NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English
Gopal and the Hilsa-Fish NCERT Solutions for Class 7 English Honeycomb Chapter 3
Gopal and the Hilsa-Fish NCERT Text Book Questions and Answers
Gopal and the Hilsa-Fish Working with the text
Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
Why did the king want no more talk about the hilsa-fish?
Answer:
The king did not want more talk about the hilsa-fish because everyone around him spoke about nothing but the hilsa-fish – his courtiers, the townspeople, and fishmongers. He was annoyed of hearing so much on the same subject.
Question 2.
What did the king ask Gopal to do to prove that he was clever?
Answer:
The king asked Gopal to do to prove that he was clever by making people talk about something other than the hilsa-fish for five minutes.
Question 3.
What three things did Gopal do before he went to buy his hilsa-fish?
Answer:
Before going to buy his hilsa-fish, Gopal shaved only half his face. Then, he smeared his face with ash, and dressed himself in rags.
Question 4.
How did Gopal get inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish?
Answer:
Gopal began to dance and sing loudly to get the attention of the king. When the king heard voices from outside the palace, he ordered the guards to bring in the man who was creating all the nuisance. This is how Gopal got inside the palace to see the king.
Question 5.
Explain why no one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought.
Answer:
Gopal was dressed in a very bizarre manner, so much so, that it was him and his strange acts that caught the attention of everyone in town. Everybody kept talking about and noticing his strange and funny appearance for five minutes, and no one seemed to notice the hilsa-fish that he was carrying.
Question 6.
Write ‘True’or ‘False’ against each of the following sentences.
- The king lost his temper easily. True
- Gopal was a madman. False
- Gopal was a clever man. True
- Gopal was too poor to afford decent clothes. False
- The king got angry when he was shown to be wrong. False
Gopal and the Hilsa-Fish Working with language
Question 1.
Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech.
i. Why is your face half-shaven?
Answer:
Gopal’s wife asked him why his face was half-shaven.
ii. I accept the challenge, Your Majesty.
Answer:
Gopal told the king that he accepted the challenge.
iii. want to see the king.
Answer:
Gopal told the guards that he wanted to see the king.
iv. Bring the man to me at once.
Answer:
The king ordered the guard to bring the man to him at once.
Question 2.
Find out the meaning of the following words by looking them up in the dictionary. Then use them in sentences
of your own.
i. challenge: a task or situation that tests someone’s abilities
He threw a challenge to me to drink the whole contents of the milk bottle, in a single go.
ii. mystic: a spiritual person who understands mysteries
Rumi was a mystic, who is still known to us for his poetry.
iii. comical: amusing and funny
Isn’t it comical how he did not notice that I was standing right behind him?
iv. courtier: a person who attends a royal court as a companion or adviser to the king or queen
The king had very lazy couriers.
v. smearing: coating or marking something carelessly with grease or a sticky substance He was hurriedly smearing his face with moisturiser. He was late for the presentation.
Gopal and the Hilsa-Fish Picture reading
Question 1.
Look at the pictures and read the text aloud.
(Encourage the students to read the given text aloud.)
Question 2.
Now ask your partner questions about each picture.
i. Where is the stag?
Answer:
The stag is standing by the side of a pond.
ii. What is he doing?
Answer:
He is looking at his reflection in the water of the pond and is appreciating his horns.
iii. Does he like his antlers (horns)?
Answer:
Yes, he is proud of his antlers. He likes them a lot.
iv. Does he like his legs?
Answer:
No, he does not like his legs.
v. Why is the stag running?
Answer:
The stag is running to try and escape the hunters who are following him.
vi. Is he able to hide in the bushes?
Answer:
No, he is unable to hide in the bushes.
vii. Where are the hunters now?
Answer:
The hunters are now very near him.
viii. Are they closing in on the stag?
Answer:
Yes, they are closing in on the stag.
ix. Is the stag free?
Answer:
Yes, he is free in the end.
x. What does the stag say about his horns and his legs?
Answer:
He says that even though he was proud of his horns, they could have caused his death. But it was his legs that he hated which saved him from death.
Question 3.
Now write the story’ in your own words. Give it a title. Sample answer
Answer:
Suggested title: Handsome is as handsome does
There was once a stag that went to drink some water at the pond. At the pond, he could not help but see the reflection of his antlers in the water. He was mesmerized by his own beauty and grandeur. How beautiful he was! But then he noticed his thin legs and felt a sense of pity for himself. “Why were they so thin and ugly,” he thought.
Suddenly, he heard some voices and then turned his back to see where they were coming from. He realized that it were some hunters. He had just begun to run when the hunters started following him furiously. They were carrying guns with them. They shot at him twice, but missed him. He ran fast as he could. Just when he saw them approaching right behind him, he tried to escape into a shrub.
But what a misfortune! His antlers interwined with the twigs in the shrub and did not let him hide properly in the bush. The hunters were just behind him, but gave up on the hunt on hearing a tiger roar nearby. He felt relieved after they left. Then he began to look at his legs pensively and thanked his stars for it was his legs that helped him escape from the hunters. And the antlers, as beautiful they were to look at, proved to be his curse.
He felt that he should be proud of himself, of his entire being, and not hate any part of his body. After all, appearances are deceptive. He decided that he is going to be beautiful, inside out.
Question 4.
Complete the following word ladder with the help of the clues given below.
Cluses
Solved
- Mother will be very cross if you don’t go to school.
- As soon as he caught sight of the teacher, Mohan started writing.
- How do you like my tiny kitchen garden? Big enough for you, is it?
- My youngest sister is now a year old.
- Standing on the roof he saw children playing on the road.
- Don if make such a fuss. Nothing will happen.
- Don’t cross the street till the green light comes on.