by Read the lesson
There lived a naughty boy in a village. Each day the boy spent hours playing near the large, old mango tree. He would make a crown of its leaves and then proudly declare, I am the king of the forest. The tree loved to have the boy visit it and play in its branches. Time passed, the boy grew to be a man, but to the tree he would always be a boy. Gradually he stopped coming to the tree.
Then one day, to the tree’s great delight he saw the boy approaching. The boy said he needed money, for without money he couldn’t marry. Take my mangoes, they are the best variety, sell them and you will have more than enough money offered the generous tree. The boy didn’t wait another minute. The boy stripped the tree of every single mango, sold them and got married. After a lapse of time,the boy came back again, sullen and complaining, I need a house, can you give me a house? Take my strong branches and build yourself a house and make your furniture too, said the loving tree. So the boy hacked down all the branches leaving the tree with just its trunk. Slowly the tree aged without its branches and leaves. It felt lonely and sad. It missed the boy. Years went by. The lonely old tree often thought of the boy and then one day the boy came again not quite as young as before. I need a boat, he said to the tree, I want to travel, to see something of the world. Take my trunk, it’s all I have left, but it will make you a sound boat, said the
tree. The thoughtless boy took the trunk made his boat and sailed away without even once thinking about the tree and what he had done to it. Finally the boy became a tired old man, and now all he could think of was his faithful friend, the tree, Come, boy , called the tree. Rest here on my stump, it makes a good seat, we can be happy together. And the boy gratefully, for once sat down in the warm sunshine on the tree stump. And the tree was happy.
Reading Comprehension
Reading Comprehension
A. Tick the correct answer:
(i)The boy made a crown
(a) of the tree’s bark
(b) of the tree’s leaves √
(c) of the tree’s flowers
(d) of the tree’s stump
(ii) Everyday, the boy spent hours
(a) near the big and tall mango tree
(b) near the large and huge mango tree
(c) near the large and old mango tree 
(d) near the long and huge mango tree
(iii) The boy stripped the tree of every single mango
and sold them to
(a) get married
(b) make a house
(c) traveled
(d) buy a car
(iv)The boy who came back after a lapse of time was
(a) very sad and worried
(b) injured and defeated
(c) very happy and delighted
(d) very bad tempered
(v) The boy came back
(a) playing and singing
(b) happy and satisfied-20
(c) sullen and complaining
(d) running and dancing
(vi) Finally, the boy became
(a) young and handsome man
(c) a tired old man
(b) a thoughtful person
(d) a generous old man
(vii) The boy sat down in the warm sunshine on
(a) grassy ground
(c) a bench
(b) the tree stump
(d) the branch of the tree
Answer the following asked in the lesson.
B. Read the lesson again and make a list of the problems of the boy and
solutions provided by the tree. An example is done for you:
1 The boy needed money – The tree gave the boy
fruit to sell.
2 The boy needed a house- The tree gave strong branches to built a house and furniture
3 The boy needed a boat- The tree gave its trunk.
4 The boy became an tired old man- the tree allowed his stump to rest.
Vocabulary
A. Find out the correct word with the help of the clues given below. One is
done for you:
(i)People and animals rest under trees.
It is cool during day time. – Shade
(ii)It is used in our daily life.
We get wood for furniture from it.- Tree
(iii) It is a stage after flowering. People eat it-fruit
(iv)The part of the tree that helps it to stand firmly. roots
(v) We can’t live without it. It helps plants grow- Water
(vi) The part of the tree that remains after cutting
it down- stump
C. Give one word related to the following family of words that occur in the
text.
(i) leaves – fruit – branch – trunk → TREE
(ii) crown – rule – kingdom – palace → KING
(iii) tears – worry – cry – sorrow → GRIEF
(iv) sailor – across – river – travel → VOYAGE
(v) hour – day – week – month → TIME
D. Arrange these words in alphabetic order:
Grow, Great, Generous, Gradually, Crown, Complain, Courage,
Declare, Delight, Approach, Aged, Stump, Enough, Sullen, Trunk
Ans:
1. Aged
2. Approach
3. Complain
4. Courage
5. Crown
6. Declare
7. Delight
8. Enough
9. Generous
10. Gradually
11. Great
12. Grow
13. Stump
14. Sullen
15. Trunk
Proverb:“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”*
Meaning: Going to bed early and waking up early leads to good health, success, and wisdom.
Sentence:
My father often tells me, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” reminding me that being punctual in my studies and daily work leads to success.
1. What do trees give us? Discuss.
Trees give us shade, fresh air (oxygen), fruits, wood, and a place for animals to live. They also give us beauty, coolness, and comfort. In the story, the tree gave the boy mangoes, branches, a trunk, and finally a place to rest.
2. For what did the boy not wait?
The boy did not wait another minute to pluck all the mangoes when the tree told him to take them and sell them.
3. Why was the tree happy?
The tree was happy whenever the boy came to visit it.
In the end, the tree was happy because the boy (now an old man) returned and sat on the tree’s stump, giving the tree company again.
B. Arrange the letters and make meaningful words. Clues are provided:
(i)nwroc …………Crown………………….(the king wears it)
(ii)tsofer ……….forest……………….. (where wild animals live)
(iii) lgitedh ……delighted………. (very happy)
(iv) nsilge ……..single…………. (one, only)
(v) mupts …….stumps……………. (what remains after the trunk is cut of a tree.)
C. Answer the following questions:
(i) Make a list of the things that help a tree to live.
A tree needs:
Sunlight
Water
Air
Soil
Space to grow
(ii) List all the things the boy said he needed.
The boy said he needed:
1. Money (to get married)
2. A house
3. A boat (to travel and see the world)
(iii) The boy looked sullen and complaining. Why?
The boy looked sullen and complaining because he wanted a house and was unhappy since he didn’t have one.
(iv) What happened at last?
At last, the boy became an old man and returned to the tree. The tree, now just a stump, told him to rest on it. The boy sat down, and both the boy and the tree were happy together.
(v) How did the boy spend his time?
As a child, the boy spent his time:
Playing near the big mango tree
Climbing its branches
Making a crown from its leaves
Calling himself “the king of the forest”
(vi) Who was more loving — the boy or the tree? Why?
The tree was more loving because:
It gave everything it had to the boy — fruits, branches, trunk, and even its stump.
It never complained, even when the boy came only to take things.
It loved the boy selflessly, while the boy only thought of his own needs.
