The Shadow | Poem 2 | English | Class 5th | Questions and Answers |

JANDKNCERT |Tulip Series | English 5th ||

The Shadow | Poem 2 | English | Class 5th | Questions and Answers |

Poem 2: The Shadow

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,

And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.

He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;

And I see him jump before me when I jump into my bed.

 

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow.

Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;

For he sometimes shoots up taller like an India-rubber ball,

And he sometimes gets so little that there's none of him at all.

 

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play.

And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way;

He stays so close beside me, he's a coward you can see;

I'd think it a shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

 

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,

I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;

But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepyhead,

Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

(Robert Louis Stevenson)

 

Words to Remember

shoot up: rise or grow quickly بڑ جانا

India-rubber ball: a ball that can bounce very high ربڑ والی گیند

notion: idea رائے

nursie: nurse پرورش کرنا

stick: attach چپک جانا

buttercup: a small wild plant with bright yellow flowers جنس کا چھوٹا پودا جس کے پھول زرد ہوتے ہیں

arrant: bad بُرا ، بدنام

sleepyhead: a person who is tired or sleepy غنودہ

 

Reading is Fun

 

Q1. Who is the speaker of the poem?

Ans. The poet himself, as a child is the speaker of the poem.

Q2. What are the changes that occur in the poet's shadow?

Ans. The poet’s shadow sometimes rises or gets tall and sometimes gets very little.

Q3. What does the speaker think of his shadow in Stanza 3?

Ans. The speaker thinks it a shame to stick to the shadow to nurse it just like the shadow sticks to him.

Q4. What did the speaker find one morning before the sun was up?

Ans. One morning before the sun was up, the speaker found the shining dew on every wild plant.

Q5. Why is the shadow funny?

Ans. The shadow is funny because it does not grow like proper children but sometimes grows tall and sometimes gets very small. It sticks to a person and follows and jumps along with him.

Also Read: Making of a Human Body

Language Work

 

1. Match the words in Column A with their opposites in Column B:

 

Column A	Column B
a. funny	a. awakes
b. fall	b. short
c. proper	c. often
d. sometimes	d. improper
e. foolish	e. serious
f. tall	f. wise
g. courageous	g. slow
h. fast	h. rise
i. asleep	i. open
j. close	j. cowardly

 

Ans.

 

Column A	Column B
a. funny	e. serious
b. fall	h. rise
c. proper	d. improper
d. sometimes	c. often
e. foolish	f. wise
f. tall	b. short
g. courageous	j. cowardly
h. fast	g. slow
i. asleep	a. awakes
j. close	i. open

 

 

2. Write down words rhyming with each of the following. One has been done for you.

 

1. Ball	call	tall	fall
2. found
3. shine
4. slow
5. see
6. way

 

Ans.

 

1. Ball	Call	Tall	Fall
2. Found	Round	Bound	Sound
3. Shine	Fine	Line	Nine
4. Slow	Glow	Blow	Flow
5. See	Tea	Bee	Fee
6. Way	Lay	Gay	Say

 

Let’s Talk

Did you see something funny happening in the recent past? Share it with your classmates.

Also Read: JANDKNCERT-Free NCERT solutions for Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh(UT)

Let’s Write

Write a few sentences on your shadow.

        When the sun rises, I see a shadow of myself. It sometimes grows tall and sometimes gets very small. It jumps when I jump and stops when I stop. It always sticks to me whenever it is daylight or any other light. It comes to school with me. It sleeps with me when I sleep. It wakes with me when I wake up.