Table of Contents
NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 10
NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle Chapter 10 The Banyan Tree
Working With the Text (Page 131)
A. Complete the following sentences.
1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to the grandfather, but only to the boy, because _____________.
Ans. The old man was not strong enough to climb it.
2. The small grey squirrel became friendly when ________.
Ans. It found that the boy carried no catapult or air/gun in his hand.
3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuits, the squirrel ___________.
Ans. became bold enough to take pieces of food from his hand.
4. In the spring, the banyan tree ____________ and ____________would come there.
Ans. was full of small red figs, and birds of all kinds.
5. The banyan tree served the boy as a ________________.
Ans. reading room where he had made a rough platform to sit and read books
6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree _______.
Ans. leaning against the tree, reading story books,
B. Answer the following questions.
Question 1
“It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)
(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.
| Mongoose | Cobra |
| (a) _________________ | (a) _________________ |
| (b) _________________ | (b) _________________ |
| (c) _________________ | (c) _________________ |
Answer
| Mongoose | Cobra |
| (a) a great fighter | (a) skilled and experienced champion fighter |
| (b) very clever and swift | (b) had a broad hood and poisonous teeth |
| (c) very clever and swift | (c) swift in speed and attack |
(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?
Answer
When a cobra and a mongoose prepare for a fight, they both raise their bodies and flap their necks in a defensive stance. The cobra spreads its hood and the mongoose wags its tail and the long hairs on its back also stand up.
Question 2
Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)
Answer
The two other spectators were a myna and a wild crow. They were watching the fight as well as taking part in it.
Question 3
Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order.
| (i) ceased to struggle | Grabbed the snack by the snout |
| (ii) tried to mesmerise the mongoose | Dragged the snack into the bushes |
| (iii) coiled itself around the mongoose | Darted away and bit the cobra on the back |
| (iv) struck the crow | Pretended to attack the cobra on one side |
| (v) struck again and missed | Refused to look into the snack’s eyes |
| (vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack | sprang aside, jumped in and bit |
Answer
| Snake | Mongoose |
| (ii) tried to mesmerise the mongoose | Refused to look into the snack’s eyes |
| (vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack | Pretended to attack the cobra on one side |
| (v) struck again and missed | sprang aside, jumped in and bit |
| (iv) struck the crow | Darted away and bit the cobra on the back |
| (iii) coiled itself around the mongoose | Grabbed the snack by the snout |
| (i) ceased to struggle | Dragged the snack into the bushes |
Question 4
(i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)
Answer
In the end, the crow got bitten by the cobra and it fell dead.
(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)
Answer
The myna flew to the ground, looked into the bushes, gave a shrill cry and flew away.
Working With Language (Page 133)
Questions A
1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?
Ans. The word ‘round’ in the story means ‘the second course of a fight’.
2. Find five words in the following paragraph, which are generally associated with trees. But here, they have been used differently. Underline the words.
Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.
Ans. leaves, branch, fruit, root, bark.
Questions B
The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
| dived gliding sprang darting whipped…back delving |
1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began ________ into my pockets for
morsels of cake.
2. saw a cobra __________ out of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue ___________ in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose _________ aside.
5. The snake _________ his head _________ to strike at the crow.
6. The birds__________ at the snake.
Ans. 1. delving / to delve 2. gliding 3. Darting/darted 4. sprang 5. whipped, back 6. dived
Questions C
Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.
1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th _ _ _ ing against its body.
2. The crow and the myna c _ ll _ _ _ _ in mid-air.
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b _ _ _ _ d into each other instead
Ans. 1. Thudding 2. collided 3. bumped
Questions D
Look at these sentences.
Choose would and could to replace the italicised words in the following sentences.
Grandfather says, in the old days,
1. elephants were able to fly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.
Ans. Elephants could fly in the sky, like clouds. They could also change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky in wonder.
2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up in the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.
Ans. Because there was no electricity, he would get up in the sun and he would go to bed with the sun, like the birds.
3. like the owl, he was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.
Ans. Like the owl, he could see quite well in the dark. He could tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.
Speaking (Page 135)
Look at these sentences.
- The tree was older than Grandfather.
- Grandfather was sixty-five years old. ‘
How old was the tree? Can you guess?
- The tree was as old as Dehradun itself?
Suppose Dehra Dun is 300 years old. How old is the tree?
When two things are the same in some way, we use as…as.
Here is another set of examples.
Mr Sinha is 160 centimetres tall.
Gupta is 180 centimetres tall.
Mrs Gupta is 160 centimetres tall.
Mrs Gupta is as tall as Mr Sinha.
Use the words in the box to speak about the people and the things below, using as…as or -er than
| tall – taller, cold – colder, hot – hotter, strong –stronger, short – shorter |
(Notice that in the word ‘hot’, the letter ‘t’ is doubled when -er is added.)
Ans. (i) Zeba is as tall as Rani.
(ii) Zeba is taller than Rubby.
(iii) Rani is taller than Ruby.
Ans. (i) Vijay is as strong as Akshay.
(ii) Anwar is stronger than Vijay as well as Akshay.
Ans. (i) Shimla is as cold as Gangtok.
(ii) Shimla or Gangtok is not so cold as Srinagar,
(iii) Shimla is not colder than Srinagar.
Ans. (i) Romi’s pencil is as long as Raja’s pencil.
(ii) Mona’s pencil is longer than that of Romi or Raja.
Ans. (i) Delhi is as hot as Nagpur.
(ii) Chennai is not hotter than Delhi or Nagpur.
(iii) Delhi is hotter than Chennai
Writing (Page 138)
Question 1
‘My Favourite Place’
Read again the paragraphs of the story in which the author describes the banyan tree, and what he used to do there. Is there a place in your house, or in your grandparents’ or uncles’ or aunts’ houses, that you especially like? Write a short paragraph about it saying.
where it is
what you do there
why do you like it
You may instead write about a place you dislike or are afraid of.
Answer
My Favourite Place
The banyan tree at my grandfather’s house is my favourite place. Its sprawling roots and branches offer a natural playground for me to explore and play. Sitting under its shade, listening to the rustling leaves, is a source of comfort and peace.