Class 6 English · Unit 1

The Raven and the Fox

NCERT Poorvi · Unit 1: Fables and Folk Tales. Answers to all the textbook questions and activities, in simple words.

Let us do these activities before we read

IWe know that frogs croak. Did you know that ravens also croak?

Yes. A raven does not sing sweetly. Its voice is a deep, rough croak.

IIWhich animal is shown to be cunning in stories?

Answer: 2. fox

Let us discuss

IFill in the blanks by choosing the correct option.

Stanza 1

(i) Mr Raven is a bird.
(ii) The name of the fox is Reynard.
(iii) Mr Raven had a piece of food in his beak.

Stanza 2

(i) The Fox calls the Raven a good-looking bird.
(ii) The Fox asks the Raven to sing.
(iii) The Raven and the Fox live in the woods.

Stanza 3

(i) The Raven forgot that he croaked.
(ii) The Raven opened its beak to sing.
(iii) The food fell down.

Stanza 4

(i) The Fox laughed at the Raven.
(ii) It is not wise to be too proud of oneself.
(iii) The Raven learnt a lesson.

IIMatch the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B.

Column A	Column B
1. perched	(iv) sat on a branch
2. morsel	(i) a small piece of food
3. seek	(v) to look for something
4. pride	(iii) feeling that you are better than others
5. eyed	(ii) looked with interest at something
6. limb	(vii) branch of a tree
7. woods	(vi) a smaller area of forest with similar kind of trees

Let us think and reflect

INumber the pictures in the order that they happen in the poem.

The Raven picks up a piece of food from the ground.
The Fox sees the Raven sitting on a branch with the food in his beak.
The Fox looks up and praises the Raven.
The Fox runs away with the food in his mouth.

In the book: bottom-left picture = 1, bottom-right = 2, top-left = 3, top-right = 4.

II.1“Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird… call you King.”

(i) ‘Such feathers’ refer to ______ feathers.

Answer: A. shiny and beautiful

(ii) Why would the birds of the woods call the Raven ‘King’?

The Fox said that if the Raven sang, his voice would be so sweet that all the birds would call him King.

(iii) Why does the Fox address the Raven as ‘Sir’?

The Fox wanted to flatter the Raven. He showed false respect so that the Raven would feel proud and open his beak.

II.2“The Raven, who did not see the joke… in his foolish pride–”

(i) Why did the Raven open his beak?

The Raven opened his beak to sing, because the Fox had praised him.

(ii) Fox : clever : : Raven : ______

Answer: foolish

IIIWhy does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak?

The sweet words of the Fox made the Raven very proud. In his pride, he forgot that he could only croak.

IVHow does Reynard make the Raven sing?

Reynard praises the Raven. He calls him handsome and says the birds would call him King if he sang.

VWhy does Reynard say that pride is not wise?

Pride made the Raven foolish. He opened his beak and lost his food. So, pride is not wise.

VIGive one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise.

The Raven did not expect to learn a lesson from the Fox, who had just tricked him.

VIIImagine someone praises you too much. How would you react?

I would thank the person politely. But I would not become proud. I would think carefully about why the person is praising me so much.

Let us learn

IWrite the rhyming words from the poem.

Stanza 1	Stanza 2	Stanza 3	Stanza 4
limb – him	word – bird	joke – croak	know – glow
beak – seek	sing – King	pride – eyed	unwise – surprise

IIPick another example of alliteration from Stanza 2.

Such feathers! If you would only sing — ‘such’ and ‘sing’; or The birds of these woods would call you King — ‘woods’ and ‘would’.

IIIChoose the correct opposites from the box. (Two words are extra.)

Words	Opposites
1. perched	flew
2. forgot	remembered
3. foolish	wise
4. pride	humility
5. laughed	cried
6. ignore	notice
7. glow	dim

Extra words: happy, silly.

Sentences:

The bird flew away when I came near.
I remembered to bring my water bottle.
A wise person thinks before speaking.
The baby cried for milk.

Let us listen

♫Mark the statements as True or False.

1. The crow was unhappy that he lost his food. — True

2. The crow thought that his lovely feathers made him smart. — False He said he was smart even without beautiful feathers.

3. The crow wanted to tell his friends not to be proud. — True

Let us speak

★Narrate the poem as a story with a different ending.

This is a story about a clever fox named Reynard and Mr Raven. One day, Mr Raven sat on a branch with a piece of food in his beak. Reynard saw him and wanted the food. He said, “Sir Raven, you are so handsome! If you sing, all the birds will call you King.” But this time Mr Raven was wise. He put the food under his foot and then said, “Thank you, Reynard! I know my voice is just a croak.” Then he ate his food happily. Reynard went away hungry.

Let us write

✎Write the story as a conversation.

Reynard: Good morning, Mr Raven! You seem to be awake so early!
(Mr Raven just nods his head.)
Reynard: Oh, Mr Raven, you look so handsome today. Such shiny feathers!
(Mr Raven puffs up his feathers proudly.)
Reynard: If only you would sing, the birds of these woods would call you King.
(Mr Raven opens his beak to sing. “Caw!” The food falls down.)
Reynard: Ha-ha! Thank you for the food. Remember, ignore sweet words that make you glow!
(Mr Raven looks sad.)

Let us explore

★Make stick puppets and enact the poem.

Class activity. Make a fox puppet and a raven puppet from paper (you may use origami) and stick them on sticks. Use them while narrating the story.

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