Solution of Chapter 3. Gopal and the Hilsa-fish (NCERT English - Honeycomb Book)

Why did the king want no more talk about the hilsa-fish?

What did the king ask Gopal to do to prove that he was clever?

What three things did Gopal do before he went to buy his hilsa-fish?

How did Gopal get inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish?

Explain how no one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought.

Write ‘True’ or ‘false’ against each of the following sentences.

(i) The king lost his temper easily.

(ii) Gopal was a madman.

(iii) Gopal was a clever man.

(iv) Gopal was too poor to afford decent clothes.

(v) The king got angry when he was shown to be wrong.

Notice how in a comic book, there are no speech marks when characters talk. Instead what they say is put in a speech ‘ebubbei’. However, if we wish to repeat or ‘report’ what they say, we must put it into reported speech.

Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech. The first one has been done for you.

(ii) Why is your face half-shaven?

Gopal's wife asked him _____________

(iii I accept the challenge, Your Majesty.

Gopal told the king _____________

(iv) I want to see the king.

Gopal told the guards _____________

Find out the meaning of the following words by looking them up in the dictionary. Then use them in sentences of your own.

Challenge, mystic, comical, courtier, smearing

Look at the picture and read the text aloud.

Now ask your partner questions about each picture.

(i) Where is the stag?

(ii) What is he doing?

(iii) Does he like his antlers (horns)?

(iv) Does he like his legs?

(v) Why is the stag running?

(vi) Is he able to hide in the bushes?

(vii) Where are the hunters now?

(viii) Are they closing is on the stag?

(ix) Is the stag free?

(x) What does the stag say about his horns and his legs?

Now write the story in your own words. Give it a title.

Complete the following word ladder with the help of the clues given below:

Clues

1. Mother will be very ___________ if you don’t go to school.

2. As soon as he caught ___________ of the teacher, Mohan started writing.

3. How do you like my ___________ kitchen garden? Big enough for you, is it?

4. My youngest sister is now a ___________ old.

5. Standing on the ___________, he saw children playing on the road.

6. Don’t make such a ___________. Nothing will happen.

7. Don’t cross the ___________ till the green light comes on.

Answer the following questions.

(i) Who is the speaker in the poem?

(ii) Is she/he afraid or curious, or both?

(iii) What is she/he planning to do soon?

(iv) “But not just yet …….” Suggests doubt, fear, hesitation, laziness or something else. Choose the word which seems right to you. Tell others why you chose it.

Is there a room in your house or a house in your neighbourhood/locality where you would rather not go alone, and never at night? If there is such a place and a story to go with it, let others hear all about it.