Welcome dear students! Today we are going to learn about The_New_Flower from Class 6 English_FL. This beautiful story is written by the famous author Ruskin Bond. Let us begin our journey into the hills together. The story opens by telling us that one of the most delightful experiences of walking in the hills is coming across unusual, little-known flowers. The narrator tells us that it was the first day of spring according to the Hindu Calendar. However, up in the Himalayas, the weather still felt like mid-winter. A cold wind hummed and whistled through the pine trees. Dark rain clouds were being swept along by the west wind, only to be pushed back by the east wind. It was a very changeable and chilly day. [CHECKPOINT]
The narrator was climbing the steep road leading to his cottage at the top of the hill. As he walked, he was overtaken by a nine-year-old girl named Usha, who was hurrying back from school. She had tied a scarf around her head to keep her hair from blowing in the wind. Her dark hair and dark eyes, along with her pink cheeks, stood out beautifully against the patches of snow that still lay on the hillside. Suddenly, Usha pointed and said, look, a new flower! It was a single, butter-yellow blossom. It stood out like a bright star against the dull, drab winter grass. The narrator had never seen anything like it before and had no idea what its name might be. He thought that its existence was probably recorded in some botanical book, but for him, it was a brand new discovery. Usha asked if she should pick it for him. [CHECKPOINT]
The narrator quickly said no, do not pick it. He explained that it might be the only one of its kind. If they broke it, there might not be any more. He suggested they leave it there and see if it produces seeds. They scrambled up the slope to examine the flower more closely. It was very delicate and had soft petals, looking as if it might fall apart at any moment. Usha worried that it would be destroyed if it rained. And indeed, it did rain that night. The rain was mixed with sleet and hail. It rattled and swished loudly on the tin roof of the cottage. But by morning, the sun came out again. [CHECKPOINT]
The narrator walked up the road the next morning without really expecting to see the flower again. Usha had been right. The storm had made the original flower disappear. However, two other buds that they had not noticed the day before had opened. It looked as though two tiny stars had fallen to earth during the night. The narrator did not see Usha that day. But the following day, when they met on the road, he showed her the fresh blossoms. Two days later, when he passed by again, the flowers were still there. But so were two goats, grazing on the short grass and thorny thickets on the slope. [CHECKPOINT]
The narrator did not know if goats liked these particular flowers, but he knew that goats would eat almost anything. He was taking no chances. He scrambled up the steep slope and began to shoo them away. One goat retreated, but the other lowered its horns, gave him a fierce, baleful look, and refused to move. The narrator remembered his grandfather's pet goat, which had once pushed a visiting official into a bed of Nasturtium flowers. So, he backed away. Just then, Usha came along. She quickly understood the situation and came to the rescue. She opened her pretty blue umbrella and advanced toward the goat, shouting at it in goat language. She knew how to speak to goats because she had her own goats at home. The beast retreated, and the flowers were saved. [CHECKPOINT]
As the days grew warmer, the flowers faded and finally disappeared. Both the narrator and Usha forgot all about them. Usha had lessons and exams to worry about, and the writer had rent and electricity bills to occupy his thoughts. The months passed. Summer and autumn came and went, bringing their own more showy blooms. In no time at all, winter returned with cold winds blowing from all directions. One day, the narrator heard Usha calling to him from the hillside. He looked up and saw her standing behind a little cluster of golden, star-shaped flowers. It was an enchanting sight for someone who had played a small part in keeping them alive. Where there had been only one flowering plant before, there were now several. Usha and the narrator wondered if the entire hillside would be covered with these flowers in a few years time. [CHECKPOINT]
The narrator still does not know the botanical name for the little flower. He admits that he cannot remember long Latin names anyway. However, Usha tells him that she has seen it growing near her father's village on the next mountain. The hill people call it Basant, which means spring. The narrator says he is just a little disappointed that they are not, after all, the discoverers of a new species. But this feeling is completely outweighed by their pleasure in knowing that the flower flourished in adversity. He ends with a hopeful wish, saying, may it multiply! Now, let us move on to the exercises to test our understanding of the chapter. [CHECKPOINT]
Question a asks: At the beginning, the story tells us that two people, a man and a girl, have become friends. Is this true or not true? The answer is true, as their friendly interaction and shared interest in nature show they are friends. Question b asks: The man's name is blank. The girl's name is blank. The man's name is not given in the story, as he is the narrator, but the girl's name is Usha. Question c asks: The man is a writer. The girl is a school girl. Question d asks: The girl is a nine-year-old student. Question e asks: The man and the girl share a common interest. They both keep looking for new flowers. Question f asks: They are both attracted by which of the following? The correct answer is a new flower. [CHECKPOINT]
Question g asks: On Yugadi day the man finds a new flower. True or not true? The answer is true. Question h asks: We call this day Yugadi. What do people in Himachal Pradesh call it? The story mentions it is the first day of spring according to the Hindu Calendar, and the hill people refer to the season and the flower as Basant. Question i asks: The girl predicts a heavy rain on that day. True or not true? The answer is true, as she says the flower will be finished if it rains. Question j asks: The man teaches the girl how a plant seeds. True or not true? The answer is not true. He only suggests leaving it to see if it seeds naturally. Question k asks: Who saved the plant from the goats? How? Usha saved the plant by unfurling her pretty blue umbrella and advancing on the goat while shouting at it in goat language. [CHECKPOINT]
Question l asks: The girl knows the goat language because she has her own goats at home. Question m asks: A year passes. The plant withers. True or not true? The answer is not true. The plant fades but successfully seeds, and a year later, a whole cluster of new flowers appears. Question n asks: The two friends could not say that the new flower was their discovery because Usha had already seen it growing near her father's village on the next mountain, and the local hill people already knew it and called it Basant. Question o asks: The author had wondered what its name could be. But the villagers had given it the name Basant. Question p asks: What Latin name is given for another flower in the story? The flower is Nasturtium. The subject that gives Latin names for trees, plants, flowers, and fruits is Botany. [CHECKPOINT]
I hope you enjoyed this lesson and found the story of the little yellow flower both interesting and meaningful. Remember to appreciate nature and protect it, just like the narrator and Usha did. Thank you for listening! Keep revising and practicing. Goodbye! [CHAPTER_COMPLETE]