NCERT Solutions for Chapter 10 The Banyan Tree Class 6 English Honeysuckle
According to the banyan tree story, a mongoose and a cobra fought each other. They are both powerful opponents. Author (boy), myna, and wild crow were the three witness in the yard. Mongoose and cobra engaged in a fight. Cobras and mongooses attempted to kill each other three times. On the third attempt, the mongoose avoided the snake. As soon as the crow saw the snake, it flew down to attack it. The crow was killed by a snake bite and fell to the ground dead. While watching the fight, myna was seated on a cactus. The cobra became weak and tired after a long fight. It was caught by the mongoose by the mouth and taken into the bushes in the yard by the mongoose. A myna flew down and glanced into the bush bravely. She felt glad and flew away with a feeling of joy. The mongoose eventually won the fight.
Chapter Name | The Banyan Tree NCERT Solutions |
Class | CBSE Class 6 |
Textbook Name | Honeysuckle |
Related Readings |
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WORKING WITH THE TEXT
Question 1 A: The old banyan tree "did not belong" to grandfather, but only to the boy, because ___________.
Answer
The old banyan tree "did not belong" to grandfather, but only to the boy, because grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb it.
Question 1 B: The small gray squirrel became friendly when __________.
Answer
The small gray squirrel became friendly when he found that the boy did not arm himself with a catapult or air gun.
Question 1 C: When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit the squirrel ____________.
Answer
When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit the squirrel he grew quite bold and was soon taking the morsels from the boy's hand.
Question 1 D: In the spring, the banyan tree _______, and ________ would come there.
Answer
In the spring, the banyan tree is full of small red figs, and birds of all kinds including the red-bottomed bulbul, parrots, mynas and crows would come there.
Question 1 E: The banyan tree served the boy as a _________.
Answer
The banyan tree served the boy as a comfortable place where he could read peacefully.
Question 1 F: The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree ________.
Answer
The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree when it was not too hot.
Question 2 A: "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.
(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?
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Mongoose |
Cobra |
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(a) ______ |
(a) ______ |
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(b) ______ |
(b) ______ |
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(c) ______ |
(c) _______ |
Answer
(i)|
Mongoose |
Cobra |
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(a) Superb fighter |
(a) Skillful |
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(b) Aggressive |
(b) Experienced fighter |
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(c) Clever |
(c) Swift |
(ii) The Cobra hissed defiance with his forked tongue darting in and out, he rose three of his six feet off the ground spreading his broad, spectacled hood.
The Mongoose, reacting to the situation, bushed his tail. As a result, the long hair on his spine stood up.
Question 2 B: Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)
Answer
The other two spectators were the myna and the jungle crow who arrived on the battle scene and settled down on the cactus to watch the outcome of the fight.
No, the two spectators did not just sit and watch but hurled themselves as the Cobra struck swiftly.
Question 2 C: Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)
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(i) ceased to struggle |
(a) grabbed the snake by the snout |
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(ii) tried to mesmerize the mongoose |
(b) dragged the snake into the bushes |
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(iii) coiled itself around the mongoose |
(c) darted away and bit the cobra on the back |
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(iv) struck the crow |
(d) pretended to attack the cobra on one side |
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(v) struck again and missed |
(e) refused to look into the snake’s eyes |
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(vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack |
(f) sprang aside, jumped in and bit |
Answer
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(i) ceased to struggle |
(e) refused to look into the snake’s eyes |
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(ii) tried to mesmerize the mongoose |
(d) pretended to attack the cobra on one side |
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(iii) coiled itself around the mongoose |
(f) sprang aside, jumped in and bit |
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(iv) struck the crow |
(c) darted away and bit the cobra on the back |
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(v) struck again and missed |
(a) grabbed the snake by the snout |
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(vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack |
(b) dragged the snake into the bushes |
Question 2 D: (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)
(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)
Answer
(i) The crow flung nearly twenty feet across the garden when the cobra struck the crow with great force.
At first, it fluttered about for a while but ultimately lay still in the end.
(ii) The Myna finally dropped cautiously to the ground. In the hope to see what was happening, it hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance, and then with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away.
WORKING WITH LANGUAGE
Question 1 A: The word 'round' usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?
Answer
According to the story, the word 'round' refers to the different points of time during the fight between the cobra and the mongoose.
Question 1 B: 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.
Answer
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.
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Leaves, branch, fruit, root, and bark – all of these words are very closely associated with a tree and are very easily identifiable from a simple sketch of the same. |
Question 2: The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.
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dived, gliding, sprang, darting, whipped…back, delving |
1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began ______ into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. I saw a cobra _____ out of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue ______ in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose______ aside.
5. The snake ______ his head ______ to strike at the crow.
6. The birds _______ at the snake.
Answer
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.
Question 3: Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.
1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th___ing against its body. (15)
2. The crow and the myna c__ll_____ in mid-air. (13)
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b_____d into each other instead. (14)
Answer
1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout thudding against its body.
2. The crow and the myna collided in mid-air.
3. The birds dived at the snake, but bumped into each other instead.
Question 4: Look at these sentences.
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‘Would’ tells us what the author used to do, or what used to happen. |
‘Could’ tells us what the author was usually able to do, or grandfather is now not able to do. |
Choose would and could to replace the italicized 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.
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.
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.
Answer
1. Elephants could fly in the sky, like clouds. They could also change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky in wonder.
2. 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 could see quite well in the dark. He was could tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.
SPEAKING
Question 1: Use the words in the box to speak about the people and the things below, using as ... as or -er than
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tall – taller, cold – colder, hot – hotter strong – stronger, short – shorter |
{Notice that in the word ‘hot’, the letter ‘t’ is doubled when –er is added}
1. Heights
________
2. Weight lifters
________
3. City temperatures
_________
4. Lengths
__________
5. City temperatures
___________
Answer
1. heights
- Zeba is as tall as Rani.
- Ruby is shorter than both Zeba and Rani.
2. Weight lifters
- Vijay is as strong as Akshay.
- Anwar is stronger than both Vijay and Akshay.
3. City temperatures
- Shimla is as cold as Gangtok.
- Srinagar is colder than both Shimla and Gangtok.
4. Lengths
- Romi's pencil is as long as Raja's pencil.
- Mona's pencil is longer than both Romi and Raja's pencil.
5. City temperatures
- Delhi is as hot as Nagpur.
- Chennai is colder than both Delhi and Nagpur.
WRITING
Question 1: Read again the paragraphs of the story in which the author describes the banyan tree and what he used to do there. Is there a place in your house, or in your grandparents' or uncles' or aunts' houses, that you especially like? Write a short paragraph about it, saying
- where it is
- what you do there
- why you like it
You may instead write about a place you dislike, or are afraid of.
Answer
I also have a small mezzanine situated at my grandparent's place.
A mezzanine is a special place for me because I have many old memories attached to it. It not only provided me and my cousins with a place to laugh and play during our childhood days but also provided the warmth during the winter season when the rays of the sun used to come directly at the mezzanine floor.
Although many years have passed, this place is still the same bringing back all those mesmerizing memories every single time I visit my grandparents.
NOTE - The given answer is just an example. Students can illustrate it by sharing their own experiences which may be similar to this or different altogether.