Say ‘No’
There was once a witty barber named Gopal. He had helped the king, Raja Krishna, many a time. He was the king’s favourite now.
The king loved him for his wisdom. Whenever Gopal asked the king for anything, the king never said NO to him. He would immediately say ‘YES!’ with a smile. The king trusted Gopal completely.
The king’s ministers and courtiers became jealous of Gopal. They would always try to make Gopal look like a fool. But every time Gopal would get the better of them. He would make them all look like complete fools.
One day the ministers and the courtiers thought of a plan. They decided to talk to the king when Gopal was not around. One of them said to the king, “Your Majesty, you trust Gopal too much. He gets away with so many things because you say YES to whatever he says.
If for once you say NO to what he says, you will see that he can’t solve any of your problems.”
The king thought for a while and then said, “You are all jealous of him. In spite of what you say, I know he is very clever and witty. I shall prove it to you that even if I say NO to what he says, he will still be as clever and witty as always. Let’s then see what happens.”
All the ministers and the courtiers went away very pleased. They were certain that the king would find Gopal neither clever nor witty.
The next day Gopal arrived at the court. He noticed the ministers and the courtiers giggling at his back. He at once knew there was something fishy, so he decided to be careful.
The king, the courtiers and the ministers started discussing the usual issues. The king wanted to know how the people of his kingdom could be made wise and intelligent. Gopal stepped forward with a suggestion. He said, “Your Majesty, I think we should ask them to have a discussion on some topic every day, for one hour at least.”
The king looked at Gopal and said, “No!”
Gopal was shocked because the king had never said NO to him. He thought a little and then said, “Your Majesty, don’t you think a friendly discussion would help people think clearly. They will also gain confidence in themselves.”
Once again the king said flatly, “No!”
Gopal stayed quiet and watched what was happening. Every time he said anything, the king would shake his head saying a big NO. Gopal was surprised to see that the king was saying NO to whatever he said. He felt certain that it was some dirty plan of the king’s ministers who wanted to get rid of him. He decided to wait patiently for the right opportunity to get back at them.
When all the discussion was over, Gopal stepped forward and said, “O King! You are great, but without these ministers and courtiers of yours, I don’t think you would be able to manage your kingdom. So I request you to give them each a special reward of five hundred gold coins.’’ The ministers and the courtiers were overjoyed to hear this. They could not believe their ears – ‘Had Gopal gone mad?
Why was he praising them? Why was he trying to help them?’
However, they were all very happy at the thought of getting five hundred gold coins. But they had forgotten what they had themselves wanted the king to do.
The king looked at Gopal and said firmly, “No!”
The ministers and the courtiers were all very sad to hear this. Gopal continued, “Your Majesty, if that is not possible, I would request you to give them each a fertile piece of land in your kingdom.”
Once again the ministers and the courtiers looked happy. But the king shouted back, “No!” The ministers and the courtiers were almost in tears to hear this. By now the king had realized that Gopal knew what the ministers and the courtiers had planned. He smiled to think: “Gopal will now show them how clever and witty he remains, even if I say NO to what he says.”
At last Gopal said, “O King! But I would request you not to ask your ministers and courtiers to work like farmers in your fields.” The king suppressed his laughter and said: “No! I will ask them to work in my fields daily!”
The ministers fell at the king’s feet and said: “O King! We are all very sorry. We are really very sorry. Now we know how clever and witty Gopal is. Please forgive us!”
Before the king could say anything, Gopal said, “Your Majesty, I think you should forgive them.”
The king again shouted back, “No!”
At once, all the ministers and courtiers got up and ran away. Both the king and Gopal burst out laughing. Now they knew that the jealous ministers as well as courtiers had learnt their lesson.
New Words / Phrases and their Use
1. favourite (liked more than others) – Apple is my favourite fruit.
2. get away with (to do something wrong and not be punished) – Don’t cheat. You will never get away with it here.
3. get the better of (to defeat somebody) – I always get the better of him whenhe tries to befool me.
4. completely (fully) – She was completely absorbed in her work.
5. witty (intelligent, quick to answer) – His witty talk always makes me laugh.
6. giggle (laugh in a silly manner) – The girls giggled at his joke.
7. opportunity (chance) – He did not avail himself of that good opportunity.
8. instructions (directions) – You should follow the instructions carefully.
Textual Comprehension
I. Answer each question in your own words:
1. Who was the king’s favourite and why?
Ans. Gopal, a witty barder, was the king’s favourite because he had helped the king, raja Krishna many times.
2. Who were the king’s courtiers and ministers jealous of and why?
Ans. The king’s countries and ministers were jealous of Gopal because the king loved and trusted him for his wisdom. He never said ‘No’ to Gopal.
3. What did the courtiers ask the king to do?
Ans. The countries asked the king to say ‘no’ to whatever Gopal says.
4. What discussion was going on in the court?
Ans. The king and his countries were discussing how they could make the people in the kingdom more intelligent.
5. What was Gopal’s suggestion to make the people intelligent?
Ans. Gopal suggested that they should ask the people to have a discussion on some topic every day for one hour at least.
6. What did Gopal realize when the king said ‘NO’ to whatever he said?
Ans. Gopal realized that the ministers and countries were playing some game with him to show him down.
7. What did Gopal request the king to give his courtiers and ministers?
Ans. Gopal requested the king to give each courtier a special reward of five hundred gold coins.
8. What made the courtiers sad?
Ans. Gopal requested the king to give five hundred gold coins to each courtier. But the king again said ‘No’ to Gopal. It made the courtiers sad.
9. Why did the ministers and the courtiers run away?
Ans. When Gopal suggested the king to forgive the ministers and the courtiers, the king again shouted back ‘No’. All the ministers and the courtier got up and ran away.
1. How were the jealous courtiers taught a lesson?
Ans. Gopal’s cleverness and wit helped the king to teach a lesson to his ministers and courtiers. Their plan to down show Gopal fell back on them only.
II. Tick (✓) the correct answer:
1. Gopal, the barber, was very______
(a) kind.
(b) Witty.
(c) jealous.
2. The courtiers tried their best to make Gopal look a fool because____
(a) they were jealous of Gopal.
(b) they wanted to save the king.
(c) they wanted to become witty themselves.
3. The ministers believed that Gopal got away with so many things because_____
(a) he was very clever.
(b) the king loved him.
(c) the king said ‘YES’ to whatever he said.
4. Gopal was surprised because______
(a) the courtiers were jealous of him.
(b) the king had never said ‘NO’ to him.
(c) the king was saying ‘NO’ to whatever he said.
5. The courtiers were happy at the thought of_______
(a) making Gopal a fool.
(b) saying ‘NO’ to whatever Gopal said.
(c) getting five hundred gold coins each.
III. Complete each sentence any way you like:
1. Gopal noticed the ministers and the courtiers giggling at his back.
2. Gopal requested the king to given them a special reward of five hundred go0ld coins.
3. The king never said ‘NO’ to whatever Gopal said.
4. Gopal knew that the courtiers had planned to get rid of him.
5. The ministers and the courtiers were so jealous of Gopal that they thought of a plan to get rid of Gopal.
6. The ministers and the courtiers had to admit that they were guilty and asked the king to pardon them.
Vocabulary Enrichment
I. Match the words in column ‘A’ with words in column ‘B’ that mean almost the same:
A | B |
1. sad
2. witty
3. giggle
4. reward
5. believe
6. favourite
7. completely
8.immediately
| Fully
Trust
Prize
Laugh
Darling
Quickly
Unhappy
Intelligent
|
Ans.
A | B |
1. sad
2. witty
3. giggle
4. reward
5. believe
6. favourite
7. completely
8.immediately
| Unhappy
Intelligent
Laugh
Prize
Trust
Darling
Fully
Quickly
|
rid plan issues jealous trusted noticed favourite rewarded confidence |
Raman was the favourite of King Krishna Dev Rai. He was the most trusted courtier and the king had full confidence in him.
All the important issues were discussed with him.
He was rewarded handsomely by the king every now and then.
This made the other courtiers jealous of them. The king
Had noticed this jealousy many a time, but said nothing. Once
they all made a plan to get rid of him.
III. Write each word in the correct group:
able solve ability enable believe solution fool belief befool foolish soluble believable |
1. Nouns: ability, solution, fool, belief
2. Verbs: solve, enable, believe, befool
3. Adjectives: able, foolish, believable, soluble
Grammar in Use
An Adverb is a word that tells How, When or Where an action is done, as –
1. He ran slowly. (How?)
2. She came today. (When?)
3. My father has gone out. (Where?)
I. Complete each sentence using a suitable Adverb:
1. He won’t play there
2. She comes here everyday
3. Do this exercise regularly
4. The army fought bravely
5. The moon shines brightly
6. The king shouted loudly
7. Our soldiers fought bravely
8. The bus was running fast
Note: The Adverb form of ‘fast’ is ‘fast’ not ‘fastly’.
II. Fill in the blanks with ‘too’ or ‘so’:
1. Gopal was so witty that no one could fool him.
Gopal was too witty to be fooled.
2. The courtiers were so shocked that they could say nothing.
The courtiers were too shocked to say anything.
3. The ministers were so jealous that they did not praise Gopal.
The ministers were too jealous to praise Gopal.
III. Rewrite each sentence using ‘too .... to’ in place of ‘so ... that’:
1. I am so busy that I cannot talk to you.
Ans. I am too busy to talk to you.
2. The news is so good that it cannot be true.
Ans. The news is too good to be true.
3. It was so dark that I could not see anything.
Ans. It was too dark to see anything.
4. She was so late that she could not catch the train.
Ans. She was too late to catch the train.
5. The question was so difficult that I could not answer it.
Ans. The question was too difficult for me to answer.
Pronunciation Practice
I. Say each pair of words aloud.
Note the long and short sound in each pair:
live – leave
it – eat
hit – heat
fast – fist
last – list
| day – die
way – why
may – my
how– high
fowl – file |
II. Say each pair of words aloud. Note the two different sounds of ‘s’:
/s/ | /z/
|
hiss
case
loose
cease
house
| His
phase
lose
sees
houses
|
III. Say the following pairs of words aloud:
(Take care that the sound ‘v’ is produced with the help of the upper teeth and the lower lips. The sound ‘w’ is produced by rounding the lips.)
V
| W |
verse
vet
vest
vale
vile
| Worse
wet
west
wail
while |
Composition Writing
I. Suppose Gopal meets the king the same evening. Pen down an imaginary dialogue between the two about the incident that took place in the court that day.
Ans.
King: Did you like the way I behaved in the court?
Gopal: Yes, I liked the way you handled the situation.
King: I knew you would see through my game.
Gopal: My request and your ‘No’ were enough to befool the jealous ministers and courtiers. They realized their folly and ran away.
King: They will never dare do so again. (And they burst into laughter)
II. There are many humorous stories about King Akbar and Birbal. Reproduce briefly any in your own words.
Ans. Akbar was a great king. Bribal was one of his ministers. He was very witty. One day Akbar Ordered Bribal to find out those persons who were afraid of their wives. He told him to give an egg to each of them. Birbal went away.
