Chapter 12 

                                               THE TALKING POTATO  


1. What question is asked in the Warmer section?

Answer: The Warmer section asks how we would feel if a flower started talking to us and whether we would feel glad or sad. This prepares the reader for a story where non-living things speak like humans.


2. Who is the main character of the story?

Answer: The main character of the story is a farmer who lives in a village and grows potatoes in his field.


3. What mistake did the farmer make while growing potatoes?

Answer: The farmer did not take time to weed or water the potatoes after sowing them, showing his laziness and neglect.


4. When did the farmer go to dig up the potatoes?

Answer: The farmer went to dig up the potatoes after two months of sowing them.


5. What strange thing happened when the farmer started digging?

Answer: When the farmer started digging, a voice spoke to him and complained about his carelessness.


6. What did the potato say to the farmer?

Answer: The potato said that the farmer had waited too long, had not watered or cared for it, and told him to go away and leave it alone.


7. How did the farmer react to the voice?

Answer: The farmer was surprised and confused. He looked around and asked who was speaking.


8. Who answered the farmer’s question?

Answer: The farmer’s dog answered and said that the potato was speaking and that it was right because the farmer was lazy.


9. Why was the farmer frightened?

Answer: The farmer was frightened because he could not believe that his dog was speaking like a human being.


10. What did the farmer do to the dog?

Answer: Out of fear, the farmer decided to tie the dog with a vine.


11. What happened when the farmer cut the vine?

Answer: When the farmer cut the vine, the vine started speaking and asked him to hang it back on the tree.


12. How did the farmer react to the vine speaking?

Answer: The farmer became pale with fear and threw the vine on a rock.


13. What did the rock say?

Answer: The rock also spoke and asked the farmer to get the vine away from it.


14. What did the farmer do after hearing the rock?

Answer: The farmer was terribly afraid and ran towards the village as fast as he could.


15. Why did the farmer want to go to the village?

Answer: He wanted to tell the Mukhiya about all the strange things he had heard.


16. Whom did the farmer meet on the way?

Answer: On the way, the farmer met a fisherman who was catching fish with a net.


17. What did the fisherman ask the farmer?

Answer: The fisherman asked why the farmer was running and whether a lion was chasing him.


18. What explanation did the farmer give?

Answer: The farmer explained that a potato, a dog, a vine and a rock had spoken to him.


19. Did the fisherman believe the farmer?

Answer: No, the fisherman did not believe the farmer and thought he was joking.


20. What unexpected thing happened next?

Answer: Suddenly, the fisherman’s net started speaking and asked whether the farmer had got the vine away.


21. How did the fisherman react?

Answer: The fisherman became afraid, dropped the net and ran towards the village with the farmer.


22. Whom did they meet next?

Answer: They met a tailor who was sewing a shirt.


23. What did the tailor ask them?

Answer: The tailor asked why they were running so fast and whether a tiger was chasing them.


24. What did the farmer and fisherman tell the tailor?

Answer: They told him the entire story about the talking potato, dog, vine, rock and net.


25. Did the tailor believe them?

Answer: No, the tailor said that they must have been dreaming.


26. What made the tailor afraid?

Answer: The tailor’s shirt suddenly spoke and said, “You are right.”


27. What did the tailor do after that?

Answer: The tailor became afraid and ran with the farmer and the fisherman.


28. Where did the three men go together?

Answer: They went together to the Mukhiya to report the strange events.


29. What was the Mukhiya doing?

Answer: The Mukhiya was sitting on a chair when the three men came to him.


30. How did the Mukhiya react to their story?

Answer: The Mukhiya became angry and called them fools for talking nonsense.


31. What did the Mukhiya threaten them with?

Answer: He threatened to punish them if they did not go back to their work.


32. What did the three men do after that?

Answer: The farmer, fisherman and tailor immediately ran back to their work.


33. What strange thing happened at the end?

Answer: After everyone left, the Mukhiya’s chair spoke and expressed surprise about a talking potato.


34. What does the talking chair suggest?

Answer: The talking chair suggests that even the Mukhiya experienced the same strange event.


35. What kind of story is this?

Answer: This is a humorous and imaginative story where non-living things talk like humans.


36. What lesson does the story teach about laziness?

Answer: The story shows that laziness and neglect can lead to trouble and embarrassment.


37. What lesson does the story teach about belief?

Answer: The story teaches that people often do not believe others until they experience something themselves.


38. Why is the story interesting for children?

Answer: The story is interesting because of talking objects, humour and repetition of events.


39. What is the role of repetition in the story?

Answer: Repetition helps build humour and suspense as more objects start talking one after another.


40. What do you think the Mukhiya would have done?

Answer: The Mukhiya would have been shocked and confused after hearing his chair talk and may have realised that the men were telling the truth.

Answer by Mrinmoee