CBSE NCERT Solution for class 7 English Chapter 4 The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom

Comprehension Check

Question 1:
Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Solution:
The neigbours killed the dog in anger. They have expected the dog to help them get a treasure, but the dog had rather taken them to a foul smelling dead kitten.

Question 2:
Mark the right item.

1. The old farmer and his wife loved the dog
   (a) because it helped them in their day-to-day work.
   (b) as if it was their own baby.
   (c) as they were kind to all living beings.
2. When the old couple became rich, they
   (a) gave the dog better food.
   (b) invited their greedy neighbours to a feast.
   (c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
3. The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make
   (a) rice pastry and bean sauce.
   (b) magic ash to win rewards.
   (c) a pile of gold.

Solution:

1. (b) as if it was their own baby.
2. (c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
3. (c) a pile of gold.

Working with the Text

Answer the following questions.
Question 1:
The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs.
Solution:
In the first paragraph it is written that the old farmer treated the dog like his own child. He will feed the dog small pieces of fish with their own chopsticks and offer boiled rice to him as much as he wanted. The second paragraph says that to provide food to the birds, the old farmer will often turn up the surface of the ground.
Both these instances proved that the old man was a kind person.

Question 2:
What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Solution:
The dog came running towards the farmer. It kept his paws against his legs and with its head it kept on directing towards a spot behind him.
The old man initially ignored the dog, but it kept on whining and running to and from until the farmer followed it to the spot.

Question 3:

1. How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
2. How did it help him next?

Solution:

1. The spirit of the dog came in the farmer’s dream and first asked him to chop the pine tree and make mortar and hand-mill out of it. With the mortar and mill it gave the farmer heaps of gold.
2. The dog’s spirit again came in the farmer’s dream for the second time and told the farmer to collect the ash of the mortar and the mill and sprinkle it on the withered trees and they will blossom.
   The farmer did this in front of the daimio (the landlord) and was awarded with lavish gifts.

Question 4:
Why did the daimio reward the farmer, but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Solution:
The farmer had sprinkled the ash over the withered cherry tree and it blossomed. Daimio was pleased seeing the miracle and he rewarded the farmer. His neighbour poured the ash over the cherry tree, but nothing happened to the tree.
Fine particles from the ash entered the eyes of the daimio and his wife. They began to sneeze and cough.
This spoiled the splendour of the procession and so the neighbour was punished by man of the landlord.

Working with Language

Question 1:
Read the following conversation.
Ravi: What are you doing?
Mridu: I’m reading a book.
Ravi: Who wrote it?
Mridu: Ruskin Bond.
Ravi: Where did you find it?
Mridu: In the library.
Notice that ‘what’, ‘who’, ‘where’, are question words. Questions that require information begin with question words. Some other question words are ‘when’, ‘why’, ‘where’, ‘which’ and ‘how’.
Remember that

• What asks about acting, things etc.
• Who asks about people.
• Which asks about people or things.
• Where asks about place.
• When asks about time.
• Why asks about reason or purpose.
• How asks about means, manner or degree.
• Whose asks about possessions.

Read the following paragraph and frame questions on the italicised phrases.
Anil is in school. I am in school too. Anil is sitting in the left row. He is reading a book. Anil’s friend is sitting in the second row. He is sharpening his pencil. The teacher is writing on the blackboard. Children are writing in their copybooks. Some children are looking out of the window.
Solution:

1. Where is Anil?
2. Which row he is sitting in?
3. What is he doing?
4. Where is Anil’s friend sitting?
5. What is his friend doing?
6. Who is writing on the blackboard?
7. What are some children doing?

Question 2:
Write appropriate question words in the blank spaces in the following dialogue.
Neha: ………… did you get this book?
Sheela: Yesterday morning.
Neha: ………… is your sister crying?
Sheela : Because she has lost her doll.
Neha: …………… room is this, yours or hers?
Sheela: It’s ours
Neha: ……………. do you go to school?
Sheela: We walk to the school. It is nearby.
Solution:
When, Why, Whose, How

Question 3:
Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box.

1. My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know …………… to do and ………….. to look for it.
2. There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide ……………….. one to buy.
3. You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman ………………. to get there.
4. You should decide soon …………….. to start building your house.
5. Do you know …………….. to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember ……………… and …………….. I learnt it.
6. “You should know ………….. to talk and to ………………. keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.

Solution:

1. what, where,
2. which
3. how
4. when
5. how, when, where
6. when, where

Question 4:
Add im- or in- to each of the following words and use them in place of the italicised words in the sentences given below.

1. The project appears very difficult at first sight but it can be completed if we work very hard.
2. He lacks competence. That’s why he can’t keep any job for more than a year.
3. “Don’t lose patience. Your letter will come one day,” the postman told me.
4. That’s not a proper remark to make under the circumstances.
5. He appears to be without sensitivity. In fact, he is very emotional.

Solution:

1. impossible
2. incompetent
3. impatient
4.  improper
5. insensitive

Question 5:
Read the following sentences.
It was a cold morning and stars still glowed in the sky.
An old man was walking along the road.
The words in italicised are articles. ‘A’ and ‘an’ are indefinite articles and ‘the’ is the definite article. ‘A’ is used before a singular countable noun. ‘An’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel.

Use a, an or the in the blanks.
There was once ………… play which became very successful. ………… famous actor was acting in it. In ………. play his role was that of ……….. aristocrat who had been imprisoned in …………. castle for twenty years. In……… last act of ……….. play someone would come on ……… stage with ………… letter which he would hand over ……….. to prisoner. Even though …………. aristocrat was not expected to read ………. letter at each performance, he always insisted that ………… letter be written out from beginning to end.
Solution:
(i) a       (ii) A        (iii) the
(iv) an   (v) a         (vi) the
(vii) the(viii) the  (ix) a
(x) the   (xi) the    (xii) the
(xiii) the

Question 6:
Encircle the correct article.

A: Would you like (a/an/the) apple or ‘ (a/an/the) banana?
B: I’d like (a/an/the) apple, please.
A: Take (a/an/the) red one in (a/an/the) fruit bowl. You may take (a/an/the) orange also, if you like.
B: Which one?
A: (A/An/The) one beside (a/an/the) banana.
Solution:
(A) an, a (B) an (A) the, the, an (B) – (A) The, the

Speaking and Writing

Question 1:

Do you remember an anecdote or a story about a greedy or jealous person and the unhappy result of his/her action? Narrate the story to others in your class.

Here is one for you to read.

Seeing an old man planting a fig tree, the king asked why he was doing this. The man replied that he might live to eat the fruit, and, even if he did not, his son would enjoy the figs.

“Well,” said the king, “if you do live to eat the fruit of this tree, please let me know.” The man promised to do so, and sure enough, before too long, the tree grew and bore fruit. Packing some fine figs in a basket, the old man set out for the palace to meet the king.

The king accepted the gift and gave orders that the old man’s basket be filled with gold. Now, next door to the old man, there lived a greedy old man jealous of his neighbour’s good fortune. He also packed some figs in a basket and took them to the palace in the hope of getting gold. The king, on learning the man’s motive, ordered him to stand in the compound and had him pelted with figs. The old man returned home and told his wife the sad story. She consoled him by saying, “You should be thankful that our neighbour did not grow coconuts.”

Solution: One upon a time there lived a king. He was never satisfied with whatever he had. Everyday he prayed to God to give him more wealth. One day God appeared in front of him while he was praying. He was overwhelmed to see God; God told him to ask for anything and he would grant. The greedy king asked for a wish i.e whatever he touched would become gold. God granted him.

He was very happy to get his wish fulfilled. He touched doors and windows that turned into gold. Whatever he touched became gold. At night when he sat to have his meal. As he touched the food, it became gold.  He kept on chewing but couldn’t eat. Days passed by and he couldn’t eat anything and became weaker and weaker day by day. He started crying with hunger and prayed to God again to ask for an apology and promised that he will remain happy with whatever he had and would never ask for more and more.

Question 2:
Put each of the following in the correct order. Then use them appropriately to fill in the blanks in the paragraph that follows. Use correct punctuation marks.

• English and Hindi/both/in/he writes
• and only / a few short stories/many books in English/in Hindi
• Is/my Hindi / than my English/much better

Ravi Kant is a writer and ………….. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written …………….. . I find his books a little hard to understand ………………… .
Solution:

1. he writes both in English and Hindi
2. many books in English and only few short stories in Hindi
3. My Hindi is much better than my English

Question 3:

Are you fond of reading stories? Did you read one last month? If not, read one or two and then write a paragraph about the story. Use the following hints.

• title of the story
• name of author
• how many characters
• which one you liked
• some details of the story
• main point(s) as you understand it

Tell your friends why they should also read it.

Solution:

Title : All that glitters is not gold.

Name of the Author: Anonymous

How many Characters: 2

Which one you liked: The Deer

Some details: 

• This takes place in a forest.
• The deer saved his life by running.

Main points to understand: Be happy and satisfied with what you have.

They should read it because it has very high moral values.

Clear Your Doubts with CBSEJanta.com 🔍

Visit CBSEJanta.com to access detailed solutions for every chapter in your Class 7 English textbook! 📚 These solutions not only help you answer questions but also enhance your overall understanding of stories and grammar concepts. 💡

Download Our App for Easy Access 📱

Want to study on the go? 🚀 Download our app for instant access to Class 7 English NCERT solutions, practice questions, and much more! Whether at home or traveling, you can easily prepare for your exams and boost your English skills with CBSEJanta.com. 🌍

Always Thinks for Students ❤️

“Excel in Class 7th English  with CBSEJanta.com! 🌟 Get FREE NCERT solutions for Honecomb and An alien hand. Visit CBSEJanta.com now or download our app for instant access to solutions and extra practice!” 📲