Solution of Chapter 4. The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom (NCERT English - Honeycomb Book)

Why did the neighbours kill the dog?

Mark the right item.

The old farmer and his wife loved the dog.

Mark the right item.

When the old couple became rich, they

Mark the right item.

The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make

The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs?

What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?

How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?

How did it help him next?

Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish the neighbour for the same act?

Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicised phrases.

Anil is in school. I am in school too. Anil is sitting in the left row. He is reading a book. Anil’s friend is sitting in the second row. He is sharpening his pencil. The teacher is writing on the blackboard. Children are writing in their copybooks. Some children are looking out of the window.

Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.

Neha : ______ Did you get this book?

Sheela : Yesterday morning.

Neha : ______ is your sister crying?

Sheela : Because she has lost her doll.

Neha : ______ Room is this, yours or hers?

Sheela : It’s ours.

Neha : ______ do you go to school?

Sheela : We walk to school. It is nearby.

Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.

How what when where which

(i) My friend lost his Chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know ______ to do and ______ to look for it.

(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide ______ one to buy.

(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman ______ to get there.

(iv) You should decide soon ______ to start building your house.

(v) Do you know ______ to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember ______ and ______ I learnt it.

(vi) “You should know ______to talk and ______ to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.

Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.

Patient proper possible sensitive competent

(i) The project appears very difficult at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.

(ii) He lacks competence. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.

(iii) “Don’t lose patience. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.

(iv) That’s not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.

(v) He appears to be without sensitivity. In fact, he is very emotional.

Read the following sentences :

Use a, an or the in the blanks.

There was once in ____ Play which became very successful. ____ famous actor was acting in it. In ____ play his role was that of ____ aristocrat who had been imprisoned in ____ castle for twenty years. In ____ last act of ____ Play someone would come on ____ stage with ____ letter which he would hand over to ____ prisoner. Even though ____ aristocrat was not expected to read ____ letter at each performance, he always insisted that ____ letter be written out from beginning to end.

Encircle the correct article.

Nine was looking for (a / the) job.

After many interviews she got (a / the) job she was looking for.

A : Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?

B : I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.

A : Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.

B : Which one?

A : (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.

Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class. Here is one for you to read.

Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs. “Well,” said the king, “if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know.” The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit. Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king. The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man’s basket be filled with gold. Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbour’s good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold. The king, on learning the man’s motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs. The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, “You should be thankful that our neighbour did not grow coconuts.”

Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.

(i) English and Hindi/both/in/he writes

(ii) and only/a few short stories/many books in English/in Hindi

(iii) is/my Hindi/than my English/much better.

Ravi Kant is a writer, and .............Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written.............. I find his books a little hard to understand ..............

Are you fond of reading stories? Did you read one last month? If not, read one or two and then write a paragraph about the story. Use the following hints.

Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.

(i) When is a grown-up likely to say this?

Don’t talk with your mouth full.

(ii) When are you likely to be told this?

Say thank you.

(iii) When do you think an adult would say this?

No one thinks you are funny.

The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?

Why do you think grown-ups say the kind of things mentioned in the poem? Is it important that they teach children good manners, and how to behave in public?

If you had to make some rules for grown-ups to follow, what would you say? Make at least five such rules. Arrange the lines as in a poem.