The poem “Against Idleness and Mischief” was published by Isaac Watts in 1715 in the anthology “Divine Songs Attempted in Easy Language for the Use of Children” in London. The poem focuses on honeybee’s daylong work to show its well-known work ethic. This post will provide you with Against Idleness and Mischief Chant English Questions based on the book Chant English Book IV for students of JKBOSE. In the previous post, you have read about Question Answers and the Summary of the Chapter The Elephant and the Mice. Let’s get started with the post:
Against Idleness and Mischief Chant English Questions
Introduction
The poem is written by Isaac Watts. In this poem, he encourages people to do work and not to remain idle. The poet tries to motivate us to work hard by giving an example of honeybee which went from flower to flower to collect nectar to make honey and it is the outcome of the hard work of honey which comes in form of sweet honey.
Against Idleness and Mischief Class 4 Poem Text
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour,
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skilfully she builds her cell!
How neat she spreads the wax!
And labours hard to store it well
With the sweet food, she makes.
In works of labour or of skill
I would be busy too:
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do.
In books, or work, or healthful play
Let my first years be past,
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last.
Isaac Watts
Against Idleness and Mischief Class 4 Poem Word Meaning
| Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning | Urdu Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doth | Does | करती है | کرتی ہے |
| Shining | Bright | चमकदार | چمک |
| Skilfully | With great skill | कुशलतापूर्वक | مہارت سے |
| Labour | Practical work, especially that which involves physical effort | परिश्रम | محنت |
| Skill | An ability to do an activity or job well; expertise | कौशल | ہنر |
| Satan | The name used by Christians and Jews for the devil | शैतान | شیطان |
| Mischief | Behaviour, especially a child's, which is slightly bad but is not intended to cause serious harm or damage | शरारत | شرارت |
| Idle | Inactive, not doing any work | बेकार | بیکار |
| Healthful | Helping to produce a good health | सेहतमंद रखने वाला | صحت مند رکھنے والا |
| Account | A written or spoken description of an event | वर्णन | بیان |
Against Idleness and Mischief Class 4 Poem Summary in English
The poem “Against Idleness and Mischief” is written by Isaac Watts. The poet through this poem encourages people to do work and not to remain idle. In the poem, the poet wonders how the small honey bee is collecting honey from the flowers and also thinks about the hard work and activeness of the honey bee. It visits flower to flower as soon as they open to collect nectar, then they come to their hive where they make honey from the nectar.
The poet also describes the ability of the female honey bee who carefully constructs the cells inside of the honeycomb and makes the hive neat and clean. The female bee nicely places the wax, gathers honey from the flowers and works hard to store it sufficiently.
The poet is amazed and is immensely motivated by the hard work done by these small creatures and he encourages people to do some work and not to be idle. The poet also wants to be like a busy bee because he is inspired by them. The poet also believes that when we remain idle Satan plays his ways and makes us do mischief, therefore we should all do work and not remain idle.
The poet wants to pass his early years in hard work because it is only hard work that is rewarded in the end. So, the poet himself wanted to work hard and also encourages others to work hard and not remain idle.
Against Idleness and Mischief Chant English Questions
Page No. 122 Think and Answer
1. What does the bee do all day?
Ans. The bee collect nectar for making honey all day.
2. Where does the bee store the honey?
Ans. The bee stores the honey in the tiny cells of the honeycomb.
3. What does the bee teach us?
Ans. The bee teaches us the lesson of hard work and consistency.
4. What are the things that you enjoy to do? How do you utilize your free time?
Ans. I enjoy reading story books and watching television. I like to utilize my free time in gardening and playing indoor games.
5. How did the poet keep himself busy in his childhood?
Ans. In the childhood, the poet kept himself busy with books, work or beautiful play.
6. Re-read the poem and fill in the blanks.
a) The little bee visits _______ to make honey.
b) The little bee lives in a _______
c) Satan finds mischief for _______ hands to do.
d) The poet wants children to spend their early years in reading books and _______ play.
Ans.
a) The little bee visits open flowers to make honey.
b) The little bee lives in a hive.
c) Satan finds mischief for idle hands to do.
d) The poet wants children to spend their early years in reading books and healthful
Off to the Language Lab
Many words in English take ‘s’ as a plural marker in writing. For example:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| Cat | Cats |
| Rag | Rags |
| Map | Maps |
| Boy | Boys |
This plural marker ‘s’ does not always have the same pronunciation. It may either sound like [s] as in maps, cats, cups, books, sheets, shapes, bricks or as [z] as in nibs, ribs, gums, buds, rags seeds, boys, girls, etc.
Read aloud.
Classify the words in the boxes above into [s] or [z] ending plural nouns.
| [s] ending plurals | [z] ending plurals |
|---|---|
| Cats, Logs, Taps, Blankets, Pumps, Cubs, Locks, Paths, Caps, Mats, Baths, Tubs, Plums, Beads, Sheets, Cliffs, Rats, Racks, Tracks, Coats. | Pencils, Birds, Curtains, Seeds, Dogs, Nails, Deeds, Pens, Hens, Crayons, Dens, Bells, Bails, Drawers, Tails, Doves, Bulls, Skulls. |
That’s all about Against Idleness and Mischief Chant English Questions. Hope it has helped. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.
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