The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Explanation
1st Stanza:
Mr Raven was perched upon a limb,
And Reynard the Fox looked up at him;
For the Raven held in his great big beak,
A morsel the Fox would go far to seek.
Explanation:
The Raven was sitting on a tree branch. A fox named Reynard looked up at him. The Raven had a tasty piece of food in his beak, which the fox really wanted.
Hindi:
कौआ एक टहनी पर बैठा था। लोमड़ी ऊपर देखकर उस खाने के टुकड़े को देख रही थी जो कौए की चोंच में था। लोमड़ी उस टुकड़े को पाना चाहती थी।
2nd Stanza:
Said the Fox, in admiring tones: “My word!
Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird.
Such feathers! If you would only sing,
The birds of these woods would call you King.”
Explanation:
The fox pretended to admire the raven. He praised the raven’s beauty and said that if the raven sang, all the birds in the forest would make him their king.
Hindi:
लोमड़ी ने चापलूसी करते हुए कहा – “हे कौए जी! आप तो बहुत सुंदर पक्षी हैं। आपके पंख कितने सुंदर हैं! अगर आप गाना गाएं, तो जंगल के सभी पक्षी आपको राजा बना देंगे।”
3rd Stanza:
The Raven, who did not see the joke,
Forgot that his voice was just a croak.
He opened his beak, in his foolish pride–
And down fell the morsel the Fox had eyed.
Explanation:
The Raven didn’t understand that the Fox was tricking him. He forgot that his voice was just a harsh croak. In pride, he opened his mouth to sing—and the food dropped! Exactly what the Fox wanted.
Hindi:
कौआ लोमड़ी की चाल नहीं समझ पाया। वह भूल गया कि उसकी आवाज़ तो कर्कश है। गर्व में आकर जब उसने गाने के लिए चोंच खोली, तो भोजन का टुकड़ा नीचे गिर गया – और लोमड़ी ने उसे पा लिया।
4th Stanza:
“Ha-ha!” laughed the Fox. “And now you know,
Ignore sweet words that make you glow.
Pride, my friend, is rather unwise;
I’m sure this teaching is quite a surprise.”
Explanation:
The fox laughed and said: “Now you’ve learned a lesson. Don’t believe people who flatter you. Pride is foolish, and you must not fall for sweet words.” The fox took the food and left the Raven feeling embarrassed.
Hindi:
लोमड़ी हँसी और बोली: “अब तुम्हें समझ आ गया होगा – मीठी बातों पर विश्वास नहीं करना चाहिए। घमंड करना मूर्खता है। यह सबक तुम्हारे लिए चौंकाने वाला रहा होगा।”
Moral of the Poem:
“Beware of flatterers. Don’t let pride make you foolish.”
“चापलूसों से सावधान रहें। घमंड में आकर मूर्खता न करें।”
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Advanced Vocabulary from the Poem
|
Word/Phrase |
Meaning |
Hindi Meaning |
|
Raven |
A large black bird with a harsh voice |
कौआ |
|
Perched |
Resting or sitting on a high place like a branch |
टहनी पर बैठा हुआ |
|
Limb |
A branch of a tree |
पेड़ की शाखा |
|
Reynard |
A literary name for a fox, especially in old stories |
लोमड़ी (कथाओं में) |
|
Morsel |
A small piece of food |
खाने का छोटा टुकड़ा |
|
Admiring tones |
Words said with praise and appreciation |
प्रशंसा के स्वर |
|
Handsome |
Good-looking (used here for a bird) |
सुंदर (यहाँ पक्षी के लिए) |
|
Feathers |
The outer covering of birds |
पंख |
|
Croak |
Harsh sound made by ravens or frogs |
कर्कश आवाज |
|
Foolish pride |
Being proud without reason |
मूर्खतापूर्ण घमंड |
|
Eyed |
Looked at with desire or interest |
ललचाई नजरों से देखा |
|
Flattery |
Excessive and insincere praise |
चापलूसी |
|
Glow (with pride) |
To feel overly proud |
घमंड से चमकना |
|
Unwise |
Not smart or sensible |
मूर्खतापूर्ण |
|
Teaching (lesson) |
A moral or message learned from experience |
सीख |
|
Surprise |
Something unexpected |
आश्चर्य |
|
Trickery |
Use of clever lies to fool someone |
चालाकी / धोखा |
|
Compliment |
A polite expression of praise or admiration |
प्रशंसा |
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Let us discuss
- Fill 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.
II Read the poem again and match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Check your answers with your teacher and classmates.
- Match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B
|
Column A |
Answer from 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 |
|
|
|
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Let us think and reflect
1.Look at the pictures and number them in the order that they happen in the poem.
|
Picture Description |
Sequence |
|
Fox sees Raven with food and admires him (flattery) |
1 |
|
Raven listens proudly |
2 |
|
Raven opens beak to sing, food falls |
3 |
|
Fox gets the food |
4 |
|
Raven sitting sadly on branch after being tricked |
5 |
You can write numbers 1 to 5 in the white boxes on each image as per above.
- Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow
- 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.
Answer: A. shiny and beautiful
(ii) Why would the birds of the woods call the Raven ‘King’?
Answer:
Because the fox said that if the raven sang with his beautiful feathers, he would be considered the best among the birds, like a king.
(iii) Why does the Fox address the Raven as ‘Sir’?
Answer:
To flatter him and make him feel proud so that he would open his beak and drop the food.
- From the lines:
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?
Answer:
To sing, because he was flattered by the fox’s praise.
(ii) Complete:
Fox : clever :: Raven : ________
Answer: foolish
III–VII Short Answers
III. Why does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak?
Answer:
Because he was carried away by the fox’s sweet words and felt proud of himself.
- How does Reynard make the Raven sing?
Answer:
Reynard flatters the raven by calling him handsome and saying he should sing like a king.
- Why does Reynard say that pride is not wise?
Answer:
Because pride makes people act foolishly, like the raven who lost his food.
- Give one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise.
Answer:
Because the raven thought the fox was praising him honestly, but he was being tricked.
VII. Imagine someone praises you too much. How would you react?
Sample Answer:
I would feel happy, but I would stay careful and not trust too much praise without reason.
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Let us learn
- Write the rhyming words from the poem. One has been done for you.
Stanza 1
(i) limb – him
(ii) tree – glee
Stanza 2
(i) word – bird
(ii) sing – king
Stanza 3
(i) joke – croak
(ii) pride – wide
Stanza 4
(i) know – go
(ii) fall – all
II Study the underlined words in the poem.
- For the Raven held in his great big beak.
The words ‘big’ and ‘beak’ begin with the same /b/ sound.
“Black beak” – This is another example of alliteration (both words start with b sound).
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
अनुप्रास शब्दों की शुरुआत में व्यंजन ध्वनियों की पुनरावृत्ति है। जब दो या दो से अधिक शब्द एक साथ एक ही ध्वनि से शुरू होते हैं, तो इसे अनुप्रास कहा जाता है। अब, श्लोक 2 से अनुप्रास का एक और उदाहरण चुनें
- The song of sweet birds.
“song of sweet”- This is another example of alliteration (both words start with s sound).
III. Choose the correct opposites from the box given below and complete the table. There are two extra words that you will not need.
wise happy humility flew remembered notice dim cried silly
|
Words |
Opposites |
|
1. perched |
flew |
|
2. forgot |
remembered |
|
3. foolish |
|
|
4. pride |
humility |
|
5. laughed |
cried |
|
6. ignore |
notice |
|
7. glow |
dim |
Extra words (not used): happy, silly
Use any four words in sentences:
- Perched – The raven perched on a high tree branch.
- Glow – The stars began to glow in the night sky.
- Laughed – Everyone laughed at the fox’s clever trick.
- Pride – His pride made him lose the tasty morsel.
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Let us listen (Mark True or False)
- The crow was unhappy that he lost his food.
True - The crow thought that his lovely feathers made him smart.
False
(He thought his voice made him smart, not his feathers.) - The crow wanted to tell his friends not to be proud.
True
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
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 was sitting on a tree branch with a piece of cheese in his beak. Reynard, the sly fox, saw the cheese and wanted it. He started praising the raven, saying how beautiful he looked and how he must have a sweet voice.
Mr. Raven, proud of the praise, opened his beak to sing—and the cheese fell! Reynard quickly caught it and ran away, laughing.
But this time, Mr. Raven was clever too. The next day, he found another piece of cheese and waited for Reynard. When Reynard came and praised him again, Mr. Raven did not open his beak. He nodded politely and flew away with the cheese. Reynard was fooled this time!
The Raven and the Fox Questions and Answers
Let us write
Write the story as a conversation (with Raven doing only actions):
Reynard: Good morning, Mr. Raven! You seem to be awake so early!
(Mr. Raven just nods his head)
Reynard: Oh, Mr. Raven, you look stunning today! What shiny feathers!
(Mr. Raven tilts his head proudly)
Reynard: I’m sure your voice is just as beautiful as your looks. Will you sing a song for me?
(Mr. Raven keeps silent and flies away with the cheese still in his beak)
Reynard: (Surprised) Oh no! He didn’t fall for my trick this time!
