CHAPTER 1: ADVENTURES IN A BANYAN TREE (SHORT STORY)

1. Summary:

The story is about a boy who enjoys the happiness of nature. A magnificent banyan tree is the setting of the story. It is as old as the Dehradun town. Below the tree, there is a wonderful garden of his grandfather. He builds a platform halfway up the tree and reads his favourite storiest there Gradually he becomes the close friend to a squirrel.



Birds of all kinds visit the tree during the fig season. The boy’s the most exciting experience is the fight between a mongoose and a cobra. He watches the aggressive fight from his platform. A crow and a myna try to take part in the fight by disturbing the snake. They win in their first and second attempts. But the third time, the crow fails to fly away, and thus  bites it to death. Eventually, the mongoose defeats the cobra and drags it into the bushes. Later the boy realizes why the grandfather does not punish mongoose although it steals eggs and other food items. The presence mongoose keeps the snakes away.

He often takes a white rat of his grandfather to the tree. That white rat makes friendship with the squirrels around the banyan tree. They become close friends. One day, the boy finds that his grandmother’s knitting is missing. The squirrel has stolen it to make its nest. After a few weeks, the boy sees three white baby squirrels in the nest.

2. The fight scene:

Narrate the fight scene between Mongoose and Cobra

The boy had built a small platform half way up the tree and he spent his time there during the afternoons. One day, the boy was sitting there and he came across a fight between a cobra and mongoose in the garden. He was thrilled at watching the fight.

The mongoose was grey and three feet long with long hair on its spine. It was a superb fighter. It was also clever and aggressive. The cobra was six feet long and was black in colour. It had forked tongue and glassy unwinking eyes. The cobra was skillful, experienced and swift. To show its readiness for fight, the cobra hissed and its forked tongue was darting in and out. The cobra raised three of its six feet off the ground and spread its hood. The mongoose was also ready. The long hair on his spine stood up. Two spectators, a jungle crow and myna, arrived there and were settled on a cactus.

The cobra stood on the defensive and it was swaying from side to side. It tried to mesmerize the mongoose. The mongoose misled the cobra by false movements. The mongoose sprang aside, jumped in and bit the cobra’s back. The crow and myna also tried to interfere the fight by hurling themselves at the cobra. In the third phase of the fight, the cobra struck the crow too. But the myna reached on the cactus and kept away from interfering the fight. The cobra was weakening and the mongoose fearlessly approached it. Finally, the mongoose grabbed the cobra by the snout. The cobra lashed about in a frightening manner. At last, the snake ceased to struggle. The mongoose dragged it into bushes. The myna peered into the bushes and made a shrill cry of congratulation and flew away.

3. Letter:

The boy was very much thrilled by his acquaintance with the squirrel. He writes a letter to his friend telling him about his new friend.

Ivy Cottage
Dehradun
22 April 2019

Dear Sravan,

Hope you are enjoying your vacation there. Here, I am doing the same. I have to tell you a story of my new friendship.

I managed to get the company of a grey squirrel. At first the squirrel disliked my presence. Gradually I gave him pieces of cakes and biscuits. And, when he realized my real friendship, he came near me. He is a young squirrel. He is very playful. I am very much happy with his company.

My friend, I wish you were here. You also try to keep a pet. It’s thrilling. Convey my regards to uncle and aunty.
Yours lovingly,
Sd/-
Ishan


CHAPTER 2: THE SNAKE AND THE MIRROR (SHORT STORY) 

Summary

The snake and the Mirror is a story written by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer. The main character in the story is a young homeopath. The homeopath narrates a fearful incident to his friends.

In a hot summer night, he had meals at a restaurant and he reached his room. The room was not electrified. He lighted a kerosene lamb and sat before the mirror. He enjoyed his own beauty. He took many decisions. He decided to shave daily, to grow a thin moustache and to keep a smile on his face. He felt proud of himself. He wanted to marry a young, wealthy woman doctor.

He heard a noise then. He did not take it seriously because there were many rats in the roof. They used to make sounds. After some time, a cobra slithered onto him and coiled on his arm. He was very frightened. He felt death was approaching. Then the snake saw its reflection in the mirror. It crawled towards the mirror. It seemed like enjoying its beauty in the mirror. The homeopath immediately left his room and ran to his friend's house.

He explained all to his friend and stayed that night in the friend's house. Next morning, he and his friends returned to the room to collect his belongings to shift to a new room. But all things except a dirty vest had been stolen by some thieves.

1. A likely diary entry written by the homeopathy doctor in “The Snake and the Mirror”

What a horrific day! I was shocked to see a snake in my room. Because of God’s grace (fortunately), I had a narrow escape from its bite. After my meal at about 10 pm, I was sitting alone in my room. My room is not electrified. I heard a noise from above. I didn’t notice it because there were many rats in my room. I was looking at the mirror and enjoying my beauty. I heard a noise as if a rubber tube had fallen to the ground. I simply turned back with no fear. My God! It was a cobra. Before I got time to think, the snake landed on my shoulder. I stood motionless. The snake slithered along my shoulder and coiled around my left arm. I neither jumped nor cried. I was just a few inches away from death.

Fortunately, the snake looked at the mirror. Slowly it crept onto the table towards the mirror. I thought that the cobra was enjoying its beauty. I used that opportunity. I ran until I reached a friend’s house. I will never forget this in my life.

2. Character sketch of the doctor

The homeopathy doctor was a handsome man. He was narcissistic in nature as he had admired his own beauty. He lived in a rented room which was not electrified. He shared that room with rats. He had very high dreams but he earned very little. He was unmarried. He liked to marry a fat woman doctor who had wealth and a good medical practice. He decided to shave daily and grow thin moustache to be more handsome. He decided to keep a smiling face always. He had the habit of smoking beedi. He wore a dirty vest also. He became nervous and ran away when he saw a snake in his room. The doctor thought himself as very smart and attractive. But in fact he could call himself a foolish man after he had a narrow escape from the snake.

CHAPTER 3: LINES WRITTEN IN EARLY SPRING (POEM)

Appreciation:

“Lines Written in Early Spring” is a poem written by major Romantic poet William Wordsworth. The poem praises the glory of nature. In this poem, the poet says that man is a part of nature. And he has to understand what nature has made for him to make him happy.

The blended notes of nature from its grove make him happy. But the thought ‘what man has made of man’ makes the poet unhappy. Nature is the universal soul, and man is the individual soul. Man should realize this truth. But the poet is sad about ‘what man has made of man’.

The living and non living things in nature are very happy. “It seemed a thrill of pleasure”. The
flowers and birds are happy. The trees blow their breezy air. Nature’s plan is holy. But still ‘what man has made of man’ grieves the poet.

The language of the poem is simple. The rhyme scheme is abab. The poet has used various poetic devices such as personification, images, alliteration and so on. The line “To her fair works did Nature link” is an example for the use of personification. Line “The birds around me hopped and played” creates a visual image and “I heard a thousand blended notes” is an auditory image. And “breezy air” is an instance of an olfactory image. The most striking line of the poem “What man has made of man” is the use of alliteration.