English Balbharati Std 5 Digest Chapter 26 Water in the Well Textbook Questions and Answers
1. Find a word that has a similar meaning.
Question 1.
Find a word that has a similar meaning.
- sorry
- whole
- happily
- unfair
- remove
Answer:
- pitiful
- full
- joufully
- unjust
- draw
2. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
What does a farmer need most for his fields?
Answer:
A farmer needs a good source of water for his field.
Question 2.
Where was the well situated?
Answer:
The well was situated just outside the boundary of Kasim’s field.
Question 3.
What did Ahmad tell Kasim when he dug a channel and began to draw water?
Answer:
When Kasim dug a channel and began to draw water, Ahmad questioned him about what he was doing and asked how he dared to touch the water in his presence.
Question 4.
What did the Judge tell Ahmad?
Answer:
The Judge told Ahmad that he had no right to keep his belongings in Kasim’s property and that it had to be removed immediately or else he would have to pay a daily rent to Kasim, only then he would be allowed to use the well.
Question 5.
How do we come to know that Kasim was a generous man?
Answer:
Despite the Judge giving the judgement that Ahmad would have to pay a daily rent to Kasim, Kasim never troubled Ahmad for the ‘rent’ that was due to him. In this way, we come to know that Kasim was a generous man.
3. Find the meaning of the following phrase and use them in your own sentence.
Question 1.
again and again
Answer:
again and again: repeatedly.
I could not believe the bad news, so I read it again and again.
Question 2.
thought over
Answer:
thought over- consider.
Ivan thought over the suggestion made by his friend but was not convinced.
Question 3.
in his mind’s eye
Answer:
in his mind’s eye- in his imagination.
He could see the scene and the events in his mind’s eye.
Question 4.
in store for…
Answer:
in store for- awaiting for something to happen in future.
The thief did not think of what was in store for him if he got caught.
Question 5.
(his/her) …… heart sank
Answer:
(his/her) heart sank- to be disappointed.
His heart sank when he heard that he was not selected for the match.
Question 6.
heart of hearts
Answer:
heart of hearts: know something but not admit it
I knew in my heart of hearts that something was wrong.
4. Group work:
Question 1.
Form groups of 5-8. In each group, rewrite the story in the form of a play. Present scenes from your play in the classroom.
Answer:
(Ahmad and Kasim are standing near Ahmad’s well).
| Ahmad: | Why do you come begging for water time and again? I feel sorry to turn down your request every time. I have a suggestion for you, collect some money and buy the whole well from me. |
| Kasim: | (thinks to himself) Ahmad would ask for a lot of money but the channel of water which will come running from the field will indeed change my fortune. (Next day) |
| Ahmad: | So you have come again! |
| Kasim: | I bring to you all my savings. I have decided to buy the whole well from you. (Next day Kasim is at the well digging out a channel) |
| Ahmad: | What are you doing Kasim? How dare you touch the water in my presence? |
| Kasim: | What do you mean? Haven’t you sold this well to me? |
| Ahmad: | Ah, I sold the well all right, but not the water in the well. The water still belongs to me, you can’t use it. If you needed the water along with the well, you should have said so. I have a suggestion for you, pay for the water separately and use it. You can buy freshwater every day. I don’t mind. (Kasim rushes to the Qazi and tells him the whole story. Ahmad is summoned to the court and the Qazi hears his argument patiently and then…..) |
| Qazi: | Hmm, I see that you are right. What you have sold is the well, the water is all yours. Isn’t that so? |
| Ahmad: | My Lord, I am so grateful you understand the fine points of this case. The water does indeed belong to me. |
| Qazi: | In that case Ahmad, why are you keeping it in Kasim’s well? You have no right to keep your belongings in his property. You must remove the water immediately or else, you can pay a daily rent to Kasim. Then he will allow you to use his well. (Ahmad is dumbfounded, people present in the court laugh) |
| Kasim: | (thinks to himself) I will never trouble Ahmad for the ‘rent’. After all I got justice. (Curtain falls) |
English Balbharati Std 5 Answers Chapter 26 Water in the Well Additional Important Questions and Answers
Answer the following:
Question 1.
What does a farmer need most for his field?
Answer:
A farmer needs a good source of water for his field.
Question 2.
Do you think Ahmad was right in what he did? Why?
Answer:
Ahmad was not right in what he did as he had sold the well to Kasim. Later he claimed that it was only the well and not the water in the well which he had sold. It was indeed unfair and unjust.
Activities :
Question 1.
Give one word for:
- The limit of an area or line marking it
- A conclusion reached after consideration
- Make known to public
- A reason put forward
- A place where legal cases are heard
Answer:
- boundary
- decision
- announce
- argument
- court
Question 2.
Spot some describing words used in the lesson and fill in the blank.
Answer:
- good
- whole
- some
- fresh
Language Study :
Question 1.
Find a word that has similar meaning:
1. cunning
2. proposal
Answer:
1. crafty
2. suggestion
Find the meaning of the following phrases and use them in your own sentences.
Question 1.
again and again : repeatedly.
Answer:
I could not believe the bad news, so I read it again and again.
Question 2.
thought over : consider.
Answer:
Ivan thought over the suggestion made by his friend but was not convinced.
Question 3.
in his mind’s eye : in his imagination.
Answer:
He could see the scene and the events in his mind’s eye.
Question 4.
in store for: awaiting for something to happen in future.
Answer:
The thief did not think of what was in store for him, if he got caught.
Question 5.
his/her heart sank: to be disappointed.
Answer:
His heart sank when he heard that he was not selected for the match.
Question 6.
heart of hearts : know something but not admit it
Answer:
I knew in my heart of hearts that something was wrong.
Do as directed :
Question 1.
What a farmer needs most for his fields is a good source of water. (pick out the nouns in the sentence given above)
Answer:
farmer, field, source water
Question 2.
Ahmad, the man who owned the well, was a crafty old man (Pick out adjectives from the sentence given above)
Answer:
crafty, old. – adjectives
Question 3.
Kasim thought over the suggestion and liked it. (State the part of speech of the underlined Trond)
Answer:
and – conjunction
Question 4.
What are you doing Kasim how dare you touch the water in my presence said Ahmad (Punctuate)
Answer:
“What are you doing Kasim? How dare you touch the water in my presence?” said Ahmad.
Question 5.
Pay for the water separately. (Pick out the adverb)
Answer:
separately – adverb
Question 6.
But Kasim was a generous man. (Add a question lag)
Answer:
But Kasim was a generous man, wasn’t he?
Reading Skills, Vocabulary and Grammar
Read the following extract and answer the questions given below:
Question 1.
State whether the following statements are true or false.
1. Ahmad had always thought that the Qazi would side with him.
2. Ahmad was a generous man.
Answer:
1. False
2. False
Question 2.
Write about the setting of the above given extract.
Answer:
The above extract was set in the court.
Question 3.
Why was Ahmad overjoyed?
Answer:
Ahmad was overjoyed as he thought that the Qazi was speaking in his favour.
Question 4.
Kasim’s heart sank (Explain the words underlined above)
Answer:
Being a simple man Kasim thought that the Qazi was on Ahmad’s side, and that he had lost the case, so he was disappointed.
Question 5.
How did the Qazi prove his wisdom?
Answer:
Since Ahmad maintained that he had only sold the well and not the water to Kasim, the Qazi said that Ahmad had no right to keep his belongings in Kasim’s property. A classic example of ‘Tit for tat’. He also passed an order that either he had the water removed from Kasim’s well immediately or pay a daily rent to Kasim.
Question 6.
Give a suitable moral for the extract.
Answer:
A suitable moral for the extract is ‘you can fool some people some time, but not all the people all the time.’
Question 7.
(a) Give the adjective forms of :
- right – righteous
- thought – thoughtful
(b) Give the noun forms of:
- allow – allowance
- laugh .- laughter
Water in the Well Summary in English
Summary :
‘Water in the well is a story which revolves around two main characters, Kasim and Ahmad. Kasim was a farmer and he had an eye on Ahmad’s well as that would help him to channelise water to his fields. Each time Kasim would beg for access to Ahmad’s well his request would be turned down by Ahmad. Finally one day, Ahmad suggested to Kasim that he could buy the well from him. Kasim who liked the idea, which he considered beneficial, bought the well at the cost of all his savings.
The next day Kasim went to his own well (or so he thought) and dug out a channel to draw water. Ahmad questioned him how he dared to touch the water in his presence and further continued that he had only sold the well to him and not the water in the well which still belonged to him. He even put forward a suggestion that Kasim could pay him for the water separately on a daily basis and use it A shocked Kasim rushes to the Qazi who heard the argument patiently.
The Qazi’s wisdom comes to light when he tells Ahmad that he had no right to keep his belongings, i.e. the water in Kasim’s property. He also instructed him to remove the water immediately or pay daily rent to Kasim after which Kasim would allow him to use the well. A confused Ahmad was left speechless. But Kasim who was a generous man never troubled Ahmad for the ‘rent’.
Meanings :
- boundary (n) – the limit of an area or the line marking it .
- crafty (adj) – cunning
- access (n) – approach or enter
- suggestion (n) – a proposal
- decision (n) – a conclusion reached after consideration
- channel (n) – passage or a stretch of water
- announced (o) – make known to public
- presence (n) – being present
- argument (n): a reason put forward
- court (n) – a place where legal cases are heard
- summoned (v) – send for
- patiently (adv) – calmly endure
- Qazi (n) – one who dispenses justice (here)