NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Honeysuckle - Chapter 10 - The Banyan Tree

Working with the Text

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because _____________________.
Ans: his grandfather was sixty-five years old, who could no longer climb it.

2. The small gray squirrel became friendly _____________________________.
Ans: when he found that the boy did not arm himself with a catapult or air gun.

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel_______________________________.
Ans: grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels 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:  library where he had made a crude platform to sit and read books.

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree ________________________.
Ans: when it was not too hot, leaning against it and reading story books.

B. Answer the following questions.
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.

Ans: 

(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?
Ans: To show the readiness for their fight, the cobra hissed defiance with his forked tongue darting in and out, he raised three of his six feet off the ground and spread his broad, spectacled hood. On the other hand, the mongoose bushed his tail and the long hair on his spine stood up.
2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)
Ans: The other two spectators were a myna and a jungle crow. They settled on the cactus to watch the outcome. They were not content only to watch the fight, they took part in the proceedings and hurled themselves at the cobra.
3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)

Ans:

4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)
Ans: Towards the end of the fight, the crow flung nearly twenty feet across the garden as the cobra whipped his head back and struck with great force. His snout thudded against the crow’s body and it fluttered about for a while, then it lay still and dead.

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)
Ans. The myna dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance and then with a shrill cry of congratulation flew away.

Working with Language

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 different phases of the fight between the cobra and the mongoose.
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: 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.

B. The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began delving into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. I saw a cobra gliding out of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue darting in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose sprang aside.
5. The snake whipped his head back to strike at the crow.
6. The birds dived at the snake.

C. Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.
1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout thudding against its body. (15)
2. The crow and the myna collided in mid-air. (13)
3. The birds dived at the snake, but bumped into each other instead. (14)

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 change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky and wonder.
2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up with 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 with 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.