THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL

VOCABULARY

Let’s make sentences

1          Quarrel           =          fight

S          We should not quarrel with our friends.

2          doubtless         =          without doubt

S          It is doubtless that Shreya will win the contest.

3          disgrace          =          shame

S          It is is disgrace that nobody came to save the little child.

4          deny                =          to refuse or say no

S          Nobody can deny that we need courage to climb Mount Everest.

5          talent               =          special skill

S          Seema is a talented singer.

Reference To context

1                    The Mountain and the Squirrel had a quarrel,

And the former called the latter “Little Prig”;

Q1       Name the poem and the poet.

Ans      The poem is “The Mountain and the Squirrel” and the poet is Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Q2       Who had a quarrel and why?

Ans      The Mountain and the Squirrel had a quarrel to decide who was superior to the other.

Q3       In the above lines, who is ‘former’ and who is ‘latter’?

Ans      ‘Former’ refers to the Mountain and the ‘latter’ refers to the Squirrel.

2                    And I think it no disgrace

To occupy my place.

If I am not so large as you,

You are not so small as I,

Q1       Who is the speaker of the above lines?

Ans      The Squirrel is the speaker.

Q2       What message is the speaker trying to convey in these lines?

Ans      The Squirrel wants to say that being small or large has its own advantages and that there is nothing shameful in being small.

Q3       What is the meaning of “spry”? Why can’t the Mountain be spry?

Ans      “Spry” means agile or active. The mountain can not be spry because it is fixed at one place.

Answer these questions

Q1       What can the Squirrel do that the Mountain can not?

Ans      The Squirrel can crack a nut but the mountain can not.

Q2       Who do you think is cleverer? Why?

Ans      The Squirrel is cleverer because it knows that although it is smaller in size, but still it is not inferior to the mountain.

Q3       What is the message of the poem?

The message of the poem is that nobody in this world is inferior or superior. Everyone is different and has his own importance and place in this world.