NCERT Solutions Class 4 English Chapter 5 the Old Stag

F R E E S T U D Y M AT E R I A L F O R E V E R Y S T U D E N T

CLASS 4 · ENGLISH

NCERT Solutions

Chapter 5: The Old Stag

NCERT Textbook — Santoor

BOOK PAGES SECTIONS QUESTIONS MEDIUM

43 – 54 10 33 English

Solutions, notes, sample papers & more at 35 pages

Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

CLASS 4 · ENGLISH · SANTOOR

NCERT Solutions — Chapter 5: The Old Stag
Chapter 5 of Santoor comes in Unit 2, My Beautiful World. The Old Stag is a story adapted from The
Panchatantra. A kind old stag lives on a grassy hillock. When he falls ill, his friends come to see him — and eat
up the very grass that would have made him well. They see their mistake in time, stop eating the hillock grass
and bring him fresh leaves. The lesson the animals learn is the lesson of the chapter: “Nature has enough for
everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.”

TEXTBOOK BOOK PAGES

Santoor (Class 4) 43 – 54

SECTIONS QUESTIONS

10 33

MEDIUM

English

Let us Read — Pages 43–46
The Old Stag — adapted from The Panchatantra

LET US READ

R.1 Let us Read — The Old Stag. Read the story and understand what happens in it.

Here is the whole story, part by part. Read your book first, then check yourself with this.

1. A kind old stag (page 43). In a lush forest lived an old stag. He was known for his kindness.
Each day he warmly greeted his fellow animals and birds. The forest had plenty of food, but
he liked to stay on a small hillock covered with soft, tender grass. Every day he came down to
meet his friends, and all the animals and birds loved him.
2. He falls ill (page 44). One day the stag fell ill. He struggled to reach the hillock. He knew that
fresh, healthy food and proper rest would help him get well soon. So he ate the tender grass
and decided to rest for a while. He could not go down to greet his friends.
3. The friends come (page 44). His friends were worried. When they learnt he was unwell, they
came to check on him. “Dear stag! How are you?” asked a deer. “Too weak to come down and
meet you all,” replied the stag. They wished him a speedy recovery and left — but before
going back, they ate the fresh green grass of the hillock.
4. The grass disappears (page 45). The elephant said, “The grass is so tender and nice.” The
giraffe said, “I have never eaten such juicy green leaves.” Word spread. Everyone who came
to visit the stag feasted on the grass. Soon there was not much left, and the stag grew
weaker day by day.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

5. They put it right (pages 45–46). His friends felt ashamed. They realised how their greed had
made them forget about their friend. They decided to find food elsewhere in the forest and
not disturb the hillock. Some of them also brought fresh leaves for him.
6. A happy ending (page 46). It rained well that week. The grass grew back and the old stag
had enough food again. Slowly he recovered from his illness.

The lesson the animals learnt: “Nature has enough for everybody. But we need to
use its resources wisely.” The hillock could have fed the stag and his friends. It ran
out only because everyone took as much as they liked, without thinking.

Did you know? This story is adapted from The Panchatantra, a very old Indian
collection of animal stories. In a Panchatantra tale the animals talk and behave like
people, and each story leaves us with one clear lesson.

Tip while reading: Notice the two turning points. The first is when the animals start
eating the grass. The second is when they feel ashamed and stop. A good story
usually turns twice like this.

R.2 New Words (page 46): lush, stag, hillock, tender, sheltering, recovery

These are the new words the book gives you at the end of the story.

WORD WHAT IT MEANS USED LIKE THIS

lush green, thick and full of healthy plants In a lush forest lived an old stag.

stag a grown-up male deer with antlers The old stag was loved by everyone.

hillock a small hill He stayed on a small hillock.

tender soft and young, not hard He ate the tender grass.

sheltering giving cover or a safe place to stay The tree is sheltering the little birds.

recovery getting well again after an illness They wished him a speedy recovery.

A note about the word list: Five of these six words are in the story itself. The word
sheltering is printed in the New Words box on page 46, but it does not appear
anywhere in the story. Learn it all the same — it is a useful word.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why hillock matters in this story: A hillock is small. That is the whole point. A small
patch of grass cannot feed every animal of the forest at once, so it ran out very fast.

Let us Think — Page 47
A. Answer the following

LET US THINK

A.1 Why was the old stag popular?

The old stag was popular because he was kind to everyone.
The story says he “was known for his kindness”. Each day he warmly greeted his fellow animals
and birds. Even though he lived up on the hillock, he came down every single day just to meet
his friends. That is why “all the animals and birds loved him”.

Why kindness made him popular: He did not wait for others to come to him. He
took the trouble to walk down the hillock every day. When someone makes time for
us again and again, we begin to love them.

Proof from the text: “Every day, he would come down to meet his friends, and all
the animals and birds loved him.” (page 43)

A.2 Why did the old stag not go down the hillock to meet his friends?

Because he had fallen ill and was too weak to walk down.
One day the stag fell ill. He even “struggled to reach the hillock”. He knew that fresh, healthy
food and proper rest would make him well, so he ate the tender grass and decided to rest.
When the deer asked, “Dear stag! How are you?”, the stag himself gave the reason: “Too weak to
come down and meet you all.”

Why he stayed up there: The hillock had two things a sick animal needs — tender
grass to eat and a quiet place to rest. Going down and climbing back would have
used up the little strength he had.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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Why did the green cover of the hillock slowly vanish?
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agl every animal who came to visit the stag ate the grass.
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It began on the very first visit. The animals wished the stag a speedy recovery, “but before they

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went back into the forest, the animals ate the fresh green grass growing on the hillock”.

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elephant said, “The grass is so tender and nice.” The
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Why it vanished so fast: The hillock was small, and grass takes many days to grow

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back. A few animals ate a little each, but so many came that the little bits added up.
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Did the animals realise their mistake towards the end? What did they do?
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Yes, they did realise their mistake. The story says, “His friends felt ashamed. They realised

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3. Some of them brought fresh leaves for their friend.

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It rained well that week. The grass grew back, the stag had enough food again, and he slowly
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Let us Think — Page 47
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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

B. Think and Discuss

THINK AND DISCUSS

B.1 Did the animals do the right thing in the end? Why do you think so?

Yes, the animals did the right thing in the end.
Here is the reason, from the story. Once they felt ashamed, they did not just feel sorry and sit
quietly. They stopped eating the hillock grass and went to find food elsewhere in the forest.
Some of them even brought fresh leaves for the stag. Because of this, the grass grew back and
“the old stag had enough food once again”. Their action is what helped him recover.
Two things make their act a good one:

They owned up to the mistake instead of blaming each other.
They repaired the harm they had done, and did not repeat it.

Another view is also fair: You may say they were right only at the end, and wrong
before that. That is true and defensible. A good friend would not have eaten a sick
friend’s food in the first place. The best answer says both: they did wrong first, but
they put it right, and putting it right is the right thing to do.

The idea behind it: Everybody makes mistakes. What decides whether we are good
friends is what we do after we see the mistake.

B.2 What would happen to the green plants around us if each one of us thought only of
our own needs?

The green plants would soon disappear, just like the grass on the hillock.
Think of what happens step by step:

1. Each person takes only a little — but there are very many of us.
2. Plants need time, water and sunlight to grow back. They cannot grow that fast.
3. So more is taken away each day than grows back.
4. Soon the ground is bare.

Then everyone loses something:

no shade in the hot months;
no fruit, no flowers, no tender grass;

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

animals and birds lose their food and their homes;
the air becomes less fresh, because plants give us clean air.

Why thinking only of ourselves fails: The stag’s friends were not cruel. Each one
just took a mouthful. The harm came from everyone taking at the same time and
nobody thinking about tomorrow. That is exactly what the book means by “Nature
has enough for everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.”

Sample answer you can say in class: If each of us thought only of ourselves, the
plants near us would soon be gone. People would pluck flowers, break branches and
cut trees whenever they wished. There would be no shade and no fruit left. Birds
would lose their nests. Nature has enough for all of us, but only if we take what we
need and leave the rest to grow.

Try this: Look at one tree near your home for a week. Count how many creatures
use it — birds, squirrels, ants, insects. That one tree feeds far more than one family.

Let us Learn — Page 47
A. Match the words to their meaning

LET US LEARN

A.1 A. Match the words to their meaning.
Column A: 1. Lush forest · 2. Tender grass · 3. Shaded spot · 4. Healthy food · 5.
Speedy recovery
Column B: cool resting place · green and dense woods/forest · quick healing ·
delicate young grass · nourishing wholesome food
1. Lush forest — ?

Lush forest → green and dense woods/forest
Lush means green, thick and full of healthy plants. Dense means the trees grow close together.
So a lush forest is a thick, deep green forest — exactly the forest the old stag lived in.

From the story: “In a lush forest lived an old stag who was known for his kindness.”
(page 43)

Your own sentence: After the monsoon, the hills turned into a lush forest.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A.2 A. Match the words to their meaning.
Column A: 1. Lush forest · 2. Tender grass · 3. Shaded spot · 4. Healthy food · 5.
Speedy recovery
Column B: cool resting place · green and dense woods/forest · quick healing ·
delicate young grass · nourishing wholesome food
2. Tender grass — ?

Tender grass → delicate young grass
Tender means soft. Delicate means easily hurt, and young means newly grown. Tender grass is
the soft new grass that has just come up. It is easy to chew, so a sick old animal can eat it.

Why it matters in the story: The stag needed food he could eat easily while he was
weak. That is why he stayed on the hillock, where the tender grass grew.

Your own sentence: The calf nibbled the tender grass near the pond.

A.3 A. Match the words to their meaning.
Column A: 1. Lush forest · 2. Tender grass · 3. Shaded spot · 4. Healthy food · 5.
Speedy recovery
Column B: cool resting place · green and dense woods/forest · quick healing ·
delicate young grass · nourishing wholesome food
3. Shaded spot — ?

Shaded spot → cool resting place
A shaded place is one where the sun does not fall directly, usually under a tree. Such a place
stays cool, so it is a good place to rest.

Tip: Shade is the noun and shaded is the describing word. “We sat in the shade.” /
“We found a shaded spot.”

Your own sentence: We ate our lunch in a shaded spot under the neem tree.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A.4 A. Match the words to their meaning.
Column A: 1. Lush forest · 2. Tender grass · 3. Shaded spot · 4. Healthy food · 5.
Speedy recovery
Column B: cool resting place · green and dense woods/forest · quick healing ·
delicate young grass · nourishing wholesome food
4. Healthy food — ?

Healthy food → nourishing wholesome food
Nourishing food is food that helps the body grow and get strong. Wholesome food is good, clean
food that does us no harm. Together they mean the same as healthy food.

From the story: “The stag knew that fresh, healthy food and proper rest would help
him to get well soon.” (page 44)

Your own sentence: Dal, roti and vegetables make a healthy food plate.

A.5 A. Match the words to their meaning.
Column A: 1. Lush forest · 2. Tender grass · 3. Shaded spot · 4. Healthy food · 5.
Speedy recovery
Column B: cool resting place · green and dense woods/forest · quick healing ·
delicate young grass · nourishing wholesome food
5. Speedy recovery — ?

Speedy recovery → quick healing
Speedy means fast or quick. Recovery means getting well again. So a speedy recovery is quick
healing after an illness.

From the story: “The animals wished him a speedy recovery and left.” (page 44) We
say this to anyone who is unwell.

Your own sentence: I wrote a card wishing my teacher a speedy recovery.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

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COLUMN A COLUMN B

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1. Lush forest
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green and dense woods/forest
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2. Tender grass delicate young grass

3. Shaded spot cool resting place

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4. Healthy food nourishing wholesome food

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5. Speedy recovery
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Let us Learn
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words are descriptive words that give us more details
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Draw the image that comes to your mind when you read the following.
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1. lush forest
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This is a drawing task. Your own
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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What “lush forest” asks for: not one tree — a thick, deep green forest with many trees growing
close together.
Put these things in your drawing:

1. Many tall trees, drawn close, some in front and some behind.
2. Thick green leaves at the top, so little sky shows through.
3. Bushes, creepers and green grass on the ground.
4. Use two or three greens — dark green, light green, yellow-green.
5. You may add a bird, a deer or a small stream.

Why the word lush changes the picture: “Forest” alone could be dry or bare. Lush
tells us it is green, thick and full of healthy plants. That one describing word tells you
which colours to pick up.

Check it yourself: Show your picture to a friend without saying anything. If your
friend says “green” and “thick”, you have drawn a lush forest.

B.2 B. Look at the following words: lush forest, friendly animals, shaded spot, tender
grass, healthy food. These words are descriptive words that give us more details
about scenes, people and objects. These words are used to make writing more
interesting.
Draw the image that comes to your mind when you read the following.
2. tender grass

tender
grass

The empty box the book gives you on page 48 for the words “tender grass”. Your
drawing goes inside it.

Draw a close-up for this one, not a whole scene.
What “tender grass” asks for: soft, new, light green grass — the kind that has just come up.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Put these things in your drawing:

1. Short, thin blades of grass, close together.
2. Bend the tips a little. Tender grass is soft, so it does not stand stiff.
3. Use light green, not dark green.
4. Add a drop or two of dew if you like.
5. You may draw a small hillock behind it, as in the story.

Why tender means light green and short: Tender means soft and young. Old grass
grows tall, dry and hard. New grass is short, soft and pale green.

From the story: The hillock “was covered in soft, green grass, which the old stag
enjoyed”. (page 43)

B.3 B. Look at the following words: lush forest, friendly animals, shaded spot, tender
grass, healthy food. These words are descriptive words that give us more details
about scenes, people and objects. These words are used to make writing more
interesting.
Draw the image that comes to your mind when you read the following.
3. healthy food

healthy
food

The empty box the book gives you on page 48 for the words “healthy food”. Your
drawing goes inside it.

Draw a plate or a thali with good, fresh food on it.
What “healthy food” asks for: food that makes the body strong — not sweets, chips or cold
drinks.
Put these things in your drawing:

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

1. A round plate or thali in the middle.
2. Roti or rice, a bowl of dal, and one vegetable.
3. Some fruit at the side — a banana, an apple, a guava.
4. A glass of milk or water.
5. Colour it brightly. Fresh food looks colourful.

Why the stag needed this: The story says, “fresh, healthy food and proper rest
would help him to get well soon”. For the stag, healthy food meant tender green
grass. For us it means fresh home-cooked food, fruit and milk.

Tip about all three boxes: Each pair here is a describing word + a naming word —
lush forest, tender grass, healthy food. The describing word is what decides your
picture. Without it you would not know which forest, which grass or which food to
draw.

Let us Learn — Page 49
C. Adverbs — words that tell how something is done

LET US LEARN

C.1 Encircle the adverbs that describe how something is done.

soon badly lately cheerfully

quietly early carefully highly

fast regularly nearby loudly

Encircle these six words: badly, cheerfully, quietly, carefully, fast, loudly.
All twelve words in the table are adverbs. But only these six answer the question “How?” They
are called adverbs of manner.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

WORD ENCIRCLE IT? WHAT IT REALLY TELLS US

soon No when — after a short time

badly Yes how — in a bad way

lately No when — in the last few days

cheerfully Yes how — in a happy way

quietly Yes how — without noise

early No when — before the usual time

carefully Yes how — with care

highly No how much — very greatly

fast Yes how — at great speed

regularly No how often — again and again

nearby No where — close to this place

loudly Yes how — in a loud voice

How to test a word yourself: Put it in a sentence and ask “How?” — She sang loudly.
How did she sing? Loudly. That works, so it is an adverb of manner. Now try “She
sang early.” How did she sing? You cannot say. Early answers when, not how. So it is
not encircled.

Tip: Most adverbs of manner end in -ly. But watch out — fast is an adverb of manner
without -ly, and lately, early and highly end in -ly but do not tell us how. Always ask
the question “How?” instead of only looking at the ending.

From the story: “Each day, he warmly greeted his fellow animals and birds.” and
“The old stag slowly recovered.” Both tell us how.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
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Now work with your partner and write a sentence for each encircled adverb.
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C.2

m l as
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a gl six sentences, one for each word you encircled. In each sentence the adverb must tell
Write
how the action was done.

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How to build each sentence: take a doer + an action + the adverb.
ag
s e m (how).
The rabbit (doer) + ate the carrots (action) + quickly

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Sample answers:

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m.
1. badly — Our team played badly in the first match.

m
2. cheerfully — The children cheerfully cleaned the classroom.
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g sleep.
.c — I closed the door quietly so that Grandmother could
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3. quietly
a4.secarefully — The nurse carefully tied a bandage on my knee.
agl 5. fast — The deer ran fast across the open field.
m a s
agl
6. loudly — The elephant trumpeted loudly in the forest.

m .co
l a se
a g
Where to put the adverb: It usually comes after the action word, or right at the end
of the sentence. She wrote carefully. You may also put it in front for effect: Carefully,
co m
she wrote her name.
m .
m as e
.co a g l
s e m this with your partner: One of you acts out an action — walking, eating,
Try

agla writing. The other says the sentence with the right adverb: “You are walking slowly.”
m
Then change turns.

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Let us Write — Pages 50–51

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m as e
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se m
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m a s e
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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs — The Monkeys’ Fast

LET US WRITE

A.1 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 1. The monkey with the crown says: “The monkey king is fasting today. Let us
all fast too! No food till sunset!” The monkey beside him replies: “Yes,
.................................................”

The monkey king is fasting Yes,
today. Let us all fast too!
No food till sunset!

Panel 1 as the book prints it on page 50: the monkey king speaks from the branch on
the left, and two of the other monkeys have empty bubbles for you to fill.

Model answer: “Yes, we will not eat anything till the sun goes down.”
The word Yes is already printed, so this monkey is agreeing. Your line must simply say that he
too will keep the fast.
Other good answers:

“Yes, I will also fast with the king today.”
“Yes, no food for us till sunset!”
“Yes, let us all keep the fast together.”

Why it must be an agreement: A speech bubble that starts with Yes, can only carry
on the idea just spoken. If you wrote “Yes, I am very hungry, let us eat”, the two
halves would fight each other.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

What fasting means: to go without food for a set time. Here the monkeys plan to
eat nothing until sunset.

A small thing to notice: The bubble that announces the fast points at the crowned
monkey — the king himself. So he is speaking about himself, the way a king might
make an announcement.

A.2 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 1. The empty bubble of the monkey on the branch:
“................................................. .................................................”

The monkey king is fasting Yes,
today. Let us all fast too!
No food till sunset!

Panel 1 as the book prints it on page 50: the monkey king speaks from the branch on
the left, and two of the other monkeys have empty bubbles for you to fill.

Model answer: “But my tummy is already rumbling. Sunset is so far away!”
This bubble is completely empty, so you may choose what this monkey feels. The best choice is
a monkey who is not so sure about the fast — because that is what the rest of the story is about.
Other good answers:

“A whole day without food? That will be very hard!”
“All right, but let us first gather some fruit for the evening.”
“I will try my best not to eat till sunset.”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why this line helps the story: A story needs a small problem early on. If one
monkey says he is already hungry, the reader knows at once that the fast may not
last. The last picture then makes sense.

Tip: Two short sentences fill a bubble better than one long one. Speech in a comic
strip is short, just like real talking.

A.3 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 2. “We have collected .................................................
................................................. .................................................”

We have collected

Panel 2 on page 50: evening is coming, the monkeys have gathered a big pile of
bananas, and one monkey’s bubble is waiting to be filled.

Model answer: “We have collected a big pile of ripe bananas. We will eat them all after sunset.”
Look at the picture before you write. There is a heap of bananas on the ground, and the sun is
going down. So the monkeys have gathered their food and are keeping it for the evening.
Other good answers:

“We have collected enough bananas for everyone.”
“We have collected sweet bananas from the far side of the forest.”
“We have collected these bananas, but nobody may touch them till sunset.”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the words must match the picture: In a comic strip, the picture and the
words work as one. If you wrote “We have collected firewood”, the bananas drawn
on the ground would make no sense.

Tip: The words We have collected are already there. So finish the same sentence — do
not start a new one with a capital letter in the middle.

A.4 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 3. The little monkey near the bananas says: “No harm in holding
................................................. .................................................”

No harm in holding

feel comforted.

Panel 3 on page 50: the smallest monkey has crept down to the bananas, and the
monkey sitting on the branch has something to say too.

Model answer: “No harm in holding one banana in my hand. I am not eating it, am I?”
In the picture this small monkey has crept down to the pile and picked up a banana. He is giving
himself an excuse. Your line should sound like an excuse.
Other good answers:

“No harm in holding just one banana till the sun sets.”
“No harm in holding it. Holding is not eating!”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
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co m
m.
Why this is the turning point: The monkey has not broken the fast yet. But once

m as e
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the banana is in his hand, the next step is easy. Small excuses are how big rules get
broken. .co a g
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aglLink to our chapter: This is the same mistake the animals made in The Old Stag.

co m
ag
Each one took “just a little” grass, and together they finished the whole hillock.
m .
as e
a g l
A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’

om
A.5
Fast
. c
s em
Panel 3. The monkey sitting on the branch says: “.................................................
m a
. co
................................................. ................ feel comforted.”
a gl
a sem
agl
s
No harm in holding

m a
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
feel comforted.

se m
com g l a
.
Panel 3 on page 50: the smallest monkey has crept down to the bananas, and the

m a
ase
monkey sitting on the branch has something to say too.

agl

c om
.
s em
Model answer: “Just smelling the sweet bananas makes me feel comforted.”
m a
Theco
. a glmust run into those two words.
semTo be comforted is to feel better and less troubled.
bubble already ends with feel comforted, so your sentence

a
agl c
.
Other good answers:

s e m
m a
co agl
“If I just look at the bananas, I feel comforted.”

m .
e
“Even holding one in my lap will make me feel comforted.”

g l as
“Thinking about the evening meal makes me feel comforted.”
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the ending word decides your sentence: When part of a bubble is printed,
you must write a line that joins on smoothly. Read your whole sentence aloud with
the printed words at the end. If it sounds right, it is right.

Tip: These monkeys are finding one excuse after another — first holding, then
smelling, then peeling. That is what makes the strip funny.

A.6 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 4. “Let us all peel ................................................. .................................................
.................................................”

Let us all peel

will be sunset soon.

Panel 4 on page 51: the sun is going down, the bananas are being peeled, and two
bubbles are empty.

Model answer: “Let us all peel our bananas now, so that they are ready the moment the sun
sets.”
Now the monkeys have gone one step further. They are not just holding the bananas — they are
peeling them. Again they give themselves a reason.
Other good answers:

“Let us all peel the bananas and keep them ready. Peeling is not eating.”
“Let us all peel one banana each. We will eat only after sunset.”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why the excuse keeps growing: Each new excuse sounds small next to the one
before it. Holding, then smelling, then peeling — each step is only a little more than
the last. That is why the fast finally breaks.

Tip: “Let us” is used when we ask the whole group to do something together. Let us
clean the class. Let us sing a song.

A.7 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 4. The big monkey says: “.................................................
................................................. ............ will be sunset soon.”

Let us all peel

will be sunset soon.

Panel 4 on page 51: the sun is going down, the bananas are being peeled, and two
bubbles are empty.

Model answer: “Do not worry, my friends. Look at the sky — it will be sunset soon.”
The printed words will be sunset soon must come at the end. So your sentence has to lead up
to them. The easiest way is to begin with It or with a short comforting line.
Other good answers:

“Hold on a little longer, everyone. It will be sunset soon.”
“The sun has gone behind the hill, so it will be sunset soon.”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Why we say “it will be”: We use it for the time, the weather and the sky — It is
raining. It is five o’clock. It will be sunset soon.

Look at the picture: The sky in this panel is orange and the sun is low. That is the
picture clue telling you the evening has nearly come.

A.8 A. Complete the story by writing dialogues in the speech blurbs. — The Monkeys’
Fast
Panel 5. “Mmm... ................................................. .................................................
..................... just one bite!”

Mmm...

just one bite!

Panel 5 on page 51: one monkey has lifted a banana to his mouth while two others stare
at him.

Model answer: “Mmm... this banana smells so sweet. Let me take just one bite!”
The bubble begins with Mmm... and ends with just one bite! So the monkey is enjoying the
smell and giving in at last. The two other monkeys in the picture are staring at him in surprise.
Other good answers:

“Mmm... it smells wonderful. Nobody will mind if I take just one bite!”
“Mmm... I cannot wait any more. I will take just one bite!”

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

How the story ends: In the last picture the ground is covered with banana peels,
and the biggest monkey says, “Well... maybe fasting takes more self-control than we
thought!” One bite became many. Self-control means stopping yourself from doing
what you feel like doing.

Why this comic is in this chapter: It carries the same lesson as The Old Stag. The
monkeys, like the forest animals, took a little at a time without thinking — and in the
end there was nothing left.

Let us Write — Page 52
B. Write about your best friend and complete the paragraph

LET US WRITE

B.1 B. Write about your best friend and complete the paragraph.
My best friend’s name is ..................... . ......... is a ......... . ......... is ......... years old. .........
studies in class ......... . There are ......... members in ......... family. ......... hobbies are
......................... . ......... wants to be a ......................... . When we are together, we
......................... . ......... is my best friend because ......................... .

This paragraph is about your own friend, so only you can fill it in truly. What the book is really
teaching here is the use of pronouns — he, she, his, her.
What goes in each blank:

Page 23 of 35

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
THE LINE WHAT TO WRITE

m as e
.co
My best friend’s name is ____ . your friend’s name
a g l
se m
g l a He is a boy. / She is a girl.
a
____ is a ____ .

____ is ____ years old. He / She · the age, usually nine or ten

co m
m . ag
se
____ studies in class ____ . He / She · the class, usually 4

l a
There are ____ members in ____ family.
ag a number · his / her
m
.co
____ hobbies are ____ . His / Her · two or three things he or she likes doing

He / She · a doctor, a pilot, a teacher… em
om l as
____ wants to be a ____ .

Whenm
. c a g
a s e we are together, we ____ . what the two of you do together

agl ____ is my best friend because ____ . He / She · one real reason

om a s
Why pronouns are needed here: m
e
. c agl
s
If you wrote the name again and again — “Ravi is
a hobbies…” — the paragraph would sound dull. A
agl
nine. Ravi studies in class 4. Ravi’s
pronoun takes the place of the name and makes writing smooth. Use he/his for a
boy and she/her for a girl, and keep the same one all the way through.
co m
m .
o m l a se
.c answer: a g
m
Model

aseMy best friend’s name is Meera. She is a girl. She is nine years old. She studies in
agl class 4. There are five members in her family. Her hobbies are reading story books
and drawing birds. She wants to be a doctor. When we are together, we play
se m
badminton and share our tiffin. Sheoismmy best friend because she helps me when I
g l a
m .c a
cannot understand a sum.
l a se
ag
m
Tip for the last blank: Give a real reason, not just “because she is nice”. A reason
. co
m
with a small example is always better — “because she waited for me when I hurt my

m as e
.co
foot”.
a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
Let us Speak — Page 53
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

com
m .
m as e
.co


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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Discuss the following in the class

LET US SPEAK

S.1 Look at this picture. Imagine a large bowl of delicious jalebis is in your classroom.
You and your friends start enjoying the sweets, one by one. Everyone loves the
jalebis so much that you keep reaching for more. Now, think about what might
happen next. Discuss the following in the class:
1. How would you feel if the jalebis were almost finished, but some friends hadn’t
had enough yet?

The picture on page 53 of your book: four classmates sitting round a table with a big
plateful of jalebis in the middle. The child on the right uses a wheelchair.

I would feel sorry and a little ashamed. That is the honest answer, and it is the one the book
wants you to reach.
Say it in three steps:

1. Name the feeling — sorry, bad, guilty, ashamed.
2. Say why — because I took more than my share while my friends waited.
3. Say what you would do — give away the jalebi in my hand, or share the next sweet first.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Sample answer: I would feel very bad. My friends would be standing there with
empty hands while I had already eaten three or four. I would feel ashamed, because
I did not think of them at all. I would give my last jalebi to the friend who got none.

Why this feeling comes: A sweet tastes good for a minute. Seeing a friend left out
hurts much longer. That is why sharing makes us happier than eating one extra
jalebi.

Link to the story: This is just how the animals felt on page 45 — “His friends felt
ashamed. They realised how their greed had made them forget about their friend.”

S.2 Look at this picture. Imagine a large bowl of delicious jalebis is in your classroom.
You and your friends start enjoying the sweets, one by one. Everyone loves the
jalebis so much that you keep reaching for more. Now, think about what might
happen next. Discuss the following in the class:
2. What will happen to the bowl of jelebis after some time?

The picture on page 53 of your book: four classmates sitting round a table with a big
plateful of jalebis in the middle. The child on the right uses a wheelchair.

The bowl will become empty.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Nobody is putting more jalebis in. Everyone keeps reaching for more. So the sweets can only go
one way — down to zero. After some time the bowl will hold nothing but a little syrup.
And then:

The friends who ate fast will be full.
The friends who waited politely will get nothing.
Nobody will be able to have a second round.

Why it empties so quickly: The bowl is one, but the hands reaching into it are
many. It is exactly the hillock again. The grass ran out because every visitor ate a
little.

Note on the book’s spelling: Question 2 on page 53 prints the word as “jelebis”.
Everywhere else the book spells it correctly as jalebis. Use the spelling jalebis in your
own writing.

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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

S.3 Look at this picture. Imagine a large bowl of delicious jalebis is in your classroom.
You and your friends start enjoying the sweets, one by one. Everyone loves the
jalebis so much that you keep reaching for more. Now, think about what might
happen next. Discuss the following in the class:
3. Why is it important to share when we have something that everyone enjoys?

The picture on page 53 of your book: four classmates sitting round a table with a big
plateful of jalebis in the middle. The child on the right uses a wheelchair.

Because sharing is the only way everybody gets some.
Three reasons you can give in class:

1. Fairness. The jalebis were brought for the whole class, not for the fastest hands.
2. Friendship. Nobody likes to sit and watch others eat. Sharing keeps friends together.
3. It comes back. The friend I share with today will share with me tomorrow.

The idea behind it: When one person takes a lot, someone else gets nothing — the
food does not grow bigger. When we share, the same bowl makes many people
happy instead of two or three.

Page 28 of 35

ase
Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

co m
m.
Sample answer: Sharing is important because the jalebis belong to all of us. If I eat

m l a se
five, someone else gets none. Then that friend feels left out and unhappy. When we
o
m .c tastes the sweet and everyone stays happy. Thatagis better than one
share, everyone
se
fullastomach.
l
ag
o m
we need to use its resources wisely.” m.c ag
The chapter’s lesson says the same thing: “Nature has enough for everybody. But

l a se
ag

. c om
Look at this picture. Imagine a large bowl of delicious jalebis is in your classroom.
em loves the
S.4

m a s
You and your friends start enjoying the sweets, one by one. Everyone

. co so much that you keep reaching for more. Now, think
jalebis
a glabout what might
a sem
happen next. Discuss the following in the class:

agl 4. How can we make sure there are enough jalebis for everyone to enjoy?

m a s
m.co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
e
The picture on page 53 of your book: four classmates sitting round a table with a big

m l as
.co g
plateful of jalebis in the middle. The child on the right uses a wheelchair.

m a
l a se
ag
.c
s e m
. com
Count first, then divide — and take one turn each.
a gla
Simple ways that really work:em
g l as
a count the jalebis. Then everyone knows the share — two each, or
1. Count the children and
three each.

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

2. Serve on plates first instead of letting everyone reach into the bowl.
3. Take one turn each. Nobody takes a second one until everybody has had a first.
4. Ask the teacher to serve, or choose one friend to give them out.
5. Keep the last few aside for anyone who comes late or is absent that day.

Why counting first is the key step: Once you know there are four jalebis for each
child, nobody has to hurry or grab. People take more than they need mostly because
they are afraid of getting less than the others.

Sample answer: First we should count how many children there are. Then we
should divide the jalebis equally and put each share on a plate. Everyone takes one
turn first. Only after all have eaten once should anyone take a second. In this way
nobody is left out.

Think about it: The animals in the story could have done the very same thing. If
each visitor had eaten just a mouthful from the forest instead of the hillock, the stag
would never have gone hungry.

Let us Do — Page 54

Page 30 of 35

Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Create a Thank You Card from the Old Stag

LET US DO

D.1 Create a Thank You Card from the Old Stag. Imagine you are the old stag, grateful
to the friends who helped you while you were sick. Prepare a thank you card to
show your appreciation.
Front of the Card: Draw a picture of the stag surrounded by his friends in the forest.

THANK YOU

One idea for the front of your card: the old stag standing in the grass, the words THANK
YOU, and a few forest friends peeping in from the sides. Draw it your own way.

This is a making activity. Here is how to plan the front of your card.
Steps to follow:

1. Fold a sheet of paper in half. The outside is the front of your card.
2. In the middle, draw the old stag. Give him branching antlers, a brown coat and long thin
legs.
3. Draw him standing on the green hillock, with fresh grass under his feet.
4. All around him, draw the friends from the story — the deer, the elephant, the giraffe, a
rabbit, a bear, a parrot.
5. Write THANK YOU in big, bright letters at the top.

Page 31 of 35

Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

6. Colour it well. Use green for the forest and brown for the stag.

Why the friends must be around him: The card is a thank you. The picture should
show the very thing he is thankful for — that his friends came, stopped eating his
grass and brought him fresh leaves.

Tip: Draw the stag a little bigger than the others and put him in the middle. In a
picture, the most important person or animal goes in the centre.

Names you can use from the story: the deer who asked “Dear stag! How are you?”,
the elephant who praised the tender grass, and the giraffe who had never eaten
such juicy green leaves.

D.2 Inside the Card: Write a kind thank you message to his friends, expressing how
their help made him feel better. The card begins “Dear friends,” and ends “from:
Stag”.

Dear friends,

from:
Stag

The empty card the book prints on page 54. It already says “Dear friends,” at the top left
and “from: Stag” at the bottom right. Your message goes on the ruled lines.

You are writing as the old stag. So use I and me, not he.
What a good message must have:

1. The greeting that is already printed — Dear friends,
2. A thank you in the very first line.

Page 32 of 35

Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

3. What they did — they stopped eating the hillock grass and brought fresh leaves.
4. How it helped — he got enough food again and grew strong.
5. A warm closing line, and then from: Stag.

Model answer:
Dear friends,

Thank you all so much. When I was ill, I could not even come down the hillock to
meet you. You came up to see me, and later you found food elsewhere in the forest
so that my grass could grow back. Some of you even carried fresh leaves all the way
up to me.

Because of your kindness I had enough to eat again, and slowly I got well. I felt
happy and cared for every single day.

I am lucky to have friends like you.

With love,
from: Stag

Why we name what they did: A thank-you note that only says “thank you for
everything” feels empty. When you name the exact thing — the fresh leaves, the
choice to eat elsewhere — the reader knows you truly noticed.

Tip: Keep your sentences short and warm. Write in pencil first, check your spelling,
and then go over it in pen or sketch pen so the card looks neat.

Chapter at a glance
The kind old stag. In a lush forest lived an old stag known for his kindness. Each day he
warmly greeted his fellow animals and birds. He lived on a small hillock covered with soft,
tender grass, and came down every day to meet his friends.
The stag falls ill. One day he fell ill and struggled to reach the hillock. He knew that fresh,
healthy food and proper rest would make him well, so he ate the tender grass and rested.
He could not come down to greet his friends.
The friends visit. The animals came to check on him. “Too weak to come down and meet
you all,” the stag told the deer. They wished him a speedy recovery — but on their way back
they ate the fresh green grass of the hillock.

Page 33 of 35

as e
Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag
a g l AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Greed spreads. The elephant said the grass was tender and nice; the giraffe had never
co m
se
eaten such juicy green leaves. Word spread. Every animal who came to visit feasted on the
m.
o m l a
g greed had made
.c make it right. His friends felt ashamed. They realised atheir
grass, and soon there was little left for the stag. He grew weaker.

m
seforget their friend. They decided to find food elsewhere in the forest and not disturb
The animals
l a
agthe hillock, and some brought him fresh leaves.
them

m
The lesson. It rained well that week, the grass grew back and the old stag recovered. The
. co ag
m
animals learnt: “Nature has enough for everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.”

l a se
g meanings, asks you to draw what words make you see,
The rest of the chapter. Let us Think asks about the story and about sharing. Let us Learn
matches describing phrases to a
their
and teaches adverbs of manner. Let us Write is a comic strip, The Monkeys’ Fast, with empty

co m
m.
speech bubbles, and a paragraph about your best friend. Let us Speak is a class talk about a
bowl of jalebis. Let us Do is a thank-you card from the old stag.
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
m a s
m .co agl
l a se
a g

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a
se m
com g l a
m . a
ase
agl

co m
m .
m as e
.co a g l
se m
g l a
a c
m .
m a s e
e m . co agl
g l as
a

co m
m .
m ase
.co


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Class 4 English Chapter 5 The Old Stag AglaSem · NCERT Solutions

Quick revision

WORD WHAT IT MEANS WHERE IT COMES IN THE A SENTENCE OF YOUR
CHAPTER OWN

lush Green, thick and full of “In a lush forest lived an old After the rains, the hills
healthy plants. stag…” (page 43) looked lush and green.

stag A full-grown male deer with The name of the story, “The Old A stag stood still at the
antlers on his head. Stag”. edge of the forest.

hillock A small hill. “the stag preferred staying on a Our school stands on a
small hillock” (page 43) little hillock.

tender Soft and young, not hard. “he ate the tender grass” (page The tender leaves of the
44) plant are light green.

sheltering Giving cover or a safe place It is listed in the New Words box The big banyan tree is
to stay. on page 46. sheltering many birds.

recovery Getting well again after an “The animals wished him a We all prayed for
illness. speedy recovery” (page 44) Grandfather’s quick
recovery.

greeted Said hello in a friendly way. “he warmly greeted his fellow The teacher greeted us at
animals and birds” (page 43) the school gate.

feasted Ate a great deal, with great “all the animals… feasted on the We feasted on hot
enjoyment. tender grass” (page 45) pakoras during the rain.

greed Wanting much more than you “how their greed had made them Greed made the boy take
need. forget about their friend” (page all the sweets.
45)

ashamed Feeling bad about something “His friends felt ashamed.” (page I felt ashamed after I told
wrong you have done. 45) a lie.

resources The useful things nature gives “we need to use its resources Water is a resource we
us — water, grass, trees, soil. wisely” (page 46) must not waste.

adverb of A word that tells how “The word ‘warmly’ is an adverb.” The old stag slowly
manner something is done. (page 49) recovered.

Page 35 of 35