NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Honeycomb Chapter 4 The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom is available here. These solutions are prepared by our subject expert to help students in their exams and homework. NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Chapter 4 The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom questions and answers are very helpful for CBSE exam. Students of Class 7 can study the answers provided here to score well in their school exams.
Comprehension Check
Question 1. Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Answer: The neighbors when heard about the good luck brought by the dog to the couple coaxed the dog into their garden in hope that he would find treasure for them. They dragged him out of doors and the dog scratched and pawed the ground under a pine tree. When on digging the ground, they saw that there was nothing but a dead kitten, they became furious at the dog. They beat him to death and then flung him into the hole.
Question 2. Mark the right item.
(i) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog
(a) because it helped them in their day-to-day work.
(b) as if it was their own baby.
(c) as they were kind to all living beings.
Answer: (b) as if it was their own baby.
(ii) When the old couple became rich, they
(a) gave the dog better food.
(b) invited their greedy neighbours to a feast.
(c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
Answer: (c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbors.
(iii) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make
(a) rice pastry and bean sauce.
(b) magic ash to win rewards.
(c) a pile of gold
Answer: (c) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make a pile of gold.
Working with the Text
Answer the following questions.
Question 1. The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs.
Answer: The old farmer was a kind person. He loved his dog as if it was his own baby. He fed it with fish with his own chopsticks and all the boiled rice it wanted. He was patient and kind to everything that had life and often dug up a sod on purpose to give food to the birds.
Question 2. What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Answer: To lead the farmer to the hidden gold, the dog came running to the farmer and kept its paws against his legs. It continuously kept directing towards a place behind him. The old man at first thought that the dog is just playing but when it kept running and whining, the old man followed to the place.
Question 3. (i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
(ii) How did it help him next?
Answer: (i) The spirit of the dog came in the farmer’s dream and first asked him to chop the pine tree and make mortar and hand-mill out of it. With the mortar and mill it gave the farmer heaps of gold.
(ii) The spirit of the dog informed the farmer in his dream that his wicked neighbours had burnt the hand-mill. He advised him to take the ashes of the mill and sprinkle them on the withered trees and they would bloom again.
Question 4. Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Answer: The farmer had the magical ashes. He made the old withered cherry tree blossom once again by sprinkling the ashes. So, the daimio rewarded the farmer for this. When his greedy neighbor heard about it, he took the ashes and when daimio was passing on the highway, he threw a handful of ashes over the tree. The tree did not blossom and wind blew the fine dust in the noses and eyes of the daimio and his wife. That is why his neighbor punished for the same act.
Working with language
Question 1: Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicised phrases.
Anil is in school. I am in school too. Anil is sitting in the left row. He is reading a book. Anil’s friend is sitting in the second row. He is sharpening his pencil. The teacher is writing on the blackboard. Children are writing in their copybooks. Some children are looking out of the window.
Answer:
- Where is Anil?
- Where is Anil sitting?
- What is he doing?
- Where is Anil’s friend sitting?
- Who is writing on the blackboard?
- What are some children doing?
Question 2: Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.
NEHA: _________did you get this book?
SHEELA: Yesterday morning.
NEHA: _______ is your sister crying?
SHEELA: Because she has lost her doll
NEHA: _______room is this, yours or hers?
SHEELA: It’s ours.
NEHA: ________do you go to school?
SHEELA: We walk to school. It is near by
Answer:
NEHA: When did you get this book?
SHEELA: Yesterday morning.
NEHA: Why is your sister crying?
SHEELA: Because she has lost her doll.
NEHA: Whose room is this, yours or hers?
SHEELA: It’s ours.
NEHA: How do you go to school?
SHEELA: We walk to school. It is nearby.
Question 3: Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.
how, what, when, where, which
(i) My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know ________ to do and ________ to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide ________ one to buy.
(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman ________ to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon ________ to start building your house.
(v) Do you know ________ to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember ________ and ________ I learnt it.
(vi) “You should know ________ to talk and ________ to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.
Answer:
(i) My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know what to do and where to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide which one to buy.
(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman how to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon when to start building your house.
(v) Do you know how to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember when and where I learnt it.
(vi) “You should know when to talk and where to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.
Question 4: Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicized words in the sentences given below.
patient, proper, possible, sensitive, competent
(i) The project appears very difficult at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.
(ii) He lacks competence. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.
(iii) “Don’t lose patience. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.
(iv) That’s not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.
(v) He appears to be without sensitivity. In fact, he is very emotional.
Answer:
(i) The project appears impossible at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.
(ii) He is incompetent. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.
(iii) “Don’t be impatient. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.
(iv) That’s an improper remark to make under the circumstances.
(v) He appears to be insensitive. In fact, he is very emotional.
Question 5. Read the following sentences.
It was a cold morning and stars still glowed in the sky.
An old man was walking along the road.
The words in italics are articles. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles and ‘the’ is the definite article. ‘A’ is used before a singular countable noun. ‘An’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel.
• a boy • an actor
• a mango • an apple
• a university • an hour
Use ‘a’, ‘an’ or ‘the’ in the blanks:
There was once ________ play which became very successful. ________ famous actor was acting in it. In ________ play his role was that of ________ aristocrat who had been imprisoned in ________ castle for twenty years. In ________ last act of ________ play someone would come on ________ stage with ________ letter which he would hand over to ________ prisoner. Even though ________ aristocrat was not expected to read ________ letter at each performance, he always insisted that ________ letter be written out from beginning to end.
Answer: There was once a play which became very successful. A famous actor was acting in it. In the play his role was that of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in a castle for twenty years. In the last act of the play someone would come on the stage with a letter which he would hand over to the prisoner. Even though the aristocrat was not expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that the letter be written out from beginning to end.
Question 6. Encircle (underlined here) the correct article.
Nina was looking for (a / the) job. After many interviews she got (a / the) job she was looking for.
A : Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?
B : I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.
A : Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl.
You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
B : Which one?
A : (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.
Answer:
A : Would you like (a/an/the) apple or (a/an/the) banana?
B : I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.
A : Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl.
You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
B : Which one?
A : (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.
Speaking and Writing
Question 1. Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class.
Here is one for you to read.
Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs.
“Well,” said the king, “if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know.” The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit.
Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king.
The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man’s basket be filled with gold.
Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbor’s good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold.
The king, on learning the man’s motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs.
The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, “You should be thankful that our neighbor did not grow coconuts.”
Answer: Do it yourself.
Question 2. Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.
• English and Hindi/both/in/he writes
• and only/a few short stories/many books in English/ in Hindi
• is/my Hindi/than my English/much better
Ravi Kant is a writer, and __________________. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written ____________________________________. I find his books a little hard to understand. __________________.
Answer:
Ravi Kant is a writer, and he writes both in English and Hindi. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi. I find his books a little hard to understand. My Hindi is much better than my English.
Question 3. Are you fond of reading stories? Did you read one last month? If not, read one or two and then write a paragraph about the story. Use the following hints.
- title of the story
- name of author
- how many characters
- which one you liked
- some details of the story
- main point(s) as you understand it
Tell your friends why they should also read it.
Answer: Do it yourself.