Class 10 English Chapter 1 Question Answers - First Flight

Q1: How did Lencho feel when it started raining?
Ans: Lencho's emotions upon seeing the rain in "The Letter to God" are portrayed as a mix of relief, joy, and gratitude. When he saw the rain clouds forming in the sky, he was overjoyed and could not contain his excitement. He saw the raindrops as "new coins" that would bring him wealth and prosperity, and he expressed his gratitude towards God for the rain.

Q2: What was the effect of the rain on the crops?
Ans: The effect of the rain on Lencho's crops in the story "The Letter to God" was both positive and negative. On the one hand, the rain brought relief to Lencho and his family after the devastating hailstorm that destroyed their entire crop. The raindrops that fell on the parched earth were like "new coins" to Lencho, bringing hope and the promise of a new harvest. On the other hand, the rain was also too heavy and caused further damage to the already destroyed crops. The heavy rain

Q3: What had Lencho been doing throughout the morning?
Ans: In the story "The Letter to God," Lencho had been watching the sky throughout the morning, waiting for the rain to come.  Lencho's actions throughout the morning show his dedication to his work and his deep connection to the natural world. He is a farmer who depends on the rain for his livelihood, and the story highlights the importance of this relationship between humans and nature.

Q4: Who did Lencho write a letter to?
Ans: Lencho wrote a letter to God, seeking his assistance during a time of great need. In the story, a hailstorm destroys Lencho's entire crop, which was his family's main source of livelihood. Facing an uncertain future, Lencho decides to write a letter to God, expressing his faith in God's goodness and asking for help.

Q5: How much money did Lencho demand from God?
Ans: Lencho wrote a letter to God because he was facing a difficult situation that required immediate financial help. In the story, it is mentioned that a heavy hailstorm had destroyed his entire crop, which was the only source of livelihood for him and his family. In his letter, he requested a hundred pesos from God to help him.

Q6: What were Lencho's feelings when he found the letter with money in it? What did he do after opening the letter? 
Ans: Lencho was not at all surprised to see the money in the letter as he was fully confident about it. He knew that God would send money to him. On opening the letter he found seventy pesos instead of a hundred. So, he wrote another letter to God to send and rest of the amount but now not through the mail as the post office employees were crooks. 

Q7: Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans: The postmaster was a kind, generous, helpful and God-fearing man. When he received the letter written to God asking for 100 pesos, he felt sympathetic towards Lencho. Hence, he decided to help Lencho. He gave a part of his salary and asked other employees to help. He signed the letter ‘God’ to preserve man’s faith in God.

Q8: Did the letter reach God? Why did the postmaster send a reply to Lencho?
Ans: No, the letter did not reach God. The postman saw the letter addressed to God. He took the letter to the postmaster. The postmaster did not want to shake Lencho’s faith in God. So he sent a reply to Lencho. He sent seventy pesos to him

Q9: Why was Lencho angry when he received the letter?
Ans: Lencho had asked God to send him a hundred pesos. But when he opened the envelope he found only seventy pesos in it. He thought that the post-office employees had taken the rest of the money. So he became angry when he received the letter.

Q10: In the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house …, there was a single hope ….’ What was that?
Ans: The hail had practically left nothing. The cornfields were destroyed. Lencho and his family would have no corn that year. He could expect no help from human beings. In the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house, there was a single hope: help from God. Only God could save them from such a miserable situation.

Q11: How did the postmaster react when a postman showed him the letter to God?
Ans: When a postman received Lencho’s letter, he laughed heartily and took that letter to the postmaster. The postmaster looked at the letter to God and laughed heartily too. However, he soon grew serious. He was impressed with the sender’s faith in God who tried to correspond with him. “What a faith”! he could utter only such words.

Q12: Why did the postmaster decide to answer Lencho’s letter?
Ans: After laughing at the very idea of a letter to God, the postmaster became serious soon. He was impressed with the unshaken faith of the sender in God. He wished he had the faith of the man who wrote that letter to God. So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster decided to answer the letter.

Q13: How did the postmaster answer Lencho’s letter by sending him the money?
Ans: The postmaster didn’t want to shake the writer’s faith in God and so decided to help him. It needed something more than goodwill. So he collected money from his employees and himself contributed a part of the salary. He could collect only seventy pesos. He put the money into the envelope and put a single word `God’ as the signature and posted it to Lencho.

Q14: Why did Lencho go a bit earlier than usual to the post office the following Sunday?
Ans: Lencho had firm faith in God and His mercy. He did expect a reply from Him. So, on the following Sunday, he went to the post office a bit earlier than usual. The postman handed over the letter to Lencho. The postmaster was only content to perform a good deed.

Q15: Why did Lencho show no surprise in seeing the money?
Ans: Lencho had a firm faith in God. He did expect help from him. He didn’t show any surprise when he received the sum of seventy pesos. He believed in the mercy of God and expected definite help from him. So, he showed no surprise when he received the money.

Q16: Why was Lencho angry after he counted the money?
Ans: Lencho had demanded a sum of a hundred pesos as immediate help from God. He did hope in God’s mercy and help. However, his happiness was short-lived when he counted the money. The sum was short by 30 pesos. Lencho believed that God did send him a hundred pesos but the dishonest post office employees embezzled(stole) money.

Q17: Why did Lencho ask for help from God? Did he receive it?
Ans: Lencho had written a letter to God requesting him to send a sum of one hundred pesos. This money was necessary to show his fields again and to live until the new crop came. The help did come in the form of 70 pesos. It was not God but the kind-hearted postmaster who had collected the money and sent it to Lencho by post-signing God.’

Q18: What did Lencho write in his second letter to God? Why did he ask Him not to send the rest of the money by post mail?
Ans: Lencho wrote to God that he received only 70 pesos out of the 100 that he had asked for. He asked God to send him the rest of the money as he needed it very much. He even asked God not to send the money through the postal mail. He said that the post office employees were dishonest and ‘a bunch of crooks’.

Q19: Lencho has great faith in God. Does he have the same kind of faith in man? Taking examples from the story describes his attitude towards God and man.
Ans: Lencho’s crop was destroyed. He had great faith in God. He wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos as help. The postmaster and the employees collected seventy pesos and sent the money to him. Lencho thought that the employees had stolen 30 pesos. He wrote another letter to God asking for 30 pesos more but not through the post office. He called the employees ‘a bunch of crooks’. This highlights Lencho’s attitude to God and man. He had full faith in God but didn’t have any faith in man.

Q20: What is ironic about the ending of the story?
Ans: The end of the story is rather ironic. The postmaster was greatly impressed by Lencho’s faith in God. He didn’t want to shake his faith in God. He collected a sum of seventy pesos from his employees and contributed a part of his salary. However, his great act of charity was not recognised and appreciated by the man who received help. On the contrary, the helpers were ironically called ‘a bunch of crooks’.