Table of Contents
8
Before you read
Have you ever won anything in a ‘lucky dip’ or other such game of chance? Do you like such games?
A Game of Chance
1. Every year on the occasion of Eid, there was a fair in our village. Eid was celebrated only one day but the fair lasted many days. Tradesmen from far and wide came there with all kinds of goods to sell. You could buy anything from a small pin to a big buffalo.
2. Uncle took me to the fair. Bhaiya, who worked for us at home, came with us. There was a big crowd at the fair. Uncle was leading us through the crowd when he met a few of his friends. They wanted him to spend some time with them.
3. Uncle asked me whether I would like to look around the fair with Bhaiya till he came back. I was happy to do that. Uncle warned me neither to buy anything nor to go too far out while he was away. I promised that I would wait for him.
4. Bhaiya and I went from shop to shop. There were many things I would have liked to buy, but I waited for Uncle to return. Then we came to what was called the Lucky Shop. The shopkeeper was neither young nor old. He was a middle-aged man. He seemed neither too smart nor too lazy. He wanted everybody to try their luck. There were discs on the table with numbers from one to ten facing down. All you had to do was to pay 50 paise, pick up any six discs, add up the numbers on the discs and find the total. The article marked with that number was yours.
5. An old man paid 50 paise and selected six discs. He added up the numbers on them and found the total was 15. He was given the article marked 15, which was a beautiful clock. But the old man did not want a clock. The shopkeeper obliged him by buying it back for 15 rupees. The old man went away very pleased.
6. Then a boy, a little older than I, tried his luck. He got a comb worth 25 paise. The shopkeeper looked neither happy nor sad. He bought the comb from the boy for 25 paise. The boy tried his luck again. He now got a fountain-pen worth three rupees. Then he tried a third time and got a wrist watch worth 25 rupees. When he tried again he got a table lamp worth more than 10 rupees. The boy was happy and went away with a smile and a good deal of cash.
7. I wanted to try my luck too. I looked at Bhaiya. He encouraged me. I paid 50 paise and took six discs. My luck was not too good. I got two pencils. The shopkeeper bought them from me for 25 paise. I tried again. This time I got a bottle of ink, also of little value. The shopkeeper bought that too for 25 paise. I took a chance for the third time. Still luck was not with me.
8. I had hopes of winning a big prize and continued to try my luck again and again, paying 50 paise each time. But every time I got a trifle. At last I was left with only 25 paise. Again the shopkeeper showed his kindness. He said I could either play once more with 25 paise or settle the account then and there. I played again and the last 25 paise also disappeared.
a trifle: an object of little value
9. People were looking at me. Some were laughing at my bad luck, but none showed any sympathy. Bhaiya and I went to the place where Uncle had left us and waited for him to return.
Presently he came. He looked at me and said, “Rasheed, you look upset. What is the matter?”
10. I did not say anything. Bhaiya told him what had happened. Uncle was neither angry nor sad. He smiled and patted me. He took me to a shop and bought me a beautiful umbrella, biscuits and sweets and some other little gifts. Then we returned home.
11. Back home, Uncle told me that the Lucky Shop man had made a fool of me.
“No, Uncle,” I said, “it was just my bad luck.”
“No, my boy,” said Uncle, “it was neither good luck nor bad luck.”
“But, Uncle,” I said, “I saw an old man getting a clock and a boy getting two or three costly things.”
“You don’t know, child,” Uncle said, “they were all friends of the shopkeeper. They were playing tricks to tempt you to try your luck. They wanted your money and they got it. Now forget about it, and don’t tell anybody of your bad luck or your foolishness.”
Working with the text
A. Complete the following sentences from memory choosing a phrase from those given in brackets.
1. ————————————— was held at the time of the Eid festival.
(A big show, A big fair, A big competition)
2. Tradesmen came to the village with all kinds of goods ——————————— .
(to display, to buy, to sell)
3. Uncle told me ———————————————————————— while he was away.
(not to buy anything, not to go anywhere, not to talk to anyone)
4. The owner of the Lucky Shop wanted everybody present
—————————————————————————— .
(to play the game, to win a prize, to try their luck)
5. The first time I took a chance I got —————————————–— .
(a bottle of ink, two pencils, a trifle)
6. Uncle told me that the shopkeeper had made ————————.
(a fool of me, a good profit, friends with many people)
B. Answer the following questions.
1. Why do you think Rasheed’s uncle asked him not to buy anything in his absence? (3)
2. Why was the shop called ‘Lucky Shop’? (4)
3. An old man won a clock and sold it back to the shopkeeper. How much money did he make? (5)
4. How many prizes did the boy win? What were they? (6)
5. Why was Rasheed upset? (7, 8, 9)
6. In what way did the shopkeeper make a fool of Rasheed? (11)
Working with Language
A. The words given against the sentences below can be used both as nouns and verbs. Use them appropriately to fill in the blanks.
1. (i) The two teams have ————————————— three matches already. (play)
(ii) The last day’s ————————————— was excellent.
2. (i) She has a lovely ————————————— . (face)
(ii) India ———————————— a number of problems these days.
3. (i) He made his ————————————— in essay-writing. (mark)
(ii) Articles ————————————— ‘sold’ are reserved.
4. (i) The police are ————————————— the area to catch the burglars. (comb)
(ii) An ordinary plastic ————————————— costs five rupees.
5. (i) He gave a ————————————— in answer to my question. (smile)
(ii) We also ————————————— to see him smile.
6. (i) He said he ————————————— to be invited to the party. (hope)
(ii) We gave up ————————————— of his joining the party.
7. (i) The boys put up a good athletic————————————— . (show)
(ii) The soldiers ————————————— great courage in saving people from floods.
8. (i) You deserve a ————————————— on the back for your good performance. (pat)
(ii) The teacher ————————————— the child on the cheek to encourage her.
B. Notice the use of ‘there’ in the following sentences.
• There was a big crowd at the fair.
• There were many things I’d have liked to buy.
Now rewrite the following sentences using ‘there’ in the beginning. Look at the following examples.
I can do nothing to help you.
There is nothing I can do to help you.
A man at the door is asking to see you.
There is a man at the door asking to see you.
1. This park has beautiful roses.
2. Your story has no fun in it.
3. We have no secrets between us.
4. My village has two primary schools.
5. This problem can be solved in two ways.
C. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph below with words from the box.
huge big foolish interesting tiny unlucky last
There was a ————————————— Eid fair in our village. We could buy anything from a ————————————— toy to a ———————————— camel. I went to the fair on its ——————————— day with Uncle and Bhaiya. We went to the Lucky Shop. It was very————————————— . I tried my luck but did not win any prize. Later, Uncle told me that I was more ————————————— than ————————————— .
Speaking and Reading Aloud
A. 1. Suppose you are Rasheed. Describe in your own words your visit to the fair. Do not refer to the Lucky Shop.
2. Read aloud the two paragraphs that describe the boy and the old man at the Lucky Shop.
3. Listen to these children. What are they talking about?
B. Work in pairs. One of you is an agent and the other is a client looking for accommodation in a hotel. Talk to each other. Use the clues given below.
Dictation
1. Some words are given below. Listen carefully to the word from the list the teacher speaks, and write against it another word that has the same pronunciation but different spelling. The first is an example.
fair __________fare____________
buy _________________________
one _________________________
which _________________________
two _________________________
no _________________________
here _________________________
see _________________________
there _________________________
hare _________________________
nun _________________________
Vocation
On your way to school or market you see many people at work. In pairs, discuss what you have noticed. Then read this poem. You may read it aloud with a partner, if you like.
When the gong sounds ten in the morning and I walk to school by our lane,
Every day I meet the hawker crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”
There is nothing to hurry him on, there is no road he must take, no place he must go to, no time when he must come home.
I wish I were a hawker, spending my day in the road, crying, “Bangles, crystal bangles!”
When at four in the afternoon I come back from the school,
I can see through the gate of that house the gardener digging the ground.
He does what he likes with his spade, he soils his clothes with dust, nobody takes him to task, if he gets baked in the sun or gets wet.
I wish I were a gardener digging away at the garden with nobody to stop me from digging.
Just as it gets dark in the evening and my mother sends me to bed,
I can see through my open window the watchman walking up and down.
The lane is dark and lonely, and the street-lamp stands like a giant with one red eye in its head.
The watchman swings his lantern and walks with his shadow at his side, and never once goes to bed in his life.
I wish I were a watchman walking the street all night, chasing the shadows with my lantern.
Rabindranath Tagore
Working with the Poem
1. Your partner and you may now be able to answer these questions.
(i) Who is the speaker in the poem? Who are the people the speaker meets? What are they doing?
(ii) What wishes does the child in the poem make? Why does the child want to be a hawker, a gardener, or a watchman? Pick out the lines in each stanza, which tell us this.
(iii) From the way the child envies the hawker, the gardener and the watchman, we can guess that there are many things the child has to do, or must not do.
Make a list of the do’s and don’ts that the child doesn’t like. The first line is done for you.
The child must The child must not
come home at a fixed time. get his clothes dirty in the dust.
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
_____________________ ________________________
(iv) Like the child in the poem, you perhaps have your own wishes for yourself. Talk to your friend, using “I wish I were…”
2. Find out the different kinds of work done by the people in your neighbourhood. Make different cards for different kinds of work. You can make the card colourful with pictures of the persons doing the work.