That Sunday Morning (Prose)

Unit 2 – Prose

That Sunday Morning

“A day without laughter is a day wasted.”
— Charlie Chaplin

Spin a Yarn

The starting of a story is given. Develop it into a humorous story.
Once there lived a boy who bragged endlessly about himself…

Section I

Listen to your teacher read a part of the story. Answer the questions below in one or two sentences.

My father was posted in Patna. On the first Sunday there, my brother and I decided to do a little exploring on our bikes. It was still very early in the morning, and only a few people were about. The roads were good and the trees lining them were shady. There were no imposing buildings or monuments as there are in Delhi, from where we had just come.

After cycling for about half-an-hour, my brother got bored and said,
“Come on, I’ll race you to that corner. The loser treats the other to a chocolate, okay?”
“Okay, one, two, three!” I said, and then we were off.

This was not the first time we had raced. Only my brother had invariably beaten me and then crowed about it for days. I was determined to win this time. I pedalled as fast as I could. My legs ached and my skirt billowed out, threatening to hit my face. The trees on either side of the road had become one green blur. My hair blew behind me and my lungs were bursting for air. Soon I drew level with my brother and then gradually I moved ahead.

Answer in one or two sentences

1. Why did the family move to Patna?
2. Who was challenged for a race?
3. Is the brother boastful? What makes you think so?
4. Why did the trees become a green blur?
5. Which line tells you that the girl was faster than the boy?

Glossary

• exploring – travelling for discovery
• billowed out – to flare out in the wind
• imposing – grand or impressive
• threatening – warning
• invariably – always
• blur – unclear
• crowed – boasted

Section II

Read the section on your own. Draw a picture to describe the part of the story that you like the most.

I could see the corner, in a haze. I was starting to whoop with glee, but the whoop froze on my lips. There, right in the middle of the road, stood a lone cow! I jammed on the brakes and the cycle stopped abruptly, but I could not stop the momentum of my own body. I flew over the handlebars and landed smack on the back of the unfortunate animal. The cow, startled by this sudden attack, reared up and started running. I clung to her for dear life, as she charged up the road and round the corner. As we turned, I spotted two rows of resplendent cavalry officers, mounted on their magnificent horses coming towards us. They obviously belonged to the governor's bodyguard. I could only cling on helplessly as the frightened cow charged straight at the horses. The horses panicked and scattered. There was a regular stampede. The cow managed to fall into a ditch and in the process, dislodged me, and I landed on the soft earth bordering the ditch.

Put the events in the correct order

• The girl cried out in delight as she overtook her brother on her cycle.
• Just then she saw a lone cow in the middle of the road.
• She applied the brakes, but was thrown off the cycle.
• And so she flew onto the back of the cow.
• The startled cow charged off in fear.
• And it charged straight at the cavalry officers on horseback.
• So everybody panicked and made a general rush to safety.
• Finally the cow fell into a ditch and dislodged the girl.

Glossary

• abruptly – suddenly
• momentum – the force of a moving body
• unfortunate – unlucky
• startled – frightened
• resplendent – brilliant in appearance
• cavalry – a unit of the army serving on horseback
• magnificent – grand
• stampede – rush
• dislodged – freed

Section III

Read the section silently.

I sat up with a groan and saw that the cavalry horses were still out of control. Some of them were running like mad in circles, while their riders tried to bring them under control. Two horses were nowhere to be seen, and one horse threw its rider right in front of my eyes. The poor man landed in the ditch just next to the cow. The cow, thinking this was another attack, bellowed loudly and, lowering its head at the unfortunate man. The poor fellow scrambled out of the ditch, tearing his pants at rather an awkward place. Realising this, he sat down on the road with a thump and would not get up. I saw my brother approaching with my bike in tow, coming up to me with a grin on his face. I felt like hitting him.

“You looked such a sight on top of that cow,” he said and started laughing.
Then he probably realised that I might have been hurt and asked, “Are you all right?”
“Of course, I am,” I said haughtily and got up at once.
Nothing on earth would have made me admit to him how frightened and shaken I was.

Just then my brother spotted one of the horse riders coming towards us with a thunderous scowl on his face. Behind him was the man to whom, in all probability, the cow belonged. My brother gave them an uneasy glance and said, “I think it would be nice if we moved quickly from here.”
I looked round and saw that if both of us did not move fast enough, we would be called in for a lot of explanations. With one accord, we got onto our bikes and beat a hasty retreat. The morning had already been rather eventful and we did not want to add another unpleasant episode to it.

— Savita Singh

Tick the correct statements (√ / ×)

1. The man didn’t want to get up because he was tired as he was thrown into the ditch.
2. The boy was rather unsympathetic to his sister.
3. The girl was badly hurt.
4. The boy and the girl were taken by the cavalry to explain their action.
5. They rode back home quickly.
6. The girl admitted to her brother that she was badly frightened.

Glossary

• groan – an utterance expressing pain
• bellowed – the cry of a cow
• scrambled – to move or climb hurriedly
• awkward – sensitive
• haughtily – arrogantly
• scowl – threatening look
• retreat – to move away
• unpleasant – disagreeable

Read and Understand

A. Answer the following questions

1. How does Patna differ from Delhi?
2. What was the girl determined to do? Why?
3. How did the cavalry officers look? What happened to them finally?
4. Why did the girl reply haughtily?
5. Were the girl and her brother friendly with each other?
6. “I think it would be nice if we moved quickly from here.”
   a. Who does ‘I’ refer to?
   b. Why did they want to move quickly from there?

B. Think and Answer

1. Work in groups. Discuss and have a debate on life in bustling cities and life in calm towns.
2. Imagine you are the girl and give a different ending to the story.

Vocabulary

C. Match the phrases with their meanings

Phrase	Meaning
drew level with	rose to an equal level
whoop with glee	shout with enthusiasm and happiness
jammed on the brakes	tried to stop the motion immediately
clung for dear life	as if one’s life depends on it
charged up the road	ran very quickly in panic
beat a hasty retreat	to leave a place quickly

D. Refer to a dictionary and find out the meaning of the words

• beam –
• smile –
• guffaw –
• laugh –
• giggle –

E. Fill in the blanks with the correct form of the appropriate laughter words

1. Kavitha’s face ______ with joy as she arrived India.
2. The show was enjoyed by all the audience and they ______ out loudly all the while.
3. When I tickle Nishanth, he always makes a loud ______.
4. Bharani didn’t mean any harm, he just did it for ______.
5. Things will calm down, you just keep ______.

F. Pick the word from the text similar to the given phrases

1. threatening and extremely angry – ______
2. a heavy blow or hit – ______
3. happening gently and gradually – ______
4. any building of a past age, regarded as a historically important place – ______
5. bad luck – ______

G. Match each word with its antonyms

Word	Antonym
shady	sunny
bored	interested
glee	misery
panic	calm
hasty	slow

Make a sentence of your own for any five words from the above.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Listening

H. Complete the humorous story by filling the blanks while listening to your teacher.

Once there lived friends Vani, Kavi and Sumi. They always played pranks on one another. One day Vani bought some delicious __ and she decided to share them with her _.
Kavi and Sumi were to see the berries. The three of them sat and started eating the berries. Suddenly Sumi decided to play a on Kavi. When she looked under her chair she saw a small heap of . She stealthily pushed the heap of seeds under chair.
Then Sumi said, “What is this Kavi? You are so ! You alone have eaten so many berries.” Kavi felt and didn’t know what to say.
Vani looked here and there. When she looked under Sumi’s chair there were seeds. So, she replied “Sumi, Kavi was at least , but see . You have eaten all the berries including its .” Then Kavi understood that her friend had just played a trick on her and then all three of them ___ heartily.

Give a title and a moral to the story.

Speaking

I. Two-minute humorous sales pitch

Choose any classroom item (eraser, pencil, school bag, book, etc.). Promote and sell it in the funniest way possible to convince your classmates.

Picto Grammar – Adverbs

Adverbs modify a verb by giving information about
- Place – where an action occurs
- Frequency – how often an action occurs
- Manner – how an action occurs
- Time – when an action occurs

J. Look at the picture and fill in the blanks with suitable adverbs

1. The car was moving too ______.
2. The lift is moving ______.
3. Joanna did her classwork ______.
4. Keerthi Vasan arrived ______.
5. Paul ______ plays cricket with his friends.
6. Suguna ______ helps her mother at home.

K. Read the sentences and put the adverbs in the correct boxes

1. Anand has decided to submit his project tomorrow.
2. The cat ran behind.
3. Paraman sang in the choir happily.
4. We never come late to the office.
5. The stray elephant was set free in the forest yesterday.
6. Arun and Vimala usually complete their homework on time.
7. Raghav looked at his sister affectionately.
8. I prefer to leave early.

Manner	Time	Frequency	Place

Give two more examples of your own in each box.

L. Put the words in the correct order to make sentences

1. was / somebody / there / nearby / standing.
2. came / Anand / to / school / early.
3. softly / Murali / speaks.
4. beautifully / the house / have / they / decorated.
5. English / classes / during / always / we / English / speak.

M. Pick the words from the box and put them in the appropriate column

kindly, soft, sweet, everywhere, bright, constantly, few, then, huge, loudly

Adverb	Adjective

Writing

N. Paragraph Writing – “Laughter is the best medicine”

Use the paragraph burger structure:
- Introduction – topic sentence
- Supporting details – examples, explanations
- Conclusion – restate the topic

Creative Writing

O. Look at the cartoon strips. Create your own humorous story.

Write a sentence or two for each frame of the comic strip in the space given.

Language Check Point

Incorrect	Correct	Rule
I last night went to the cinema.	I went to the cinema last night.	Adverbs of definite time usually come at the end.
Pushpa came here two months before.	Pushpa came here two months ago.	Ago refers from now; before refers to a past point.
She angrily spoke.	She spoke angrily.	Adverbs of manner usually go in end-position.

Practice Practice Exercises

Once there lived friends Vani, Kavi and Sumi. They always played pranks on one another. One day Vani bought some delicious and she decided to share them with her .

Kavi and Sumi were to see the berries. The three of them sat and started eating the berries. Suddenly Sumi decided to play a on Kavi. When she looked under her chair she saw a small heap of . She stealthily pushed the heap of seeds under chair.

Then Sumi said, “What is this Kavi? You are so ! You alone have eaten so many berries. “Kavi felt and didn’t know what to say.

Vani looked here and there. When she looked under Sumi’s chair there were seeds. So, she replied “Sumi, Kavi was at least greedy, but see . You have eaten all the berries including its seeds. “Then Kavi understood that her friend had just played a trick on her and then all three of them heartily.

1. The car was moving too

2. The lift is moving

3. Joanna did her classwork

4. Keerthi Vasan arrived

5. Paul plays cricket with his friends.

6. Suguna helps her mother at home.

The man didn’t want to get up because he was tired as he was thrown into the ditch. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

The boy was rather unsympathetic to his sister. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

The girl was badly hurt. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

The boy and the girl were taken by the cavalry to explain their action. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

They rode back home quickly. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

The girl admitted to her brother that she was badly frightened. ✔ Correct ✘ Incorrect

beam –

smile –

guffaw –

laugh –

giggle –