Q1 of 15 Page 26

Here are some points from a similar story that you might have heard in another language. Dividing the class into two groups try and tell the story in English. One person from each group can speak alternately. Your teacher will help you. As you tell it, one of you may write it down on the board

A Mouse Maiden


● mouse changed into a girl by a magician….


● wants to marry the strongest person…


● asks whether sun or cloud stronger (why ?)…


● but mountain stronger than clouds (how ?)…


● but mouse stronger than a mountain (how ?)…


● the girl asks to marry mouse, becomes a mouse again.

Once upon a time a mouse eagerly asked a magician to change her into a beautiful girl as she wanted to marry the strongest person.


After the magician blessed the tiny mouse with extremely beautiful looks of a girl, the mouse was confronted with the question of “Who was stronger?”


Comparing the sun and the cloud, the tiny mouse considered the sun to be much stronger as its position was constant whereas the clouds moved and changed their position time and again. However, she still asked the clouds the same question. The clouds refused to marry her and told her that the mountain was much stronger than both the sun and him (clouds).


Now, progressing towards her answers, she went to the mountain and explained her confusions. The mountain told her that the strongest of all those she had encountered was the mouse only because of its tiny size. Although the sun, the mountain, and the clouds were huge in size, the mouse was the most appropriate because it enjoyed many advantages being tiny in size and free in its movements. The mountain was thus successful in making the girl realize the value of little things in life.


The girl, in this manner, understood the value of being a mouse and turned back to a mouse again.


NOTE – The given answer is just an example. In such questions, students can use their own creative ideas in framing their answers.


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4

Read the following passage and do the exercises that follow. Then complete the family tree of dogs given on the facing page.

The Dog Family


The dog family is one of the 11 families that make up the Carnivores, a large group of intelligent, flesh-eating, backboned animals. In this group are such varied animals as bears, pandas, raccoons, cats, hyenas, and even seal. The dog or canine family has many wild species like wolves, foxes, coyotes, jackals, and wild dogs.


The dog is the only domesticated member of the canine family though now and then someone tames a wolf, fox or coyote as a pet. All members of the dog family are descendants of a wolf-like animal which lived about 15 million years ago. From this distant ancestor, the true dogs gradually developed. But nobody knows the exact ancestor of the modern domestic dog.


Several wild dogs look and behave like domestic dogs. The dingo or wild dog of Australia is one of these. It is possible that the dingo was a tamed dog brought to Australia long ago which then ran wild.


Dogs were the first animals tamed by humans — perhaps 20,000 years ago. Tamed dogs were brought from Asia to the New World 5,000 or more years ago. Dogs were first used for hunting.


(a) Find the opposites of these words in the text above.


(i) ancestor _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _


(ii) wild t _ m _


(iii) ancient _ _ _ _ _ _


(iv) near d_ _ _ _ _ t


(v) suddenly gr _ _ _ _ _ _ _


(b) Complete the following sentences.


(i)The dingo is _________


(ii) Dogs were the ________ animals tamed by humans. The other animals tamed by humans are __________


(Think and name some other such animals.)


(iii) The New World refers to _______.


Dogs were brought there from ____________.

 4

Family Tree of Dogs

 1

List out the action words in the poem.

Dive, dip, snaps _______, _______, _______, _______, _______.


Find out the meanings of these words.

 2

Read these lines from the poem:

Then soars like a ship


With only a sail


The movement of the tailless kite is compared to a ship with a sail. This is called a simile.


Can you suggest what or who the following actions may be compared to?


He runs like ________


He eats like ________


She sings like ________


It shines like ________


It flies like _________