The Raven and the Fox Unit 1 – Fables and Folk Tales Class 6 English Poorvi

Let us do these activities before we read.

1. We know that frogs croak. Did you know that ravens also croak?
Ans. Yes, animals like frogs and ravens croak. A croak is a deep harsh sound produced by these two animals.

2. Which animal is shown to be cunning in stories? Circle the correct answer.
(a) tiger   (b) fox   (c) bear
Ans. (b) fox

Let us discuss
1. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option.
(a) Stanza 1
(i) Mr Raven is a __________. (bird/frog)
(ii) The name of the fox is __________. (Raven/Reynard)
(iii) Mr Raven had __________ in his beak. (a piece of food/ a bunch of leaves)
Ans.
(i) Bird
(ii) Reynard
(iii) a piece of food

(b) Stanza 2
(i) The Fox calls the Raven a __________ bird. (foolish/good-looking)
(ii) The Fox asks the Raven to __________. (dance/sing)
(iii) The Raven and the Fox live in the __________. (trees/woods)
Ans.
(i) Foolish
(ii) Sing
(iii) woods

(c) Stanza 3
(i) The Raven ___________ that he croaked. (remembered/forgot)
(ii) The Raven opened its beak to ___________. (eat/sing)
(iii) The ___________ fell down. (food/Raven)
Ans.
(i) Forgot
(ii) Sing
(iii) Food

(d) Stanza 4
(i) The Fox ___________ at the Raven. (laughed/looked)
(ii) It is not ___________ to be too proud of oneself. (wise/unwise)
(iii) The Raven learnt a ______________. (lesson/teaching)
Ans.
(i) laughed
(ii) wise
(iii) lesson

2. Read the poem again and match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Check your answers with your teacher and your classmates.

Ans. 1-d, 2-a, 3-e, 4-c, 5-b, 6-g, 7-f

Let us think and reflect

1. Look at the pictures and number them in the order that they happen in the poem.

Ans.

2. Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow.

(a) Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird.
Such feathers! If you would only sing,
The birds of these woods would call you King.

(i) ‘Such feathers’ refer to __________________ feathers.
a. shiny and beautiful
b. black and dull
c. grey and long
d. short and unattractive
(ii) Why would the birds of the woods call the Raven ‘King’?
(iii) Why does the Fox address the Raven as ‘Sir’?
Ans.
(i) a. shiny and beautiful
(ii) They would call the raven ‘King’ because it would sing.
(iii) It addresses the raven as ‘Sir’ to make it feel proud of itself.

(b) The Raven, who did not see the joke,
Forgot that his voice was just a croak.
He opened his beak, in his foolish pride–

(i) Why did the Raven open his beak?
(ii) Complete the following with one word from the given lines.
 Fox : clever : : Raven : ______________
Ans.
(i) He wanted to fufil the fox’s desire and so, opened its beak to sing.
(ii) foolish

3. Why does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak?
Ans. On being falsely praised by the fox, the raven loses his wisdom and forgets the reality.

4. How does Reynard make the Raven sing?
Ans. Reynard praises Raven as being handsome, with attractive feathers and adds that if it sings, the other animals would call him ‘king’.

5. Why does Reynard say that pride is not wise?
Ans. He says this because when the raven was filled with pride, it lost its wisdom, opened its beak to sing and as a result, the food fell from its beak. So, it ended up losing the food because of its pride.

6. Give one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise.
Ans. The teaching is a surprise because the teacher is the same being who has cheated the raven.

7. Imagine someone praises you too much. How would you react?
Ans. I would feel delighted but at the same time, I would think rationally, if the praise was true or not.

Let us learn

1. Write the rhyming words from the poem. One has been done for you.

Ans.

2. Study the underlined words in the poem.

(a) For the Raven held in his great big beak.
      The words ‘big’ and ‘beak’ begin with the same /b/ sound.
(b) The song of sweet birds.
Alliteration is a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. When two or more words together, begin with the same sound, it is called alliteration.
Now, pick another example of alliteration from Stanza 2.
Ans. woods would

3. Choose the correct opposites from the box given below and complete the table. There are two extra words that you will not need.

Ans.

Use any four words from the table given above to make sentences of your own.
Ans.

1. The sparrow perched on the branch near her nest.
2. I forgot to carry my spectacles.
3. She has lost all her friends due to her pride.
4. Please ignore the nagging beggars.

Let us write
Now, write the story you narrated in the form of a conversation.
(Remember to write only the actions for the Raven as he has food in his mouth and does not speak.)
You may begin like this.
Reynard: Good morning, Mr Raven! You seem to be awake so early!
(Mr Raven just nods his head)
Reynard: Oh, Mr Raven, you look …

Ans.
Reynard: Oh, Mr Raven, you look so handsome and attractive with those feathers.
Mr Raven feels happy and smiles.
Reynard: Only if you would sing, all the creatures would accept you as their king.
Mr Raven feels so proud of himself. He wants to be called the king and so, he opens his beak.
Mr Raven: croak! Croak!
The croaking sound erupts from Mr Raven’s beak and the piece of food falls to the ground.
Reynard laughs
Reynard: You should not be proud, rather be wise. Now you lost the food.

Q1. Who are the two characters in the poem?
Ans. Mr Raven, the raven and Reynard, the fox are the two characters.

Q2. Who is fooled in the poem?
Ans. The Raven is fooled and loses his food.

Q3. Who is the clever animal?
Ans. Reynard the fox is the clever animal.

Q4. Why does the fox indulge in admiring the raven?
Ans. The fox wants to take the food from the raven. He is ready to go to any length to seek it and so, he indulges in false praise.

Q5. The fox is successful in fooling the raven. What should the raven have done?
Ans. The raven should have been wise. It should have remembered that it cannot sing because it could only croak. It should have been aware and not get trapped in the fox’s honey-coated words.