Ch. 3. The Aged
Mother
ACTIVITY 1:
Meanings of the words as used in the lesson (noun, verb, adjective, etc.)
Despotic - (adjective)
Suggestive - (adjective)
Failing- (adjective)
Prompted- (verb)
Barbarous - (adjective)
Abandoning - (verb )
Widowed - (adjective)
Humble - (adjective)
Reckless - (adjective)
Snapped - (verb)
Hastened - (verb)
Blaze - (noun)
Abolished - (verb)
Frality - (noun)
ACTIVITY 2: Put a
tick on the option that brings out the meaning of the underlined word.
1. It was
governed by a despotic leader.
a. A person who expects everyone to obey all his
orders. (√)
b. A person who loves his people.
2. He had a
great dislike for anything suggestive of failing health and strength.
a. giving an idea of (√)
b. typical
3. This
prompted him to make a cruel law for the province.
a. encouraged to do something (√)
b. made a rule
4. Those were
barbarous days.
a. uncivilized (√)
b. crude
5. The custom
of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon.
a. to leave or
desert (√)
b. to discontinue
6. The narrow
road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the hunters and the woodcutters.
a. small width (√)
b. big
7. She
stretched forth her hand and snapped the twigs from bushes.
a. broke (√)
b. pulled
8. His demand
was that his subjects should present him with a rope of ash.
a. People (√)
b. studies
9. That very
hour the cruel law was abolished.
a. came to an end (√)
b. destroyed
10. He realised
that old age meant experience of life and not frailty.
a. physical weakness (√)
b. strength
ACTIVITY 3:
Rearrange the sentences given below in the correct sequence. Write the numbers in the given brackets.
The first one is done for you.
1. The son decided to take his mother back home.
2. A farmer decided to leave his old mother on the top
of a mountain.
3. The governor realized his mistake and abolished the
law.
4. Once in Shining, a cruel ruler made a law that all
the old people must be put to death. (1)
5. Using the idea of his old and experienced mother,
the farmer made a rope of ash.
6. When the farmer turned to go back home, the mother
advised him to return home with the help of twigs.
7. Filled with fear, he hid his mother in his home.
8. The mother dropped the small twigs as markers on
the way to help her son return home safely
Answer:
Once in
Shining, a cruel ruler made a law that all the old people must be put to death.
(1)
A farmer
decided to leave his old mother on the top of a mountain. (2)
The mother dropped the small twigs as markers on the
way to help her son return home safely. (3)
When the farmer turned to go back home, the mother
advised him to return home with the help of twigs. (4)
The son decided to take his mother back home. (5)
Filled with fear, he hid his mother in his home. _____
(6)
Using the idea of his old and experienced mother, the
farmer made a rope of ash. (7)
The governor
realized his mistake and abolished the law. (8)
ACTIVITY 4: Answer
the following questions in one or two sentences.
Q.1. What was
the cruel announcement made by the despotic leader?
Ans. Put all the aged people to death.
Q.2. Why was
the farmer sorrowful?
Ans. The farmer was sorrowful at the order of the
despot. He loved his old mother very much.
Q.3. What
things did the farmer carry to the top of the mountain?
Ans. He carried some cooked rice and water.
Q.4. What made
the mother anxious as they climbed up the mountain?
Ans. Her son did not know many paths of the mountain
and he would forget the way back to home.
Q.5. What did
the mother drop along the way?
Ans. She dropped small branches along the way.
Q.6. What was
the advice given by the farmer's mother for the safe return of her son?
Ans. She advised him to follow the path where he saw
the dropped twigs.
Q.7. Where did
the farmer hide his mother?
Ans. He hid his mother in a cabin beneath their
kitchen.
Q.8. When did
the Governor realize his mistake?
Ans. He realized his mistake when he saw the idea of
the farmer’s old mother.
ACTIVITY 5:
Identify the underlined character(s).
Answers:
1. He gave orders for the aged to be put to
death. = Despot/Dictator
2. He considered the order to be the kindest mode of
death. = Son
3. She quietly dropped some twigs on the way. = Mother
4. Together we will follow the path, together we will
die.= Son
5. He listened and meditated in silence.= Despot/Dictator
ACTIVITY 6: Fill in
the blanks with suitable determiners.
1. I went to
the window which commanded a large green garden.
2. I have some work to do.
3. Look out of the window for a minute
4. This shirt is costly but that shirt is cheap.
5. The books she had were all lost.
6. This pen costs two rupees.
7. But I had no idea of all this.
8. He didn't make many mistakes in the essay.
9. I borrowed some books from him.
10. It educates both the blind and the helpers.
11. We should look into the depth of the problem.
12. It was a daring idea.
13. Ten boys attended the class.
14. This is a good home for him.
15. Five teachers were asked to be present on Sunday.
16. This sum cannot be solved by those silly boys.
17. Besides them stood Pasteur, holding a narrow tube
in his hand.
18. They took samples from the brain of a dog that had
died.
19. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
20. He takes no interest in me
ACTIVITY 7: Rewrite
the following sentences after correcting them by adding/deleting a word wherever
necessary in each sentence:
1. Only few men
are honest.
Only a few
men are honest.
2. The man is
mortal.
Man is
mortal.
3. He acted
like man.
He acted
like a man.
4. Beas flows
in Punjab.
The Beas
flows in Punjab.
5. You are in
wrong but he is in right.
You are
wrong but he is right.
6. He is by far
ablest boy.
He is the
ablest boy.
7. Nobody likes
a person with bad temper.
Nobody likes
a bad tempered person.
8. The iron is
useful metal.
Iron is a
useful metal.
9. Not word was
said.
Not a word
was said.
10. He has too
high a opinion of you.
He has a
very high opinion of you.
11. Learn this
poem by the heart.
Learn
this poem by heart.
12. Never tell lie.
Never
tell a lie.
ACTIVITY 9: Create
a dialogue between yourself and the Fire station informing them about the fire near your house.
Once you have written the dialogue in your notebooks, practise it with your partner. You must take
turn to play both roles.
Fire Station:-
Hello, this is Nakodar Fire Station.
You:- Hello, there is fire in a shop in our village.
Fire Station:- Please give us your location details.
You:- I am speaking from Boparai Kalan, Nakodar. The
shop is near the Community hall of the village.
Fire Station:- That will be very helpful!
You:- Can you reach fast?
Fire Station:- Yes, we are reaching within 5 minutes.
You:- Thank you!
ACTIVITY 10: Write
a short story. You may use some of the following words and phrases.
*felt scared
*heard the sound in the cupboard
* thought it must be a thief
*might be a killer
* lay still
*could hardly breathe
*felt someone touched my foot
* shouted with fear
*parents came and switched on light
* saw a rat
Begin your story with:
Suddenly, I woke up. It was very dark. I felt there
was someone in my room. I tried to…
Suddenly, I woke up. It was very dark. I felt there
was someone in my room. I tried to listen to some sound. I heard the sound in
the cupboard. I thought it must be a thief or it might be a killer. I was too
afraid. So I lay still. I could hardly breathe. After a while, I felt that
someone touched my foot. Suddenly, I shouted with fear. My parents came into my
room. They switched on the light. And we saw that it was only a rat. I smiled.
Chapter-3
The Aged Mother
Pre-reading
Dictionary
Reference : Learning New Words
Activity 1.
Look up the following words in a dictionary. You
should seek the following information
about the words and put them in your WORDS notebook.
1, Meaning of the word as used in the lesson
(adjective/noun/verb, etc.)
2. Pronunciation (The teacher may refer to the
dictionary or a mobile phone for correct
pronunciation.)
3. Spellings
Reading
Let us read the story
The Aged Mother
Long, long ago there was a province in Japan called
Shining. It was governed by a despotic leader. He was a good warrior but he had
a great dislike for anything suggestive of failing health and strength. This
prompted him to make a cruel law for the province. The entire province was
given strict orders to immediately put all the aged people to death. Those were
barbarous days and the custom Le
of abandoning old people to die was not uncommon.
In the same province lived a poor farmer and his aged widowed mother at the foot of the
mountain. They owned a bit of land which supplied them with food. They were
humble, peaceful and happy. The poor farmer loved his aged mother and dealt
with Y
her very tenderly. The order by the despot filled his
heart with sorrow. Other people did not think twice about obeying the order of
the governor but this farmer was very unhappy. However, he had to obey the
order so the farmer prepared for what at that time was considered the kindest
way of death.
Just at sunset, when his day’s work ended, he took
some unwhitened rice which was the main food for the poor and cooked it, dried
it and tied it in a cloth which he swung in a bundle around his neck along with
a pot filled with cool water. Then he lifted his helpless old mother on his
back and started on his painful journey up the mountain. The road was long and
steep. The narrow road was crossed and re-crossed by many paths made by the
hunters and the woodcutters. At some places, they got lost and confused but he
did not think about it. He was about to abandon his dear mother so it did not
matter which path he took to reach the mountain top. On he went,
climbing blindly upward — ever upward towards the high
bare summit known as Obatsuyama, the mountain where the aged were abandoned.
The eyes of the old mother were not so dim that they
could not notice the reckless hastening from one path to another and her loving
heart grew anxious. Her son did not know many paths of the mountain and his
retum might be dangerous so she stretched forth her hand and snapped twigs from
bushes as they passed. She quietly dropped a handful every few steps of the way
so that as they climbed, the narrow path behind them was dotted with tiny piles
of twigs. At last, the summit was reached, Weary and heartsick, the youth
gently released his burden and silently prepared a place of comfort as his last
duty to the loved one. Gathering fallen pine needles, he
made a soft cushion and tenderly lifted his old mother
onto it. He wrapped her padded coat more closely about her stooping shoulders
and with tearful eyes and an aching heart, he bade farewell to his mother.
The trembling voice of his mother was full of
unselfish love as she gave her last instructions.“Let not thine eyes be
blinded, my son,” she said. “The mountain road is full of dangers. Look
carefully and follow the path where you see piles of twigs. They will guide you
to the familiar path farther down.” The son’s surprised eyes locked back over
the path, then at the poor old shrivelled hands, all scratched and soiled by
her work of love. His heart broke within and bowing to the ground, he cried
aloud, “Oh, honourable mother, your kindness breaks my heart! I will not leave
you. Together we will follow the path of twigs and together we will die!”
Once more he shouldered his mother and hastened down
the path to their little hut in the valley. Beneath their kitchen floor was a
walled closet for food which was covered and hidden from view. There the son
hid his mother, supplying her with everything she needed, continually watching
and fearing she would be discovered, Time passed and he was beginning to feel
safe when again the governor sent forth messengers bearing an unreasonable
order, seemingly as a boast of his power. His demand was that his subjects
should present him with a rope of ash.
The entire province of Shining trembled with fear. The
order had to be obeyed but how could anyone make a rope of ash ? One night, in
great distress, the son whispered the news to his hidden mother. “Wait!” she
said, “Let me think... Let me think”. On the second day, she told him what to
do. “Make a rope of twisted straw,” she said. “Then stretch it upon a row of
flat stones and bum it on a windless night.” He called the people together and
did as she had said. When the blaze died down, there upon the stones, with
every twist and fiber showing perfectly, lay a rope of ash.
The governor was pleased at the wit of the youth and
praised greatly but he demanded to know where he had obtained his wisdom from.
“Alas! Alas!” cried the farmer, “the truth must be told!” and with deep bows,
he narrated his story. The governor listened and then meditated in silence.
Finally, he lifted his head. “Shining needs more than the strength of youth,’
he said gravely, “Ah, how could I have forgotten the well-known saying, “With
the crown of snow, there
cometh wisdom!” That very hour, the cruel law was
abolished as he realised that old age meant experience of life and not frailty.
