12 . THE TALKING POTATO

A. WARMER

What will be your reaction if a flower starts talking to you? Will you be glad or sad?

Now read this story:

There was a farmer. He lived in a village. He had sown potatoes in his field. But he hadn't taken time to weed and water the potatoes. After two months he went to dig up the potatoes.

As he started digging, a voice said, "Why have you waited so long to come to me? You have not watered or cared for me. Go away and leave me alone!"

"Who's speaking?" The farmer asked looking around him.

"It's a potato" answered the dog." And he is right, you know. You were lazy."

The farmer was frightened. He could not believe his dog was speaking. He decided to tie the dog with a vine. He cut a vine sticking to a tree. "Hang me back on the tree," said the vine.

The farmer became pale with fear when he heard the vine talking. He threw the vine on a rock. "Get the vine away from me", said the rock. The farmer was terribly afraid. He ran to the village as fast as he could. He wanted to tell the Mukhiya what he had heard.

Soon he came to a fisherman who was catching fish with a net. "Why are you running, farmer? Is any lion chasing you?" asked the fisherman. "It is not that at all," explained the farmer. "This morning a potato said: 'Leave me alone. My dog said: 'He is right. When I cut a vine, the vine said: 'Hang me back on the tree.' I threw the vine on the rock and the rock said: 'Get the vine away from me.' Now I am going to tell the Mukhiya what I have heard."

"Can any potato talk?" said the fisherman. He could not believe the story.

"You must be joking."

The fisherman's net spoke up: "Did the farmer get the vine away?" The fisherman was afraid. He dropped the net and ran to the village with the farmer. Soon they came to a tailor who was sewing a shirt.

 

"Why are you running, so fast? Is any tiger chasing you?" asked the tailor.

"It is not that at all," explained the farmer. "This morning a potato said: 'Leave me alone.' My dog said: 'He is right.' When I cut a vine, the vine said: Hang me back on the tree.' I threw the vine on the rock and the rock said: 'Get the vine away from me.' "And then," said the fisherman, my net said, "Did the farmer get the vine away?"

"You must have been dreaming." said the tailor. "You are right," said the tailor's shirt. Now the tailor was afraid. He also ran with the farmer and the fisherman.

 

They went to the Mukhiya. He was sitting in a chair.

"Speak," said the Mukhiya. "Mukhiya Ji, "said the farmer, is This morning a potato said: 'Leave me alone.' My dog said: 'He I right.' When I cut a vine, the vine said: 'Hang me back on the tree. 'I threw the vine on the rock and the rock said: 'Get the vine away from me.'

"And then," added the fisherman, "my net said, 'Did the farmer get the vine away?" "And my shirt said to me 'You are right." said the tailor.

"You fools!" said the Mukhiya angrily, "How dare you talk such nonsense to me. Go back to your work or I'll punish you." At once all the three men ran back. "Imagine!" said the Mukhiya's chair. "A potato that talks!"

Now what do you think the Mukhiya would have done?

 

TEXT QUESTIONS AND THEIR ANSWERS

B. COMPREHENSION:

B. 1. Think and Tell:

 

Q. 1. What does a farmer do?
Ans. A farmer sows potatoes in his field.

 

Q. 2. Where did the farmer live?
Ans. The farmer lived in a village.

 

Q. 3. Was the farmer lazy? How?
Ans. Yes, the farmer was lazy, because after two months he went to dig up the potatoes which he had sown in his field and had not time to weed and water the potatoes.

 

Q. 4. What did the vine say to the farmer?
Ans. The vine said to the farmer to hang me back on the tree.

 

Q. 5. Who said “A potato that talks”?
Ans. Mukhia’s chair said, “A Potato that talks!”

 

B. 2. Think and write:

B.2.1. True or False
Based on the story write ‘true’ or ‘false’ next to each sentence given below:
(a) The farmer had sown potatoes in his garden.
(b) The farmer became frightened when his dog spoke to him?
(c) The farmer wanted to tell the fisherman what he had heard.
(d) The tailor was sewing a pant.
(e) The Mukhiya believed what the three men told him.

Ans. (A) False, (B) True, (C) False, (D) False, (E) False.

 

B.2.2. Tick the right answers to each of the questions given below:

 

1. The farmer became pale with fear when he heard the vine talking. What happened just after that?
(a) He ran back home.
(b) He wanted to tell the Mukhiya what he had heard.
(c) He threw the vine on the rock and the rock said ‘Get the vine away from me.’

2. The fisherman dropped the net and ran to the village with the farmer because
(a) He became afraid after hearing the farmer’s story.
(b) The fisherman’s net spoke up.
(c) He was a ghost.

3. ‘You fools!’ said the Mukhiya angrily because?
(a) The Mukhiya did not believe the story of the farmer, fisherman and the tailor.
(b) They must have heard the potato, vine, rock, net and the shirt speaking.

Ans. 1. (c), 2. (b), 3, (a).

 

B.2.3. Answer in not more than 50 words.

Q. (a) Why was the farmer frightened?
Ans. The farmer was frightened because he could not believe potato and his dog was speaking.

 

Q. (b) Why did the tailor run with the farmer?
Ans. When the farmer and the fisherman told about their incidents to the tailor he could not believe and said that they were dreaming. But when the shirt which he was sewing, told that you are right, he got afraid and ran with the farmer and fisherman.

 

Q. (c) Why was the Mukhiya angry?
Ans. Mukhiya did not believe on the talking of these three. He meant they were talking like a foolish. So, Mukhiya was angry with the farmer, the fisherman and the tailor.

 

Q. (d) Which six things spoke that frightened the farmer, the fisherman, the tailor and the Mukhiya?

Ans. Six things were potato, dog, vine, rock, net and shirt that frightened the farmer, the fisherman, the tailor and the Mukhiya.

 

Q. (e) Why did the potato complain to the farmer?
Ans. The farmer sow the potato seed but never looked after it nor weeded nor watered the field. So, the potato made complaint to the farmer.

Q. (f) What would have the Mukhiya done hearing the chair’s voice?
Ans. The Mukhiya also would have frightened to hear the voice of his chair. For some time he would have learned they were right. He would have gone to the other persons to ask about such talking. He may had organised the Panchayat to think and solve such facts.

C. WORD POWER

C.1.Match the occupations with the instruments:
farmer                             saw
fisherman                     awl
tailor                             net
cobbler                        sewing machine
carpenter                    sickle

Ans. farmer                      sickle
fisherman                          net
tailor                                  sewing machine
cobbler                             awl
carpenter                         saw

C.2. Find out the words of opposite meaning:

 

Town     Wrong     Pick     Wish    Evening

 

Ans. Words of opposite meaning:
Town                          Village
Wrong                       Right
Pick                          Throw
Wise                          Fool
Evening                   Morning

D. GRAMMAR

 

Question Making.

Example: “Why are you running farmer? Is any lion chasing you?”, asked the fisherman. You have noticed the words like who, why, what and when in your text.
They are called ‘wh’ words and are used to ask questions. Some other ‘wh’ words are given below:

Whose,    whom,     which,   how,   where
Now use the words given in the box to complete the following dialogue:

What,   When,    Where,    Why,    Who,   Which,    How

Sohan as student of Class VI of Delhi meets Pankaj another student of Class of VI while travelling by train to Patna.
Soham : …………… is your name?
Pankaj : My name is Pankaj Kumar.
Soham : ………….. class do you study?
Pankaj I study in class VI.
Soham :………….. far is your school from home?
Pankaj : My school is 1 k.m. away from my house.
Soham : …….. are you going?
Pankaj : I am going to Patna.
Soham : ………. are you travelling with?
Pankaj : I am travelling with my parents.
Soham : …………… is your hometown?
Pankaj : My hometown is in Patna.
Soham : ………….. will you reach Patna ?
Pankaj : I will reach Patna by 5.30 in the morning.
Soham : …….. else stays in Patna along with you?
Pankaj : My grand parents and uncles stay along with us.
Soham : Nice to meet you.

Ans. What, Which, How, Where, Who, Which, When, Who.

E. LET’S TALK AND WRITE

Discuss with your friends what will you feel and behave, if the desk in your classroom starts talking to you. Then write a paragraph on it.
Ans. If the desk of my classroom starts talking:
If the desk in my classroom will share to talk with me, I will be frightened and leave the classroom at once. I will tell the matter to my teacher and will not agree to sit in the class.

E.1. What would you do if your book started talking to you? Discuss in pairs.
Ans.
Roshan  : If my book starts talking to me, I shall throw it away. What will you do, Hari?
Hari       : I, too, shall throw it away. Talking things can create harm. So, I fear from it.

E.2. “Imagine!” said the Mukhia’s chair “A  potato that talks!” Now what do you think the Mukhiya would have done? Imagine and write a few sentences on what the Mukhiya would have done after his chair started speaking.
Ans. The Mukhiya could have believed on the report of the farmer, the fisherman and the tailor that a potato, a creeper, a dog, a stone, etc. can speak. He, now, might have set up a committee to consider the matter, what to do about that.

F. TRANSLATION:

F. 1. Translate into English:
(a) तुम आज देर से क्यों आये ? कुत्ते ने रामू से पूछा ।
(b) कुत्ते का प्रश्न सुनकर रामू डर गया ।
(c) क्या कुत्ता भी हमारी आवाज में बोल सकता है ?
(d) रामू डरकर वहाँ से जाने लगा ।
(e) कुत्ते ने उसे फिर पुकारा ‘मत जाओ ।’ मेरी बात सुनो।

Ans. (a) “Why did you come late today?” The dog asked Ramu.
(b) Ramu was frightened hearing the dog’s question.
(c) Can a dog speak like us too?
(d) Being frightened, Ramu went off from there.
(e) The dog again spoke to him. “Don’t go. Listen to me.”

G. LANGUAGE GAME

G.1. Hidden Sentence Game:
This is a very interesting game which you can play with your partner: Write a sentence and hide it by adding an unwanted letter at as many places as you like. For example, you write “I LOVE MY INDIA”. Now hide it by adding an unwanted letter

D. The sentence will now look like this:

“DIDLOVEDMYDINDIAD”. Write a sentence, hide it, and ask your partner to find out the word.
Hint: Do you yourself.