Class 7 English Honeycomb Poem 3 Question Answers - Poem 3 - The Shed

Q1: There’s a shed at the bottom of our garden
With a spider’s web hanging across the door,
The hinges are many and creak in the wind.
When I’m in bed I lie and I listen,
I’ll open that door one day.
Explanation
There is a shed at the bottom of the poet’s garden and the poet wishes to visit it one day. There is a . spider’s web on the door of the shed and its hinges are rusty and creak when the wind blows. The poet often thinks about it while lying in his bed. He decides to open the gate of the shed.
(i) Where was the shed?
(ii) What does the presence of a spider’s web show?
(iii) What do ‘spider web’ and ‘Rusty and creaky’ imply?
(iv) What is the plan of the poet?
Ans:
(i) The shed was at the bottom of the garden.
(ii) It shows that the place was not often visited and is an ignored part of the house.
(iii) This implies that the place was a hunted place.
(iii) The poet’s plan is to open the door of the shed.

Q2: My brother says there’s a ghost in the shed
Who hides under the rotten floorboards,
And if I ever dare to set foot inside
He’ll jump out and chop off my head,
But I’ll take a peek one day.
Explanation
The poet’s brother informs him that a ghost lives inside the shed and if the poet dares to enter the shed, the ghost would chop off his head. Despite these warnings, the poet wishes to visit the shed and peep inside.
(i) Who informed about the presence of the ghost?
(ii) Where does the ghost hide?
(iii) What harm will the ghost cause to the poet?
(iv) What was his brother aiming at?
Ans:
(i) The poet’s brother informed him about the presence of the ghost.
(ii) The ghost hides under the rotten floorboards.
(iii) The poet’s head will be chopped off by the ghost if dare to enter the shed.
(iv) His brother tried to scare him away from the shed.

Q3: There’s a dusty old window around at the side
With three cracked panes of glass,
I often think there’s someone staring at me
Each time that I pass,
I’ll peep through that window one day.
Explanation
On one side of the shed, there is a dusty window and three of its window panes are broken. The poet feels as if someone stares at him through the window and whenever the poet visits the shed he would like to find out who lives there.
(i) What is the state of the window of the shed?
(ii) What does he feel when he passes across the shed?
(iii) What is planning for ‘one day’?
(iv) Give the meaning of 'staring’.
Ans:
(i) The old window was dusty and had three cracked glass panes.
(ii) It seems to him that someone’s staring at him each time he passes.
(iii) He plans that he will peep through the window of the shed.
(iv) Gape.

Q4: I know that there isn’t really a ghost,
My brother tells lies to keep the shed for his den;
There isn’t anyone staring or making strange noises
And the spider has been gone from his web Since I don’t know when,
I’ll go into that shed one day soon,
But not just yet…
Explanation
The poet believes that his brother tells him imaginative stories about the ghost as he wants to keep the shed for himself. The poet no longer feels anyone staring at him or hears any strange noises coming from the shed. The spider, too, is no longer there. Thus, very soon he would go inside the shed.
(i) How does his brother use the shed?
(ii) Explain ‘There is not anyone staring or making strange noises’.
(iii) What does ‘But not just yet’ mean?
(iv) Do you think the poet believed ghost stories of his brother?
Ans:
(i) His brother uses the shed as his den.
(ii) The poet is rational in his approach. He knows that no ghost exists in the shed.
(iii) It means that the poet wants to visit the shed but is delaying it. It seems that he wants to gather the strength first before daring anything.
(iv) The poet decided to enter the shed because he thought that the ghost stories were concocted by his brother.