Chapter 7 - 

The Mountain and The Squirrel

Have you come across the word ' proud ' ? The word has two      meanings , one positive and one negative .

Ans:  (a) (Arrogant)

(b)  (Self-conscious)

Now think and tell which meaning (a) and (b) is opposite  of the following words :

Ans: Number (a) is opposite . 

Discuss with your parther whether we should be proud or humble . Give two reasons for your answer . 

Ans: (i) We  should be humble because humble people carries a kind heart . 

(ii) We should be humble because humble person help everyone . 


ACTIVITIES

(i) Did you like the pome ? write three words you connect with each object you read in the poem-One has been done for you  : 

Ans:



2. Read the pome once again and answer the following questions.

(a) Why did the mountain call the the squirrel  '' Little Prig '' ?

Ans: The mountain called the squirrel '' Little' prig' because  the squirrel is a very ting creature. 


(b) What did the Squirrel say to the mountain ? 

Ans: The Squirrel said that even though he is not as large as the mountain and cannot carry forests on his back but he has got different talent . 

(c) What are the main differences between the mountain and the squirrel ? 

Ans: The differences are : 


(d) '' If I'm not so large as you , 

          You are not so small as I, 

            And not half so spry :

            I'll not deny you make 

            A very pretty squirrel track ".

Who said these lines and to whom ?

Ans: The squirrel said these lines to the mountain . 

(e) The word ' former  means the first one out of two, and the word 'latter ' means the second one out of two .'' And the former called the latter prig''- who is the 'former ' and who is the 'latter' in the poem ?


Ans:- Famer is the mountain and latter is the squirrel in the poem. 'Former' 

(F) Write down the lines from the poem that mean the following: 

(i) The squirrel is not as big as the mountain and the mountain is not ever half as energetie as Bur.

Ans:- "If I" m not large as you

                You are not so small as I,

            And not half so spry

(ii) Everyone is unique in their own way. So People have different skills and everything put very wisely.

Ans;-"Talents differ, all is well and wisely put"

(iii) To make a year and a revolution around the sun all types of things and weather must be. Take into consideration.

Ans: '' But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together 

                        To make up a year

                        And a sphere.


3. Read the following lines:

But all sorts of things and weather 

Must be taken in together

To make up a year,

And a sphere

Why does the poet talk about a year and a sphere ? 

Ans: The poet talked about a year and a sphere because according to him it requires every things , creatures, weather etc to create the world. It means , every good and bad things matter in this world. 



কবিয়ে এটা বছৰ আৰু এক মণ্ডল ৰ কথা কৈছে কাৰণ তেওঁৰ মতে বিশ্ব এখনত গঠিত হবলৈ সকলো বস্তু , প্ৰাণী , বতৰ ইত্যাদি বোৰৰ প্ৰয়োজন । ইয়াৰ অৰ্থ হ'ল যে , সকলো ভাল আৰু বেয়া দুয়োটা বস্তুই এই ব্ৰক্ষ্মান্ড খনত দৰকাৰী । 



4. Here are some sentences related to the poem. which sentences are tree and which are not true ? Correct the ones which are wrong and write the correct sentences in your notebook:

(a) The mountain called the squirrel '' Little Prig'' . 

Ans: True 

(b) The squirrel told the mountain that it wasn't a disgrace to be small . 

Ans: True .

(c) The mountain is not as spry as the squirrel. 

Ans: True 

(d) The squirrel can carry a forest on his back . 

Ans: False

Correct Sentence

⇒ The Mountain can carry a forest on his back. 

5. Discuses in groups and share your answers with the class : 


(a) What was the cause of the fight between the mountain and the squirrel ? why do you think  so ?


Ans: The cause of the fight between the mountain and the squirrel was that both of them were proud of their strengths. They think one is greater than the other. 


              I think so because the mountain and the squirrel left no chance to humiliate each other . 


(b) Tell your partner two things you like about the squirrel and two things you dislike about the mountain :


Ans: The two things that I like about the squirrel are that :

(i) He is happy with his small body structure . 

(ii) He is proud of his skills. 


The two things I dislike about the mountain are : 

(i) The mountain insulted the squirrel by calling him '' Little prig''.

(ii) The mountain is very proudy of his larger size. 


6. Have you heard about the folk tale of the old man and his wife ? They were quarreling about whose work was harder . Read and enjoy the story  !

One upon a time there was on old man who lived with his wife on a form .  One day they had a big quarrel . The old man said , '' keep quiet ,woman !  You are so lucky . । You do easy work , you get time to rest and to enjoy yourself with your friends . '' How dare you say that ! I do such hard work ! I work form morning till night cleaning the house , cooking food for you , washing your clothes , feeding the animals . Try doing it one day  '' So the old man stayed at home to do house work , and his wife went to the paddy field with the plough and the bullocks . 

What do you think happened that day ?

Whose work was easier ?Think of an  ending of the story .  Discuss you thoughts with the friend next to you and share it with the class . 

Ans: That day might be both the old man and the old lady had realised that they were wrong after returning home .  Because ones work can never be easier .  we should respect everyone's work .

7. Your teacher has written a sentence on the blackboard . Read it . 

(a) The mountain said to the squirrel , '' You are a little prig.'' । The words used by the mountain to call the squirrel are given in inverted commas . When the exact words used by the speaker is given in inverted commas , we call the words or sentences - direct speech. 

We can rewrite the sentence by providing the information indirectly as follows :

 The mountain told the squirrel that he was a little prig . 


This is an example of an indirect narration or  indirect speech . Here is another example : 

(b) Bun said to the mountain ,'' you are very big''. 

Bun told the mountain that he was very big .

What changes did you notice when the sentences in direct speech was turned into indirect speech ? 

(i) You must have seen that inverted commas and commas are removed. 


(ii) The word ' that ' is added.

(iii) The verb 'are' which is in the present tense changed to 'was' in the past tense. 

(iv) The pronoun 'you' became 'he'

  Punctuation in direct speech is important. Be careful while using the comma . the quotation marks and the full stop e.g. Bun said to the mountain,''you are very big.'' 

Now try and change the following sentences from direct to indirect speech . 

(i) Anurag said to Anu,'' you are lazy girl.'' 

⇒ Anurag said told Anu that she was a lazy girl . 

(ii) Anu said to Anurag ,'' You are doubtless very Smart''. 

⇒ Anu told Anurag that he was doubtless very smart. 

(iii) He said to her ,'' I  play cricket .''

⇒ He told her that he played cricket . 

(iv) She replied,'' I don't paly cricket .'' 

⇒ She replied that she didn't play cricket .

(v) She added ,'' I dance Bihu .'' 

⇒ She added that she danced Bihu.

(vi) He said to her , '' I don't dance Bihu.''

⇒ He told her that he didn't dance Bihu

(vii) Arun said ,'' A lazy girl cannot dance .''

⇒ Arun told that a lazy girl cannot dance . 

8. you know that we have names for people who do different kinds of work . For example : you are a student because you study in school Do you know other such names ? Fill in the table below with appropriate names . 

(i) Who serves us food in a restaurant -

⇒ Waiter 

(ii) Who takes care of sick or injured people ? 

⇒ Doctor 

(iii) Who teaches us in school -

(iv) Who operates the controk of an aircraft -

(v) Who takes care of our teeth -

(vi) Who puts out fires-

9. What would you like to be when you grow up ? Think of five reasons why you have chosen this profession and share them with the class :

Ans: I want to be a Doctor.

The five reasons are -

(i) I love to help people .

(ii) I like when people live happy life.

(iii) It is a respectable job.

(iv) I want to do this because there is lack of doctors in rural areas.

(v) I will learn new things daily . 

10. The pictures given below show people practising different occupations or profession . Read and complete the sentences with appropriate words:

(a) (i)  Terang is a farmer . He grows fruits and vegetables . He supplies food to the people living in towns and cities . 


(ii) Reshma is a shopkeeper. People get their grocery supplies from her shop .

(iii) Robert is a driver . He drives the car of the Governor . He is very honest and hard working .

(iv) Neboli is a pilot . she flies the aeroplane to different parts of the country . she is very careful because the lives of the pass engers depend upon her . 

(v) Akhilesh is a soldier . He is very brave . He guards our borders against enemies .

(vi) Mrs. Agarwal is a famous Industrialist . she is a hard working woman . she employs  over a hundred people in her industrial company . Mrs. Agarwal 

(vii) Tina is  an architect . she works in a firm that designs houses and factories .

(b) Fill in the gaps in the sentences below using the information given below . Use although where needed :  

(i) Although Mr. Shekar Sharma is the Governor , when he is in his car , his life depends on the Driver .

(ii) Although Terang is not as rich or powerful as Mr. Sharme , Mrs. Agarwal and tine , they will get food to eat only if farmers like Terang grow crops in the fields. 

(iii) Although Akhilesh is not a general , the people of the country are safe because of soldier like him . 

(iv) Grocers like Reshma can do business only because farmers like Terang produce things which she sells in her shop .