Who Owns The Water (Prose)

Unit 1 – Prose

Who Owns the Water?

WARM UP

Look at the pictures, discuss in pairs, share your answers with the class.
- During which season do you see a peacock dance?
- In which season can you see trees without leaves? Name the country where you can find this season.
- Which season is shown in this picture? What are the people doing?
- Which season is shown in this picture? How do you know?

Section I – READING

Listen to the teacher read this section.

Once upon a time, on the outskirts of a dusty little village, a tiny bird searched for a place to lay her eggs. The land was parched and dry and there wasn’t a bush or tree in sight. Finally in desperation, the little bird discovered a shallow depression in the ground. Using her claws to remove the stones and loosen up the packed earth, she broadened the hole and there, underneath the hot sun, she laid her eggs. The eggs hatched and the good mother protected and fed her babies until they were big enough to fly away…

And here our story would have ended, except, this isn’t a tale of the little bird but a much more interesting one of the hole she used as a temporary nest.

“A hole?” you may ask. “What could be interesting about a hole in the ground?”

Well, this hole grew to be quite important, as you will discover.

For some time the hole remained dusty and untenanted, until one day a passing wild boar settled his rump into the depression. The pit was not comfortable enough and getting up, he scraped and dug, carving a pit of more hospitable proportions. Backing into this hollow, he turned around a few times and with a satisfied grunt settled down to a long snooze. A very long snooze it was too. The boar turned and scrabbled in his sleep, loosening the earth around his cosy dugout until the fading sun and the rumble in his stomach told him it was time to get up. With a mighty stretch and a final kick, the hungry boar departed his daybed without a backward glance.

“And is that it?” you will enquire.
To which I will reply, “No it isn’t, dear one. Not by a long shot. Our story has just begun.”

GLOSSARY

• outskirts – the outer areas of a city or a town
• parched – very dry
• desperation – losing hope
• untenanted – not occupied
• rump – back part of a mammal's body or the part you use to sit
• scrabbled – moved hands and feet around
• cosy – comfortable
• rumble – a low sound like thunder

CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

Put a √ for correct and x for incorrect statements.
1. A tiny bird looked for a place to lay her eggs.
2. The land was wet and green.
3. The little bird found a shallow hollow in the ground.
4. The eggs hatched and the babies flew away.
5. The pit was comfortable for the wild boar to sleep in.
6. The wild boar got up from its day bed because it was disturbed by another boar.

Do you know
WEATHER: The conditions in the atmosphere like rain, wind, or temperature at any time
CLIMATE: The general weather conditions of a place. (e.g.) a warm climate, cold climate
SEASONS: One of the four periods of the year which has its own typical weather conditions resulting from the earth's changing positions in its orbit around the sun

Section II

Read this section in pairs.

A pack of wild dogs catching the scent of boar in the wind came to the spot where he had lain. They sniffed the circle that was rich with the smell of the animal. They whined and snarled and dug at the smell as if digging the elusive boar himself out of the ground. Finally, realising that there was no dinner to be found there, they departed, their noses and tails high in the air. And in doing so, they left the hole a little bigger and wider than they had found it.

“And then what happened?” you will ask.
“Do other animals come along too?”
They do indeed, my child. I told you the hole had a story to tell!

Not long after, the rains came. It poured and poured and only those of us who have seen the monsoons will know what that means. It rained without stopping for three days and three nights and the dry earth soaked up the moisture, as a hungry puppy laps up milk.

The whole earth smelled wet and fresh and even the normally serious–looking people in the village went around with smiles on their faces. The hole in the ground collected the water that fell and around its edges the grass grew a brighter green. Soon buffaloes discovered the grassy spot and as buffaloes want to do, they wallowed in the puddly water, turning the hole into a muddy pit.

I was not there to see, but I am told that many afternoons did the buffaloes gather and thus with a multitude of hooves trampling the soil, the pit that was once a tiny depression, widened and grew and became a little watering hole.

“And they all lived happily ever after!” you will say in glee.
But that rarely happens in real tales, my dear. There is more to go, so you will have to wait awhile.

GLOSSARY

• snarled – made a deep angry noise
• sniffed – to breathe in air in a noisy way
• whined – made a high pitched cry
• soaked – completely wet

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES

1. The wild dogs came to the spot to catch the scent of boar.
2. The rains came and poured without stopping for three days and three nights.
3. The whole earth smelled wet and fresh.
4. The hole in the ground was filled with rainwater.
5. The buffalo wallowed in the hole.
6. The hole became bigger and wider.

Section III

Read this section in pairs.

A poor farmer tilled the land near the once small depression. His life was hard and the rains were often cruel. In summer months, he had to travel far to get water for his thirsty crops and even then his harvest was meagre. One day, not long after the last of the season’s rains, he straightened up from his back-breaking work and looked over the land that was soon becoming brown again. And on the horizon, just beyond his pitiful plot, his eyes came to rest on a patch of green. Going closer to investigate, the farmer fell to the ground with gratitude at the sight of the verdant bowl. Here was water to be had, and so close to his holding! Forgetting all tiredness, he raced home and brought out his pickaxe and spade and soon the buffaloes’ picnic spot was a perfectly decent little pond.

“Is this story going to end with a moral?” you ask me suspiciously.
No, little one, but there is something to learn from everything we see and hear; so hush, while I come to end of the tale.

So happy was the farmer that he told his wife who summoned the village priest to bless their fortune. I do not need to tell you how soon news travels in a little village and so it was quite a crowd that gathered by the side of the pond to see the priest furrow his brow and chant serious something that nobody ever understands.

Just then, the richest farmer in the village pushed his way to the front of the group. He was always upset when things took place that he was not invited to. Looking at the farmer and the placid pond, a slow smile of contentment creased his face.

“I see you have come to bless my pond,” he said to the priest.
“Your pond?” stuttered the poor farmer.
“Why yes,” smoothly oiled the rich one. “Your patch, surely, ends just there. This land is all mine.” And saying this he crossed his arms and planted his feet four-square on the ground.

As the rich farmer and the poor one looked at each other, the buffaloes, the dogs, the boar and yes, even the little bird stopped by to see. They all stood around the little jewel of blue and in every mind, small and big, came a similar thought:

“Surely, I had something to do with this!”

And so I end with a question to you, my beloved friend.

“Who owns the water?”
Not a moral, just a thought – a germ of an idea to dig and make bigger.

GLOSSARY

• wallowed – to lie and roll in mud
• tilled – prepared the land for crops
• multitude – a large number of people
• trampling – crushing
• gratitude – thankful
• verdant – green with grass
• contentment – satisfaction
• suspiciously – doubtfully
• stuttered – spoke with difficulty
• summoned – called
• fortune – luck
• four-square – solidly

ANSWER IN ONE OR TWO SENTENCES

1. Why did the farmer have to travel far?
2. What sight made the farmer thankful?
3. Name the tools the farmer brought out. What did he do with them?
4. Why did the crowd gather by the side of the pond?
5. When did the richest farmer get upset? Why?

READ AND UNDERSTAND

A. Choose the correct answer

1. The little bird broadened the hole with her claws.
2. The wild boar settled down scraping the hole into a hollow.
3. The poor farmer’s crop was meagre.

B. Tick the correct answer

1. “Until the fading sun” means until evening.
2. The farmer was thankful because it was a pond of water.
3. “They all stood around the little jewel of blue” means they stood around the pond.
4. “The dry earth soaked up the moisture…” means the dry earth absorbed the water very quickly.

C. Answer the following

1. Pick out the line which tells you about seasons (in Sec II). Which seasons are mentioned?
2. What happened to the hole in the ground after the rain?
3. Identify a sentence and a phrase which tell us that the story took place in summer.

VOCABULARY

D. Fill in the blanks to make compound words

rain, coconut, coat, sail, fire
1. We use a raincoat on a rainy day.
2. The toy sailboat danced on the pond.
3. We must drink tender coconut water in summer.
4. We can see a rainbow after summer showers.
5. Clean the ashes out of the fireplace.

E. Complete using group names

1. A pack of wolves went hunting in the forest.
2. She bought a new pair of shoes for her birthday.
3. A school of fish swam past our boat.
4. A swarm of bees had settled on a mango tree.
5. I ate a bunch of grapes.

LANGUAGE CHECK POINT

Incorrect	Correct	Note
There is a table besides the bed.	There is a table beside the bed.	beside = next to; besides = in addition to
Everyone played games accept Kathir.	Everyone played games except Kathir.	accept = receive; except = leave out
I see T.V. news regularly.	I watch T.V. news regularly.	watch = look carefully at moving things; see = simply notice

LISTENING

Listen to the weather report (text on p. 130) and fill in:
1. Which season does the weather report show?
2. What kind of a day is it?
3. What is the temperature stated in the report?
4. Tomorrow it may probably _.
5. The weather report suggests to use _.

SPEAKING

Imagine that you and your friend have decided to spend a day together in your house. Discuss in pairs and speak about your schedule from morning till night.
Start like this:
I like to go for a walk but my friend wants to work out in the gym.

PICTO GRAMMAR – Conjunctions

Conjunction	Example
but	He ran fast but he missed the train.
but	It rained heavily but the match continued.
and	Rani went to the market and bought vegetables.
so	He is sick so he is in hospital.

USE GRAMMAR

H. Fill in with suitable linking words

1. Our team played well and won the game.
2. She slipped badly but she did not hurt herself.
3. The box was heavy so he could not lift it.
4. Rani was late to school because she missed the bus.
5. You can use a pen or a pencil for writing.

I. Join the sentences

Use: and, but, or, because
- The clouds moved away and the sun came out.
- Velu thanked his friend because he helped Velu in time.
- It rained heavily but the match continued.
- Eat slowly or you will get choked.

WRITING

J. Write a short paragraph on ‘Summer’

Include:
- the general weather
- clothes we wear
- what we like to eat and drink
- what we like to do
- places we like to see

Begin:
I live in Chennai. The weather is…

CREATIVE WRITING

K. Trees in Different Seasons

Write a short paragraph using the clues:
- Summer – Trees stretch their leafy branches towards the sun.
- Spring – Branches are full of new green leaves.
- Rain – Trees absorb water and look green.
- Autumn – Trees shed their leaves.

Practice Practice Exercises

1. Our team played well won the game. (but, because, and)

2. She slipped badly she did not hurt herself. (but, and, or)

3. The box was heavy he could not lift it. (so, because, and)

4. Rani was late to school she missed the bus. (because, so, and)

5. You can use a pen a pencil for writing. (but, and, or)

During which season do you see a peacock dance?

In which season can you see trees without leaves? Name the country where your can find this season.

Which season is shown in this picture? What are the people doing?

Which season is shown in this picture? How do you Know?

The wild dogs came to the spot to catch

The rain came and poured

The whole earth smelled and

The hole in the ground was filled

The buffalo in the hole.

The hole became and .

1 Why did the farmer have to travel far?

2 What sight made the farmer thankful?

3 Name the tools the farmer brought out. What did he do with them?

4 Why did the crowd gather by the side of the pond?

5 When did the richest farmer get upset? Why?

1. The little bird broadened the hole with her

2. The wild boar settled down scraping the hole into a to have a good sleep.

3. The poor farmer’s crop was

a. Until Evening

b. until the sun fades in colour

a. it was a pond of water

b. he wanted green grass

a. They stood around the pond

b. They stood around the jewel which was blue.

a. The puppy was very hungry.

b. The dry earth absorbed the water very quickly.

1. A of wolves went hunting in the forest.

2. She bought a new of shoes for her birthday.

3. A of fish swam past our boat.

4. A of bees had settled on a mango tree.

5. I ate a of grapes.

1. Which season does the weather report show?

2. What kind of a day is it?

3. What is the temperature stated in the report?

4. Tomorrow it may probably

5. The weather report suggests to use