1. How the Tsessebe Got His Horns 1 Ltd Pvt. Services ...roopconventschool.com/uploads/gallery/media/ENGLISH CLASS 4 Ch… · Education Services Pvt. Ltd. Tsessebe. Now, he runs like

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1. How the Tsessebe Got His Horns ....................... 1 2. The Owl .................................................................. 7 3. The Fairy’s Gifts .................................................... 13 4. Little Things ........................................................... 22 5. Chetak .................................................................... 27 6. The Kitten at Play .................................................. 37 7. Irah Becomes a Flower Gardener ....................... 42 8. A Tree ..................................................................... 51 9. Damon and Pythias .............................................. 56 10. The Little Doll ........................................................ 67 11. My Early Home ..................................................... 71 12. Sympathy ................................................................ 79 13. Rosa ........................................................................ 84 14. Wynken, Blynken, And Nod ................................. 93 15. The Story of Marco Polo ...................................... 98 16. Words ...................................................................... 106 17. A Great Son of India ............................................ 110 18. Tartary .................................................................... 117 19. King Arthur and the Knights of

the Round Table .................................................... 123 20. The Hot-Air Balloon ............................................ 130 21. King Bruce and the Spider .................................... 138 22. The House of Shaws ............................................. 144 23. The Flying Slippers ............................................... 154

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1How the Tsessebe GotHis Horns

Warm UpWhat do you think is a tsessebe? Make a guess before you read the story. Draw the creature in your notebook. Check if your guess (and drawing) was right after you have read the story.

Right at the beginning of time, when the Creator, with the help of the great Mantis*, was making all the animals,

He was faced with an enormous task. There was so much to do that by the time He got near the end, He was tired and in a hurry to finish. In fact, in the rush, He forgot to give Tsessebe any horns!

All the other bucks made fun of poor Tsessebe. Their own heads were proudly decorated with a variety of horns, all of different shapes and sizes, but all handsome, graceful and very useful.

Tsessebe was miserable. He wandered alone for a long time, wondering why he had been left out. He avoided contact with the antelopes and gazelles since they would laugh at him. Eventually, he plucked up courage and decided that he would

* According to the Bushmen, the native people of southern Africa, Mantis is a superior being, who is the Creator’s helper.

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go back to the Creator and beg to be given some horns.

The Creator was resting after His great work and was annoyed at being disturbed. He listened to Tsessebe and became angry that the mistake should be brought to His notice.

When Tsessebe had made his plea, he hung his head and waited. The Creator impatiently grabbed a few old, leftover bones, and stuck them on the buck’s head.

‘Now, let’s hope you are satisfied!’ He said angrily and sent Tsessebe away.

When the other animals saw Tsessebe’s new horns, they made more fun of him than ever. Tsessebe did look very odd—and as their laughter rang out, he was even more miserable.

Being a timid and gentle creature, he did not dare to go back to the Creator again. He decided, sadly, that he would have to be content with what he had; after all, even funny-looking horns were better than no horns at all.

However, the Creator heard the mocking shouts and laughter, and seeing Tsessebe’s plight, took pity and relented. He gave Tsessebe the magnificent gifts of speed and agility.

At last, all the other antelopes began to envy

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Tsessebe. Now, he runs like the wind and does not care about his horns at all. He is the fastest antelope in southern Africa, and can run up to a speed of sixty kilometres per hour!

Word Power enormous great in size; very bigbuck a male deerantelope, gazelle deer-like animals with hornsplea an emotional requestplight an unfortunate situationrelented agreed to something after having refused at the beginningagility the ability to move quickly and easily

Comprehension A. Answer these questions. 1. Why did the Creator not give Tsessebe any horns? 2. Why did Tsessebe feel miserable? 3. What did Tsessebe decide to do? 4. Did the Creator listen to Tsessebe’s request? What did

He do? 5. Why did the Creator feel sorry for Tsessebe? 6. What did the Creator do to make Tsessebe feel better?

Word Wise B. Make sentences with these phrases from the story.

You may look up the dictionary for their meanings. 1. faced with an enormous task 2. hung his head

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3. brought to his notice 4. mocking shouts 5. plucked up courage 6. content with

Express C. Read these words aloud and listen to the sounds of the

highlighted letters. • impression • glassDid you notice that in the first word, the letters ss have a sh sound, and in the second word, the letters ss have an s sound?

Now, read the words in the box aloud and write them in the correct columns according to the sound of ss.

admission miss tissue chessfuss pressure session cross

sh sound s sound

Language in Use D.1 Sometimes, the same word can be used as different parts

of speech. For example: • right: noun, verb and adjective • rush: noun and verb • contact: noun and verb • mistake: noun and verb • present: noun, verb and adjective

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Now, identify the part of speech of the highlighted words as they have been used in these sentences.

1. The teacher had every right to scold you. 2. He is Joy; do not mistake him for his twin brother. 3. She lost contact with her brother. 4. The present owner of the house said that he wanted

a month’s rent in advance. 5. I could not contact him as he was out of station. 6. What would you like as a present on your birthday? 7. In the rush to get out of the fair, she lost her purse.D.2 Nouns can be divided into male and female groups.

This kind of a division is called a gender division. There are two kinds of gender—masculine (male nouns) and feminine (female nouns).

Now, use the words in the box to complete the table.

mare vixen duchesswizard doe drake ewe

masculine feminine

1. fox

2. witch

3. ram

4. buck

5. duck

6. horse

7. duke

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Create E. Write a short story on how you think the turtle got

a shell. Make it as imaginative and funny as you can!

Activity F. Prepare a bulletin board display about any two of these

animals.

langur reindeer rhinoceros porcupine

You can find pictures of the animals and paste them on a sheet of chart paper. You could also trace their outlines and colour them yourself. Also, find out the following facts about each of the two animals you choose.• Where does it live?• What does it eat?

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2The Owl

Warm UpIf you could understand the language of birds, what do you think the owl would say to—

• the mouse? • the bat? • you?

At night, when all is still,The forest’s sentinelGlides slightly across the hillAnd perches in an old pine tree.A friendly presence his!No harm can come From night bird on the prowl,His cry is mellow, Much softer than a peacock’s call.Why then this fear of owlsCalling in the night?If men must speak,Then owls must hoot—They have the right.On me it casts no spell:Rather, it seems to cry,‘The night is good—all’s well, all’s well.’

Ruskin Bond

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Ruskin Bond is a famous Indian writer whose books are loved by both children and adults. He lives in Landour, near Mussoorie, and many of his stories and poems are about his beloved hills. ‘The Blue Umbrella’ and ‘Ranji’s Wonderful Bat’ are some of his popular stories.

Word Power sentinel a guard on the prowl moving quietly while huntingmellow soft and pleasantspell special words used to perform magic

Comprehension A.1 Answer these questions. 1. Why is the owl called the ‘forest’s sentinel’? 2. When does the owl glide across a hill and perch on

a tree? 3. Which lines in the poem tell you that the owl is a

harmless bird? 4. What does the poet say about the owl’s cry as

compared to the peacock’s? 5. Is the poet afraid of the owl’s call? Which lines tell

you so? 6. What right do owls have, according to the poet?A.2 Answer these questions with reference to the context. No harm can come From night bird on the prowl a. Which night bird is the poet speaking about? b. What does ‘on the prowl’ mean? c. Why do you think the poet says ‘no harm can come’?

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A.3 Think and answer. 1. How do you think the poet feels about the owl? Write

in three or four sentences. 2. Why do you think the owl’s cry seems to be saying

‘ ll’s well’ to the poet?

Word Wise B.1 Fill in the blanks with the phrases given in the box.

on the prowl have the right all is still across the hill a friendly presence cast a spell

1. You to tell children not to pick f lowers in your garden.

2. The farmer climbed slowly, walking to his cottage.

3. Believing the man-eating tiger to be , the villagers went home early.

4. The Pied Piper on the rats of Hamelin.

5. When everyone has gone to bed and , she reads her favourite stories.

6. The ghost was in the house and did not disturb anybody.

B.2 Read these words and find their opposites from the text.

1. absence 2. moving 3. hard

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4. benefit 5. courage

Express C. Read these words aloud.

• forest • awake • repeat You will notice that the highlighted letters are stressed,

that is, they are spoken with more force. Now, read these words aloud, stressing the highlighted

letters. Clap your hands when you come to the stressed part.

sentinel friendly disturbmellow decided softer

Language in Use D.1 Make sentences with the following. 1. adjective form of harm 2. noun form of soft 3. verb form of presenceD.2 Write the simple past forms of these verbs and use

them in sentences of your own.

glides perches come speakhave casts seems

D.3 You have already learnt about pronouns. There are many kinds of pronouns. Read this sentence.• I will tell you about him. The pronouns in this sentence (I, you and him) refer to people. Such pronouns are called personal pronouns.

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There are three persons mentioned in this example.• I—the speaker—is a first person pronoun• you—the person spoken to—is the second person

pronoun • him—the person spoken about—is the third person

pronoun Study the table carefully.

singular plural

first person I, me we, us

second person you you

third person he, him, she, her they, them

Pick out the personal pronouns in these sentences and state the person (first, second or third).

1. Ram, you are a lazy boy. 2. I was all alone in the

classroom. 3. They have both improved in

studies. 4. They say he is very clever. 5. We should always speak the truth.

Create E. Write an imaginary conversation between a peacock

and an owl where they talk about their differences. You may use these points—

• voice • appearance • habits • likes and dislikes

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Activity F. Imagine that you and your classmates are in charge

of a bird sanctuary. In groups of eight, design simple posters which lay down the rules to be followed in the sanctuary.

You may write about the following Dos and Don’ts.• Don’t try to feed the birds.• Don’t litter or throw away plastic bags.• Do talk softly and switch off your mobile phones.

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3The Fairy’s Gifts

Warm UpIf someone helped you when you were in trouble, what would you do to thank them? Discuss in class.

Once upon a time when fairies lived on Earth,

a good fairy was tired of wandering about and wanted to take shelter in a house. Night was coming on and she knocked at the door of a beautiful mansion. Hearing the sound, the owner of the mansion opened a window and asked what the stranger wanted. The fairy

said, ‘I beg you to give me a night’s lodging.’

The proud owner looked at the wanderer, saw that she was dressed in rags, and said, ‘I cannot let in everyone who knocks at my door. You must look for shelter elsewhere.’ He then shut the window and left the fairy standing outside.

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On the other side of the road stood a cottage, its paint peeling and shabby in appearance. It belonged to a poor peasant. When the fairy knocked at the door of this cottage, a man opened the door. He saw her standing alone and said, ‘Please come in. You must spend the night with us, for it is already dark.’

The fairy was very pleased with this. She stepped in and was warmly welcomed by the man’s wife. ‘We don’t have much,’ she said, ‘but we will share with you whatever we have. Please make yourself comfortable.’

The peasant’s wife put some potatoes on the fire, and while they were cooking, she milked a goat. Then, she laid the table and the fairy ate with them a simple meal of boiled potatoes and milk. The poor fare tasted good because there was peace and happiness in the house.

At bedtime, the peasant and his wife made a straw bed for themselves so that their guest could sleep in their bed. At first, the good fairy would not accept the kind offer. But their request was so sincere that she could not refuse.

The next morning, the wife rose early to cook breakfast so that the visitor might have

some food before she left. The fairy

sat at the table and partook of the best they had, which they had laid on the table. She

felt sorry to leave them.

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As she rose to go, she wished them farewell and thanked them for their hospitality. She then said, ‘As you have been so kind and generous to me in my need, I would like to reward you. I shall grant you three wishes.’

The peasant said, ‘As long as we live, may we be healthy and strong. And may we have our simple daily needs provided for.’

The fairy asked, ‘And what is your third wish? Would you not wish to have a new house instead of this old one?’

‘Oh, yes,’ they both cried.

The fairy, promising to fulfil their three wishes, went on her way.

Later in the day, the proud owner of the beautiful mansion happened to look out of the window. He was most surprised to see a new, bigger cottage with red tiles, in place of the shabby old one. He sent his wife to find out how this wonderful change had come about. The wife went to the poor peasant’s house and learnt all that had happened the previous day.

The proud man and his wife felt sorry and stupid for having refused shelter to the fairy. The man decided to follow the fairy. He saddled his horse and took off. He soon overtook her and spoke to her very kindly.

‘If you should pass our way again, please do not forget to step inside our house and be our guest,’ he said.

The fairy replied, ‘Yes, I will, if I ever pass your house again. As for granting you three wishes, I do not think you have anything to wish for.’

But the rich man insisted that she should grant him three wishes. The fairy agreed and walked away.

While the rich man was riding home happily, his horse began to behave rather wildly. ‘Be quiet,’ he said angrily, ‘I wish you

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were dead.’ No sooner had he said these words than the horse fell dead.

He was not left with any choice but to walk in the hot sun. As he walked on,

carrying the heavy saddle and bridle, he felt jealous of his wife, who was probably relaxing in a cool room at home. Without thinking, he muttered, ‘I wish my wife was sitting on the saddle, not able to move.’ Instantly, the saddle and the bridle vanished. He realised his mistake and hurried home.

When he reached home, the rich man saw his wife sitting motionless on the saddle.

‘Be happy,’ he said to his wife. ‘I can wish for all the riches of the world and my wish will be fulfilled.’

But the wife was very angry and said that riches would be of no use if she had to sit on the saddle, like a statue, all her life. So, the proud man was forced to make his last wish and he did so most unwillingly. He wished to set his wife free. This was immediately granted.

Thus, while the proud and selfish man gained only anger and trouble and suffered the loss of his horse, the poor peasant, who was charitable and kind, gained happiness, health and comfort for the rest of his life.

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Word Power lodging a place to staypeeling (here) falling off; coming off in stripsfare (here) foodpartook of (here) sharedhospitality friendly and generous behaviour towards a guestinsisted demanded that something be donesaddle seat put on a horse’s back bridle leather bands put on a horse’s head to control its

movementcharitable ready to share and give to others

Comprehension A.1 Answer these questions. 1. Who refused the fairy shelter and why? 2. What did the peasant and his wife do for the fairy? 3. How did the fairy reward the poor peasant? What did

the peasant ask for? 4. Why did the rich man follow the fairy? 5. What three wishes did the rich man make?A.2 Who said these lines and to whom? What does each

line say about the speaker? 1. ‘I cannot let in everyone who knocks at my door.’ 2. ‘We don’t have much, but we will share with you

whatever we have.’ 3. ‘May we have our simple daily needs provided for.’ 4. ‘I wish you were dead.’

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Word Wise B.1 Make as many words as you can from the word

HOSPITALITY. Now, compare your list with the class and answer these questions.

1. Which words end with -ost? 2. Which words end with -ilt? 3. Which words end with -ail? 4. Which are the largest and smallest words you made?B.2 Circle the correct meaning of each of the words given

in the first column.

1. shabby in poor condition

very dirty hairy

2. provide for

show that something is true

give things that are needed to live

ensure that something is not damaged

3. grant give someone what he wants

pray for something

hold firmly

4. mansion speak about or name someone

farm with lots of cows

very large and grand house

B.3 Unscramble these words and rewrite them correctly. All the words are from the story.

1. DLEBOI 2. HEREWSELE 3. GNEEROSU 4. SSELNMOTOI 5. LLFFUI 6. TABLEHCARI

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Express C. Read these sets of words aloud. Pay attention to the

sound of the highlighted letters in each set.

mansion visionillusion collisiondivision confusion

action nationmotion addition

emotion fiction

Did you notice that in these words, both s and t are pronounced as sh?

Language in Use D.1 Use these phrases in sentences of your own. Look up

a dictionary if required. 1. come about 2. took off 3. stepped in 4. let in 5. laid the tableD.2 Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs

from the box. All sentences should be in the present tense.

go be speak look live

1. She pretty in the green dress today.

2. Sorry, Tara not here at the moment. 3. I in Chennai.

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4. The moon around the earth. 5. He five languages. D.2 Read the sentences.

• The sapling has spread out its leaves.• It will turn out to be a garden.Note how the meanings of the underlined words change when out is added to these different words to form phrases (for example, spread and spread out have different meanings).

Choose the correct phrases from the box and write them against the meanings.

look out reach out hand outstep out cry out find out

1. to go out for a short while: 2. to be careful: 3. to make a sound when afraid or hurt: 4. to come to know the truth: 5. to stretch a hand to get something: 6. to give or distribute something:

Create E.1 Complete this story in your own words. Try to make it

a funny story. Once upon a time, there was a woodcutter who lived with

his wife and little daughter at the edge of a wood. The little girl would often hear stories of kings, queens, fairies and magicians from her mother. She loved most of all

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to listen to tales of fairies and she wished that she could meet a fairy some day.

One day…E.2 If you could be a fairy for a day, whose wishes would

you grant? Give reasons for your choice.

Activity F. Narrate your favourite fairy tale in the class.

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1. How the Tsessebe Got His Horns 1 Ltd Pvt. Services ...roopconventschool.com/uploads/gallery/media/ENGLISH CLASS 4 Ch… · Education Services Pvt. Ltd. Tsessebe. Now, he runs like

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