Poem -The ant and the cricket

main idea  The poem tells us the story of a careless cricket who was busy in singing only and never thought and did anything for his future and an ant who was very sincere to his work and  thought and did for the future . The ant lived with self-respect even in harsh time while the cricket had to beg and could not survive harsh hour of winter. new words accustomed to         -addicted to, in habit of                           He is accustomed to sit idle.             a crumb                     - a piece                           The dog grabbed a crumb of bread.  shelter                        - home                           Our basic needs are food,clothing and shelter.  starvation                  - hunger                           Starvation made him very weak.  quoth                          - quoted                          He quoth ,"All that glitters is not gold."  gay                               - happy                           Children are gay on Sundays.  summary  Once upon a time... one hot summer, a cricket sang cheerfully on the branch of a tree, while down below, a long line of ants struggled gamely under the weight of their load of grains; and between one song and the next, the cricket spoke to the ants. "Why are you working so hard? Come into the shade, away from the sun, and sing a song with me." But the tireless ants went on with the work... "We can't do that," they said, "We must store away food for the winter. When the weather`s cold and the ground white with snow, there's nothing to eat, and we'll survive the winter only if the pantry is full."    "There's plenty of summer to come," replied the cricket, "and lots of time to fill the pantry before winter. I'd rather sing! How can anyone work in this heat and sun?"  And so all summer, the cricket sang while the ants laboured. But the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months. Autumn came, the leaves began to fall and the cricket left the bare tree. The grass too was turning thin and yellow. One morning, the cricket woke shivering with cold. An early frost tinged the fields with white and turned the last of the green leaves brown: winter had come at last.  The cricket wandered, feeding on the few dry stalks left on the hard frozen ground. Then the snow fell and she could find nothing at all to eat. Trembling and famished, she thought sadly of the warmth and her summer songs. One evening, she saw a speck of light in the distance, and trampling through the thick snow, made her way towards it.  "Open the door! Please open the door! I'm starving. Give me some food!" An ant leant out of the window.    "Who's there? Who is it?"  "It's me - the cricket. I'm cold and hungry, with no roof over my head."    "The cricket? Ah, yes! I remember you. And what were you doing all summer while we were getting ready for winter?"  "Me? I was singing and filling the whole earth and sky with my song!"  "Singing, eh?" said the ant. "Well, try dancing now!"

questions answers My heart, was so light That I sang day and night, For all nature looked gay." "You sang, Sir, you say ? Go then," says the ant, "and dance the winter away." 1.       Whose heart was light ? (a) the poet's                                     (b) the ant's (c) the Cricket's                                (d) a singer. Ans:(c) 2. What did he do out of joy ? (a) danced (b) laughed (c) sang (d) slept.   Ans:(a) 3. Why did all nature look gay ? (a) because it was so.                    (c) because it was spring. (b) because he was gay.                (d) because it was summer. Ans:(c) 4. The phrase 'dance winter away' means (a) make the winter dance            (c) dance all through the winter (b) dancing in winter                       (d) forget dance and enjoy winter. Ans:(c) A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring, Began to complain when he found that, at home, His cupboard was empty, and winter was come. 1. The stanza is taken from (a) Geography Lesson                      (b) On the Grasshopper and Cricket (c) The Ant and the Cricket              (d) The Duck and the Kangaroo. Ans:(c) 2. The two qualities of the Cricket described here are (a) foolish and singer                       (b) wise and singer (c) foolish and writer                        (d) intelligent and speaker Ans:(a) 3. The weather in the poem is (a) warm and gay                               (b) cold and dry (c) rainy and stormy                          (d) hot and sunny. Ans:(b) 4. 'Accustomed to' means (a) happy                                                (b) unhappy (c) used to                                              (d) irritated. Ans:(c) Not a crumb to be found On the snow-covered ground ; Not a flower could he see, Not a leaf on a tree. "Oh ! what will become," says the cricket, "of me ?" 1. Who was looking for the crumbs ? (a) the ant.                                             (c) the poet. (b) the Cricket.                                      (d) none of the above. Ans:(b) 2. What did the Cricket usually do ? (a) searching food                                 (b) playing (c) dancing                                              (d) singing. Ans:(d) At last by starvation and famine made bold, Ail dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold, Away he set off to a miserly ant, To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant 1. Who was suffering from starvation and famine ? (a) the Ant                                               (b) the Cricket (c) the poet                                             (d) a man. Ans:(b) 2. Why was he 'dripping with wet' ? (a) It was raining hard.                         (b) He had dived in a pond, (c) He had no shelter.                           (d) He had taken a bath. Ans:(c) 3. What did he expect to get from the miserly ant ? (a) good advice                                       (b) food (c) shelter                                                (d) food and shelter. Ans:(d) 4. What does the word 'grant' mean ? (a) kind                                                      (b) generous (c) take                                                      (d) give. Ans:(d) Him shelter from rain, And a mouthful of grain. He wished only to borrow ; He'd repay it tomorrow ; If not, he must die of starvation and sorrow. 1. Who is 'him' in the first line ? (a) the ant                                                (b) the Cricket (c) the poet                                              (d) a man. Ans:(b) 2. What did he want ? (a) rain                                                       (b) grain (c) food and shelter                                (d) money. Ans:(c) 3. From whom did he hope to borrow ? (a) the Ant                                                  (b) the Cricket (c) a man                                                    (d) an animal. Ans:(a) 4. The word 'borrow' refers to (a) lending money                                      (b) giving money (c) spending money                                   (d) taking money Ans:(a)