NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 6 My Childhood

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 6 My Childhood are provided below. These solutions contain answers to all the textbook questions. All the questions are solved by experts with a detailed explanation that help students to complete their assignments and homework. NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 6 My Childhood are prepared as per the latest CBSE syllabus and curriculum. Students of Class 8th can study the answers provided here to score well in their school exams.

My Childhood Class 8 NCERT Questions and Answers

Textbook Questions

Comprehension Check (Page 89)

Question 1: What had happened to Jody’s father?

Answer: Jody’s father had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Question 2: How did the doe save Penny’s life?

Answer: When Jody’s father, Penny was bitten by a rattlesnake, he quickly killed a doe and used its heart and liver to draw out the poison as a home remedy to save his life.

Question 3: Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?

Answer: Jody’s father had killed the doe. Without the mother-deer, the fawn was likely to starve to death in the forest. So Jody wanted to bring the young fawn home.

Question 4: How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?

Answer: The spots on the fawn’s body made Jody know that it was a male.

Comprehension Check (Page 90)

Question 1: Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they?

Answer: Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel to join him in the search for the fawn. The reason was that he was not sure about the fawn’s safety. He didn’t want Mill-wheel to see his disappointment.

Question 2: Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?

Answer: Mill-wheel did not want to leave Jody alone as he was afraid that Jody could lose his way or get bitten by a snake.

Question 1: How did Jody bring the fawn back home?

Answer: Jody picked up the fawn into his arms and proceeded to home. After some dis­tance, he kept the fawn down and took rest. Later on, the fawn followed him. Thus he brought the fawn back home.

Question 2: Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you find at least three words or phrases which show how he felt?

Answer: Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. When he stroked its neck, the touch made him ‘delirious’. When he realised that it was his fawn now, he was ‘light-headed with his joy’. When he finally brought the fawn into the house, Penny thought that “the boy’s eyes were as bright as the fawn’s”.

Question 3: How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?

Answer: Jody dipped his fingers in the milk. Then he left the fawn suck his fingers. He did so several times. Finally, the fawn drank off all the milk from the gourd.

Question 4: Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would?

Answer: The deer is a wild animal. It is used to a life in the forest. When the fawn reached Jody’s home, it did not follow Jody up the steps because of the strangeness of the house and the steps and everything. This is similar to its reaction to the milk in the gourd. It simply did not know what to do.

Working with the Text

Question 1: Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?

Answer: Penny allowed Jody to go find the fawn and raise it because it seemed ungrateful to him to leave the fawn to starve. He agreed with Jody that they had killed the doe for their purpose and the fawn was orphaned for no fault of its own. They could not let the fawn starve. They felt a responsibility towards it.

Question 2: What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes quite free”?

Answer: Penny had killed the doe to save his life. Therefore, in regard for what the doe had done, its fawn needed to be taken care of and saved from starvation. It would be ungrateful to leave it alone. This was what Doc Wilson meant when he said that nothing in the world came for free.

Question 3: How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for doing this?

Answer: After Jody accepted the responsibility for looking after the fawn, he cared for it like its own mother would. While taking it home, he shielded its face from the sharp vines. He carried it in his arms even though he was tired. On reaching home, he gave it the milk that was meant for him. When he saw that the fawn did not drink the milk kept in the gourd, he fed it with his own hands. Hence, one can say that Jody carried out his responsibility quite well.

Question 4: How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the fawn home? Why does she react in this way?

Answer: When Jody’s mother heard that he was going to bring the fawn home, she was a little surprised and asked Jody what fawn he was talking about. He then told her that it was the fawn whose mother they had killed to save Penny. She said they had nothing else to feed it and only the milk they gave him could be given to it. She reacted this way because she was not present at the site where Penny had been bitten, where they had killed the doe. She had not seen the fawn and therefore, was not as concerned as Penny and Jody.

Working With Language

Question 1: Look at these pairs of sentences.

Penny said to Jody, “Will you be back before dinner?”
Penny asked Jody if he would be back before dinner.
“How are you feeling, Pa?” asked Jody.
Jody asked his father how he was feeling.

Here are some questions in direct speech. Put them into reported speech.

(i) Penny said, “Do you really want it son?”
(ii) Mill-wheel said, “Will he ride back with me?”
(iii) He said to Mill-wheel, “Do you think the fawn is still there?”
(iv) He asked Mill-wheel, “Will you help me find him?”
(v) He said, “Was it up here that Pa got bitten by the snake?”

Answer: (i) Penny asked his son if he really wanted the fawn.

(ii) Mill-wheel asked if Jody would ride back with him.

(iii) Jody asked Mill-wheel if he thought the fawn was still there.

(iv) Jody asked Mill-wheel if he would help him find the fawn.

(v) Jody said to Mill-wheel that it was up here that Pa got bitten by the snake.

Question 2: Look at these two sentences.
He tumbled backward.
It turned its head.

The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object. The second sentence has a transitive verb. It has a direct object. We can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer. “Its head. It turned its head.”
Say whether the verb in each sentence below is transitive or intransitive. Ask yourself a “what’ question about the verb, as in the example above. (For some verbs, the object is a person, so ask the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).

(i) Jody then went to the kitchen.
(ii) The fawn wobbled after him.
(iii) You found him.
(iv) He picked it up.
(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk.
(vi) It bleated frantically and butted him.
(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers.
(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk.
(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently.
(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk.
(xi) The fawn followed him.
(xii) He walked all day.
(xiii) He stroked its sides.
(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose.
(xv) Its legs hung limply.

Answer:
(i) Jody then went to the kitchen. – Intransitive
(ii) The fawn wobbled after him. – Intransitive
(iii) You found him. – Transitive
(iv) He picked it up. – Transitive
(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk. – Transitive
(vi) It bleated frantically and butted him. – Intransitive, Transitive
(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers. – Transitive
(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk. – Transitive
(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently. – Transitive
(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk. – Transitive
(xi) The fawn followed him. – Transitive
(xii) He walked all day. – Intransitive
(xiii) He stroked its sides. – Transitive
(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose. – Transitive
(xv) Its legs hung limply. – Intransitive

Question 3: Here are some words from the lesson. Working in groups, arrange them in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary. Write down some idioms and phrasal verbs connected to these words. Use the dictionary for more idioms and phrasal verbs.

close	draw	make	wonder	scrawny
parted	clearing	sweet	light	pick

Answer: The words would appear in the following sequential order when arranged properly:

clearing	close	draw	light	make
parted	pick	scrawny	sweet	wonder

Idioms or phrasal verbs connected to the above words.
Clearing: clearing, campaign
Close: close shave, close up, close quarters
Draw: draw the curtain on/over, draw a blank
Light: in the light of, bring to light
Make: make the most of, make up
Part: part with, parted comparing
Pick: pick up, pick and choose
Scrawny: the scrawny neck
Sweet: have a sweet tooth, sweet seventeen, sweet tongued, sweet nothings
Wonder: wonder world, wonder load, nine day’s wonder, wonder about, do wonders.

Speaking

Question 1: Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer: Animals have been killed since ages to save human life. Fish oil is one example. The bones of many animals are said to be cures for many human diseases. So there is nothing new if animals are killed to save human life.

The morality doesn’t ask us to let a man die if he can be saved. After all the life of a man is more important than that of an animal. It doesn’t however mean that we should kill animals indiscriminately. We should do so only when there is no other alternative. For those who think it is immoral, I have only one thing to say. It is nature’s law that one life depends upon other lives. Eating vegetables is also taking lives of some plants etc.

Question 2: Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it? Discuss it in groups and present your argu­ments to the class.

Answer: The young ones of cats, dogs and some birds attract us as does a human child. When I was a child, I wanted to adopt a kitten or a puppy as pet. I found a good breed puppy at my doorstep one day. But it created a commotion in the house. My mother got irritated at the very presence of pets in the house. They bite and bark, enter the kitchen or sit on our beds and make things dirty. But I assured her that I would look after my puppy and train it. The loyal dog would act as security guard and a playmate. My parents finally relented and let me have the poor puppy as a pet.

Writing

Question 1: Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here are some words and phrases that you could use.

frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic, companion, sharing, friend, rolls in mud, dirties the bed, naughty, lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead.

Answer: I have a dog as a pet. It is very frisky and smart. Whenever I reach home, it jumps high and tries to embrace me. At that time, he refuses to obey me if I ask him to keep away. Otherwise it is very loyal and keeps a good watch in the house. Its happiness is infectious as it keeps everyone happy. It is a trained dog who does not roll in mud or dirties the bed. It waits for the newspaper at the door. As soon as the paper arrives, it brings it to me.

It is not very expensive. Apart from milk and dog-biscuits. I give him only such things which are consumed at home. Of course, I take him to doctor once a month to see that everything is alright. I am afraid, he serves me so faithfully that it might turn my head. It makes me feel important.

Question 2: Human life is dependent on nature (that’s why we call her Mother Nature). We take everything from nature to live our lives. Do we give back anything to nature?
(i) Write down some examples of the natural resources that we use.
(ii) Write a paragraph expressing your point of view regarding our relationship with nature.

Answer:
(i) Man and nature are complementary to each other. Man for ages has been using forests, minerals and chemicals for his survival. Earth and nature are our lifelines. They help us directly or indirectly. Take for example the paper we print, our books and newspapers. They are products of trees. We get fruits, flowers and fodder from nature. We get water and air free from nature. It is unfortunate that we are over using the limited resources and are also polluting them.

Nature is our Mother. We must not use up anything to the extent that it is not restored naturally. By cutting down trees or killing whales we are, in a way, depriving our children of their share. Let us give back to nature for the benefits we get from it.

(ii) Some of the natural resources that we use are water, coal, mineral oil, etc.

Question 3: In This is Jody’s Fawn, Jody’s father uses a “home remedy’ for a snake bite. What should a person now do if he or she is bitten by a snake? Are all snakes poisonous?
With the help of your teacher and others, find out answers to such questions. Then write a short paragraph on—What to do if a snake chooses to bite you.

Answer: If a snake chooses to bite me I must take immediate action. As it bites I should bind the place tightly. I should make a cut with sharp clean blade or knife at the place of biting. It will press out the poisonous blood. Immediately after this some antiseptic should be applied. Then I should go to a nearby physician or hospital for further treatment.