NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 6 This is Jody’s Fawn

I. He had held it, in his dreams, in his arms. He slipped from the table and went to his father’s bedside. Penny lay at rest. His eyes were open and clear, but the pupils were still dark and dilated. (Page 87)

Multiple Choice Questions
1. ‘He’ in the passage refers to
(a) Jody
(b) Penny
(c) Doc Wilson
(d) Mill-wheel

2. ‘It’ refers to
(a) the table
(b) the fawn
(c) Penny’s eyes
(d) the bed.

3. He went to his father’s bedside to/for
(a) enquire about his health
(b) get some money
(c) talk about the doe
(d) the sake of the fawn.

Answers
1. (a) Jody
2. (b) the fawn
3. (d) the sake of the fawn

II. Doc Wilson said, “That’s right, Ma’am. Nothing in the world comes quite free. The boy’s right and his daddy’s right.”
Mill-wheel said, “He can ride back with me. I’ll help him find it.” (Page 89)

Questions
1. Who was right ?
2. What did he want ?
3. How was Mill-wheel going to help ?

Answers
1. Jody was right.
2. He wanted to bring the fawn home.
3. Mill-wheel wanted to help the boy to find the fawn.

III. He waited for the sound of the hooves to end, then cut to the right. The scrub was still. Only his own crackling of twigs sounded across the silence. He wondered for an instant if he had mistaken his direction. (Page 90)

Multiple Choice Questions
1. Who was it that went away on the horse ?
(a) Jody
(b) Penny
(c) Mill-wheel
(d) Doc Wilson.

2. He was trying to
(a) find the fawn
(b) get a hare
(c) pick some herbs
(d) find his way in the forest.

3. He had come to the place where
(a) he usually came
(b) the Doe was killed
(c) his father had asked him to go
(d) his mother had sent him.

Answers
1. (c) Mill-wheel
2. (a) find the fawn
3. (b) the Doe was killed

IV. Movement directly in front of him startled him so that he tumbled backward. The fawn lifted its face to his. It turned its head with a wide, wondering motion and shook him through with the stare of its liquid eyes. It was quivering. It made no effort to rise or run. Jody could not trust himself to move. (Page 91)

Questions
1. Who is ‘he’ in the first sentence ?
2. Who caused the movement ?
3. Why was Jody so pleased ?

Answers
1. In the first sentence ‘he’ refers to Jody.
2. The fawn had caused the movement.
3. Jody was very much pleased to see the fawn, its movement and the expression in its liquid eyes.

V. The fawn stared after him. He came back to it and stroked it and walked away again. It took a few wobbling steps toward him and cried piteously. It was willing to follow him. It belonged to him. It was his own. He was light-headed with his joy. (Page 92)

Multiple Choice Questions
1. The fawn started after
(a) Penny
(b) Ma Baxter
(c) Jody
(d) Mill-wheel.

2. He was light-headed with joy as he felt that
(a) the fawn was crying
(b) it was taking wobbling steps
(c) it was not able to run
(d) the fawn was really his.

3. The passage is taken from
(a) The Tsunami
(b) This is Jody’s Fawn
(c) A visit to Cambridge
(d) The Great stone Face.

Answers
1. (c) Jody
2. (d) the fawn was really his.
3. (b) This is Jody’s Fawn

VI. Penny turned his head. Jody stood beside him, the fawn clutched hard against him. It seemed to Penny that the boy’s eyes were as bright as the fawn’s. He said, “I’m glad you found him.” (Page 93)

Questions
1. Who was Penny ?
2. Was Penny pleased to see the fawn ? Why ?
3. Find a word in the passage, which means ‘gripped’.

Answers
1. Penny was Jody’s father.
2. Yes, Penny was pleased to see the fawn. Penny loved his son Jody. Jody was unhappy without the fawn. Now that the fawn had been found, Jody was happy. Jody’s happiness was the happiness of Penny.
3. ‘clutched’.

TEXTUAL EXERCISES

COMPREHENSION CHECK (Page 90)
1. What had happened to Jody’s father ?
2. How did the doe save Penny’s life ?
3. Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home ?
4. How does Jody know that the fawn is a male ?

Answers
1. Jody’s father had been bitten by a rattle-snake.
2. Jody’s father Penny killed the doe. He used its heart and liver to draw out the poison.
3. Jody’s father had killed the fawn’s mother. Now the fawn could not get its milk. He was likely to starve in the forest. So Jody wants to bring the fawn home. He intends to raise the fawn.
4. Jody’s father had told Jody how to recognise whether a fawn is male or female. The spots on this fawn are all in a line. So Jody knows that it is a male. On a female fawn the spots are in different directions.

COMPREHENSION CHECK (Page 91)
1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they ?
2. Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone ?

Answers
1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel because he feared the disappointment. He feared that his search for the fawn might be wasted. The fawn might have been killed. He might have been lost. In that case, he did not want Mill-wheel to see the disappointment on his face. The other reason was the opposite. In case he found the fawn, the meeting would be very lovely and secret. In that case, he would not like to share it with anyone else.
2. Jody was a child. He could lose himself in the forest or be bitten by a snake. So Mill-wheel was afraid to leave him alone.

COMPREHENSION CHECK (Page 94)
1. How did Jody bring the fawn back home ?
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 ?
3. How did the deer drink milk from the gourd ?
4. Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would ?

Answers
1. The fawn’s mother’s carcass lay in a clearing. Jody feared that its smell might agitate the fawn. So he skirted the clearing. In doing so, he had to pass through the thicket. Here, the fawn’s legs were caught in the bushes. He did his best to protect the fawn. Reaching the trail, he walked fast. He stopped for rest when he reached the road home. There he put the fawn down. The fawn bleated and looked at him. Jody was enchanted.

Now he walked slowly to see if the fawn would follow him of his own. The fawn didn’t do so. So he came back to pick it up. After some distance, he had to stop for rest again. When he resumed his walk, the fawn followed him this time. After a while Jody picked him again. Thus he reached home carrying the fawn in his arms.

2. The three phrases which show Jody’s feelings are :
(i) (the fawns) shook him through with the stare of its liquid eyes.
(ii) The touch made him delirious.
(iii) as though the fawn was a china deer. ,

3. At first the deer could not drink from the gourd. Jody dipped his fingers.in the milk. Then he thrust them into the fawn’s mouth. It sucked greedily. Next time, as the deer sucked his fingers, he lowered them into the gourd. This worked. The fawn began to suck from the gourd.

4. The fawn didn’t know how to raise its feet to climb the steps.

WORKING WITH THE TEXT (Page 94)

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

Answer:
There were two reasons. First, he loved Jody too much to deny him what he wanted. Second, he was convinced by Jody’s argument. He realised that it would be ungrateful if they left the fawn to starve. After all, he had killed his mother to save his own life. Therefore, it was his duty to protect and raise her baby.

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

Answer:
Doc Wilson meant that they must pay the price of the doe they had killed. The price, according to him, was to raise her fawn.

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

Answer:
Jody gave fawn the affection of a mother. First, he fed him with his fingers. Then he taught him to suck milk from the gourd.

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:
Jody’s mother catches her breath in surprise when she hears about Jody’s plan. She was pouring the coffee. She held the coffee pot in mid air.

She reacted in this manner because she disliked the idea of a fawn at home. Moreover, she did not want to spend her money on an animal.

WORKING WITH LANGUAGE (Page 94)

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 ?”

Answers
(i) Penny asked his son if he really wanted it.
(ii) Mill-wheel asked if he would ride back with him.
(iii) He asked Mill-wheel if he thought the fawn was still there.
(iv) He asked Mill-wheel if he would help him find him.
(v) He asked if it was up there that his Pa had 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 an 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.

Answers
(i) intransitive
(ii) intransitive
(iii) transitive
(iv) transitive
(v) transitive
(vi) intransitive
(vii) transitive
(viii) transitive
(ix) transitive
(x) transitive
(xi) transitive
(xii) intransitive
(xiii) transitive
(xiv) transitive
(xv) 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.

Answers
Order in the dictionary
clearing, close, draw, light, make, parted, pick, scrawny, sweet, wonder

Idioms and phrasal verbs
1- Clearing. No idioms or phrasal verbs are found in the dictionary.

2. Close
Idioms, close ranks, close up, at close quarters, a close call, a close shave, a close thing, close to someone’s heart, close to home, keep one’s cards close to one’s chest, keep a close eye, keep close
Phrasal Verbs, close around, close down, close in, close up, close with.

3. Draw
Idioms. Beat to the draw, draw oneself up, draw the curtain on/over, luck of the draw, draw blood, draw in one’ horn, draw the line, draw trumps, draw up, draw a blank Phrasal Verbs, draw back, draw in, draw on, draw somebody on, draw up

4. Light
Idioms. According to one’s lights, at first light, bring to light, come to light, in a good/ bad light, in the light of, shed the light.
Phrasal Verbs. Light up

5. Make
Idioms. Make/do with something, make good, make it, make the most of, make much of, make nothing of, make or break, make love, make merry.
Phrasal Verbs. Make after, make at, make away with, make for, make out of, make up for something.

6. Parted
Idioms. A fool and his money are soon parted Phrasal Verb. Part with

7. Pick
Idioms, a bone to pick with, pick and choose, pick a fight, pick holes, pick some one’s pocket, pick to pieces, pick up the gauntlet, pick up speed, pick a winner Phrasal Verbs, pick somebody off, pick on somebody, pick out, pick something over, pick up.

8. Scrawny. No idioms or phrasal verbs are found in the dictionary

9. Sweet
Idioms, at one’s own sweet will, have a sweet tooth, keep somebody sweet, revenge is sweet, short and sweet, sweet nothings.
Phrasal Verbs. ‘Sweet’ is not a verb. So no phrasal verbs are possible.

10. Wonder
Idioms, a chinless wonder, work wonders, a nine days’ wonder Phrasal Verbs. None

SPEAKING (Page 96)
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
I wanted to keep a dog as a pet. My parents were against the idea. My mother was particularly against it. She had her reasons. First, she hated the very sight of an animal roaming about the house. Then feeding a dog properly was also not easy. There was always a fear that it might bite somebody and cause much trouble. She said that she already had too many problems to invite one more.

I am glad that I was able to persuade her to my point of view. I told her that the dog would not cause any problem. Feeding would be my responsibility too. As far its biting, I told them a dog need not bite a person unless, provoked. Moreover, I offered to buy a very gentle breed which does not even bark much. I undertook the responsibility for its regular medical check up too. Seeing that I wanted a dog so much, my parents agreed. Although I dare say that they did so only unwillingly.

WRITING (Page 96)
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

• Some of the natural resources that we use are air, water, oil, coal, wood etc.
• Our Relationship With Nature

Our life is completely dependent on nature. We cannot think of anything that comes to us without the help of nature. The only thing is that many of these things come indirectly to us. For example there are the books, the telephone etc. On the other hand, there are some natural resources, we use directly. Chief among them are, water, air and trees. Now, human beings have proved to be very ungrateful children of nature. We have been doing everything to pollute nature which is the source of life. Man has been destroying his environment. The good news is that he has realised his mistake. Hopefully, we shall find ways and means not to further pollute it. We cannot perhaps ever give it back its pristine glory. We use the blessings of the earth as if they will never end. Nothing comes free. If we get something from nature, nature has to suffer for it.

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.

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