NCERT Solutions for Chapter 4 The Ashes that Made the Trees Bloom Class 7 English Honeycomb
The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom is written by William Elliot Griffis. This is the story of an honest and hardworking old couple and their dog. In the end, the dog died of a sad death because of the troublesome neighbours. Dogs' spirits provide solace and support in unexpected ways to their masters. In this story, we learn that our actions can produce good or bad results based on what we have done in the past.
Chapter Name | The Ashes that Made the Trees Bloom NCERT Solutions |
Class | CBSE Class 7 |
Textbook Name | Honeycomb |
Related Readings |
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Exercise
Question 1: Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Answer:
When the greedy neighbours heard about the old farmer and his wife's good fortune, they borrowed their dog to make him find gold in their field. Seeing the old couple, the dog remained still and did not eat or move. After much bland, the dog dug up a dead kitten. Out of frustration, the couple killed the dog.
Question 2:
(A) Mark the right item.
The old farmer and his wife loved the dog.
- because it helped them in their day-to-day work.
- as if it was their own baby.
- as they were kind to all living beings.
Answer:
The dog completed the couple's family since they didn't have any children.
Their dog is almost like a child to them
(B) Mark the right item.
When the old couple became rich, they
- gave the dog better food.
- invited their greedy neighbours to a feast.
- lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
Answer:
They were kind people and lead a simple life.
When the old couple became rich, they lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
(C) Mark the right item.
The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make
- rice pastry and bean sauce.
- magic ash to win rewards.
- a pile of gold.
Answer:
They were greedy and jealous of the good fortune of the old farmer and his wife.
The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make a pile of gold.
Working with the Text
Question 1: The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs?
Answer:
The farmer and his wife had a kind nature. Having no children, they treated their dog as if it were their own and pampered him with a blue crape cushion for sleeping and a fish-rice meal for eating. In his way to the fields, the old man let the white heron follow him pick worms and would sometimes turn up a sod for the birds to eat.
Question 2: What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Answer:
The dog stroked the farmer's leg and pointed behind him with his head. After the farmer ignored him, the dog kept grumbling and running until he was followed by the farmer.
Question 3:
(A) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
Answer:
The dog's spirit appeared in the farmer's dream and asked him to make a mortar and mill from the pine tree over his grave. Using the mill to make bean sauce and the mortar for pounding rice, the food became gold.
(B) How did it help him next?
Answer:
The spirit of the dog appeared to the kind farmer again in his dream after the greedy neighbours destroyed the magical mortar and mill and asked him to sprinkle the burnt magic wood ashes on withered trees to make them bloom again.
Question 4: Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish the neighbour for the same act?
Answer:
Daimio reward the farmer for his act, but punish the neighbour for spoiling the pomp and dignity of the procession by making everyone sneeze and choke. The farmer, in other words, made a withered cheery tree bloom again after being sprinkled with the magic ashes.
Working with the Language
Question 1: Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicised phrases.
Anil is in school. I am in school too. Anil is sitting in the left row. He is reading a book. Anil's friend is sitting in the second row. He is sharpening his pencil. The teacher is writing on the blackboard. Children are writing in their copybooks. Some children are looking out of the window.
Answer:
Where is Anil? (question of location)
Where is Anil sitting? (question of position in context of the sitting arrangement)
What is he doing? (question of action)
Where were some children looking? (question of direction)
Question 2: Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.
Neha: ____ Did you get this book?
Sheela: Yesterday morning.
Neha: ____ is your sister crying?
Sheela: Because she has lost her doll.
Neha: ____ Room is this, yours or hers?
Sheela: It's ours.
Neha: ____ do you go to school?
Sheela: We walk to school. It is nearby.
Answer:
Neha: When Did you get this book?
Sheela: Yesterday morning.
The response 'Yesterday morning' denotes a point of time, thus the appropriate question word here is 'When' which is used to enquire about the time of action.
Neha: Why is your sister crying?
Sheela: Because she has lost her doll.
The response phrase begins with the word 'because' stating the reason, thus the appropriate question word here is 'Why' which is used to enquire about reason of the action.
Neha: Whose Room is this, yours or hers?
Sheela: It's ours.
The response phrase 'it is ours' denotes possessiveness, thus the appropriate question word here is 'Whose' which is used to enquire about the relation of the object to the subject.
Neha: How do you go to school?
Sheela: We walk to school. It is nearby.
The response 'We walked' denotes manner, thus the appropriate question word here is 'How' which is used to enquire about the manner of the action.
Question 3: Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.
How what when where which
(i) My friend lost his Chemistry book. Now he doesn't know ____ to do and ____ to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can't decide ____ one to buy.
(iii) You don't know the way to my school. Ask the policeman ____ to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon ____ to start building your house.
(v) Do you know ____ to ride a bicycle? I don't remember ____ and ____ I learnt it.
(vi) "You should know ____ to talk and ____ to keep your mouth shut," the teacher advised Anil.
Answer:
(i) My friend lost his Chemistry book. Now he doesn't know what (the question word for enquiry of action) to do and where (the question word for enquiry of location/position/direction) to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can't decide which (the question word for enquiry of choice) one to buy.
(iii) You don't know the way to my school. Ask the policeman how (the question word for enquiry of manner) to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon when (the question word for enquiry of time) to start building your house.
(v) Do you know how (the question word for enquiry of manner) to ride a bicycle? I don't remember when (the question word for enquiry of time) and where (the question word for enquiry of place) I learnt it.
(vi) "You should know when (the question word for enquiry of time) to talk and when (the question word for enquiry of time) to keep your mouth shut," the teacher advised Anil.
Question 4: Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below. Patient proper possible sensitive competent
(i) The project appears very difficult at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.
(ii) He lacks competence. That's why he can't keep any job for more than a year.
(iii) "Don't lose patience. Your letter will come one day," the postman told me.
(iv) That's not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.
(v) He appears to be without sensitivity. In fact, he is very emotional.
Answer:
(i) is impossible
(ii) is incompetent
(iii) be inpatient
(iv) an improper
(v) insensitive
Question 5: Read the following sentences:
Use a, an or the in the blanks.
There was once in ____ Play which became very successful. ____ famous actor was acting in it. In ____play his role was that of ____ aristocrat who had been imprisoned in ____ castle for twenty years. In ____ last act of ____ Play someone would come on ____ stage with ____ letter which he would hand over to ____ prisoner. Even though ____ aristocrat was not expected to read ____ letter at each performance, he always insisted that ____ letter be written out from beginning to end.
Answer:
There was once in a Play which became very successful. A famous actor was acting in it. In the play his role was that of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in a castle for twenty years. In the last act of the Play someone would come on the stage with a letter which he would hand over to the prisoner. Even though the aristocrat was not expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that the letter be written out from beginning to end.
Question 6. Encircle (underlined here) the correct article.
Nine was looking for (a/the) job. After many interviews she got (a/the) job she was looking for.
A: Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?
B: I'd like (a/an/the) apple, please.
A: Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
B: Which one?
A: (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.
Answer:
A : Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?
B : I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.
A : Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl.
You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
B : Which one?
A : (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.
Speaking and Writing
Question 1: Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class. Here is one for you to read. Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs. "Well," said the king, "if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know." The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit. Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king. The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man's basket be filled with gold. Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbour's good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold. The king, on learning the man's motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs. The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, "You should be thankful that our neighbour did not grow coconuts."
Answer:
Once upon a time, there was an old maid who lived on a farm alone. She had a hen which gave a dozen eggs every day. The old maid sold the eggs in the village to buy bread and butter. One day the hen did not give any eggs. The old maid ate the left over bread and better from the previous night and managed to scrape through the day. On the second day, the hen still did on give any eggs. The old maid bought some milk from her neighbours and went to bed still hungry. On the third day when the hen still had not given any eggs, the old maid started crying. She was hungry and had no food or money left. A magician was passing by her farm and moved by her bitter cries stopped to ask why she was crying. On learning about the hen, the magician gave her some magic beans to feed the hen. The next day,the hen gave a golden egg. The old maid was overjoyed and sold the golden egg for a fortune. The next morning, the hen gave another golden egg which the old maid again sold for a large sum of money. It went on for a week and the village was talking about the good fortune of the old maid. Some people said the hen had stored a hundred golden eggs in her stomach. Scared that somebody might steal her hen, the old maid killed the hen to take out the hundred golden eggs in one go for herself. On tearing open it's stomach, the old maid found no golden eggs in the hen and cried tears of sorrow.
Question 2: Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.
(i) English and Hindi/both/in/he writes
(ii) and only/a few short stories/many books in English/in Hindi
(iii) is/my Hindi/than my English/much better.
Ravi Kant is a writer, and ____ Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written ____ I find his books a little hard to understand ____
Answer:
Ravi Kant is a writer, and he writes in both English and Hindi. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi. I find his books a little hard to understand in English because my Hindi is much better than my English.
Question 3: Are you fond of reading stories? Did you read one last month? If not, read one or two and then write a paragraph about the story.
Use the following hints.
(i) title of the story
(ii) name of author
(iii) how many characters
(iv) which one you liked
(v) some details of the story
(vi) main point(s) as you understand it
Answer:
(Nancy Drew notebooks)
Last month I borrowed 'The Secret of the Old Clock' by Carolyn Keene from the school library to read over the weekend. The book is first in the series of Nancy Drew mystery stories. The lead character of in the story was named Nancy Drew who was an amateur detective and solved mysterious case in her hometown River Heights with her best friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne who were cousins. Bess was chirpy and George like her boyish name was tom boy. Together, the three girls were a good team of sleuths. I liked Nancy the best because of her balanced demeanour, while Bess would get anxious and George would angry on reflex, Nancy would stay calm and think straight even in the face of danger. Nancy is home from college and meets the Turners who had come to her father, Carson Drew who was a reputed attorney, for legal help to claim their family fortune following the death of their more prosperous relative Josiah Crowley. She overhears somebody in the departmental store talk about a missing heirloom, an old family clock which was worth a lot of money. Nancy decides to help the Turners by finding the clock. She, along with Bess and George, interviews family friends of the old Crowley trying to put together the facts about the clock and the night that it went missing. She learns that the clock might be hidden in the abandoned summer house of the nasty Tophams, the rival family to stake claims to the Crowley's legacy. The house was old, far from the city and abandoned because it was rumoured to be haunted. On reaching the summer house, she finds a bunch of local thugs occupying the place that had started the rumour, complete with spooky tricks, to keep people away from the deserted house but had no idea about the old clock. She is overpowered by burglars who lock her in the empty house and desert the hideout. She finds the clock in the attic and managed to slip away. She reports the thugs to the police and returns the clock to the grateful Turners. It was found that the clock was a nothing but a rotting piece of wood with antique carving that did not value much but just when everybody in the room is about to give up hope, Nancy discovers a secret compartment in the clock that contained Crowley's original will which declared the Turners as his true heirs, thus making them millionaires overnight.
Chivvy - Working with the Poem
Question 1: Discuss these questions in small groups before you answer them.
(i) When is a grown-up likely to say this?
Don't talk with your mouth full.
(ii) When are you likely to be told this?
Say thank you.
(iii) When do you think an adult would say this?
No one thinks you are funny.
Answer:
(i) A grown-up is likely to say "Don't talk with your mouth full" when the child talks while eating.
(ii) We're likely to be asked to say 'Thank you' when we're given something.
(iii) An adult is likely to say "No one thinks you are funny" when the child is being mischievous and annoying everyone.
Question 2: The last two lines of the poem are not prohibitions or instructions. What is the adult now asking the child to do? Do you think the poet is suggesting that this is unreasonable? Why?
Answer:
According to the adult in the last two lines, the child must be independent and make his or her own decisions, which is unreasonable, since earlier adults would not allow the child to make his or her own decisions, instead taking decisions themselves. A contradiction is shown in the last two lines, the child is doing exactly what he thinks is right, but adults find it inappropriate, thus, the instructions. It is important for the adults to make sure that the child is able to make up his mind independently, without having to depend on their instructions and approval.
Question 3: Why do you think grown-ups say the kind of things mentioned in the poem? Is it important that they teach children good manners. and how to behave in public?
Answer:
Children are taught good manners and etiquettes by their parents. The examples and instructions of their elders guide children in how to conduct themselves. Growing up, children should be taught right conduct so that they behave like responsible citizens.
Question 4: If you had to make some rules for grown-ups to follow, what would you say? Make at least five such rules. Arrange the lines as in a poem.
Answer:
If I were to make some rules for the grown-ups to follow I would say,
Don't ask me to study after homework
Don't stop me from playing
Don't tell me to eat vegetables
Don't tell me I am not funny.