This is Jody’s Fawn

AP/ NCERT Class 8 Honeydew Textbook Solution, Textual Notes

Prose - 6 This is Jody’s Fawn

Comprehension Check (Page 89)

1. What had happened to Jody’s father?

Jody’s father was bitten by a rattlesnake.

2. How did the doe save Penny’s life?

When Jody’s father, Penny, was bitten by a rattlesnake, he quickly killed a doe and used its heart and liver to draw out the poison as a home remedy to save his life.

3. Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?

Jody’s father had killed the doe. Without the mother-deer, the fawn was likely to starve to death in the forest. So Jody wanted to bring the young fawn home.

4. How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?

The spots on the fawn’s body made Jody know that it was a male.

Comprehension Check (Page 91)

1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they?

Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel to join him in the search for the fawn. The reason was that he was not sure about the fawn’s safety. He didn’t want Mill-wheel to see his disappointment.

2. Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?

Mill-wheel was afraid that Jody might be lost in the jungle.

Comprehension Check (Page 94)

1. How did Jody bring the fawn back home?

Jody picked up the fawn into his arms and proceeded to home. After some distance, he kept the fawn down and took rest. Later on, the fawn followed him. Thus he brought the fawn back home.

2. Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you find at least three words or phrases which show how he felt?

(i) (The fawn) shook him through with the stare of its liquid eye.

(ii) The touch of the fawn made him delirious.

(iii) As though the fawn were a china deer.

3. How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?

Jody dipped his fingers in the milk. Then he left the fawn suck his fingers. He did so several times. Finally, the fawn drank off all the milk from the gourd.

4. Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would?

The fawn didn’t know how to raise its feet to climb the steps.

Working With the Text (Page 94)

1. Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?

Penny was convinced by Jody’s argument that it would be ungrateful if they left the fawn in the forest to starve. He realised that Jody was right.

2. What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes quite free”?

Doc Wilson meant that Penny must pay back to the doe whom he had killed for his own gain by bringing up her fawn.

3. How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for doing this?

Jody looked after the faWh like a mother. He made it drink milk with his fingers dipped in milk. This is how a mother feeds her baby. Jody was glad that he had found the fawn.

4. How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the fawn home? Why does she react in this way?

Jody’s mother turned her nose when she heard that he was going to bring back the fawn. She gasped with surprise because she didn’t want to see an animal in her home.

Working With Language (Page 94)

1.Look at these pairs of sentences.

Penny said to Jody, “Will you be back before dinner?”

Penny asked Jody if he would be back before dinner.

“How are you feeling, Pa?” asked Jody.

Jody asked his father how he was feeling.

Here are some questions in direct speech. Put them into reported speech.

Penny said, “Do you really want it son?”
Mill-wheel said, “Will he ride back with me?”
He said to Mill-wheel, “Do you think the fawn is still there?”
He asked Mill-wheel, “Will you help me find him?”
He said, “Was it up here that Pa got bitten by the snake?”

Answers:

Penny asked his son if he really wanted the fawn.
Mill-wheel enquired if Jody would ride back with him.
Jody asked Mill-wheel if he thought the fawn was still there.
He asked Mill-wheel if he would help him find the fawn.
Mill-wheel wanted to know if that was the place where Pa had got bitten by the snake.

2. Look at these two sentences.

He tumbled backward.

It turned its head.

The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object. The second sentence has a transitive verb. It has a direct object. We can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer. “Its head. It turned its head.”

Say whether the verb in each sentence below is transitive or intransitive. Ask yourself a “what’ question about the verb, as in the example above. (For some verbs, the object is a person, so ask the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).

(i)Jody then went to the kitchen. - Intransitive

(ii) The fawn wobbled after him. - Intransitive

(iii) You found him. - Transitive

(iv) He picked it up. - Transitive

(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk. - Transitive

(vi) It bleated frantically and butted. - Intransitive, Transitive

(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers. - Transitive

(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk. - Transitive

(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently. - Transitive

(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk,

(xi) The fawn followed. - Transitive

(xii) He walked all day. - Intransitive

(xiii) He stroked its sides. - Transitive

(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose. - Transitive

(xv) Its legs hung limply. -- Intransitive

3. Here are some words from the lesson. Working in groups, arrange them in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary. Write down some idioms and phrasal verbs connected to these words. Use the dictionary for more idioms and phrasal verbs.

close draw make wonder scrawny

parted clearing sweet light pick

The words would appear in this way in the dictionary.

clearing close draw light make

parted pick scrawny sweet wonder

Idioms or phrasal verbs connected to the above words.

Clearing: clearing, campaign
Close: close shave, close up, close quarters
Draw: draw the curtain on/over, draw a blank
Light: in the light of, bring to light
Make: make the most of, make up
Part: part with, parted comparing
Pick: pick up, pick and choose
Scrawny: the scrawny neck
Sweet: have a sweet tooth, sweet seventeen, sweet tongued, sweet nothings
Wonder: wonder world, wonder load, nine day’s wonder, wonder about, do wonders.

Speaking (Page 96)

1. Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reasons for your answer.

It's a tricky question. Sometimes, we need animals for food or medicine, and it can help people stay healthy. But we should always try to find kind ways to do it. It's important to be grateful for the animals and use them wisely while caring for them too.

2. Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it? Discuss it in groups and present your arguments to the class.

I really liked baby animals, and once I found a cute puppy on our doorstep. My mom wasn't sure about having a pet because they can be messy and noisy. I promised to take care of it. Eventually, my parents agreed, and my new puppy became my loyal friend, guarding us and playing together.

Writing (Page 96)

1. Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here are some words and phrases that you could use.

frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic, companion, sharing, friend, rolls in mud, dirties the bed, naughty, lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead.

My new pet is a frisky and playful puppy. It's smart but sometimes a bit disobedient. Despite that, it's incredibly loyal and makes me happy. We share many fun moments together. It loves rolling in the mud, which can be naughty, and sometimes it dirties the bed. It hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, and runs away when called. It's a lively companion, and I love it!

2. Human life is dependent on nature (that’s why we call her Mother Nature). We take everything from nature to live our lives. Do we give back anything to nature?

(i) Write down some examples of the natural resources that we use.

(ii) Write a paragraph expressing your point of view regarding our relationship with nature.

(i) Man and nature are complementary to each other. Man for ages has been using forests, minerals and chemicals for his survival. Earth and nature are our lifelines. They help us directly or indirectly. Take for example the paper we print, our books and newspapers. They are products of trees. We get fruits, flowers and fodder from nature. We get water and air free from nature. It is unfortunate that we are over using the limited resources and are also polluting them.

Nature is our Mother. We must not use up anything to the extent that it is not restored naturally. By cutting down trees or killing whales we are, in a way, depriving our children of their share. Let us give back to nature for the benefits we get from it.

(ii) Some of the natural resources that we use are water, coal, mineral oil, etc.

3. In This is Jody’s Fawn, Jody’s father uses a “home remedy’ for a snake bite. What should a person now do if he or she is bitten by a snake? Are all snakes poisonous?

With the help of your teacher and others, find out answers to such questions. Then write a short paragraph on—What to do if a snake chooses to bite you.

Snakes are scary, and some are poisonous. Even non-poisonous ones can be risky, so we call snake charmers to remove them. If someone's bitten, I'd tie a band tightly, cut a bit, and press the bad blood out. Then, I'd rush to the hospital for help. It's crucial not to sleep until feeling better and safe.