The Scholar’s Mother Tongue

New words

mother tongue, challenged, tickled, irritated

That night, Birbal went quietly to the Pundit’s room when he was asleep. He whispered into the Pundit’s ear and tickled it with a feather. The Pundit, half awake, cried out suddenly and shouted out words in his mother tongue.

Birbal came to the court the next day and told everyone that the Pundit’s mother tongue was Telugu. The Pundit was surprised and accepted the truth.

King Akbar then asked Birbal, “How did you find the truth?”

Birbal answered, “In times of difficulty, a person speaks only in his mother tongue.” He also told the King how he had gone to the Pundit’s room at night to find out the truth.

– Adapted from Akbar and Birbal stories

Reading is fun

1. Who came to Akbar’s court?

2. What did he claim to know?

3. How did he challenge everybody?

Let’s talk

1. What is your mother tongue?

2. Tell the class a joke in your mother tongue.

3. Do you know any other language? Do you know a joke in English? Tell your friends.

Let’s listen

1. Listen to your favourite advertisement on the radio or T.V. Repeat it with stress on the words. Act, draw and write the advertisement.

Say aloud

ask, bask, mask, task, scholar, school, scan, skim

We say – I learnt my lesson. (action word)

But A learn-ed pundit came to the court. (describing word)

We pronounce it as learn-id to rhyme with

created

waited

1. Tick (✓) the words which end with the sound id. Say each word aloud

accepted ☐ answered ☐ irritated ☐ failed ☐

completed ☐ challenged ☐ cried ☐ surprised

find ☐ licked ☐ celebrated ☐ fried ☐

Word building

1. Make a class dictionary with words from the story. Try to find suitable words for them in your mother tongue. Say these words aloud.

Then make sentences with those words in your class dictionary.

106

2. Write all the words that show you are happy.

For example : Hurray, Ha! Ha!

Add more

3. Tick (✓) the right answer.

(i) ‘I visited the court of Akbar’ means

(a) You always live there. ☐

(b) You came there for a short time. ☐

(c) You were born there. ☐

(ii) To imitate someone means to

(a) copy someone ☐

(b) tease someone ☐

(c) make someone angry ☐

4. Look and fill in the columns. One has been done for you.

5. Match the words in Column ‘A’ with words in Column ‘B’.

6. Play this game with a friend. Pick up what you want from any basket.

Add a or an before it.

Now say the sentences below, using these things –

Neena: Can I have _____, please?

Rahul: Yes, here you are.

Jeevika: Can I have _____, too.

Nikhil: No, sorry. You can’t have that.

Make more sentences using words from the baskets.

Let’s share

1. How did Birbal find out about the Pundit’s mother tongue?

2. Act this out with your friends and make it into a class play.

The Truth Balloon

Suppose you are going on a camping holiday. What are the four most important

things you will carry with you? Choose from the tags attached to the hot air

balloon.

Tool Box, Radio, Blanket, Sewing Kit, Money, Candle, Football, The Five Values Book, The guide to a happy life, Jewels, Food Packets, Box of Matches, First Aid Kit, Water Bottles

Fun time

Crossword fun

India is a country of many languages. Let’s see if you know what the people of the states in this crossword puzzle speak. The clues are given below. The first letter of each answer has been filled in for you.

Across

1. This language is spoken in Orissa

2. It is spoken in Karnataka

4. The people of Assam speak this language

7. This language is used in Andhra Pradesh

8. You can hear this spoken in Maharashtra

Down

3. The people of Kerala speak this language

5. This language is spoken in most parts of North India

6. The language of the Goan people

7. This is spoken in Tamil Nadu

9. It is widely spoken in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere