A Letter to God

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Class 10 First Flight 

Chapter -1 A Letter to God 

Summary

The tale "A Letter to God" by Gregorio Lopezy Fuentes is about a farmer named Lencho who prays for rain to help his crops. Rain comes, but it turns into hail, ruining his harvest. Lencho, relying on his faith, writes a letter to God, asking for a hundred pesos to plant his field again. The postmaster, touched by Lencho's belief, gathers money from friends and colleagues, managing to collect seventy pesos. They send it to Lencho, signed as "God." Lencho is upset upon counting the money, feeling God didn't send enough. In his reply, he asks for the remaining pesos and advises God not to use the post office, suspecting theft. The story reflects Lencho's unwavering faith and highlights how sometimes help comes from unexpected sources, even if not exactly as expected.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 5)

1. What did Lencho hope for?

Lencho had hoped for a rain or at least a shower for his ripe corn fields for a good harvest.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

Lencho wanted the rain drops to be big like a ten-cent coin. He also hoped that rain woukd bring him prosperity.  

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?

The downpour suddenly changed into a hailstorm. It continued for an hour and destroyed Lencho's corn field.

4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

Lencho was in great grief. Everything was ruined by the hailstorm and nothing was left to feed his family for the entire year. He could visualize the bleak future of his family.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 6)

1.Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

Lencho had a strong faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience. Hence, he wrote a letter to God saying that he needed a hundred pesos to sow his field that was destroyed by the hailstorm.

2. Who read the letter?

The postmaster read Lencho’s letter addressed to God.

3. What did the postmaster do then?

The postmaster broke out into laughter but was moved by the seriousness of Lencho’s faith in God. He didn’t want Lencho to lose faith in God. So he collected money from his employees and friends, gave a part of his salary and sent it to Lencho.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 7)

1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

No, Lencho was not at all surprised to receive a letter from God with money in it. 

2. What made him angry?

On seeing only seventy pesos in the place of a hundred, he thought that God might have sent the money he asked for but the post office employees must have taken the thirty pesos. This thought made him angry. 

Thinking about the Text  (Page 7,8)

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?

Lencho had complete faith in God as he was instructed that God could see everything and helped whoever was in deep trouble. Given below are a few sentences which exhibit his faith in God:

• But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope of help from God.
• All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.
• “God”, he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year”.
• He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and still troubled, went to town.
• God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
• It said: “God: Of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much”.

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

The postmaster was touched by Lencho's strong belief in God. To keep Lencho's faith strong, he gathered money from his friends and coworkers. Then, he signed the letter as 'God.' The postmaster thought this was a clever way to show Lencho that the money sent was from God, with God's signature on it.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

Lencho didn't try to figure out who sent the money because he was sure it was from God. He never doubted for a second that someone other than God could have sent it. His trust in God was very strong. He believed that God sees everything, and nothing escapes His notice. Lencho thought God knew about the tough time he was going through and asked for help to get through it.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)

When Lencho counted the money, he only saw seventy pesos instead of the hundred he asked God for. He believed God wouldn't make such a big mistake. Lencho thought the post office workers might have taken the missing thirty pesos. So, even though they helped him, he called them crooks. The irony here is that the people who helped him are the ones he suspects, all to protect his strong belief in God.

5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

(greedy naive stupid ungrateful   selfish comical unquestioning)

It is not easy to find people like Lencho in the real world as he has a naïve and unquestioning nature. From the story, we can conclude that he is not stupid. He is a literate person who wrote a letter to God without any address requesting for money. Lencho had deep faith in God and was confident that he would definitely receive some financial help from the Almighty.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

In the story, there are problems between people and nature when a hailstorm wrecks Lencho's crops. He hoped for good rain, but the hail ruined everything, making him really sad.

There are also problems between people themselves. The postmaster and his friends gave money to help Lencho keep his faith in God. Even though they did a nice thing, Lencho thought the post office workers took some money. This shows that sometimes people don't trust each other, causing conflicts.

Thinking about Language (Page 8-11)

1. There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.

gale, whirlwind, cyclone,    hurricane, tornado, typhoon

1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: __ __ c __ __ __ __ CYCLONE

2. An extremely strong wind: __ a __ __ GALE

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: __ __ p __ __ __ __ TYPHOON

4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: __ __ __ n __ __ __ TORNADO

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: __ __ r __ __ __ __ __ __ HURRICANE

6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: __ __ __ __ l __ __ __ __ WHIRLWIND

2. Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of ‘hope’ in Column B.

A	B
1. Will you get the subjects you want to study in college? I hope so.	– wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible)
2. I hope you don’t mind my saying this, but I don’t like the way you are arguing.	– showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite
3. This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers.	– a feeling that something good will probably happen
4. We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes.	– wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely
5. I called early in the hope of speaking to her before she went to school.	– thinking that this would happen (It may or may not have happened.)
6. Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back, seven days after the cyclone.	– stopped believing that this good thing would happen

3. Relative Clauses: Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.

1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)

    I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.

2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)

    My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.

3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)

    These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.

4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)

    Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.

5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)

    This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.