Unit 1: Fables And Folk Tales

Hello my dear students, welcome to today's English lesson. I am so happy to see you all here, ready to learn something new and wonderful. Today, we are going to read and study a very interesting chapter from your NCERT English book. This chapter is called "Unit 1: Fables and Folk Tales" and it contains three beautiful stories and poems that will teach us important lessons about life, hard work, wisdom, and cleverness.

Before we begin reading the main stories, let us do some warm-up activities that will help us get ready for what is coming. The first activity asks us to circle the picture that matches with each word. The words are worried, plantation, sage, and surprise. Let me explain each word to you, my dear students.

When someone is worried, they feel anxious or troubled about something. It is like when you have an exam the next day and you haven't studied enough, you feel worried. A plantation is a large area of land where crops are grown, especially crops like bananas, tea, or coffee. In our story, we will read about a banana plantation. A sage is a wise old man who has a lot of knowledge and understanding about life. In India, we often call such wise people as "Rishi" or "Guru". And finally, surprise is something unexpected that happens, like when someone gives you a gift when you were not expecting it at all.

Now, let us think about the second set of questions. Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? How did it help you? How did it make you feel? I want you to think about this for a moment, students. Perhaps you helped your mother in the kitchen, or you practiced your studies hard for an exam, or you helped your father in the shop. When we work hard at something, we feel a sense of satisfaction and pride in ourselves. Hard work always pays off, and this is exactly what our first story "A Bottle of Dew" will teach us.

Now let us begin reading our first story. It is titled "A Bottle of Dew" and it is written by Sudha Murty, who is a very famous Indian author. This story is about a man named Rama Natha who was the son of a rich landlord. His father left him large tracts of land when he died. Large tracts of land means big areas of land, students. Now, Rama Natha was a very unusual man. He did not spend even one day looking after his land. Can you imagine having so much land and not caring for it? But there was a reason for this, students. Rama Natha had a funny idea in his head. He believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold. This potion is called the "Philosopher's Stone" in many old stories, and it is said to have magical powers.

Rama Natha spent all his time trying to learn more about this potion. He was so obsessed with finding this magic potion that he didn't care about anything else. People cheated him often, promising to tell him about the potion, but they were just tricking him to get his money. But did Rama Natha give up? No, students. He did not give up. To give up means to stop trying, and Rama Natha kept trying even though people were cheating him. His wife, Madhumati, was very tired of this and also worried because she saw how much money Rama Natha was spending. She was sure that soon they would be without money. This shows us that Madhumati was a practical and sensible woman who was concerned about their future.

One day, a famous sage called Mahipati came to their town. Sage means a wise man, students. Rama Natha became his follower and asked him about the potion. To his surprise, the sage answered, "Yes, in my travels in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make such a potion. But it is difficult." Rama Natha was very excited. He said, "Tell me!" He could not believe his luck. The sage then explained what he had to do. He said, "You have to plant a banana plant and water it regularly with your hands. In winter, the morning dew is on the leaves. You have to collect the dew and store it in a bottle. When you have five litres of dew, bring it to me. I will chant some magic words, which will turn it into the magic potion. A drop of the potion will change any object into gold."

Now, let me explain some words here, students. Dew is the small drops of water that form on leaves and grass during the night when the air becomes cool. You must have seen dew on the grass in the early morning, haven't you? And to chant means to repeat or sing a word or phrase, usually in a special or magical way.

Rama Natha was worried when he heard this. He said, "But winter is only for a few months. It will take me years to collect five litres of dew." The sage told him, "You can plant as many banana plants as you want. But remember, you must look after them yourself and collect the dew with your own hands." This was a very important condition, students. The sage wanted Rama Natha to do everything himself.

Now, let me pause here and ask you some questions to check if you understood the story so far. First question: What did Rama Natha believe? He believed that there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold. Second question: How did the sage help Rama Natha? The sage told him about the process of collecting dew from banana plants to make the potion. Third question: Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason. Well, students, the sage said it would take years, but he also said Rama Natha could plant many banana plants. So, with hard work and patience, it might be possible. Let us continue reading to find out what happens.

Rama Natha went home and after talking to his wife, he started cleaning his large fields, which had been lying empty all these years. There he planted rows and rows of banana plants. He tended them carefully. To tend means to look after something, students. And during the winter months, he collected the dew that formed on them with great care. His wife Madhumati helped him too. She gathered the banana crop, took it to the market, and got a good price for it. Over the years, Rama Natha planted more and more plants, and they had a huge banana plantation. At the end of six years, he finally had his five litres of dew. Can you imagine, students? Six whole years of hard work! That is a very long time.

Now, Rama Natha carefully took the bottle to the sage. The sage smiled and muttered something over the water. To mutter means to speak in a low voice, students. Then he returned the bottle and said, "Try it out." Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel and waited for it to turn to gold. To his surprise, nothing happened! He said, "This is cheating. I have wasted six precious years of my life." Precious means valuable, students. Those six years were very valuable and he had spent them all on this task.

But sage Mahipati only smiled and called Madhumati to come forward. She came with a big box. When she opened it, inside shined stacks of gold coins! Now the sage turned to the very surprised Rama Natha and said, "There is no magic potion that can turn things into gold. You worked hard on your land and created this plantation. While you looked after the trees, your wife sold the fruits in the market. That's how you got this money. It was your hard work that created this wealth, not magic. If I had told you about this earlier, you would not have listened to me, so I played a trick on you."

Rama Natha understood the wisdom behind these words. Wisdom means deep understanding, students. The sage had taught him a very important lesson through this trick. From that day on, Rama Natha worked even harder on his plantation. He realized that there is no shortcut to success. Hard work and dedication are the real magic.

Now, let us discuss some questions about this part of the story. First: Why was Rama Natha angry? He was angry because he thought he had been cheated. He believed the magic potion would work, but nothing happened when he sprinkled the water on the copper vessel. He thought he had wasted six years of his life. Second: How did Rama Natha and Madhumati create wealth? They created wealth through hard work. Rama Natha tended the banana plants and collected the dew, while Madhumati sold the bananas in the market. Their hard work over six years led to the creation of a successful banana plantation and the accumulation of gold coins.

Now, students, let us move on to the "Let us think and reflect" section. This will help us understand the story even better.

First, let us read these lines from the story: "He spent all his time to learn about the magic potion. People cheated him often, promising to tell him about it, but he did not give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this and also worried because she saw how much money Rama Natha was spending. She was sure that soon they would be without money."

Now, question one: Complete the sentence with a suitable reason. Rama Natha did not 'give up' because he believed there was a magic potion that could turn things into gold. He was so obsessed with finding this potion that he kept trying even when people cheated him.

Question two: Read the column which shows 'what happened' and write the correct outcome in the next column. Let me explain this to you, students. When people promised to tell Rama Natha about the magic potion, what do you think happened? They cheated him and took his money. And when Rama Natha was spending a lot of money, what was the outcome? He was running out of money and would soon be poor.

Question three: Write whether the following statements are True or False. Statement A: Madhumati was troubled about what her husband did. This is True, students. She was worried about the money he was spending. Statement B: Rama Natha was very happy digging his fields. This is False. Initially, he did not look after his fields at all. He was busy chasing the magic potion. Statement C: The sage wanted to show the right path to Rama Natha. This is True. The sage wanted to teach him the value of hard work.

Now, let us read the next passage: "Carefully, he took the bottle to the sage. The sage smiled and muttered something over the water. Then he returned the bottle and said, 'Try it out.' Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel and waited for it to turn to gold. To his surprise nothing happened!"

Question one: Choose the option that lists the events in the correct order. Let me list the events: A. The sage smiled. B. Rama Natha gave the bottle to the sage. C. Rama Natha dropped a few drops of water on a copper vessel. D. He said something in a low voice over the water. E. Rama Natha waited to see if the magic worked. The correct order is B, A, D, C, E. First, Rama Natha gave the bottle to the sage. Then the sage smiled. Then he muttered something. Then Rama Natha sprinkled the water. Finally, he waited to see what would happen.

Question two: Fill in the blank with the correct word from the lines given above. Seeing that the plant had dried up, the gardener sprinkled some water on it. The word is "sprinkled", students.

Question three: How might Rama Natha have felt when nothing happened to the copper vessel? He must have felt shocked, angry, and disappointed. He had worked so hard for six years and expected the magic to work. He probably felt like he had been tricked and that all his hard work was wasted.

Now, let us answer the next set of questions. Question one: What did the sage ask Rama Natha to do to make the magic potion? He asked him to plant banana plants, water them with his hands, collect the morning dew from the leaves during winter, and store it in a bottle until he had five litres of it.

Question two: Why did the sage ask Rama Natha to do everything himself? The sage wanted Rama Natha to learn the value of hard work. If someone else had done the work, Rama Natha would not have understood the true meaning of wealth creation. By doing everything himself, Rama Natha actually built a successful plantation without realizing it.

Question three: How could Rama Natha have a big banana plantation after six years? He planted rows and rows of banana plants. He tended them carefully over the years, and his wife Madhumati also helped him. By the end of six years, they had a huge banana plantation because of their continuous hard work.

Question four: How did the sage make Rama Natha believe that there is no magic potion? The sage performed a trick. He asked Rama Natha to bring the dew, muttered some words over it, and told him to try it on a copper vessel. When nothing happened, Rama Natha thought he had been cheated. But then the sage revealed that the real wealth came from the hard work that Rama Natha had done on his plantation. The gold coins were actually from selling the bananas in the market over the years.

Question five: Fill in the 'before' and 'after' table about Rama Natha. What he did before meeting the sage: He spent all his time trying to find the magic potion. He did not look after his land. He was cheated by many people. What he did after meeting the sage: He started working hard on his plantation. He planted banana plants and collected dew. He created a successful banana plantation and earned real wealth.

Now, students, let us move on to the "Let us learn" section. This section will help us learn some new words and language skills.

First, we have a table of words from the story: promised, spending, cheated, luck, remember, huge, difficult, market. We need to use these words correctly to complete the paragraph given below. There are two extra words in the box that you do not need.

The paragraph is: There was a farmer who had a huge coconut plantation. He worked hard and did not depend on luck. Every day was difficult but he did not give up. One day, a man bought a bag of coconuts from him, and promised to pay him the money the next day. Days passed and the man did not pay him anything. The farmer felt cheated. About two months later, he met the same man and asked him about his money. The man said, "Oh! I had forgotten. Now, I remember buying coconuts from you." And he paid the money.

Now, let us learn about homophones. Homophones are words that have the same sounds but different spellings and meanings. Look at the table: I and eye, your and you're, dew and due, son and sun, one and won, ate and eight, see and sea. These are all pairs of homophones.

Now, we need to choose four pairs of homophones and write a sentence that uses both homophones in the same sentence. Let me give you some examples. For I and eye: I hurt my eye while playing cricket. For your and you're: Your book is on the table, and you're going to need it for the exam. For dew and due: The dew on the grass will dry as the due time for the school bus approaches. For son and sun: The son waved at his father who was standing in the sun. For one and won: One of the players won the match. For ate and eight: She ate eight grapes at lunch. For see and sea: Can you see the sea from here?

Now, let us learn about connecting words. We have phrases in Column A and Column B, and we need to use connecting words like because, before, as soon as, and as to make meaningful sentences.

Let me do the first one for you: The children submitted their work because the bell rang. Here, "because" connects the reason with the action.

Second: He did not want to try rock climbing of his fear of heights. The connecting word here is "because".

Third: The children ran towards the gate as soon as the deadline. This should be: The children ran towards the gate as soon as the bell rang.

Fourth: Nitin was late to school today because there was a traffic jam.

Now, students, let us learn about a fun tongue twister. Here are two sentences with the letter 'b': "Bunty bhaiya bought a big bunch of bananas." and "A big bunch of bananas was bought by Bunty bhaiya." These are tongue twisters because they are difficult to say quickly. Now, try to create a tongue twister on your own and share it with your peers. You can try something like: "She sells seashells by the seashore."

Now, let us move on to the "Let us listen" section. You will listen to what Madhumati does with the bananas from her plantation. As you listen, number the events in the correct order. Let me tell you the events and the correct order based on the transcript.

The events are: 1. Gives two bananas to a boy who is hungry, 2. Meets her friend Kalawati in the market, 3. Visits her mother and gives her two dozen bananas, 4. Chooses to go home as only some bananas were left, 5. Visits her neighbour and gifts them a bunch of bananas, 6. Gives twelve bananas to her friend, 7. Goes to the market to sell the bananas.

The correct order is: 7, 3, 2, 6, 4, 1, 5. First, she goes to the market to sell the bananas. Second, she visits her mother and gives her two dozen bananas. Third, she meets her friend Kalawati in the market. Fourth, she gives twelve bananas to her friend. Fifth, she chooses to go home as only some bananas were left. Sixth, she gives two bananas to a boy who is hungry. Seventh, she visits her neighbour and gifts them a bunch of bananas.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us speak" section. First, we need to practice the sound of the letter 's' in different words. The words are: sage, promising, wisdom, trees, surprise. In sage and promising, the letter 's' has a /s/ sound. In wisdom and trees, the letter 's' has a /z/ sound. In surprise, the first letter 's' has a /s/ sound and the second has a /z/ sound. Now, speak each word clearly along with your teacher and classmates.

Now, we have a table of words: beds, sand, clothes, sea, was, keys, bags, nose. We need to write the sound of 's' next to each word. Beds has a /z/ sound, sand has a /s/ sound, clothes has a /z/ sound, sea has a /s/ sound, was has a /z/ sound, keys has a /z/ sound, bags has a /z/ sound, and nose has a /z/ sound.

Now, we have some discussion questions. First: What does hard work mean to you? You can answer like this: It means working diligently and giving your best effort to accomplish something. Second: Give three reasons why you think hard work is important. Firstly, hard work leads to success. Secondly, it builds character and discipline. Thirdly, it helps us achieve our goals. Third: Share three ideas you would give to someone who needs to work hard. To begin with, it is important that they set clear goals. Next, they could create a schedule and stick to it. Finally, they should stay motivated and not give up.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us write" section. First, we need to complete the description of a banana. We need to answer questions like: when do I like to eat a banana, why is it healthy, what is its taste, how does the outer covering feel, what colour is it, and what does it smell like. Then, we need to write eight sentences about a banana using this information.

Second, we need to develop a script with dialogues based on the story "A Bottle of Dew" and enact it with expressions. We can present it in the assembly or in our classroom.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us explore" section. We need to find out about the varieties of bananas grown in different parts of India. There is a special kind of banana called the Blue Java banana, which has blue skin and is also known as Ice Cream banana because it is creamy and tastes like ice cream. It is grown in South East Asia and Hawaii, and the plants can grow to a height of fifteen to twenty feet.

Now, students, we have completed the first story "A Bottle of Dew". Let me quickly recap what we learned. This story teaches us that there is no magic shortcut to success. True wealth comes from hard work and dedication. The sage tricked Rama Natha into working hard, and in the process, he actually created real wealth through his banana plantation. The moral of the story is: "Hard work is the real magic."

Now, let us move on to our second piece of reading material, which is a poem titled "The Raven and the Fox". This is a famous fable written by Jean de La Fontaine, a French poet. But this poem is actually based on an older story.

Before we read the poem, let us do the warm-up activities. First, we know that frogs croak. Did you know that ravens also croak? Yes, ravens make a croaking sound. Second, which animal is shown to be cunning in stories? The correct answer is the fox. Foxes are often shown as clever and cunning characters in folk tales and fables.

Now, let us read the poem. It is written in four stanzas.

Stanza one: Mr Raven was perched upon a limb, And Reynard the Fox looked up at him; For the Raven held in his great big beak, A morsel the Fox would go far to seek.

Let me explain some words. Perched means sat on a branch. A limb is a branch of a tree. A morsel is a small piece of food. To seek means to look for something. So, the Raven was sitting on a branch, and the Fox was looking up at him because the Raven had a piece of food in his beak that the Fox wanted very much.

Stanza two: Said the Fox, in admiring tones: "My word! Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird. Such feathers! If you would only sing, The birds of these woods would call you King."

The Fox is flattering the Raven. He is saying nice things to him to get the food. He calls him "Sir Raven" and says he is handsome. He says his feathers are beautiful and asks him to sing, saying that if he sings, all the birds would call him King.

Stanza three: The Raven, who did not see the joke, Forgot that his voice was just a croak. He opened his beak, in his foolish pride— And down fell the morsel the Fox had eyed.

The Raven did not realize that the Fox was tricking him. He forgot that his voice was just a croak, not a beautiful singing voice. In his foolish pride, he opened his beak to sing, and the piece of food fell down. The Fox quickly grabbed it.

Stanza four: "Ha-ha!" laughed the Fox. "And now you know, Ignore sweet words that make you glow. Pride, my friend, is rather unwise; I'm sure this teaching is quite a surprise."

The Fox laughs and says that now the Raven knows not to believe sweet flattery. Pride is not wise because it makes us do foolish things. This teaching was a surprise because the Raven didn't expect to be tricked.

Now, let us discuss the questions. First, we need to fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option.

Stanza one: Mr Raven is a bird. The name of the fox is Reynard. Mr Raven had a piece of food in his beak.

Stanza two: The Fox calls the Raven a good-looking bird. The Fox asks the Raven to sing. The Raven and the Fox live in the woods.

Stanza three: The Raven forgot that he croaked. The Raven opened its beak to sing. The food fell down.

Stanza four: The Fox laughed at the Raven. It is not wise to be too proud of oneself. The Raven learnt a lesson.

Now, we need to match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Perched means sat on a branch. Morsel means a small piece of food. Seek means to look for something. Pride means feeling that you are better than others. Eyed means looked with interest at something. Limb means branch of a tree. Woods means a smaller area of forest with similar kind of trees.

Now, let us move on to "Let us think and reflect". First, we need to look at the pictures and number them in the order that they happen in the poem. The correct order is: First, the Raven is perched on a branch with food in his beak. Second, the Fox looks up at the Raven and flatters him. Third, the Raven opens his beak to sing. Fourth, the food falls down and the Fox grabs it.

Now, let us answer the questions about the lines.

First, "Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird. Such feathers! If you would only sing, The birds of these woods would call you King."

Question one: 'Such feathers' refer to shiny and beautiful feathers. The Fox is flattering the Raven by saying his feathers are beautiful.

Question two: Why would the birds of the woods call the Raven 'King'? Because the Fox said that if the Raven sang, all the birds would call him King. This was a trick to make the Raven sing.

Question three: Why does the Fox address the Raven as 'Sir'? This is a way of showing respect, and the Fox is using it to flatter the Raven and gain his trust.

Second, "The Raven, who did not see the joke, Forgot that his voice was just a croak. He opened his beak, in his foolish pride—"

Question one: Why did the Raven open his beak? He opened his beak to sing, because the Fox had flattered him and made him believe that his singing was beautiful.

Question two: Fox : clever :: Raven : foolish. The Raven was foolish because he believed the Fox's flattery and didn't realize it was a trick.

Third: Why does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak? Because the Fox's sweet words made him feel proud and confident. He was so happy with the compliments that he forgot the truth about his voice.

Fourth: How does Reynard make the Raven sing? He compliments the Raven's appearance and tells him that if he sings, all the birds will call him King. This flattery makes the Raven want to show off his singing voice.

Fifth: Why does Reynard say that pride is not wise? Because pride makes us do foolish things. The Raven was so proud that he believed the Fox's flattery and lost his food.

Sixth: Give one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise. The teaching is a surprise because the Raven did not expect to be tricked by the Fox's sweet words. He thought the Fox was being sincere.

Seventh: Imagine someone praises you too much. How would you react? I would be careful and think about why they are praising me. I would not immediately believe everything they say, because sometimes people praise us to get something from us.

Now, let us move on to "Let us learn". First, we need to write the rhyming words from the poem. Let me help you with this.

Stanza one: limb-him (they rhyme). Stanza two: word-bird (they rhyme), sing-king (they rhyme). Stanza three: joke-croak (they rhyme), pride-eyed (they rhyme). Stanza four: know-glow (they rhyme), unwise-surprise (they rhyme).

Now, we need to find examples of alliteration. Alliteration is a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. In the first line, "For the Raven held in his great big beak," the words "great" and "big" begin with the same /g/ sound. In the second stanza, "The birds of these woods would call you King," the words "woods" and "would" begin with the same /w/ sound.

Now, we need to choose the correct opposites from the box and complete the table. The words are: wise, happy, humility, flew, remembered, notice, dim, cried, silly.

Perched is the opposite of flew. Forgot is the opposite of remembered. Foolish is the opposite of wise. Pride is the opposite of humility. Laughed is the opposite of cried. Ignore is the opposite of notice. Glow is the opposite of dim.

Now, we need to use any four words from the table to make sentences of our own. Let me give you some examples: I remember to do my homework every day. She is a wise woman who gives good advice. He laughed at the funny joke. We should not ignore our mistakes.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us listen" section. You will listen to what the crow did after he lost his food. As you listen, mark the given statements as True or False. Based on the transcript: 1. The crow was unhappy that he lost his food. True. 2. The crow thought that his lovely feathers made him smart. False. He said he didn't have beautiful feathers but he was smart. 3. The crow wanted to tell his friends not to be proud. True.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us speak" section. We need to narrate the poem in the form of a story and give a different ending. We can begin like this: This is a story about a clever fox named Reynard and Mr Raven. One day, the Raven was sitting on a tree with a piece of food in his beak. The Fox saw the food and wanted to eat it. So, he started praising the Raven's feathers and asked him to sing. The Raven believed the Fox and opened his beak to sing. The food fell down, and the Fox ate it. But in a different ending, the Raven could be smarter and not fall for the trick, or the Raven could learn to sing beautifully and become the King of the birds.

Now, we need to write the story in the form of a conversation. We need to remember to write only the actions for the Raven as he has food in his mouth and does not speak. We can begin like this: Reynard: Good morning, Mr Raven! You seem to be awake so early! (Mr Raven just nods his head) Reynard: Oh, Mr Raven, you look so handsome today! Your feathers are so beautiful! (The Raven looks proud) Reynard: I bet you have a wonderful singing voice too! Why don't you sing for me? (The Raven thinks about this) And so on.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us explore" section. We can make stick puppets and enact the poem. This will help us understand the story better and have fun at the same time.

Now, students, we have completed the poem "The Raven and the Fox". Let me recap what we learned. This poem teaches us that we should not be too proud and should not believe everything people say to us. Flattery can be a trick, and we need to be careful. The Fox was clever, but the Raven was foolish. The moral of the story is: "Pride goes before a fall" or "Beware of flattery."

Now, let us move on to our third story, which is titled "Rama to the Rescue". This is a folktale from Tamil Nadu, a state in South India. It is written by Luis M. Fernandes and illustrated by Ram Waeerkar.

Before we read the story, let us do some warm-up activities. First, we need to identify the following people: How do they help us when we are in trouble? The people could be police, doctors, firefighters, teachers, parents, etc.

Second, choose the correct option to complete the sentence. The word 'rescue' means to save someone.

Third, we need to put a tick mark at the end of the phrases describing those who need to be rescued. A man stuck in a building on fire needs to be rescued. A dog who has hurt its leg needs to be rescued.

Fourth, the policeman in the story is called the kotwal. Some people call him thaanedar. What do you call a policeman in your language? In Hindi, we call them "Police" or "Thaanedaar". In Tamil, they might be called "Kotwal" or "Police".

Fifth, imagine you are alone at home and you face a problem. Will you solve the problem yourself or wait for someone to help you? How will you deal with the problem? We should think quickly about ways to solve the problem and not give up.

Now, let us read the story. It is a folktale from Tamil Nadu. The story begins with a scene in a village at night. A man says, "Oh-humm! What a hard day it has been!" Another voice says, "I'm feeling so sleepy..." Then someone asks, "What's the matter? What are you looking at?" Another voice says, "Ssssh! Listen!" Then we hear, "Somebody is trying to get in."

Now, let us discuss some questions. First, circle the odd one. The characters are: husband, wife, children. These are all family members, so there is no odd one out here. Second, who entered the house? guest, robber, Kotwal. The robber entered the house.

Now, let us check if these statements are True or False. First, the man tells his plan to his wife. True. Second, the thief wants to know where they kept their jewels. This is not mentioned in the part we have read so far.

Now, let us continue reading the story. The man and his wife hear someone trying to get into their house. The wife says, "Ssssh! Listen!" and the man says, "Somebody is trying to get in." The wife says, "I think he has got in... the noise has stopped." They are scared and don't know what to do. Then, the man has an idea. He whispers to his wife that they should call out "Rama" softly, then a little louder, and then very loudly. The idea is that when the thief hears someone calling the kotwal's name, he will get scared and run away.

The man calls out "Rama" softly. Then his wife calls out a little louder. Then they both call out very loudly. The thief hears this and gets scared. He starts digging another hole to escape. Meanwhile, Rama, the village kotwal, runs to the house from which he hears his name being called. He says, "Oh, Oh! Some thief has dug his way into this house." The villagers catch the thief and take him to the kotwal. The thief is arrested.

Now, let us discuss the questions. First, we need to match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Wonder means a feeling of surprise. Yard means an area outside a building. Chatter means talk for a long time about unimportant things. Instead means in place of someone or something. Closely means carefully. Perhaps means maybe.

Now, we need to fill in the boxes with suitable words as we read the story. The main characters are the man, his wife, and the kotwal Rama. The setting is a village, at night, in a house. Other characters include the thief. The problem is that a thief has entered the house. The solution is that they call out "Rama" to get the kotwal's help, and the thief is caught.

Now, let us answer the questions in "Let us think and reflect".

First, the lines: Man: What's the matter? What are you looking at? Wife: Ssssh! Listen! Man: Somebody is trying to get in. Wife: I think he has got in... the noise has stopped.

Question one: What makes the man say the first line? The man says this because he notices his wife is looking at something and seems worried.

Question two: The wife says 'Ssssh! Listen!'. What does the word 'Ssssh' mean here? It means be silent. The wife is asking her husband to be quiet so they can listen carefully.

Question three: How can you tell that the wife was listening carefully? She heard the noise stop, which means she was paying close attention.

Second, the lines: "Rama, the village kotwal, ran to the house from which he heard his name being called." Rama: Oh, Oh! Some thief has dug his way into this house.

Question one: Fill in the blank with the correct word. The villagers caught the thief and took him to the kotwal.

Question two: What do the words "Oh, Oh!" show here? They show surprise. The kotwal is surprised to hear his name being called and to learn about the thief.

Question three: How can you tell that the kotwal was good at his job? He ran to the house as soon as he heard his name being called. He was alert and ready to help the villagers.

Now, let us answer the remaining questions. Question two: Give one reason why the man and his wife were not able to fall asleep. They were not able to fall asleep because they heard someone trying to enter their house. They were scared and worried about the thief.

Question three: What did the thief wish would happen? Did it happen? The thief wished that the man and his wife would fall asleep so he could steal their valuables quietly. But it did not happen because they heard him and called out for help.

Question four: How did the man and his wife get help from the kotwal? They called out "Rama" softly, then louder, and then very loudly. When the kotwal heard his name being called, he came running to help them.

Question five: Do you think cleverness can help us solve our problems? Why do you say so? Yes, cleverness can help us solve our problems. In this story, the man used his cleverness to scare away the thief by calling out the kotwal's name. We can also use our brains to find solutions to problems instead of panicking.

Now, let us move on to "Let us learn". First, we need to study the highlighted words: I'm, It's, They're. These are contracted forms where one letter is missing. The missing letters are marked by an apostrophe. "I'm" is short for "I am". "It's" is short for "It is". "They're" is short for "They are".

Now, we need to write the full words with the missing letter. "I am feeling so sleepy." "It is a thief." "They are awake."

Now, we need to expand the contracted words and use them in sentences. Let me help you with some examples. "What's" means "what is". Example: What is your name? "I'll" means "I will". Example: I will go to school tomorrow. "I'd" means "I would". Example: I would like some water. "We'll" means "we will". Example: We will play cricket after school. "That's" means "that is". Example: That is my book. "We're" means "we are". Example: We are students. "Don't" means "do not". Example: I do not like vegetables. "You'll" means "you will". Example: You will pass the exam. "Must've" means "must have". Example: He must have finished his homework.

Now, we need to study the highlighted words and understand the present progressive tense. The sentences are: I am feeling so sleepy. What are you looking at? Somebody is trying to get in. They are saying something. Perhaps, they are talking about their money.

These sentences refer to actions that are going on at the time of speaking. This is called the present progressive tense. Verbs that describe what someone or something is doing at the moment of speaking are in the present progressive tense.

Now, we need to fill in the blanks with the present progressive form of verbs. Let me help you: 1. I am studying in Grade 6. 2. My friend is reading a story book. 3. We are playing a board game. 4. I am learning a new language. 5. The teachers are sitting in the staff room. 6. My mother is cooking food in the kitchen.

Now, we need to study the picture and fill in the blanks with the present progressive form of verbs. 1. Govind and Anu are playing football. 2. Pema is picking flowers. 3. Anil is checking the score card. 4. The mother is reading a book. 5. The dog is trying to catch the ball. 6. The birds are flying in the sky.

Now, we need to study the sentences and complete the table. The sentences are: I'd better listen closely. When he's in the house, I'll call out softly to him. Then I'll call out very loudly.

The questions are: How does he listen? How does she call out? How does she call out?

The answers are: closely, softly, loudly. These are adverbs. Words that give more information about the verb, such as how, when, where, etc. are called adverbs.

Now, we need to fill in the blanks with suitable adverbs. 1. He solved the mathematics problem quickly. 2. The car moved smoothly along the highway. 3. The musician played the guitar beautifully. 4. Shobha danced gracefully. 5. Rohit left the house hurriedly.

Now, we need to fill in the blanks with suitable adverbs for the story about the forest animals. 1. Once upon a time in a small forest, animals lived peacefully. 2. The wise old tortoise moved slowly but always won the race against the proud rabbit. 3. The ants worked tirelessly, gathering food for the winter. 4. The kind-hearted lion ruled the jungle wisely, giving everyone a chance to speak. 5. The birds sang sweetly, making everyone in the forest happy.

Now, we need to study the sentences and choose the correct option. 1. "Oh, hum! What a hard day it has been!" expresses a feeling of tiredness. 2. "Ah, at last, they've stopped their chatter!" expresses a feeling of relief. 3. "What should we do?" and "What should we name our child?" ask questions.

Now, we need to punctuate the sentences and write whether they are exclamatory or interrogative. 1. "Wow, what an intelligent man he is!" This is an exclamatory sentence. 2. "Oh how big the hole is!" This is an exclamatory sentence. 3. "Do you like to read comic books?" This is an interrogative sentence. 4. "What is your favourite story?" This is an interrogative sentence.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us listen" section. You will listen to a security guard making an announcement. As you listen, fill in the blanks with only one word that you hear. Based on the transcript: The security guard announced that robbery has been happening in that area. He advised everyone to stay safe and the kids to tell the adults as soon as they find anything different. They should not forget that safety is the main thing. He asked them to call 100 when they need immediate help.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us speak" section. First, we need to listen to our teacher pronounce the contractions and repeat after them. The contractions are: I'll, it's, don't, I'm, I'd, he's, that's, we'll, they're, you're, we're, what's, can't, won't, I've, wouldn't, shouldn't, didn't.

Now, we need to discuss in pairs why it is important for people to keep their house and themselves safe. We need to tick the suitable reasons: To be safe from injury, to keep family members and pets safe, to stop accidents from happening, to stop robbery.

Now, we need to use the given hints to share our reasons in complete sentences. For example: I think it's important because we need to protect ourselves and our loved ones. I feel it's necessary as it prevents accidents and crimes. The reason we need to look at safety is that our well-being depends on it.

Now, we need to use the given hints to share three ideas on how people can keep their houses and themselves safe. For example: I think they should lock all doors and windows. They must install security systems. How about having a neighborhood watch group?

Now, let us move on to the "Let us write" section. The next day, the neighbour asked the man in the story about what had happened. As the man, we need to tell the neighbour what had happened in our own words. We need to include when, where, what, how, and why. We can begin like this: My wife and I were about to go to sleep last night when we heard someone trying to get into our house. We were very scared. We decided to call out "Rama" to get help. The kotwal came and caught the thief.

Now, let us move on to the "Let us explore" section. First, we need to find out from our teacher or parents what we would do in certain situations. Who will you call if you see fire? You should call the fire department. If you see someone getting hurt, you should call an ambulance or the police. If you see a wounded animal, you should call animal control or a vet. If you see someone suspicious, you should inform the police. If you find a lost child, you should inform the police or try to help them find their parents. If you get lost, you should ask a trusted adult for help.

Second, we need to find the right path for the kotwal to catch the thief. This is like a maze puzzle where we need to guide the kotwal through the correct path to reach the thief.

Now, students, we have completed the third story "Rama to the Rescue". Let me recap what we learned. This story teaches us that we should stay calm and think cleverly when we are in trouble. The man and his wife used their cleverness to scare away the thief by calling out the kotwal's name. The moral of the story is: "Cleverness and quick thinking can help us solve our problems."

Now, students, we have completed the entire chapter. Let me give you a complete summary of everything we learned today.

This chapter "Fables and Folk Tales" contained three wonderful stories and poems that teach us important life lessons.

The first story "A Bottle of Dew" by Sudha Murty taught us about the value of hard work. Rama Natha was a rich man's son who believed in magic and wasted his time and money trying to find a potion that could turn things into gold. A sage tricked him into working hard on a banana plantation, and through six years of hard work, Rama Natha actually created real wealth. The moral is that there is no shortcut to success; hard work is the real magic.

The second piece "The Raven and the Fox" by Jean de La Fontaine taught us about the dangers of flattery and pride. The Fox tricked the Raven into dropping his food by flattering him and making him proud. The Raven forgot that his voice was just a croak and opened his beak to sing, losing his food. The moral is that we should not believe everything people say to us and should not be too proud.

The third story "Rama to the Rescue" from Tamil Nadu taught us about cleverness and quick thinking. When a thief entered their house, a man and his wife used their wits to scare him away by calling out the kotwal's name. The kotwal came and caught the thief. The moral is that we should stay calm and think cleverly when we are in trouble.

We also learned about many language concepts including homophones, contractions, the present progressive tense, adverbs, exclamatory and interrogative sentences, and alliteration. We practiced listening, speaking, and writing activities that helped us develop our English language skills.

Remember, students, the lessons from these stories are very important. Work hard, stay humble, be careful of flattery, and use your cleverness to solve problems. These values will help you succeed in life.

Thank you for listening attentively. Do read the stories again and practice the exercises. See you in the next lesson!