Basic Practic

Comprehension (Unseen)

Vocabulary

Comprehension (Seen)

Grammar

THE DOG AND HIS SHADOW

One day a dog came to a stream with a piece of meat in his mouth. There was a bridge across the stream. The dog went along the bridge. Suddenly the dog looked down into the water and saw his own shadow there. He said to himself, “Ah, there is a dog down there. He too has a piece of meat in his mouth. I must have it.” Saying this, the dog barked at his own shadow. The piece of meat fell from his mouth and he plunged at his shadow in the water. The dog was greedy. So he lost his own piece of meat and got wet all over.

Answer the following questions:

(i)                What did the dog have in his mouth ?

(ii)              What did he see when he looked down into the water ?

(iii)            What did the dog think when he saw his own shadow in the water ?

(iv)            What did he do then ?

(v)              What happened to him ?

THE FOX AND THE CRANE

One day a fox met a crane. The fox wanted to play a trick on the crane. He invited the crane to dinner. The crane went to the fox's house. The fox served soup on two flat plates. The fox easily lapped up the soup, but the crane could not drink a drop of it. The crane did not like the joke at all. He said to the fox, “Thanks, Mr. Fox, for the dinner. Please come and dine with me tomorrow.”

The fox went to the crane's house the next day. The crane served soup in two jars. The crane put his long bill into the jar and drank up the soup. But the fox could not drink a drop of it. · The crane said to the fox, “Now, Mr. Fox, how did you enjoy the dinner ?” The fox said nothing. He bade goodbye to the crane and left. But while going home he said to himself, “I once played a trick on the crane. So he has now played a trick on me.”

Answer the following questions :

(i)                How did the fox serve the soup ?

(ii)              Why could not the crane drink it ?

(iii)            How did the crane serve the soup ?

(iv)            Why could not the fox drink it ?

 THE LION AND THE MOUSE

One day a lion was sleeping in his den. A mouse entered the den in search of food. It went up the lion's body. The lion woke up and roared. He caught the mouse in his paw and said, “You little rogue, I'll kill you.” The mouse shook with fear. It prayed to the lion, “Lord, have pity on me. Do not kill me. One day I shall repay your kindness.” The lion laughed and said, “I'm the king of the beasts and you are a tiny mouse. How can you repay my kindness ? But I'll let you go. Don't enter my den again.” The lion let the mouse off. A few days after, a hunter came and spread a net near the lion's cave. It was a trap. When the lion came out of his den, he was caught in the trap. The lion tried to get out of the net but could not. So he began to roar. The mouse heard his roar and thought, “That's my king, the lion. He must be in danger. I'll go and try to help him.” The mouse ran towards the lion's den. Soon it came near the lion's den and found the lion caught in the net. The mouse said, “Wait, my lord, I'll cut the net for you.” Saying this, the mouse began to cut off the net with its sharp · little teeth. The lion got out of the net and said to the mouse, “Once I let you off. Today you have got me free. Indeed, you have repaid my kindness. Thanks, dear friend !”.

Answer the following questions :

(i)                Where was the lion sleeping ?

(ii)              What happened when the mouse went up the lion's body?

(iii)            “One day I shall repay your kindness.” Who said these words ? To whom were the words said ?

(iv)            What did a hunter do one day ?

(v)              What happened to the lion then ?

(vi)            How did the mouse save the lion ?

THE HARE AND THE TORTOISE

The hare is an animal that can run very fast. The tortoise is an animal that moves very slow. One day a hare jeered at a tortoise. “How slow you move !” said the hare to the tortoise. The tortoise kept quiet for a while and then said, “Come, run a race with me." The next day the hare and the tortoise went to a large field. They stood at one end of the field. At the other end, there was a tree. The tortoise said, “Let that tree. be our goal.” The race began. At one jump the hare went a long way. He looked back and found the tortoise far behind him. He said to himself, “The tortoise can never beat me. Let me take a little rest now.” So the hare went to a nearby bush and lay down there. Soon he fell asleep. Indeed he slept a long time. Meanwhile the tortoise went on steadily. When the hare woke up, he looked back but the tortoise was not there. Then he looked ahead and saw the tortoise very near to the goal. The hare jumped up and began to run at a great speed. But the tortoise had already reached the goal. The tortoise moved slowly but steadily. So he won the race.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Why did a hare once jeer at a tortoise ?

(ii)             What did the tortoise then ask the hare to do?

(iii)           Where did the tortoise and the hare run a race ?

(iv)           What was their goal ?

(v)             Who reached the goal first ? How could he do so ?

TWO GOATS CROSSING A STREAM

One day, a goat came to a stream and wanted to cross it. Over the stream lay a plank. The goat started walking along the plank. When he had gone half the way along the plank, he looked up and saw another goat before him. The second goat had come from other side of the stream and wanted to cross it. Now the plank was rather narrow. Indeed it was so narrow that the two goats could not stand side by side on it. So they could not cross each other. If they tried to do so, they would both fall down into the stream and drown. The first goat said to the second goat, “Go back. Go back. Let me cross the stream first.” The second goat said, “Why should I go back ? You fool, and let me pass first.” The two goats went on quarrelling and shouting at each other. Then they knocked each other with their horns. The plank began to shake under them. Then they understood that they would both fall down into the stream and die. The first goat then said to the second goat, “Let us not fight in this way, for, if we do so we'll both die.” The second goat said, “What should we do then ?” The first goat lay down on the plank and said to the second goat, “Now, walk over me and cross the stream.” The second goat walked over the first goat, looked back and said, “Thank you, friend. We've both been saved.” With these words, the second goat walked along the plank and crossed the stream. So did the first ·goat. The first goat was wise and so he could save his own life and the life of the other goat.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               What lay over the stream ?

(ii)             Whom did the first goat meet when he was in the middle of the plank ?

(iii)           What did the first goat say to the second goat ? What did the second goat say ?

(iv)           What happened when the two goats started knocking each other with their horns ?

(v)             What did they realise then ?

(vi)           What did they do then ?

THE BOYS AND THE FROGS

One day a few boys were playing near a pool. Suddenly they heard the call of a frog, 'Croak.' - One of the boys said, “Look, there are so many frogs beside the pool. There are many more in the water.” Another boy said, “Let's have some fun. Let's throw stones at the frogs.” So the boys picked up stones and began to throw them at the frogs. The stones hurt many frogs and killed a few. At last an old frog raised its head out of the water and said, “Boys, why are you hitting us with stones ?” The boys said, “We are having some fun.” The frog said, “But you have hurt a good many of us and killed some. This may be fun to you, but isn't it death to us ?” The boys said to each other, “Yes, the frog is right. We are doing wrong.” They stopped throwing stones at the frogs and returned home.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Where were the boys playing ?

(ii)             What did they hear suddenly ?

(iii)           What did they do when they heard it ?

(iv)           What happened to the frogs when the boys threw stones at them ?

(v)              What did the old frog tell the boys ?

(vi)           What did the boys do then ?

THE HERMIT AND THE MOUSE

Ι Long long ago, there lived a hermit in a hut beside a river. One day a crow was flying away over the hermit's hut with a mouse in its beak. Suddenly the mouse fell from the crow's beak on the ground before the hut. It was half-dead. Feeling pity for the mouse, the hermit nursed it and brought it back to life. From that day the mouse lived in the hermit's hut. One day a cat chased the mouse. When the hermit saw his mouse in danger, he raised a finger and said to the mouse, “Be a cat.” At once the mouse became a cat and mewed. A few days passed. One day a dog saw the hermit's cat and chased it. When the hermit saw his cat in danger, he raised a finger and said to the cat, “Be a dog.” At once the cat became a dog and barked.

A few days passed. One day a tiger saw the hermit's dog and chased it. The dog ran, crying out of fear. Hearing the dog's cries, the hermit came out of his hut. When he saw the tiger chasing his dog, he raised a finger and said to the dog, “Be a tiger.” At once the dog became a tiger and roared.

The hermit's tiger was safe from all beasts and lived on happily in the hermit's hut. One day some men were passing by the hut. One of them said to others, “Look at the beast there in the hermit's hut. It is no tiger. It was once a mouse. The hermit has turned it into a tiger.”

Hearing these words, the tiger became very angry. He said to himself, “So long as the hermit is alive, they will say such things about me. So I'll kill the hermit today.” · The hermit was away. When he returned to his hut, the tiger gave a roar and jumped upon him. The hermit raised a finger and said, “Be a mouse again.” At once the tiger became a mouse and hid behind a door.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Where from did the mouse, fall'? Where did it fall ?

(ii)             What did the hermit do on seeing the mouse ?

(iii)           When did the hermit turn the mouse into a cat ?

(iv)           When did the hermit turn the dog into a tiger ?

(v)             “So I'll kill the hermit today.”—Who said this ? What did the hermit do when the tiger jumped upon him ?

A CLEVER MAN BEFOOLS MONKEYS

One day a man was going to market with a basket full of caps. He wanted to sell them in the market. The man wore a cap himself. On the way he felt tired. So he put aside the basket on the ground and lay down under a tree. Soon he fell asleep. After some time the man woke up. He looked at the basket and found it empty. He looked for the caps everywhere but did not find them. At last he looked up. What did he see ? He saw a number of monkeys sitting on the tree. Each one of them wore one of his càps. The man was very angry. He shouted at the monkeys. They shouted back at him. He threw stones at them. They tore off fruits from the tree and threw them at him. The man did not know what to do. He sat down on the ground and thought and thought. Suddenly he had an idea. He stood up, took off his own cap and threw it down. The monkeys too did the same. They took the caps off their heads and threw them down on the ground. Thus the man got back his caps. He put them in his basket and went off happily.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Where was the man' going ?

(ii)             What did he have with him ?

(iii)           Why did he lie down under a tree ?

(iv)           What did he find when he woke up ?

(v)             How did the man get back his caps ?

THE TWELVE FOOLS

Once upon a time there lived twelve fools in a city. One day the twelve men went out to catch fish. But they could catch none. In the evening they returned to the city without any fish. Suddenly one of the twelve fools said, “All of us went to catch fish. Have we all returned ?” Another fool said, “Who knows ? Let's count and make sure.” Saying this, he began to count, “one, two, three, four....eleven.” He did not count himself. He cried, “Oh, only eleven of us have returned. Where is the twelfth man gone ?” Then another fool did the counting. He too counted his friends and did not count himself. He too cried, “Where is the twelfth man gone ?” "He is dead and gone,” cried another fool. Then all of them sat down on the road and cried, “Our friend is dead. He's dead and gone ! Oh, oh, oh.” A farmer was passing that way. He asked the twelve men, “Why are you crying ?” They said, “Twelve of us went to catch fish, but only eleven of us have returned. The twelfth man is lost. Our friend is dead and gone. Oh, oh, oh." The farmer silently counted them. They were twelve ! He said, “Stand in a row, you fools. I'll bring back your missing friend.” The twelve men stood in a row. The farmer clapped the first man on the back and cried, “One.” Then he clapped the second man on the back and cried, “Two”. In this way he counted up to eleven. When he came to the twelfth man, he gave a blow on his back and shouted, “Twelve ! This is your missing friend." The twelve fools were happy again. They gave the farmer all the money they had and went home.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Why did the twelve fools go out one day ?

(ii)             When did they return to the city ?

(iii)           Did they return with fish or without fish ?

(iv)           “Let's count and make sure."—Who said this ? What did he want to count ?

(v)             Did he count in the right manner?

(vi)           What mistake did he make in counting ?

(vii)          Who brought back the 'missing friend' of the fools ? How did he do so?

HERCULES AND THE CARTER

One day a carter was driving his cart to the market. There were a lot of things in the cart. The carter wanted to sell them in the market. The road was muddy and soon a wheel of the cart sank into the mud. So the cart would not move. The carter felt helpless. He sat down on the ground and prayed to Hercules, the god of strength, “Oh, God ! My cart is not moving. Oh, please help me.” Hercules was then sitting behind the clouds. He looked down at the carter and said, “Put your shoulders to the wheel and push it.” Trembling with fear, the carter put his shoulders to the wheel and tried to push it. The cart did not move.  “Try again,” said Hercules. The carter pushed the wheel again and then again. At last the wheel came out of the mud and the cart moved.

Answer the following questions :

(i)               Why was the carter going to the market ?

(ii)             What was the condition of the road ?

(iii)           Why did the cart stop moving ?

(iv)           What did the carter do when his cart stopped moving ?

(v)             What did Hercules ask the carter to do ?

(vi)           What did Hercules say to the carter at last ?