NCERT Solutions Class 6 English (Honeysuckle)

The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 6 English (Prose) (Honeysuckle) Chapter – 10 The Banyan Tree has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.

Chapter – 10 (The Banyan Tree)

Working with the Text

A. Complete the following sentences.
1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because __________ .
2. The small gray squirrel became friendly when __________ .
3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel __________ .
4. In the spring, the banyan tree __________, and __________ would come there.
5. The banyan tree served the boy as a __________ .
6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree __________ .

Answer –
1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because his grandfather was sixty-five years old, who could no longer climb it.
2. The small gray squirrel became friendly when he found that the boy did not arm himself with catapult or air gun.
3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from his hand.
4. In the spring, the banyan tree was full of small red figs, and birds of all kinds would come there.
5. The banyan tree served the boy as a library where he had made a crude platform to sit and read books.
6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree when it was not too hot, leaning against it and reading story books.

B. Answer the following questions.
1. “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.

Answer –
(i)

(ii) The cobra produced a hissing sound to challenge the mongoose to a fight. It raised three feet of its body off the ground. It spread its broad hood. The mongoose bushed its tail. The long hair on its back also stood up.

2. 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 a crow and a myna. They settled on a cactus to watch the outcome. But they did not just watch. They tried to join the fight by hurling themselves at the cobra.

3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)

(i) Ceased to struggle	Grabbed the snake by the snout
(ii) Tried to mesmerise the mongoose	Dragged the snake into the bushes
(iii) Coiled itself around the mongoose	Darted away and bit the cobra on the back
(iv) Struck the crow	Pretended to attack the cobra on one side
(v) Struck again and missed	Refused to look into the snake’s eyes
(vi) Struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack	Sprang aside, jumped in and bit

Answer –

4.
(i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

Answer – In the end, the crow was flung nearly twenty feet across the garden by a blow from the cobra’s snout. The crow fluttered about for a while and then lay still.

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)

Answer – Finally, the myna dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance, and then, with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away.

Working with Language

A.
1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?

Answer – In the story the word ‘round’ means the different stages of the fight between the cobra and the mongoose.

2. 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.

B. The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

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.

C. 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.

D. Look at these sentences.

In the spring, birds of all kinds would flock into the banyan tree’s branches. I would spend the afternoons there.	Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb the banyan tree. I could hide myself in its branches. I could look down through the leaves at the world below. I could read there.
‘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 italicised 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.

Answer – 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 used to get up with the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.

Answer – 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 was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.

Answer – like the owl, he could see quite well in the dark. He could tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.

NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English (Honeysuckle)

• Chapter 1 : Who Did Patrick’s Homework?
• Chapter 2 : How the Dog Found Himself a New Master!
• Chapter 3 : Taro’s Reward
• Chapter 4 : An Indian – American Woman in Space: Kalpana Chawla
• Chapter 5 : A Different Kind of School
• Chapter 6 : Who I Am
• Chapter 7 : Fair Play
• Chapter 8 : Fire: A Game of Chance
• Chapter 9 : Desert Animals

 

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