Unit 5
Reprint 2025-26
Humans have always had a complex relationship with snakes. In some cultures, they are revered and considered sacred, while in others they are feared and seen as symbols of danger. This chapter explores different perspectives on snakes through a thrilling adventure story and beautiful poems.
In this lesson, we will explore "The Miraculous Escape," a story about survival and the instinct to protect oneself from danger, along with poems that offer different views on snakes and their place in our world.
Read the poems given in the textbook, Beehive, 'The Snake Trying' (page 125) and 'Green Snake' (page 126).
• Note the actions of these three snakes.
• Note the reactions of the story writer and the poets. What do they feel?
• Do you think any of the snakes wanted to do any harm?
• What is the human behaviour towards them?
Discuss all these points with your partner and together share with your other friends.
Think about your own feelings about snakes. Are you afraid of them or fascinated by them? Have you ever encountered a snake? How did you react? What do you think is the appropriate way to behave around snakes?
The story of Miraculous Escape has a number of words which describe the narrator's feeling of fear and getting tired of the journey. List the words of the two feelings and experiences.
Words related to fear:
Words related to getting tired:
Can you now add suffix which can mean or relate to the word 'fear'? First one has been done for you.
(a) fearsome
(b) fear
(c) fear
(d) fear
(e) fear
(f) fear
(g) fear
You have learnt how to report questions from direct to indirect speech. Here is a paragraph with direct speech questions. Read them carefully and report into indirect speech. Rewrite the paragraph in the spaces provided.
Once an old man asked a young boy, "Who do you think are the most intelligent people?" The young man said in return, "Who do you think so?" The old man said, "How can sons and daughters be intelligent without learning from their parents?" The young man said, "How did you as a parent learn?" The old man said, "Why are you hijacking my question by asking me back?" The young man said, "Didn't you know that you as a parent, now have learnt all the things on your own?" The old man said, "How do you say that we all learnt from others?" The young man said, "Why do you ask me about how to operate electronic gadget all the time?" The old man said, "Why can't I ask you because I have paid for the gadget you use?"
First sentence:
Second sentence:
Third sentence:
Fourth sentence:
Fifth sentence:
Some of the prepositions are incorrectly used in the following story. Correct them and read the story aloud.
The Dog and His Bone
A hungry dog while searching about food found a bone. He picked it out and held it tightly in his mouth and ran out into the woods, to a safe place to enjoy it in ease. He growled and frowned at anyone who attempted to take it over. He chewed the bone for a very long time and this made him quite thirsty. He came to a stream to quench his thirst. He trotted around the footbridge and happened to glance into the water. He saw his own reflection in the water. Thinking it was another dog with a bigger bone, he growled and scowled towards it. The reflection growled and scowled back. Being greedy by nature, he wanted that bone too. He snapped his sharp teeth at the image on the water. He barked at the other dog, hoping to scare him into giving that bone. His own big bone fell with a splash, went over of sight, the moment he opened his mouth to bite!
Listen to the story of Shrawan Kumar, a brave six-year-old who saved two children from a house fire. Then answer the questions.
1. Where is the village of Sarneshwar?
2. Who all were there in the hut when it caught fire?
3. How did Shrawan save the two children?
4. What happened to the goats?
Imagine yourself as the narrator in the story 'The Miraculous Escape' and describe your experience during your voyage. You may begin like this:
I have been thinking of going on a voyage. And here came the opportunity to sail on a ship! I enjoyed the blue sea, the silence all around, amazing sunrise for a week. Then suddenly one day......
Imagine yourself as the narrator in the story 'The Miraculous Escape' and describe your experience during your voyage to your partner. You may begin like this:
I have been thinking of going on a voyage. And here came the opportunity to sail on a ship! I enjoyed the blue sea, the silence all around, amazing sunrise for a week. Then suddenly one day......
Jot down some points before you speak:
The stories of 'The Snake and the Mirror' and 'The Miraculous Escape' show how people face danger and are scared of animals. As children, many of us fear stray dogs. Both adults and children are scared of snakes. Fear exists in most of us. Some fears have bases and others do not. Let us conduct a survey of what people fear about. You may follow the guidelines given below:
Spelling differences exist between British and American English. For example:
British: Colour, Honour, Programme, Travelling, Fulfil, Centre, Dialogue, Grey
American: Color, Honor, Program, Traveling, Fulfill, Center, Dialog, Gray
Common errors with commas include using them when they're not necessary. For example:
Incorrect: Hari never went into the city, because he did not feel comfortable driving in traffic.
Correct: Hari never went into the city because he did not feel comfortable driving in traffic.
Also, be careful with expressions like "on and off" versus "off and on" which have specific meanings:
"On and off" means at regular intervals
"Off and on" means occasionally