THE ELEPHANT BABYSITTER

                     

             

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Q. List down the qualities you would expect of a good babysitter. Now compared your list with the person sitting next to you. 

In this lesson you are going to read a story entitled The Elephant Babysitter. 

Meanings of some words and phrases used in the story are given below. The number after each meaning indicates the paragraph where the word is used. Find the word and understand its meaning before you read the whole story . 

enter into (1)                           

Ans: penetrate

tied (an animal) with a rope or chain(2) 

Ans: tethered 

held back; controlled (3) 

Ans: restrained

Very big(6) 

Ans: immense

animal that feeds on the flesh of dead animals (8) 

Ans: scavenger

hateful; very nasty (9) 

Ans: loathsome

Worried; disturbed (10) 

Ans: agitated

long, high cry (13) 

Ans: squealed

pulling very hard (14) 

Ans: straining

To be very surprised and not know what to do (15) 

Ans: nonplussed

eyes that see well in the night (15) 

Ans: nocturnal

anger and excitement (16) 

Ans: exasperation

not tight; looseness (21) 

Ans: slackness

Unfaithful person (31) 

Ans: traitor

Shout with wild, uncontrolled anger (31) 

Ans: raged

Swift flowing part of a river (33) 

Ans: rapid

Pulled hard (34) 

Ans: heaved 

Hurt (34) 

Ans: bruised

grief; sadness for one's wrong doing (35) 

Ans: remorse

PAGE NO (6) 

LISTEN CAREFULLY

Q. Your teacher will read paragraphs  1 to 2. Listen carefully and complete the table below. 

Answer :

Elephant's name	Gajpati
Elephant keeper's name	Karim
Elephant's employer	India's Forest Department
Elephant's place of work	Himalayan foothills
Nature of work	Hunter elephant
Physical description of the elephant	Height - 10 feet  Weight - more than four tons  Legs- like trees Tracks - 20 inches Nature - Gentle

 

READ AGAIN

Read paragraphs 3 to 6 and complete the summary below. 

  

One afternoon Karim's wife went to the river to fetch water. 

When she didn't return, Karim shouted in the direction she went but there was no reply. 

Karim got nervous. So he marked a circle in front of the elephant, put the baby into it  and asked  

Gajpati to look after the baby and ran in full speed to search his wife  . 

Everytime the child crawled out of the circle. Gajpati picked up the baby and put him back in the circle again. To chase away the flies, Gajpati used to scoop up some dust with his trunk  blew it over himself and flicked a little dirt over the baby too  . He also entertained the child by tickling the baby with his spit  . 

READ CAREFULLY               PAGE NO (7)

Read paragraphs 7 to 19. Some events from these paragraphs are given below. They are not in proper order. Rearrange them. Put 1 in front of the first one, 2 in front of the second one and so on. The 1st, 6th, and 9th are done for you. 

Answers :

     5       He soon realized that hyenas were nearby. 

     8      In desperation, Gajpati tried to break loose from the mango tree. 

     1       As it grew darker, the child began to cry. 

     7       For sometime the hyenas were puzzled but they kept hovering around. 

     4      Gajpati started getting worried and called out for his master to return. 

     9      He failed to do so but kept frightening away the hyenas. 

     2      Somewhere in the jungle, a hyena sniffed for food. 

    10      But he soon realized he had to pay more attention to the baby. 

     6       He squealed, grumbled and trumpeted to chase them away. 

     3     The cry of a baby attracted the hyena and its mates. 

READ FURTHER

Read paragraphs 20 to 36 and answer the following questions. 

1. Why we're the hyenas watching Gajpati with respect? 

Answer: The hyenas were watching Gajpati with respect because Gajpati was a very strong elephant. 

2. Why did Gajpati squeal with triumph and rage? 

Answer : Gajpati squealed with triumph and rage because Gajpati got one hyena under his forefeet and stamped it into a pulp and threw that hyena aside. 

3. Gajpati was very motherly. Cite examples to support this? 

Answer : Pillowed in dust, and exhausted by hunger, the baby lay half - sleeping, half - sobbing, and sucked at the stub of sugarcane that Gajpati offered him. Then, warmed by the elephant's sweet breath, he slept. 

4. Why had the baby crawled out of reach ? 

Answer : The baby had crawled out of reach because Gajpati had fallen asleep at midnight. 

5. Which sentences show us that Gajpati was fighting desperately? 

Answer: The sentences which shows that Gajpati was fighting desperately is "He forged out to the full length of his range. Iron links bit into his flesh. Blood poured down." 

6. What was Karim and his wife's first reaction when they saw the fallen tree? 

Answer : The first reaction of Karim and his wife when they saw the fallen tree was they were completely shocked and in tears. 

7. Why did Karim angrily call Gajpati 'a fool and a traitor'? 

Answer: Karim angrily called Gajpati 'a fool and a traitor' because he thought Gajpati didn't took care of the baby. 

8. What had happened to Karim's wife? Why could she and Karim not return the previous night? 

Answer : Karim's wife had gone to fetch water but she dropped her water jar into the stream and when she tried to recover it,  she got drowned in the stream. They couldn't return the previous night as both got lost in the jungle. 

9. Do you think Karim was right in calling Gajpati a traitor? Why? 

Answer : No, Karim was not right in calling Gajpati a traitor because Gajpati saved the baby from the hyenas and nursed the baby like a mother. 

10. Which line tells us that Gajpati forgave his master for the false accusation? 

Answer : The line which tells us that Gajpati forgave his master for the false accusation is "There followed such words of praise that made Gajpati lift his head and blink. "