How Daddy Decided What He Wanted to Be
When Daddy was a little boy, he was often asked: “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Daddy always had an answer ready. But each time his answer was different. At first, he would say he wanted to be a night watchman. He liked to think that while the whole town slept, the night watchman could walk about and make noises. He was quite certain he wanted to be a night watchman when he grew up. But then he thought of the ice-cream man who came along daily with his bright green cart. If he became an ice-cream man, he could have a cart and eat all the ice cream he wanted to! So little Daddy decided to be an ice-cream man.
Little Daddy’s parents were surprised to hear that their son wanted to be an ice-cream man. They thought he was only trying to be funny. But little Daddy seriously thought it would be a very tasty way of life when he grew up.
Then one day little Daddy saw a man wearing a blue uniform at an auto workshop. The man was playing with all sorts of cars. But those were real cars, not toys! The man would crawl under the cars, playing there a strange game.
“Who’s that man?” little Daddy asked.
“He’s a car mechanic,” said one of the workers.
Now little Daddy said he would be a car mechanic. He would play all the time with cars! There could be nothing in the world more interesting. Nothing, truly! When Daddy said he would be a car mechanic, someone asked him:
“But what about the ice-cream man?”
That was a problem, indeed. Daddy had decided to become a car mechanic, but he did not want to give up the bright green ice-cream cart also. Soon he found a way out.
“I’ll be a car mechanic and an ice-cream man!”
Everyone was very surprised. But little Daddy said: “That won’t be hard at all. I’ll sell ice cream for some time in the morning. Then
I’ll go to the auto workshop. There I’ll work with cars for some time, and again go to sell more of ice cream. In the afternoon, I’ll again go back to the workshop. Later, I’ll go to sell more of ice cream. I’ll park my green cart outside the workshop while I am working inside.”
Everyone laughed to hear little Daddy. It made him angry, and he said: “If you laugh at me, I’ll be a night watchman also. After all, there’s nothing to do at night.”
Everyone had to agree with little Daddy. But a few days later he changed his mind. He said he wanted to be a pilot. Then he said he wanted to be an actor. And after Grandpa took him to an office, he decided to be a clerk. To be a sailor was also on his mind. Or at least a shepherd!
Finally, he decided he wanted to be a dog. All that day he ran around on all fours, barking at strangers. He even tried to bite an elderly lady when she wanted to pat his head. Little Daddy learned quite well how to bark, but he couldn’t scratch behind his ear with his foot, the way all dogs do. He thought if he went outside and sat beside a street dog, he’d learn it more quickly. And that was exactly what he did.
Just then a sage came walking down the street.
He stopped and watched Daddy for a while.
Then he asked:
“What are you doing?”
“I am trying to be a dog,” little Daddy said.
“Don’t you want to be a man?” asked the sage.
“I’ve been a man for a long time,” said Daddy.
“What sort of man are you, if you can’t be a dog even? Is that what a man is like?”
“Well, what is a man like?” Daddy asked.
“Think about that yourself,” said the sage, and walked away. But little Daddy felt much ashamed of himself, and began to think. He thought and thought. The more he thought, the more ashamed he was of himself. The sage had not explained to him what a man is like. But suddenly Daddy knew what a man is like. And he realized another important thing also. It was that he was yet too small to know what he wanted to be. The next time he was asked what he wanted to be, he thought of the sage and said: “I want to be a man!”
No one laughed when little Daddy said this. And that was the best answer he could think of. He still thinks so, and always says to me:
“The only important thing you have to remember is that you must be a good man. This is the most important thing whatever you want to be – a pilot, a shepherd, a sailor, an ice-cream man, or whatever. And a man does not really have to know how to scratch behind his ear with his foot.”
(Source: ‘When Daddy was a Little Boy’ by Fainna Glagoleva. The given story is a translation from Russian by Alexander Ruskin)
New Words / Phrases and their Use
1. certain (sure) – We are certain our team will win the match.
2. grow up (grow into an adult) – His children have all grown up.
3. crawl (to move slowly on one’s belly or hands and knees) – The baby has just learnt to crawl.
4. mechanic (a person whose job is to repair machines) – His brother is a good car mechanic.
5. way out (a way of escaping a problem) – There was no way out and we had to face the situation.
6. at all (in any way, to any degree) – I don’t like his habit of telling lies at all.
7. on all fours (bent over with hands and knees on the ground) – We went crawling on all fours among the bushes.
8. stranger (an unknown person) – It is never safe to accept eatables from a stranger.
9. scratch (rub the skin with nails) – Why are you scratching your head ? Is there any problem?
10. for a while (for a period of time) – The two friends sat together in the park and chatted for a while.
Textual Comprehension
I. Answer each question briefly:
1. Why did Daddy want to be a night watchman?
Ans. Daddy wanted to be a night watchman because the job of a watchman was both attractive and exciting. He was awake while the whole town slept. The watchman kept shouting while others were sleeping.
2. Why did he want to be an ice-cream man?
Ans. He wanted to be an ice-cream man because if he became an ice-cream man, he could have a cart and eat all the ice-cream he wanted to.
3. What was it that he saw in an auto workshop?
Ans. One day he saw a man wearing blue uniform in an auto workshop. He was playing with all sorts of vars. But those cars were real, not boys.
4. What was it that Daddy liked about a car mechanic?
Ans. Daddy saw a car mechanic playing with all sorts of real cars. He would crawl under the cars. Daddy liked this thing about a car mechanic.
5. How did Daddy say he would both be a car mechanic and an ice-cream man?
Ans. Daddy wanted to become a car mechanic but he did not want to give up the bright green ice-cream cart also. So he decided to sell ice-cream in the morning and then go to the auto workshop in the afternoon and park his green cart outside the workshop.
6. Why did Daddy want to scratch behind his ear with his foot?
Ans. Daddy wanted to scratch behind his ear with his foot because he wanted to be a dog.
7. What was it that made Daddy feel ashamed of himself?
Ans. Daddy felt ashamed of himself when s sage asked him to think of himself. He said that daddy was unable to understand what a man is like.
8. When did Daddy stop thinking what he wanted to be?
Ans. daddy stopped thinking what he wanted to be when he realized that he was yet too small to known what he wanted to be.
9. What does Daddy think now to be the most important thing?
Ans. Daddy thinks that the most important thing is to be a good man.
II. Who says these words and to whom in the story:
1. Who’s that man?
Ans. Little daddy says these words to one of the workers.
2. What are you doing?
Ans. A sage says these words to little daddy.
3. I am trying to be a dog.
Ans. Little Daddy says these words to the sage.
4. Think about that yourself.
Ans. The sage says these words to little daddy.
5. This is the most important thing whatever you want to be.
Ans. The Little daddy says these words to himself.
III. Complete each sentence with suitable words from the box:
1. I’ll sell ice cream for sometime in the morning.
2. Everyone had to agree with little daddy.
3. He was quite certain he wanted to be a night watchman.
4. A man doesn’t have to know how to scratch behind his ear with his foot.
5. The sage had not explained to him what a man is like.
• with little Daddy.
• what a man is like.
• some time in the morning.
• wanted to be a night watchman.
• how to scratch behind his ear with his foot.
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Vocabulary Enrichment
I. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’:
A | B
|
Pilot
Actor
Clerk
Sailor
stranger
shepherd
mechanic
watchman
| one who keeps a watch
one who flies an aircraft
one who repairs machines
one who looks after sheep
one who you do not know
one who keeps records in an office
one who acts in a film or on the stage
one who is a member of the crew on a ship
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Ans.
A | B
|
Pilot
Actor
Clerk
Sailor
stranger
shepherd
mechanic
watchman
| one who flies an aircraft
one who acts in a film or on the stage
one who keeps records in an office
one who is a member of the crew on a ship
one who you do not know
one who looks after sheep
one who repairs machines
one who keeps a watch
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II. Use any of the prefixes (in- / un- / dis-) to make the opposites of:
A prefix is a letter or group of letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning; as – rearrange, dishonest, illiterate, etc. We use some prefixes to form opposites; as – inefficent; unwise; disconnect; irregular. |
1. real unreal 7. Human inhuman
2. easy uneasy 8. Do undo
3. active inactive 9. Honour dishonour
4. respect disrespect 10. Correct incorrect
5. obey disobey 11. Different indifferent
6. certain uncertain 12. Pack unpack
III. Use the correct form of the given words to fill in the blanks:
1. interest: This book has many interesting stories.
2. real: I am not really satisfied with your work.
3. shame: You should be ashamed of your behaviour.
4. strange: I saw two strangers standing outside the house.
5. explain: You will have to give an explanation of your absence.
6. different: What is the difference between a man and an animal?
Grammar in Use
I. Complete the following rules for the use of articles using correct words from the box:
1. We use ‘a’ with a consonant sound.
2. We use ‘an’ with a vowel sound.
3. We use ‘the’ with a particular person, place or thing.
. a vowel sound. . a consonant sound. . a particular person, place or thing. |
II. Fill in the blanks with suitable Articles:
The police have been looking for an eight-year old boy who tried to rob a sweet-shop with a gun. The boy threw a carrier bag at the shopkeeper and asked him to fill it up.
“I don’t know whether he wanted me to fill the bag with sweets or money,” said the shopkeeper to the police. “I am not sure if the gun was real or not, but I don’t think it was a toy gun.”
III. Complete each sentence so that it means the same as the one above it:
1. “Who is that man?” Daddy asked.
Daddy asked who that man was.
2. “What are you doing?” he asked Daddy.
He asked Daddy what he was doing.
3. Daddy said, “I want to be an ice-cream man.”
Daddy said that he wanted to be an ice cream man.
4. Daddy said, “There is nothing to do at night.”
Daddy said that there was nothing to do at night.
5. “I have been a man for a long time,” said Daddy.
Daddy said that he had been a man for a long time.
6. “Don’t you want to be a man?” the sage asked Daddy.
The sage asked Daddy if he didn’t want to be a man.
IV. Punctuate the following using capital letters where necessary:
1. whos is that man daddy asked
Ans. “Who’s that man? Daddy asked.
2. arent you ashamed of yourself
Ans. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?
3. i want to be a dog little daddy said
Ans. “I want to be a dog.” Little Daddy said.
4. little daddys parents were very surprised
Ans. Little Daddy’s parents were very surprised.
5. you think about that yourself said the sage
Ans. “You think about that yourself,” said the sage.
6. ill be a hunter and an icecream man he said
Ans. “I’ll be a car mechanic and an ice-cream man,: he said.
Pronunciation Practice
• Say the following words aloud:
what wrist sage ship chin when write sip shop chop white wrong sun shoe chart which wrench seat sheep cheap where wrestler soft sheet check |
Composition Writing
I. What do you want to be in your life when you grow up?
Write a short paragraph on it, giving your reasons.
Ans. One must have some aim in life. I want to become a teacher in my life. A teacher is a nation-builder. He shapes the destiny of his students. He fills good qualities in them. Turns them into ideal citizens. He commands respect from one and all. His place in student's life is next only to their parents.
II. Write a few words of advice for your younger brother or sister; as –
Ans.
1. You should learn to be a good human being.
2. You should learn to respect your elders.
3. You should learn to observe the rules of the road.
4. You should learn to be punctual in work.
5. You should learn to be polite with others.
6. You should leam to be religious and God-fearing.
