10th English Guide Unit-4 Poem The ant and the cricket

  Tamilnadu state board Samacheerkalvi 10th English Guide Unit-4 Poem The ant and the cricket 

  The Ant and the Cricket(poem)

                                 -Aesop's fabels

GLOSSARY 

B.P.No. 117 

1.accustomed to (v) –beusedto

2.gay (adj.)  –glad,joyful

3.crumb (n)–pieceofbreadf

4.amine (n)–extreme scarcity of food

5.miserly (adj.) –hesitant to spend money

6.quoth (v) – said (old English usage,used only in first and third person singular be fore the subject) 

7.hastily (adv.)–hurriedly

8.warrant (v) –guarantee,promise

ADDITIONAL

1.a crumb - a piece

2.shelter  -  home / habitat

3.starvation -  hunger

4.wicket  -gate/stump

A.  Based on your understanding of the poem, read the following lines and answer the questions given below. 

1.  A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing 

Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring. 

a)  What was the routine of the cricket?

The routine of the cricket was that he got accustomed to singing in Summer and spring. 

b)  Name the seasons mentioned here.

Summer and Winter are the seasons mentioned here. 

2.  Began to complain when he found that,  at home, 

 His cupboard was empty, and winter  was come.  

a)  Who does ‘he’ refer to?

   ‘He’refers to the cricket.

 b)  Why was his cupboard empty?

  His cupboard was empty because he did   not collect and preserve any grains for    the winter.

3.  Not a crumb to be found 

On the snow-covered ground;  

a)  What couldn’t he find on the ground?

He couldn’t find a single crumb–piece of bread on the ground. 

b)  Why was the ground covered with snow?

  

The ground was covered with snow because it was winter season.

4.  At last by starvation and famine made bold,  All dripping with wet, and all trembling with cold,  

a)   What made the cricket bold? 

Starvation and famine made the cricket bold. 

b)  Why did the cricket drip and tremble?

It was winter and he had not made his shelter.So he dripped with wet and trembled with cold.

5.  Away he set off to a miserly ant,  To see if, to keep him alive, he would grant Him shelter from rain,  And a mouthful of grain.  

 a)  Whom did the cricket want to meet? Why?

The cricket wanted to meet the ant,because he wanted to get shelter and borrows some grains.

b)  What would keep him alive?

Shelter from rain and a mouthful of grain would keep him alive.

6.  But we ants never borrow;  we ants never lend. 

 a)  Why do you think ants neither borrow nor lend? 

Since ants have the habit of saving something for the future ,theyare boldly saying they neither borrow nor lend,for borrowing or lending makes one a slave to the other. 

b)  Who says these lines to whom ? .  

The ant says she these lines to cricket

7.“Not I!  My heart was so light That I sang day and night,  For all nature looked gay.”   

a)  Who does ‘I’ refer to?

‘I’ refers to the cricket.

 b)  What was the nature of the cricket? How do you know? 

The nature of the cricket was that it indulged in merry making in Summer.This we can know from the way it spent the summer.

8.  Thus ending, he hastily lifted the wickhimse

And out of the door turned the poor little cricket.  

 a)  The ant refused to help the cricket. Wduringe ant refused to help the cricket because it spent the whole summer singing all day long and enjoying his good timesduring.He lacked farsightedness,for he never had plans for his future. 

b)  Explain the second line.

The ant chased the little careless and lazy cricket out of the door to fend for himse.

9.  He wished only to borrow;  He’d repay it tomorrow; 

 a)  Pick out the rhyming words in the above lines. 

borrow – tomorrow 

 b)  Give more examples of rhyming words.

sing,spring;

home,come;

found,ground;

see,tree;

bold,cold;

ant,grant;

rain,grain;

light,night;

gay,say;

wicket,cricket;

true,two 

10. My heart was so light

that I sang day and night, 

For all nature looked gay.” 

“You sang, Sir, you say? 

a) Mention the rhyme scheme employed in the above lines.

aabb

C. Answer each of the following questions in a paragraph about 100 words.

1. ‘Some crickets have four legs and some have two.’ Elucidate this statement from the poet’s 

point of view.

Poem :The Ant and the Cricket

Poet :Aesop

Theme : Forewarned is forearmed

• Not a crumb to be found
• On the snow-covered ground
• ‘Aesop’s fables’ is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and a story teller believed to have lived in Greece between 620 and 564 B.C.E. These fables became popular when they emerged in print.
• Through the poem ‘The Ant and the Cricket’, the poet brings out the idea that it is essential for every creature to work hard for the future. In the poem, the ant spent all its summer saving for future, where as the cricket sang and danced happily in the summer. He did not save anything for the winter.When winter came, he was worried that his kitchen cupboard was empty. So, he sought the help of the ant to have some grains and a warm place to stay. The ant made it clear that ants would never borrow or lend. He also enquired the cricket if it had saved anything when the weather was fine. The cricket answered that it had sung day and night enjoying the pleasant nature. Some crickets work as if they have only two legs. In his concluding lines, the poet affirms that this is not just a fable but it is true and applicable to human beings also.And out of the door turned the poor little cricket

Folks call this a fable.

2. Compare and contrast the attitude of the ant and the cricket. 

Poem : The Ant and the Cricket

Poet :Aesop

Theme :Forewarned is forearmed

A silly young cricket, accustomed to sing

Through the warm, sunny months of gay summer and spring.

• ‘Aesop’s fables’ is a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and a story teller believed to have lived in Greece between 620 and 564 B.C.E. These fables became popular when they emerged in print.
• Through the story of the lazy cricket and the hardworking ant, the poet teaches us the virtue of hard work. The cricket was foolish enough not to see the future. He made no plans or provisions for the future. He lived in the present moment. The ant, on the other hand, was wise and hardworking. He worked hard so that he could enjoy the future. The poet wants us to learn an important lesson in life. One must always save for the future. One should not be foolish enough to just enjoy the present moment. ‘As you sow, so shall you reap.’ is a popular proverb that fits this story. We must be fare sighted enough to see our future and make plans accordingly. One should be ready for the good as well as the bad times ahead. This attitude of the ant is not only an eye-opener for the cricket but also for the human beings. We should not be like the cricket and ruin our future.