The Banyan Tree Class 6 Question Answers and Explanation

The chapter “The Banyan Tree” is taken from Melody English for students of Class 6 of JKBOSE students and Honeysuckle English for NCERT students. You have already gone through the Summary and Word Meanings of the Banyan Tree in my last post. This post will detail you about The Banyan Tree Class 6 Question Answers and Explanation. Let’s get started:

The Banyan Tree Class 6 Question Answers and Explanation

Introduction

The chapter “The Banyan Tree” is a story about a boy who loved to spend time on the branches of a banyan tree in their garden. This is a story about what the author saw, as a young boy, when he was sitting in an old banyan tree in his grandfather’s house. He witnessed a fierce fight between a cobra and a mongoose from the banyan tree. The snake got killed at the end of the fight.

The Banyan Tree Class 6 Question Answers

Working with Text

A. Complete the following sentences.

1. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because ____________.

Ans. The old banyan tree “did not belong” to grandfather, but only to the boy, because the grandfather at sixty-five could no longer climb it.

2. The small gray squirrel became friendly when ____________.

Ans. The small grey squirrel became friendly when he found that the boy did not arm himself with a catapult or air gun.

3. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel ____________.

Ans. When the boy started to bring him pieces of cake and biscuit, the squirrel grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from the author’s hand.

4. In the spring, the banyan tree ___________, and __________ would come there.

Ans. In the spring, the banyan tree was full of small red figs and birds of all kinds would come there.

5. The banyan tree served the boy as a ____________.

Ans. The banyan tree served the boy as a reading room where he had made a rough platform to sit and read books.

6. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree ____________.

Ans. The young boy spent his afternoons in the tree when it was not too hot.

B. Answer the following questions.

1. “It was to be a battle of champions.” (8)

(i) What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.

Mongoose	Cobra
(a)	(a)
(b)	(b)
(c)	(c)

Ans.

Mongoose	Cobra
(a) superb fighter	(a) skilful
(b) clever	(b) experienced fighter
(c) aggressive	(c) swift

(ii) What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?

Ans. To show their readiness for the fight the cobra produced a hissing sound and darted his forked tongue in and out to challenge the mongoose. It raised three feet of its body off the ground and spread its broad and spectacled hood. The mongoose bushed its tail. The long hair on its back also stood up.

2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch, or did they join in the fight?) (10)

Ans. The other two spectators were a jungle crow and a myna. They had seen the preparation for the fight and settled on a cactus to watch the result of the fight. But they did not just watch. They tried to join the fight by hurling themselves at the cobra to pick it up for their meal.

3. Read the descriptions below of what the snake did and what the mongoose did. Arrange their actions in the proper order. (11, 16)

Ans.

(ii) tried to mesmerize the mongoose	• refused to look into the snake’s eyes
(vi) struck on the side that the mongoose pretended to attack	• pretended to attack the cobra on the side
(v) struck again and missed	• sprang aside, jumped in and bit
(iv) struck the crow	• darted away and bit the cobra on the back
(iii) coiled itself around the mongoose	• grabbed the snake by the snout
(i) ceased to struggle	• dragged the snake into the bushes

4. (i) What happened to the crow in the end? (16)

Ans. At the end of the fight, the cobra whipped his head back and struck with great force. His snout thudded against the crow’s body the crow flung nearly twenty feet across the garden and it fluttered about for a while, then it lay still and dead.

(ii) What did the myna do finally? (17)

Ans. Myna finally dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance and then with a shrill cry of congratulations flew away.

Working with Language

Working with Language

1.  1. The word ‘round’ usually means a kind of shape. What is its meaning in the story?

Ans. The word ‘round’ in the story represents the different courses of the fight that took place between the snake and the mongoose.

2. Find five words in the following paragraph, which are generally associated with trees. But here, they have been used differently. Underline the words.

Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.

Ans. Hari leaves for work at nine every morning. He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is really the fruit of his own labour. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.

B. The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below.

dived gliding sprang darting whipped…back delving

1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began ______________ into my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. saw a cobra______________ out of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue ______________ in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose ______________ aside.
5. The snake ______________ his head ______________ to strike at the crow.

6.The birds ______________ at the snake.

Ans.

1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began delvinginto my pockets for morsels of cake.
2. I saw a cobra glidingout of a clump of cactus.
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue dartingin and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose sprangaside.
5. The snake whippedhis head backto strike at the crow.
6. The birds divedat the snake.

C. Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.

1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th — — — ing against its body. (15)
2. The crow and the myna c — ll — — — — in mid-air. (13)
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b — — — — d into each other instead. (14)

Ans.

1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th u d d ing against its body.
2. The crow and the myna c o ll i d e din mid-air.
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b u m p e d into each other instead.

D. Look at these sentences.

·        In the spring, birds of all kinds would flock into the banyan tree’s branches.	·        Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb the banyan tree.
·        I would spend the afternoons there.	·        I could hide myself in its branches.
	·        I could look down through the leaves at the world below.
	·        I could read there.
‘Would’ tells us what the author used to do, or what used to happen.	‘Could’ tells us what the author was usually able to do, or grandfather is now not able to do.

Choose would and could to replace the italicised words in the following sentences.

Grandfather says, in the old days,

1. elephants were able tofly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.

Ans. elephants could fly in the sky like clouds. They could change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would look up at the sky and wonder.

2. because there was no electricity, he used toget up with the sun, and he used to go to bed with the sun, like the birds.

Ans. because there was no electricity, he would get up with the sun, and he would go to bed with the sun, like the birds.

3. like the owl, he was able tosee quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.

Ans. like the owl, he could see quite well in the dark. He could tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps.

Speaking

Look at these sentences.

• The tree was older than Grandfather.
• Grandfather was sixty-five years old.

How old was the tree? Can you guess?

• The tree was as old as Dehra Dun itself.

Suppose Dehra Dun is 300 years old. How old is the tree?

• Probably, the tree was 300 years old too.

When two things are the same in some way, we use as…as.

Here is another set of examples.

• Mr Sinha is 160 centimetres tall.
• Mr Gupta is 180 centimetres tall.
• Mrs Gupta is 160 centimetres tall
• Mrs Gupta is as tall as Mr Sinha.

Use the words in the box to speak about the people and the things below, using as…as or -er than

tall – taller	cold – colder	hot – hotter
strong – stronger	short – shorter

(Notice that in the word ‘hot’, the letter ‘t’ is doubled when -er is added.)

Ans.

1. Heights

(i) Zeba is as tall as Rani.

(ii) Zeba is taller than Ruby.

(iii) Rani is taller than Ruby.

(iv) Ruby is shorter than Rani as well as Zeba.

2. Weight Lifters

(i) Vijay is as strong as Akshay.

(ii) Anwar is stronger than Akshay as well as Vijay.

(iii) Neither Akshay nor Vijay is as strong as Anwar.

3. City Temperatures.

(i) Shimla is as cold as Gangtok.

(ii) Srinagar is colder than Shimla and Gangtok.

(iii) Neither Gangtok nor Shimla is as cold as Srinagar.

4. Lengths

(i) Romi’s pencil is as long as Raja’s pencil.

(ii) Mona’s pencil is longer than Romi’s pencil and Raja’s pencil.

(iii) Neither Romi’s pencil nor Raja’s pencil is as long as Mona’s pencil.

5. City Temperatures.

(i) Delhi is as hot as Nagpur.

(ii) Chennai is not as hot as Delhi or Nagpur.

(iii) Delhi is hotter than Chennai.

(iv) Nagpur is hotter than Chennai.

Writing

‘My Favourite Place’

Read again the paragraphs of the story in which the author describes the banyan tree, and what he used to do there. Is there a place in your house, or in your grandparents’ or uncles’ or aunts’ houses, that you especially like? Write a short paragraph about it, saying

• where it is
• what you do there
• why do you like it

You may instead write about a place you dislike or are afraid of.

Ans. My favourite place in my house is the garden in front of my house. There is a huge window in my room that overlooks the garden outside. I enjoy the beautiful view of the garden. There are flowers of various kinds in the kind. I like to spend my free time in the garden taking care of the plants and flowers in the garden. The ground of the garden is covered with a grassy lawn. Our family like to spend an evening in the garden.

The Banyan Tree Class 6 Line by Line Explanation.

Part I

THOUGH the house and grounds belonged to my grandparents, the magnificent old banyan tree was mine — chiefly because Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb it.

Explanation: The author was at the home of his grandparents and they have a huge Banyan tree in the garden. The tree completely belonged to the author because being old his grandfather could not climb the tree anymore.

Its spreading branches, which hung to the ground and took root again, forming a number of twisting passages, gave me endless pleasure. Among them were squirrels and snails and butterflies. The tree was older than the house, older than Grandfather, as old as Dehra Dun itself. I could hide myself in its branches, behind thick green leaves, and spy on the world below.

Explanation: The hanging branches of the tree have entered back into the soil and had made several passes. The tree served as a home for several small birds, insects and animals. Various organisms living in the tree includes small squirrel, snails and butterflies. The tree was as old as the city of Dehradun and was older than the house and the author’s grandfather. The author was able to hide behind the leaves on the branches of the tree and watch the happening of the world below.

My first friend was a small grey squirrel. Arching his back and sniffing into the air, he seemed at first to resent my invasion of his privacy. But when he found that I did not arm myself with a catapult or air gun, he became friendly, and when I started bringing him pieces of cake and biscuit, he grew quite bold and was soon taking morsels from hand. Before long, he was delving into my pockets and helping himself to whatever he could find. He was a very young squirrel, and his friends and relatives probably thought him foolish and headstrong for trusting a human.

Explanation: A small grey squirrel living in the tree became the first friend of the author on the tree. In the beginning, the squirrel was offended by the presence of a human on the tree but later when he realized that the boy was not harmful, he became friendly with him. The author used to take cake and biscuit pieces for him. He started eating at the hands of the author and after some time he became so friendly with him that he started searching the pockets of the author for food. He was a young squirrel and his relatives might be thinking of him as a fool for trusting human beings.

In the spring, when the banyan tree was full of small red figs, birds of all kinds would flock into its branches: the red-bottomed bulbul, cheerful and greedy; parrots, myna and crows squabbling with one another. During the fig season, the banyan tree was the noisiest place in the garden.

Explanation: The tree was a very busy place in the spring season. Because the tree was full of figs, its branches remain full of all kinds of birds like red-bottomed bulbul, cheerful and greedy; parrots, myna and crows. They fight with one another and due to their chirping, the tree becomes the nosiest place in the garden in the spring season.

Halfway up the tree, I had built a crude platform where I would spend the afternoons when it was not too hot. I could read there propping myself up against the tree with a cushion from the living room. Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and The Story of Dr Dolittle were some of the books that made up my banyan tree library.

Explanation: The boy had made a rough platform on the branches of the tree and used to spend the afternoons there when it is not very hot. He used to take the cushion from the living room and put it against the branch of the tree for leaning against the tree. The author had set up a small library on the tree and kept a few books like Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn and The Story of Dr Dolittle in the tree library.

When I did not feel like reading, I could look down through the leaves at the world below. And on one particular afternoon, I had a grandstand view of that classic of the Indian wilds, a fight between a mongoose and a cobra.

Explanation: When the author did not have the mood of reading, he would look through the leaves at the world below. On one particular afternoon, the author witnessed a fierce fight between a mongoose and a cobra snake.

Part II

The warm breezes of approaching summer had sent everyone, including the gardener, into the house. I was feeling drowsy myself, wondering if I should go to the pond and have a swim with Ramu and the buffaloes, when I saw a huge black cobra gliding out of a clump of cactus. At the same time, a mongoose emerged from the bushes and went straight for the cobra.

Explanation: Due to the warm air of the approaching summer, everyone was forced to stay inside their houses. The author was also feeling lazy and sleepy and was about to visit a pond to swim when he noticed a fierce cobra coming out of a clump of cactus and at the same time a mongoose came out of bushes. The mongoose after coming out of the bushes and went straight to the cobra.

In a clearing beneath the banyan tree, in bright sunshine, they came face to face. The cobra knew only too well that the grey mongoose, three feet long, was a superb fighter, clever and aggressive. But the cobra, too, was a skilful and experienced fighter. He could move swiftly and strike with the speed of light, and the sacs behind his long sharp fangs were full of deadly poison. It was to be a battle of champions.

Explanation: They came face to face in the open space below the banyan tree. Both were superb fighters and well aware of each other’s fighting capabilities. The mongoose was 3 feet long, clever, aggressive and a superb fighter. On the other hand, the cobra was 6 feet long swift, skilful, and experienced fighter. It was going to be the battle of champions.

Hissing defiance, his forked tongue darting in and out, the cobra raised three of his six feet off the ground, and spread his broad, spectacled hood. The mongoose bushed his tail. The long hair on his spine stood up.

Explanation: The two fighter gets prepared for the fight. The cobra raised 3 feet off the ground and produced a loud hissing sound, spread his broad and spectacled hood and darted his forked tongue in and out. The mongoose on the other hand bushed his tail up and the long hair on his spine stood up.

Though the combatants were unaware of my presence in the tree, they were soon made aware of the arrival of two other spectators. One was a myna, the other a jungle crow. They had seen these preparations for battle, and had settled on the cactus to watch the outcome. Had they been content only to watch, all would have been well with both of them.

Explanation: At the beginning, the fighters were unaware of the author’s presence on the branches of the banyan tree but were aware of the two more spectators myna and a jungle crow who were ready to watch the ongoing fight. They settled on the clump of cactus to watch the result of the fight. They had not remained satisfied only by watching the fight but interfered in the fight.

The cobra stood on the defensive, swaying slowly from side to side, trying to mesmerise the mongoose into making a false move. But the mongoose knew the power of his opponent’s glassy, unwinking eyes, and refused to meet them. Instead, he fixed his gaze at a point just below the cobra’s hood and opened the attack.

Explanation: The cobra tried to trick the mongoose by gliding towards one side and forcing it to make a wrong move but the mongoose was well aware of the trick and remain still. It kept its focus at the point just below the hood and started the attack.

Moving forward quickly until he was just within the cobra’s reach, the mongoose made a pretended move to one side. Immediately the cobra struck. His great hood came down so swiftly that I thought nothing could save the mongoose. But the little fellow jumped neatly to one side, and darted in as swiftly as the cobra, biting the snake on the back and darting away again out of reach.

Explanation: The mongoose went quickly towards the cobra and after reaching just within the range of the cobra made a false move towards one side to trick the snake. The cobra struck swiftly but the mongoose quickly jumped to one side, came back quickly and bit the cobra on its back and went out of the reach of the cobra.

At the same moment that the cobra struck, the crow and the myna hurled themselves at him, only to collide heavily in mid-air. Shrieking insults at each other they returned to the cactus plant. A few drops of blood glistened on the cobra’s back.

Explanation: Just when the cobra tried to strike the mongoose, the myna and the jungle crow flew towards the snake to lift it for their meal but they collided with each other. They scold each other and came back to their respective places on the cactus plant. The drops of blood which came out due to the mongoose’s bite were shining on the back of the cobra.

The cobra struck and missed. Again, the mongoose sprang aside, jumped in and bit. Again, the birds dived at the snake, bumped into each other instead, and returned shrieking to the safety of the cactus.

Explanation: The snake again tried to strike the mongoose but the mongoose quickly jumped to one side. Both the birds again tried to attack the cobra but again collided with each and came back to the cactus plant safely.

The third round followed the same course as the first but with one dramatic difference. The crow and the myna still determined to take part in the proceedings dived at the cobra, but this time they missed each other as well as their mark. The myna flew on and reached its perch, but the crow tried to pull up in mid-air and turn back. In the second that it took the bird to do this the cobra whipped his head back and struck with great force, his snout thudding against the crow’s body.

Explanation: The third time the birds again tried to attack the snake but this time they missed each other and also missed their target. The myna went back safely to the cactus plant but the crow continued the attack and came back to attack the cobra. In the second attempt, the crow was struck by the snake with full force.

I saw the bird flung nearly twenty feet across the garden. It fluttered about for a while, then lay still. The myna remained on the cactus plant, and when the snake and the mongoose returned to the fight, very wisely decided not to interfere again! The cobra was weakening, and the mongoose, walking fearlessly up to it, raised himself on his short legs and with a lightning snap had the big snake by the snout. The cobra writhed and lashed about in a frightening manner, and even coiled itself about the mongoose, but to no avail. The little fellow hung grimly on, until the snake had ceased to struggle. He then smelt along its quivering length, gripped it around the hood, and dragged it into the bushes.

Explanation: The author saw a bird flung about twenty feet away in the garden. It struggled for life for some time and then died. The myna was on the cactus plant and after watching the death of the crow decided not to take part in the fight. The cobra was getting weak and tired and looking at this mongoose started attacking fearlessly and finally killed the cobra when it was completely tired and exhausting. The snake tried to save himself by coiling around the mongoose but it was of no use. After killing the cobra, the mongoose dragged it into the bushes.

The myna dropped cautiously to the ground, hopped about, peered into the bushes from a safe distance, and then, with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away.

Explanation: The myna flew down to the ground and hopped about, reached the bushes and peeped from the safe distance and gave a high-pitched congratulatory sound and flew away.

That’s all we have about The Banyan Tree Class 6 Question Answers and Explanation. Hope it has helped you. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below: