NCERT Solutions Class 8 English (Honeydew)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 8 English (Poetry) (Honeysuckle) Poem – 1 The Ant and the Cricket has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English (Honeydew – Poem)
- Poem – 2 : Geography Lesson
- Poem – 3 : Macavity: The Mystery Cat
- Poem – 4 : The Last Bargain
- Poem – 5 : The School Boy
- Poem – 6 : When I Set Out for Lyonnesse
- Poem – 7 : On the Grasshopper and Cricket
Poem – 1 (The Ant and the Cricket)
A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing
Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring,
Began to complain when he found that, at home,
His cupboard was empty, and winter was come.
Not a crumb to be found
On the snow-covered ground;
Not a flower could he see,
Not a leaf on a tree.
“Oh! what will become,” says the cricket, “of me?”
At last by starvation and famine made bold,
All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold,
Away he set off to a miserly ant,
To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant
Him shelter from rain,
And a mouthful of grain.
He wished only to borrow;
He’d repay it tomorrow;
If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow.
Says the ant to the cricket, “I’m your servant and friend,
But we ants never borrow; we ants never lend.
But tell me, dear cricket, did you lay nothing by When the weather was warm?”Quoth the cricket, “Not I!
My heart was so light
That I sang day and night,
For all nature looked gay.”
“You sang, Sir, you say?
Go then,” says the ant, “and dance the winter away.”
Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wicket,
And out of the door turned the poor little cricket.
Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true:
Some crickets have four legs, and some have two.
– adapted from Aesop’s Fables
Working with the Poem
1. The cricket says, “Oh! what will become of me?” When does he say it, and why?
Answer – The winter has set in. He has nothing to eat. He can’t find even a crumb on snowcovered ground. He is worried and starved. At that time he says so.
2. (i) Find in the poem the lines that mean the same as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” (Shakespeare).
Answer – The line from the poem that means the same as “Neither a borrower nor a lender be” was “But we ants never borrow; we ants never lend.”
(ii) What is your opinion of the ant’s principles?
Answer – The ants’ principles are appropriate. As a principle it deserves applaud. But we should not so hard as let the other die of starvation. However, one should make one realise one’s mistake.
3. The ant tells the cricket to “dance the winter away”. Do you think the word ‘dance’ is appropriate here? If so, why?
Answer – The word ‘dance’ here means ‘merry making and wasting time.’ It is appropriate here. The irresponsible cricket does not deserve any sympathy.
4. (i) Which lines in the poem express the poet’s comment? Read them aloud.
Answer – The lines in the poem that express the poet’s comment are, “Folks call this a fable. I’ll warrant it true”.
(ii) Write the comment in your own words.
Answer – By a two-legged cricket, the poet satires on the person who are inactive. They don’t work and suffer tomorrow.Those who live today and saves for tomorrow do succeed in life. Always save something for the rainy days to come.
