Taros Reward

 Working with the text

1. Answer the following questions.

1. Why did Taro run in the direction of the stream? 

Taro ran in the direction of the stream because he was very thirsty. He had never seen a rushing stream or heard the sound of falling water in that part of the forest.

2. How did Taro’s father show his happiness after drinking saké? 

Taro’s father was so delighted with the saké that when he swallowed a sip of the liquid, he stopped shivering and became energetic and did a little dance in the middle of the floor.

3. Why did the waterfall give Taro saké and others water? 

The waterfall gave Taro saké and others water because Taro was a very thoughtful and dutiful son to his parents. He used to serve his parents with dedication and sincerity. The saké from the waterfall was a reward for his goodness. On the other hand, the people of his village got plain water because they were greedy.

4. Why did the villagers want to drown Taro? 

When the villagers went to the waterfall with big pitchers and vessels to collect saké, they simply got plain water from the waterfall. They thought that Taro had fooled and tricked them. Hence, they decided to punish him by drowning him in the same waterfall.

5. Why did the Emperor reward Taro?

Taro was a very dutiful son to his parents and served them with devotion. The Emperor rewarded him with twenty pieces of gold for being so good and kind to his parents. He also named the fountain after Taro. Through this reward, the Emperor declared Taro a role model for all children and wanted to encourage all of them to love, honour and obey their parents.

Mark the right item.

1. Taro earned very little money because

(i) he didn’t work hard enough.

(ii) the villagers didn’t need wood.

(iii) the price of wood was very low. ✅️

2. Taro decided to earn extra money

(i) to live a more comfortable life.

(ii) to buy his old father some saké. ✅️

(iii) to repair the cracks in the hut.

3. The neighbour left Taro’s hut in a hurry because

(i) she was delighted with the drink.

(ii) she was astonished to hear Taro’s story.

(iii) she wanted to tell the whole village about the waterfall. ✅️

Working with language 

Question A:

Strike off the words in the list below that are not suitable.

Taro wanted to give his old parents everything they needed. This shows that he was …

thoughtful,  hardworking, loving,  honest, 

considerate, trustworthy,  efficient, kind

Answer: honest, trustworthy, efficient.

Question B:

1. “This made Taro sadder than ever.”

‘This’ refers to

(i) a strong wind that began to blow.

(ii) Taro’s father’s old age.

(iii) Taro’s inability to buy expensive saké for his father. ✅️

2. “This, said the emperor, was to encourage all children to honour and obey their parents.”

‘This’ refers to

(i) the most beautiful fountain in the city.

(ii) rewarding Taro with gold and giving the fountain his name. ✅️

(iii) sending for Taro to hear his story.

Question C:

Arrange the words below in pairs that rhyme.

Example: young – lung, money – sunny

young   sad   money   chop   lung   last

wax   could   bad   sound   axe   wood

way   stop   sunny   fast   round   day

Answers

sad   -  bad

chop  -  stop

last   -  fast

wax   -  axe

could   -  wood

sound   -  round

way   -  day

Question D:

1. Fill in the blanks with words from the box.

lonely     little     hard     young

thoughtful    delicious    beautiful

A ——————–— woodcutter lived on a ——————–— hillside. He was a ——————–——— son who worked ——————–——— but earned ——————–——— money. One day he saw a ——————–——— waterfall hidden behind a rock. He tasted the water and found it ——————–———.

Answer:

A young woodcutter lived on a lonely hillside. He was a thoughtful son who worked hard but earned little money. One day he saw a beautiful waterfall hidden behind a rock. He tasted the water and found it delicious.

2. Find these sentences in the story and fill in the blanks.

(i) This made Taro ——————–——— than ever.

(ii) He decided to work ——————–——— than before.

(iii) Next morning, Taro jumped out of bed ——————–——— than usual.

(iv) He began to chop even ——————–———. 

(v) Next morning, Taro started for work even ——————–——— than the morning before. 

Speaking and Writing

Question A:

Speak the following sentences clearly but as quickly as you can. Learn them by heart.

(i) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood?

(ii) Betty bought a bit of butter, but the bit of butter was a little bitter so she bought some better butter to make the bitter butter better.

Answer:

Question B: done by yourself.

Question B:

1. The story ‘Taro’s Reward’ shows that Taro is thoughtful, hardworking and also wise. Read aloud the parts of story that show these qualities in Taro.

2. (i) Like Patrick in the story ‘Who Did Patrick’s Homework’, Taro is helped by magic. Do you believe in magic? What are the magical things that happen in these stories?

(ii) Which story do you like better, and why? Do you know such stories in other languages? Discuss these questions in class.

3. Now write a paragraph or two about these two stories, comparing them.

Answer:

“All day long, he chopped wood in the forest. Though he worked very hard, he earned very little money. This made him sad, for he was a thoughtful son and wanted to give his old parents everything they needed.”

“But Taro had been wise enough to slip behind a rock when he saw how things were going.”

(i) Yes, I believe in magic. But I also know that it is a matter of playing tricks that require practice. In Patrick’s story, there is an elf that helps him to do his homework. In Taro’s story, magical things happen when the water of the beautiful little waterfall behind the rocks tastes like saké.

(ii) Honestly speaking, I do like both stories as they are interesting and have a hint of magic in them. However, I really appreciate Taro’s story as it teaches us a major lesson that hard work always pays off and that we should always respect and obey our parents, who sacrifice so much for our sake.

(For the second part of the question, please attempt by yourself).

The story “Who did Patrick’s homework?” is an interesting story about a young boy who hated doing his homework. One day he saves an elf from the cat, and the little man grants him a wish. Patrick asks the little man to do his homework until the end of his semester, and the elf complies with it. This is a very natural story of all students who hate homework and want someone else to complete their pending work.

On the contrary, “Taro’s Reward” is the story of a young and hardworking woodcutter who is a thoughtful son to his parents. He tries his best to keep his parents happy, and even God favours his thoughtfulness and rewards him. A magical waterfall offers saké instead of plain water for his old father to drink. This story has a moral lesson that hard work always pays off and that we should always respect and obey our parents, who sacrifice so much for our sake.

Question C:

1. Listen to these children. What are they talking about?

Picture to be included....

Answer:

The three boys are discussing their problems. The first boy considers swimming to be more difficult than driving. The second boy disagrees with it. He thinks that swimming is much less difficult than driving. However, the third boy thinks that learning English is the most difficult task in comparison to swimming and driving.

2. Work in groups. Come to an agreement on each of the activities given below. Decide which is the most interesting, dullest, most dangerous, safest, most rewarding, most exciting.

cooking   fishing   playing   football

knitting   dancing   listening to music

reading   sewing   mountain   climbing

walking   swimming   learning   languages

painting   watching TV   stamp collecting

Answer

1. most interesting: dancing, watching TV, listening to music

2. dullest: knitting, sewing, learning languages

3. most dangerous: mountain climbing

4. safest: walking, stamp collecting

5. most rewarding: cooking, reading, fishing, painting

6. most exciting: playing football, swimming

Dictation 

1. Your teacher will speak the words given below. Write against each two new words that rhyme with it.

1. bed —–———–———— —–———–————

2. wax —–———–———— —–———–————

3. fast —–———–———— —–———–————

4. chop —–———–———— —–———–————

5. young —–———–———— —–———–————

Answer:

1. bed red, shed

2. wax axe, tax

3. fast last, cast

4. chop hop, shop

5. young tongue, unsung