Class -6, English ( Honeysuckle ), Chapter - 10 The Banyan Tree Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

  English

( Honeysuckle )

Class - 6, Chapter - 10

 The Banyan Tree

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions  

-- Summary --

⭐Summary In English:-

Part I

•• Grandfather’s House

The boy lived with his grandfather in Dehra Dun. There was a grand old banyan tree in the garden of that house. He enjoyed sitting in that tree. From there he used to spy on the world below. Since the grandfather could not climb the tree, It belonged only to the boy.

•• The Friend Squirrel

There was a squirrel. It became his friend only when it became certain that the boy had no catapult or airgun. Later when the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel was soon taking morsels from his hand. In the spring, all kinds of birds flocked into its branches and the tree became the noistest place in the garden. The boy had built a crude platform on the tree where he spent the afternoons when it was not too hot. Sitting there, he had read many books. Thus the banyan tree served the boy as a reading room.

•• Mongoose and Cobra

When he did not feel like reading, he looked at the world below. On one such afternoon, he saw the famous fight between a mongoose and a cobra.

Part II

•• The Encounter

It was a very hot afternoon. The narrator saw a big black cobra coming out of a cactus. At the same time, a mongoose emerged from th went straight for the cobra. In a clearing beneath the banyan tree, they stood face to face. Clearly, there was to be a battle of Champions.

•• Preparing for the Battle

The cobra was about six feet long and the mongoose about three feet. The cobra spread his broad hood and the mongoose bushed his tail. Besides the boy narrator, there was a myna and a crow looking at the battle.

•• The Battle Begins

Mongoose made a pretended move to one side. The cobra struck. However, before it could touch him, the mongoose had jumped to one side. While doing so, he also bit the snake on the back. A few drops of blood glistened on the cobra’s back. There were many such rounds and every time the mongoose was the victor. During one such round, the crow came in between and became a victim of the snake bite.

•• Cobra is killed

The Cobra was gradually weakening. Ultimately raising himself on his short legs, the mongoose had the big snake by the snout. The snake made its last attempt to fight but in vain. When it had ceased to struggle, the mongoose gripped it round the hood, and dragged it into the bushes.

⭐ Summary In Hindi

Part I

•• दादा का घर

लड़का अपने दादा के साथ देहरादून में रहता था। उस मकान के बगीचे में एक पुराना शानदार बरगद का पेड़ था। उसे उस पेड़ पर बैठने में आनंद आता था। वहाँ से वह नीचे की दुनिया को देखा करता था। क्योंकि दादाजी पेड़ | पर नहीं चढ़ सकते थे। अतः इस पर केवल लड़के का ही अधिकार था।

•• दोस्त गिलहरी

वहाँ पर एक गिलहरी थी। जब उसे विश्वास हो गया कि उसके (लड़के के) पास कोई गुलेल या बंदूक नहीं है, तब वह उसका मित्र बन गया। बाद में जब लड़का केक और बिस्कुट लाने लगा, वह शीघ्र ही उसके हाथ से दाने चुगने लगी। बसंत में सब तरह के पक्षी पेड़ की शाखाओं पर आ जाते थे और वह वृक्ष बगीचे में सबसे शोर भरा स्थान बन जाता था। वक्ता ने वहाँ पेड़ पर एक कामचलाऊ प्लेटफार्म बना लिया था जहाँ पर वह अधिक तेज गर्मी न होने पर दिन का तीसरा प्रहर बिताता था। वहाँ बैठकर उसने बहुत सी किताबें पढ़ी थीं। इस प्रकार बरगद का वह वृक्ष लड़के का वाचनालय बन गया था।

•• नेवला और कोबरा

जब उसका मन पढ़ने में नहीं लगता था, तब वह नीचे की दुनिया को देखा करता था। ऐसे ही एक तीसरे प्रहर उसने नेवले और कोबरा के बीच की प्रसिद्ध लड़ाई देखी।

Part II

•• मुकाबला

वह बड़ा गर्म तीसरा प्रहर था। वक्ता ने कैक्टस से निकलकर आते हुए एक बड़े काले कोबरा को देखा। उसी समय झाड़ियों से निकल कर एक नेवला आया और सीधा साँप की तरफ लपका। बरगद के पेड़ के नीचे एक खुली जगह में वे एक-दूसरे के सामने खड़े थे। साफ था कि दो चैम्पियन के मध्य लड़ाई होने वाली थी।

•• युद्ध की तैयारी

कोबरा कोई छ; फुट लंबा था और नेवला करीब तीन फुट। कोबरा ने अपना चौड़ा फन लहराया और नेवले ने अपनी पूंछ लहरायी। बालक वक्ता के अतिरिक्त एक कौवा और एक मैना भी इस लड़ाई को देख रहे थे।

•• लड़ाई प्रारंभ

नेवले ने ऐसा दिखाया जैसे वह एक दिशा में बढ़ रहा हो। कोबरे ने फन मारा। परंतु इससे पहले कि वह (फन) उसे छू सकता, नेवला कूद कर एक तरफ जा चुका था। ऐसा करते हुए उसने साँप की पीठ पर काटा भी। खून की कुछ बूंदें कोबरा की पीठ पर चमक रही थीं। ऐसे कई दौर हुए और हर बार जीत नेवले की हुई। ऐसे ही एक दौर में कौवा बीच में आ गया और साँप-काटे का शिकार हो गया।

•• कोबरा मारा जाता है।

धीरे-धीरे कोबरा कमजोर पड़ता जा रहा था। अंततः अपनी छोटी टांगों पर खड़ा होकर, नेवले ने उस बड़े साँप की थूथन पकड़ ली। साँप ने लड़ने का अंतिम प्रयास किया किंतु वह व्यर्थ गया। जब उसने संघर्ष करना बंद कर दिया, नेवले ने उसका फण जकड़ लिया और उसे घसीट कर झाड़ियों में ले गया!

-- Word Meanings --

• Banyan Tree - बरगद का पेड़ 

• Magnificent - शानदार 

• Cobra - काला नाग

• Mongoose - नेवला

• Chiefly - मुख्य रूप से

• Climb - चढ़ना

• Hung - लटकी हुई

• Form - बनाना, तैयार करना, होना

• Twisting passages - टेढ़े-मेढ़े रास्ते

• Endless - अनंत 

• Snails - घोंघे

• Spy - जासूसी करना

• Sniff - सूंघना 

• Before long - शीघ्रता से, जल्द ही 

• Propping - सहारा लेते हुए

• Drowsy - उनींदा

• Glind - रेंगना

• Clump - गुच्छा

• Face to face – आमने सामने

• Aggressive - आक्रमणकारी

• Swiftly - तेजी से

• Sacs - थैला 

• Fangs - जहरीले दांत

• Fork - कटना, काटना

• Darting - तेजी से चलती हुई

• Spectators - प्रेक्षक

• Content - संतुष्ट

• Collide - टकराना

• Heavily - बुरी तरह से

• Shriek - चीखना

• Glisten - चिकना 

• Perch - स्थान, बसेरा

• Lash - फटकारा

• Shrill - तेज

• Fly away - दूर उड़के चले जाना

-- NCERT Solutions --

Working with the text 

Question 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.

Question B:- Answer the following questions.

1. “It was to be a battle of champions.”

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:-

ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?

Answer:-  To show the readiness for their fight, the cobra hissed defiance with his forked tongue darting in and out, he raised three of his six feet off the ground and spread his broad, spectacled hood. On the other hand, the mongoose bushed his tail and the long hair on his spine stood up.

2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) 

Answer:- The other two spectators were a myna and a jungle crow. They settled on the cactus to watch the outcome. They were not content only to watch the fight, they took part in the proceedings and hurled 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. 

Answer:- 

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

Answer:- Towards the end of the fight, the crow flung nearly twenty feet across the garden as the cobra whipped his head back and struck with great force. His snout thudded against the crow’s body and it fluttered about for a while, then it lay still and dead.

ii) What did the myna do finally?

Answer:- 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.

-- Frequently Asked Questions --

Question 1.- Why did the speaker find the old banyan tree exclusively his own?

Answer:-  The old banyan tree became the narrator’s own property because his grandfather was too old to climb it. ‘

Question 2.- What did the speaker do while hiding himself in the banyan tree branches?

Answer:- The author used to read storybooks and watch the world below.

Question 3.- When did the banyan tree become a noisy place?

Answer:- The banyan tree became the noisiest place in the garden during the fig season.

Question 4.- Where did the author usually spend his afternoons?

Answer:- The author usually spent his afternoons on the platform he had built halfway up the tree.

Question 5.- What exciting scene did the author enjoy from his platform in the banyan tree?

Answer:- The author enjoyed the fight between a mongoose and a cobra, a battle of two champions.

Question 6.- What trick did the mongoose apply to overpower and kill the cobra?

Answer:- He first bit the snake twice on the back. When the cobra was tired, the mongoose caught it by the snout. He finally dragged the dead snake into the bushes.

Question 7.- Creatures lost their lives in the classic struggle between the cobra and the mongoose. Who were those victims?

Answer:- The Cobra and the crow.

Question 8.- What is the story The Banyan Tree about? Narrate the incident in brief.

Answer:- The Banyan Tree is about a deadly fight between a mongoose and a snake. The outcome of such a fight is the death of the cobra. The mongoose is faster in movement than his opponent. The writer witnessed such a fight, sitting on a branch of a banyan tree. He enjoyed the fight. Both the mongoose and the cobra were experienced fighters. They could strike with speed. A myna and a crow also arrived to feed on the dead crew. The crow had hard luck. He was bitten and he fell dead. The cobra got tired in the fight and the mongoose dragged it into the bushes.

-- By Durgesh Pandey

(Eklavya Coaching Institute)