NCERT Textbook: A Bottle of Dew | English Class 6 (Honeysuckle) PDF Download

 Page 1


A Bottle of Dew Let us do these activities before we read.
 1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by 
sharing them with your classmates and teacher.
 (a) worried
 (b) plantation
 (c) sage
 (d) surprise
 2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher .
 (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? 
 (b) How did it help you?
 (c) How did it make you feel?
FABLES AND FOLK TALES
Unit 1
Unit 1.indd   1 13-Jun-24   10:45:30 AM
Page 2


A Bottle of Dew Let us do these activities before we read.
 1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by 
sharing them with your classmates and teacher.
 (a) worried
 (b) plantation
 (c) sage
 (d) surprise
 2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher .
 (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? 
 (b) How did it help you?
 (c) How did it make you feel?
FABLES AND FOLK TALES
Unit 1
Unit 1.indd   1 13-Jun-24   10:45:30 AM
2
Poorvi—Grade 6
 Let us read
I
Rama Natha was the son of a rich landlord. 
His father left him large tracts of land when he 
died. But Rama Natha did not spend even one 
day looking after his land. This was because 
he had a funny idea—he believed there was 
a magic potion that could turn any object 
into gold. He spent all his time to learn more 
about this potion. People cheated him often, 
promising to tell him about it, but he did not 
give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this 
and also worried because she saw how much 
money Rama Natha was spending. She was 
sure that soon they would be without money.
One day, a famous sage called Mahipati 
came to their town. Rama Natha became his 
follower and asked him about the potion. To his 
surprise the sage answered, “Yes, in my travels 
in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make 
such a potion. But it is difficult.”
“Tell me!” requested Rama Natha, not 
believing his luck.
“You have to plant a banana plant and 
water it regularly with your hands. In winter, 
the morning dew is on the leaves. You have to 
collect the dew and store it in a bottle. When 
you have five litres of dew, bring it to me. I will 
chant some magic words, which will turn it 
into the magic potion. A drop of the potion will 
change any object into gold.”
large tracts 
of land: large 
areas of land 
potion: a liquid 
with magical 
properties 
give up: stop 
trying 
dew: small 
drops of water 
on leaves that 
form during 
night
chant: 
to repeat or sing 
a word or phrase
Unit 1.indd   2 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
Page 3


A Bottle of Dew Let us do these activities before we read.
 1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by 
sharing them with your classmates and teacher.
 (a) worried
 (b) plantation
 (c) sage
 (d) surprise
 2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher .
 (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? 
 (b) How did it help you?
 (c) How did it make you feel?
FABLES AND FOLK TALES
Unit 1
Unit 1.indd   1 13-Jun-24   10:45:30 AM
2
Poorvi—Grade 6
 Let us read
I
Rama Natha was the son of a rich landlord. 
His father left him large tracts of land when he 
died. But Rama Natha did not spend even one 
day looking after his land. This was because 
he had a funny idea—he believed there was 
a magic potion that could turn any object 
into gold. He spent all his time to learn more 
about this potion. People cheated him often, 
promising to tell him about it, but he did not 
give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this 
and also worried because she saw how much 
money Rama Natha was spending. She was 
sure that soon they would be without money.
One day, a famous sage called Mahipati 
came to their town. Rama Natha became his 
follower and asked him about the potion. To his 
surprise the sage answered, “Yes, in my travels 
in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make 
such a potion. But it is difficult.”
“Tell me!” requested Rama Natha, not 
believing his luck.
“You have to plant a banana plant and 
water it regularly with your hands. In winter, 
the morning dew is on the leaves. You have to 
collect the dew and store it in a bottle. When 
you have five litres of dew, bring it to me. I will 
chant some magic words, which will turn it 
into the magic potion. A drop of the potion will 
change any object into gold.”
large tracts 
of land: large 
areas of land 
potion: a liquid 
with magical 
properties 
give up: stop 
trying 
dew: small 
drops of water 
on leaves that 
form during 
night
chant: 
to repeat or sing 
a word or phrase
Unit 1.indd   2 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
3
Rama Natha was worried. “But winter is only for a few months. 
It will take me years to collect five litres of dew.”
“You can plant as many banana plants as you want. But 
remember, you must look after them yourself and collect the 
dew with your own hands.”
Let us discuss
 1. What did Rama Natha believe?
 2. How did the sage help Rama Natha?
 3. Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason. 
Fables and Folk Tales
Unit 1.indd   3 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
Page 4


A Bottle of Dew Let us do these activities before we read.
 1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by 
sharing them with your classmates and teacher.
 (a) worried
 (b) plantation
 (c) sage
 (d) surprise
 2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher .
 (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? 
 (b) How did it help you?
 (c) How did it make you feel?
FABLES AND FOLK TALES
Unit 1
Unit 1.indd   1 13-Jun-24   10:45:30 AM
2
Poorvi—Grade 6
 Let us read
I
Rama Natha was the son of a rich landlord. 
His father left him large tracts of land when he 
died. But Rama Natha did not spend even one 
day looking after his land. This was because 
he had a funny idea—he believed there was 
a magic potion that could turn any object 
into gold. He spent all his time to learn more 
about this potion. People cheated him often, 
promising to tell him about it, but he did not 
give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this 
and also worried because she saw how much 
money Rama Natha was spending. She was 
sure that soon they would be without money.
One day, a famous sage called Mahipati 
came to their town. Rama Natha became his 
follower and asked him about the potion. To his 
surprise the sage answered, “Yes, in my travels 
in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make 
such a potion. But it is difficult.”
“Tell me!” requested Rama Natha, not 
believing his luck.
“You have to plant a banana plant and 
water it regularly with your hands. In winter, 
the morning dew is on the leaves. You have to 
collect the dew and store it in a bottle. When 
you have five litres of dew, bring it to me. I will 
chant some magic words, which will turn it 
into the magic potion. A drop of the potion will 
change any object into gold.”
large tracts 
of land: large 
areas of land 
potion: a liquid 
with magical 
properties 
give up: stop 
trying 
dew: small 
drops of water 
on leaves that 
form during 
night
chant: 
to repeat or sing 
a word or phrase
Unit 1.indd   2 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
3
Rama Natha was worried. “But winter is only for a few months. 
It will take me years to collect five litres of dew.”
“You can plant as many banana plants as you want. But 
remember, you must look after them yourself and collect the 
dew with your own hands.”
Let us discuss
 1. What did Rama Natha believe?
 2. How did the sage help Rama Natha?
 3. Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason. 
Fables and Folk Tales
Unit 1.indd   3 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
Poorvi—Grade 6
II
Rama Natha went home, and after talking to 
his wife started cleaning his large fields, which 
had been lying empty all these years. There he 
planted rows and rows of banana plants. He 
tended them carefully and during the winter 
months collected the dew that formed on 
them with great care. His wife helped him too. 
Madhumati gathered the banana crop, took it 
to the market and got a good price for it. Over 
the years, Rama Natha planted more and more 
plants and they had a huge banana plantation. 
At the end of six years, he finally had his five 
litres of dew.
tended: 
looked after
4
Unit 1.indd   4 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
Page 5


A Bottle of Dew Let us do these activities before we read.
 1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by 
sharing them with your classmates and teacher.
 (a) worried
 (b) plantation
 (c) sage
 (d) surprise
 2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher .
 (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then? 
 (b) How did it help you?
 (c) How did it make you feel?
FABLES AND FOLK TALES
Unit 1
Unit 1.indd   1 13-Jun-24   10:45:30 AM
2
Poorvi—Grade 6
 Let us read
I
Rama Natha was the son of a rich landlord. 
His father left him large tracts of land when he 
died. But Rama Natha did not spend even one 
day looking after his land. This was because 
he had a funny idea—he believed there was 
a magic potion that could turn any object 
into gold. He spent all his time to learn more 
about this potion. People cheated him often, 
promising to tell him about it, but he did not 
give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this 
and also worried because she saw how much 
money Rama Natha was spending. She was 
sure that soon they would be without money.
One day, a famous sage called Mahipati 
came to their town. Rama Natha became his 
follower and asked him about the potion. To his 
surprise the sage answered, “Yes, in my travels 
in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make 
such a potion. But it is difficult.”
“Tell me!” requested Rama Natha, not 
believing his luck.
“You have to plant a banana plant and 
water it regularly with your hands. In winter, 
the morning dew is on the leaves. You have to 
collect the dew and store it in a bottle. When 
you have five litres of dew, bring it to me. I will 
chant some magic words, which will turn it 
into the magic potion. A drop of the potion will 
change any object into gold.”
large tracts 
of land: large 
areas of land 
potion: a liquid 
with magical 
properties 
give up: stop 
trying 
dew: small 
drops of water 
on leaves that 
form during 
night
chant: 
to repeat or sing 
a word or phrase
Unit 1.indd   2 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
3
Rama Natha was worried. “But winter is only for a few months. 
It will take me years to collect five litres of dew.”
“You can plant as many banana plants as you want. But 
remember, you must look after them yourself and collect the 
dew with your own hands.”
Let us discuss
 1. What did Rama Natha believe?
 2. How did the sage help Rama Natha?
 3. Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason. 
Fables and Folk Tales
Unit 1.indd   3 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
Poorvi—Grade 6
II
Rama Natha went home, and after talking to 
his wife started cleaning his large fields, which 
had been lying empty all these years. There he 
planted rows and rows of banana plants. He 
tended them carefully and during the winter 
months collected the dew that formed on 
them with great care. His wife helped him too. 
Madhumati gathered the banana crop, took it 
to the market and got a good price for it. Over 
the years, Rama Natha planted more and more 
plants and they had a huge banana plantation. 
At the end of six years, he finally had his five 
litres of dew.
tended: 
looked after
4
Unit 1.indd   4 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM
5
Fables and Folk Tales
Carefully, he took the bottle to the sage. The 
sage smiled and muttered something over the 
water. Then he returned the bottle and said, 
“Try it out.” Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops 
on a copper vessel and waited for it to turn to 
gold. To his surprise nothing happened!
“This is cheating,” he told the sage. “I have 
wasted six precious years of my life.” 
But sage Mahipati only smiled and called 
Madhumati to come forward. She came with 
a big box. When she opened it, inside shined 
stacks of gold coins!
Now the sage turned to the very surprised 
Rama Natha and said, “There is no magic potion 
that can turn things into gold. You worked 
hard on your land and created this plantation. 
While you looked after the trees, your wife sold 
the fruits in the market. That’s how you got this 
money. It was your hard work that created this 
wealth, not magic. If I had told you about this 
earlier , you would have not listened to me, so I 
have played a trick on you.” 
Rama Natha understood the wisdom behind 
these words and worked even harder on his 
plantation from that day on.
Sudha Murty
muttered: 
spoke in a low 
voice 
wisdom: deep 
understanding
precious: 
valuable
Let us discuss
 1. Why was Rama Natha angry?
 2. How did Rama Natha and Madhumati create wealth?
Unit 1.indd   5 13-Jun-24   10:45:31 AM