to sleep a little longer in the morning! I wish this clock would forget its job sometimes.

Narrator: Something falls. Neha smiles.

Neha: Oh! My clock has fallen. How happy I am! Tomorrow I can get up late.

Narrator: Next morning there is no alarm. So Neha sleeps and sleeps. The small chirpy birds which come to the window sill every morning find Neha still sleeping.

Birds: Wake up dear! Wake up fast!

Narrator: Neha gets up with a start.

Neha: Oh, no! If it’s not the alarm clock, it’s these birds… Why don’t they leave me alone?

Narrator: Even this wish of Neha’s comes true. The next morning there is not only no alarm clock, there are no birds either. But there is someone else who does not want her to miss the school bus. Can you guess who it is? The big bright Sun! He fills Neha’s room with a warm smile.

Neha: Oh, my eyes! Now it’s the Sun waking me up! Why can’t he let me be?

Narrator: Even this wish of Neha’s comes true.

Next morning the Sun is behind the clouds. So, Neha snores till she hears her mother’s voice...

Mother: Wake up, sleepy head. You will miss the bus.

Neha: Oh no! Why does mother have to wake me up?

Narrator: There is no escape now. Neha gets up and gets ready. Can you imagine what happens the next day? Neha wakes up with a start. Her watch says it is six o’clock. She calls out to her mother.

Neha: Ma, who woke me up today?

Narrator: Mother smiles.

Mother: Who else? You, of course!

Neha: But, I was sleeping, how could I …?

Mother: Now, tell me, why do you eat your lunch every day at one in the afternoon?

Neha: I feel hungry.

Mother: Why do you sleep at nine every night?

Neha: Because I feel sleepy.

Mother: There is a clock inside you which tells you when to eat, when to sleep and when to wake up.

Neha: Oh! Ooh! I better rush now. I don’t want to miss the bus.

Mother: RELAX! Today is Sunday!

Neha: Oh! Oh! Oh!

– Adapted from Neha’s Alarm Clock by Girija Rani Asthana

Let’s listen and talk

1. Listen to the sounds around you when you are on your way to school. Discuss with your friend the sounds that you heard. List them here –

	Sounds you heard	Sounds your friend heard

2. If there is no clock in the house to wake you in the morning, how will you wake up? Will you continue to sleep or...
3. What are the different ways of knowing the time during the day?

Word building

Find the hidden words

mother, birds, clock, alarm, happy, morning, holiday, hungry, sunday

Let’s write

1. Who said these words and to whom?

	Who said	To whom
“Wake up, dear! Wake up fast!”
“Ma, who woke me up today?”
“Why do you sleep at nine every night?”

2. Use the help box to fill in the blanks –

Help box – was, were

(a) Ram _____ a good football player.

(b) The cows _____ grazing in the field.

(c) My toys _____ broken.

(d) Her frock _____ too long.

(e) The market _____ closed.

(f) The children _____ happy.

(g) The flowers _____ kept in a vase.

3. Look at the pictures below and complete the following paragraph. You will need these words –

Pulled out, inside, called out, behind, under

Yesterday, I lost a book. I looked for it everywhere.

I looked _____ a door.

I looked _____ a cupboard.

I looked _____ a bed.

I could not find it anywhere. Then, I _____, Sheroo! Sheroo, my dog came running to me. I asked him to look for my book. He _____ another book from my bag.