Day: June 28, 2010

The Milk Maid and Her Pail – Audio Story

The Milk Maid and Her Pail

Listen to and read the story of  The Milk Maid and Her Pail and answer the questions given below:

Martha, the milkmaid made her living by selling milk. She always dreamt of becoming rich and famous.

One morning, like every morning, she set out with a pail of milk over her head. Suddenly, a thought came into her mind, “With the money, I’ll get after selling this milk, I shall buy eggs. The eggs would hatch to give me a lot of chickens. I’ll sell them to buy a piglet. Then I’ll feed the piglet and when he grows fat, I’ll sell him. This will give me enough money to buy a kid. When the kid would grow into a goat, I’ll sell it. This will give me enough money to buy a cow. The cow would give me more milk, which I would sell and buy a necklace for myself. Then I will wear that necklace and go around the village.  Other girls would be jealous of me. What fun would it be!”

All the while, she was dreaming, she was unaware of her surroundings. She suddenly tripped over a stone and fell. And so did her pail of milk. A cat rushed in and lapped up the milk before it seeped into the ground. “Oh, there go my chickens, piglet, goat and cow!” she cried. “All my dreams have been shattered. Had I been more careful I would have earned the money.”

When Martha went back home, she narrated the entire incident to her father. He said, “Martha, dreams inspire us to achieve our goals. But to reach those goals, we must do our job with full dedication and concentration. Dreams can come true only through hard work! Do not count your chickens before they are hatched.”

 

  1. How did Martha make a living?

  2. What did she always dream of?

  3. What thoughts came to her mind one morning, when she set out with a pail of milk on her head?

  4. What happened while she was day-dreaming?

  5. Who lapped up all the milk?

  6. Was Martha able to realise her dreams?

  7. Where did Martha go after the incident?

  8. To whom did she narrate the whole incident?

  9. What did her father tell her?

  10. What is the meaning of  – Do not count your chickens before they are hatched?

The Three Wishes – Audio Story

The Three Wishes

Once upon a time, there lived a poor woodcutter.

He lived in a small cottage with his wife.Every morning, he would go to the forest to cut firewood.

He would sell it in the town-market in the evening. With the money he got after selling it, he would buy

 food for himself and his wife. The woodcutter was content, but his wife wanted to lead a better life. So she often prayed to God.

One fine morning, the woodcutter reached the forest. However, he found it difficult to decide which tree to cut. Finally he selected a tall tree with a fat trunk.

 He was about to strike it with his axe when he heard a voice say, ” Do not cut the tree, Sire. Have pity on me.” He turned around but saw none.

Suddenly he realised that it was the tree that was speaking. The tree said, “If you spare me, I will grant you three wishes.”

The woodcutter was very excited. He rushed back home and told about his adventure in the woods to his wife. His wife was overjoyed and she served him hot porridge.

“Oh! Just porridge? I wish fresh hot bread were to fall through the chimney,” he said.

Lo and behold! Fresh hot bread began falling from the chimney.

“You have wasted one wish. I wish these hot breads were to hang down your nose,” said the woodcutter’s wife.

And indeed the next moment, the fresh hot loaves were hanging from her husband’s nose.

The woodcutter’s wife tried to calm him, ” Do not worry, dear husband. We still have one wish. We can wish for all the good things and then we can lead comfortable lives,” she said.

” But how can I be comfortable with these hot loaves hanging from my nose,”said the woodcutter. “I wish they go up the way they came.”

And the loaves indeed went up the chimney the moment he uttered those words. 

Listen to and read the story “The Three Wishes” and then answer the following questions:

  1. Where did the poor woodcutter live?
  2. Where did he go every morning?
  3. Where did he sell the firewood?
  4. What did he buy from the money he got after selling firewood?
  5. Was the woodcutter’s wife content with her life?
  6. Describe the woodcutter’s adventure in the forest?
  7. What did the tree grant the woodcutter and why?
  8. What did the woodcutter’s wife serve him when he gave her the good news?
  9. What was the woodcutter’s first wish?
  10. How did the woodcutter’s wife react when she saw fresh hot bread falling down the chimney?
  11. What was their third wish?
  12. Did the woodcutter and his wife use the three wishes wisely?
  13. What do you learn from this story?
  14. Find the meaning of the words underlined in the story? 

The Continuous or Progressive Tenses

The Continuous or Progressive Tenses

The Continuous or Progressive Tenses describe an action that goes on or continues or progresses for sometime.

To make them we use the helping verb be and the present participle (am, is, are for the present continuous and was, were for the past continuous).

 

  • The Present Continuous Tense

The simple present tense is the everyday or habitual present. The present continuous is the real or immediate present which tells us what is happening at the time of speaking e.g.

What are you doing, John?

I am doing my homework, father.

Study the following examples to see the difference in the use of the simple present and the present continuous:

Present Continuous Simple Present
What are you learning now?We are learning English grammar. Which days in the week do you learn grammar?We learn it on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Where are you going now?I am going to school. How do you go to school?I go to school by bus.
What is your father doing?My father is watching television. What do you watch on television?I watch cartoon films.
What is your mother doing?She is writing a letter to grandmother. Do you write letters to your friends and relatives?Yes, I do.

 

Notice that the present continuous of go and come is often used for the future, e.g.

We are going for a picnic tomorrow.

My friends are coming to our house next week.

The present continuous of go, followed by an infinitive, is often used for the future, e.g.

I am going to finish my work tomorrow.

Are they going to repair the roads before the rains?

  • The Past Continuous Tense

We make this with was/were and the present participle.

The past continuous tense shows an action that went on for some time in the past, e.g.

Mother and father were sitting in garden while I was watering the plants. My younger brother was playing under the tree, mother was reading a magazine and father was having his tea.

It is also used to express an action that was going on when another happened. The second action is in the simple past tense, e.g.

She lost her watch while she was playing.

I was going to the market when I saw the accident.

  • The Future Continuous Tense

This tense is formed by the simple future of the verb be and the past participle of the principal verb. It shows that a person will keep on doing something in the future, e.g.

We will be studying mathematics in the next lesson.

We will be playing football in the field at 5 o’clock this evening.

On Sunday, my parents will be going for a movie and I will be looking after my little sister.