NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Unit 1 Fables and Folk Tales Chapter 02 The Raven and the Fox

Let us do these activities before we read.

Question 1. We know that frogs croak. Did you know that ravens also croak?
Answer: Frogs make croaking sounds to speak with one another, mostly during wet rainy days. Similarly, ravens create a rough croaking sound to share messages. Ravens are highly intelligent birds and can produce many different sounds to communicate.
In simple words: Yes, both frogs and ravens make croaking sounds to talk and share messages with their friends.

Exam Tip: Always describe animal sounds using active verbs and simple vocabulary to make your descriptions clear and lively.

Question 2. Which animal is shown to be cunning in stories? Circle the correct answer.
(a) tiger
(b) fox
(c) bear
Answer: (b) fox
In simple words: In many old tales and fables, the fox is shown as a very clever and tricky animal.

Exam Tip: Whenever you choose an answer from multiple-choice options, make sure to write both the correct letter and the corresponding option name.

Let us read

Let us discuss

Question 1. Fill in the blanks by choosing the correct option.
(a) Stanza 1
(i) Mr Raven is a __________. (bird/frog)
(ii) The name of the fox is __________. (Raven/Reynard)
(iii) Mr Raven had __________ in his beak. (a piece of food/ a bunch of leaves)
(b) Stanza 2
(i) The Fox calls the Raven a __________ bird. (foolish/good-looking)
(ii) The Fox asks the Raven to __________. (dance/sing)
(iii) The Raven and the Fox live in the __________. (trees/woods)
(c) Stanza 3
(i) The Raven __________ that he croaked. (remembered/forgot)
(ii) The Raven opened its beak to __________. (eat/sing)
(iii) The __________ fell down. (food/Raven)
(d) Stanza 4
(i) The Fox __________ at the Raven. (laughed/looked)
(ii) It is not __________ to be too proud of oneself. (wise/unwise)
(iii) The Raven learnt a __________. (lesson/teaching)
Answer:
(a) Stanza 1
(i) Mr Raven is a bird.
(ii) The name of the fox is Reynard.
(iii) Mr Raven had a piece of food in his beak.

(b) Stanza 2
(i) The Fox calls the Raven a good-looking bird.
(ii) The Fox asks the Raven to sing.
(iii) The Raven and the Fox live in the woods.

(c) Stanza 3
(i) The Raven forgot that he croaked.
(ii) The Raven opened its beak to sing.
(iii) The food fell down.

(d) Stanza 4
(i) The Fox laughed at the Raven.
(ii) It is not wise to be too proud of oneself.
(iii) The Raven learnt a lesson.
In simple words: This activity tests your reading of the poem. You must choose the right words to complete the summary of what happens to the raven and the fox in each stanza.

Exam Tip: Read each stanza of the poem carefully before filling in the blanks. Matching the events directly with the poem ensures a perfect score.

Question 2. Read the poem again and match the words in Column A with their meanings in Column B. Check your answers with your teacher and your classmates.
Answer:

In simple words: This table matches new vocabulary words from the poem with their correct definitions so you can understand what they mean.

Exam Tip: Memorizing vocabulary words and their exact meanings helps you score high on word-matching and definition questions in exams.

Let us think and reflect

Question 1. Look at the pictures and number them in the order that they happen in the poem.
Answer:
The correct chronological order of the scenes is:
1. First (1): The image on the bottom-left, where the Raven is holding a piece of food in its beak near the fence.
2. Second (2): The image on the top-left, where the Fox comes and looks up at the Raven sitting high up in the tree.
3. Third (3): The image on the bottom-right, where the Raven opens its beak to sing, causing the food to drop, as the Fox watches eagerly.
4. Fourth (4): The image on the top-right, where the clever Fox runs off with the dropped food in its mouth.
In simple words: The pictures show the story: first the raven has food, then the fox sees it, the raven drops it while singing, and finally the fox runs away with it.

Exam Tip: Picture-sequencing questions test your ability to recall the sequence of events. Try to summarize the key action in each drawing to find the right order.

Question 2. Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow.
(a) Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird.
Such feathers! If you would only sing,
The birds of these woods would call you King.
(i) 'Such feathers' refer to __________ feathers.
a. shiny and beautiful
b. black and dull
c. grey and long
d. short and unattractive
(ii) Why would the birds of the woods call the Raven 'King'?
(iii) Why does the Fox address the Raven as 'Sir'?

(b) The Raven, who did not see the joke,
Forgot that his voice was just a croak.
He opened his beak, in his foolish pride-
(i) Why did the Raven open his beak?
(ii) Complete the following with one word from the given lines.
Fox : Clever :: Raven : __________
Answer:
(a)
(i) a. shiny and beautiful
(ii) Other birds in the forest would call the Raven their 'King' because if he could sing nicely along with having such beautiful feathers, he would be the finest bird of all.
(iii) The Fox calls the Raven 'Sir' to praise him falsely and make him feel very important, so that he can trick him into opening his beak.

(b)
(i) The Raven opened his beak to sing because he believed the Fox's fake praise and wanted to show off his voice.
(ii) foolish
In simple words: The fox tricks the raven by telling him he has beautiful feathers and a great voice, which makes the proud raven open his mouth to sing and lose his food.

Exam Tip: When explaining why a character behaves in a certain way, look for keywords like "foolish pride" or "flattered" to give complete answers.

Question 3. Why does the Raven forget that his voice is just a croak?
Answer: The Raven forgets his voice is just a harsh croak because he gets carried away by the sweet, fake praise from the Fox.
In simple words: He gets so happy hearing the nice things the fox says about him that he forgets he cannot actually sing.

Exam Tip: Focus on the raven's emotion - specifically how "flattery" or "pride" blinds him to his own limitations.

Question 4. How does Reynard make the Raven sing?
Answer: Reynard tricks the Raven into singing by telling him how handsome he looks. He also tells him that he would easily be the king of the forest if he had a beautiful singing voice.
In simple words: The clever fox flatters the raven's looks and says he would be king if he could sing, making him want to show off.

Exam Tip: Mention both aspects of the fox's strategy: praising the raven's feathers (appearance) and telling him he could be king (status).

Question 5. Why does Reynard say that pride is not wise?
Answer: Reynard explains that being proud is silly because it makes you act without thinking, just like the Raven who opened his mouth to show off and lost his delicious meal.
In simple words: When we are too proud, we can get easily tricked by others and make silly mistakes.

Exam Tip: Connect the moral of the story to the characters' actions to show a deep understanding of the poem's theme.

Question 6. Give one reason why the teaching is quite a surprise.
Answer: The lesson is unexpected because the Raven never thought the nice words from the Fox were actually a trick to steal his lunch.
In simple words: It was a surprise because the raven thought the fox was being friendly, but the fox was actually playing a trick.

Exam Tip: Focus on the contrast between what the raven expected (sincere praise) and the reality (a trick to get his food).

Question 7. Imagine someone praises you too much. How would you react?
Answer: If a person praises me excessively, I will remain careful and try to guess why they are saying those things. I would say thank you but stay down-to-earth so that I do not become proud or get tricked.
In simple words: I would say thank you but be careful, because too much praise can sometimes be a trick.

Exam Tip: Answers to imaginative questions should show maturity and use balanced language like "remain careful" and "stay humble".

Let us learn

Question 1. Write the rhyming words from the poem. One has been done for you.
Stanza 1
(a) limb-him
(b) __________
Stanza 2
(a) word-__________
(b) __________
Stanza 3
(a) joke-__________
(b) __________
Stanza 4
(a) know-__________
(b) __________
Answer:
Stanza 1
(a) limb - him
(b) beak - seek

Stanza 2
(a) word - bird
(b) sing - king

Stanza 3
(a) joke - croak
(b) pride - eyed

Stanza 4
(a) know - glow
(b) unwise - surprise
In simple words: Rhyming words are words that have the same ending sound, like "sing" and "king".

Exam Tip: Say the words aloud during exams to check if their ending sounds match perfectly. This is the easiest way to identify rhyming pairs.

Question 2. Study the underlined words in the poem.
(a) For the Raven held in his great big beak.
The words 'big' and 'beak' begin with the same /b/ sound.
(b) The song of sweet birds.

Alliteration is a repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words. When two or more words together, begin with the same sound, it is called alliteration.

Now, pick another example of alliteration from Stanza 2.
Answer: "woods would" (The words 'woods' and 'would' repeat the /w/ sound at the beginning).
In simple words: Alliteration is when words that are close to each other start with the exact same letter sound, like "woods would".

Exam Tip: To identify alliteration, focus on the consonant sound, not just the spelling. The sounds must match at the very beginning of adjacent words.

Question 3. Choose the correct opposites from the box given below and complete the table. There are two extra words that you will not need.
[wise, happy, humility, flew, remembered, notice, dim, cried, silly]

Words | Opposites
1. perched | __________
2. forgot | __________
3. foolish | __________
4. pride | __________
5. laughed | __________
6. ignore | __________
7. glow | __________

Use any four words from the table given above to make sentences of your own.
Answer:

Sentences:
- A beautiful colorful parrot flew high into the sky.
- My mother remembered to bring the keys before leaving.
- We asked the wise teacher to help us with our lessons.
- Everyone liked the captain because of his quiet humility.
In simple words: First, find the opposite meaning for each word. Then, pick four of these opposite words and write a new sentence for each one.

Exam Tip: When making sentences, try to use simple, clear grammar so your sentence is easy to read and grammatically correct.

Let us listen

Question. You will listen to what the crow did after he lost his food. As you listen, mark the given statements as True or False.
(a) The crow was unhappy that he lost his food.
(b) The crow thought that his lovely feathers made him smart.
(c) The crow wanted to tell his friends not to be proud.
Answer:
(a) True
(b) False
(c) True
In simple words: This exercise checks if you understand the listening passage. The crow was sad about losing his food, knew his feathers did not make him smart, and wanted to warn his friends against being too proud.

Exam Tip: Pay close attention to details in the listening passage to accurately identify whether a statement is completely True or has false details.

Let us speak

Question. Narrate the poem in the form of a story. Give a different ending to the story. You may begin like this:
This is a story about a clever fox named Reynard and Mr Raven. One day...
Answer: This is a story about a clever fox named Reynard and Mr. Raven. One morning, the bird sat on a high branch, holding a delicious piece of food in his mouth. Reynard, who wanted a free snack, looked up at him. He planned to use tricky words to take the food.

'Dear Raven, you look extremely handsome,' Reynard praised. 'Your feathers are so bright! If you could sing, every bird in the forest would make you King.'

The proud bird loved the praise. Forgetting that his natural voice was only a rough croak, he opened his mouth wide to sing. The tasty food slipped out and fell straight down. Reynard caught it quickly and laughed. 'Now you know,' the fox giggled, 'never believe sweet words that make you feel too big. Pride is never wise, and I hope you remember this surprise!'

But in this new ending, the bird did not just sit and cry. He understood his silly error and chose to act. He flew down to the ground and said, 'You tricked me this time, Reynard, but we should not fight. Why don't we share this food together?'

The fox was very surprised by this kind offer. He thought about it and said, 'Alright, let us divide it.'

After that day, the two became good companions. They learned that being kind is much better than playing tricks. The bird also grew wise and never let fake compliments trick him again.
In simple words: This is a creative retelling of the poem where the raven offers to share the food with the fox instead of just being sad, making them friends.

Exam Tip: When writing a new ending, think about how the characters can learn a positive lesson or change their behavior to make the story end happily.

Let us write

Question. Now, write the story you narrated in the form of a conversation.
(Remember to write only the actions for the Raven as he has food in his mouth and does not speak.)
You may begin like this:
Reynard: Good morning, Mr Raven! You seem to be awake so early!
(Mr Raven just nods his head)
Reynard: Oh, Mr Raven, you look ...
Answer:
Reynard: Good morning, Mr. Raven! You are awake very early today!
(Mr. Raven just nods his head slowly)
Reynard: My dear friend, you look extremely grand today. Your black feathers look so beautiful and shiny.
(Mr. Raven puffs up his chest with pride)
Reynard: Surely, a bird with such amazing feathers must have a beautiful voice too. If you would sing a song, all the animals here would crown you as our King.
(Mr. Raven feels very happy and opens his beak wide to sing. The piece of food drops instantly to the ground, and Reynard catches it quickly.)
Reynard: Haha! Now you see, never trust people who praise you too much just to trick you. Pride is a silly thing, and this lesson must be a big surprise for you!
(Mr. Raven looks sad at first, but then he gets an idea. He flies down near Reynard and looks straight into his eyes.)
Reynard: What is it, Mr. Raven? Do you want to tell me something?
(Mr. Raven points his beak at the food, then at himself, and then at Reynard, showing he wants to share.)
Reynard: Oh, are you asking to share this meal? Well, that is a very kind idea.
(Mr. Raven nods his head up and down happily)
Reynard: Okay, Mr. Raven. Let us eat this together. We can both be good neighbors instead of playing tricks.
(Mr. Raven and Reynard sit side-by-side, sharing the tasty bite, and decide to become good friends.)
In simple words: This is a written dialogue where the raven uses gestures because his mouth is full, and eventually convinces the fox to share the food.

Exam Tip: Use bracketed stage directions like "(Mr. Raven nods)" to describe actions or expressions when a character cannot speak.

Let us explore

Question. Origami is an art of folding objects out of paper to create both two dimensional and three-dimensional objects. Let us make stick puppets and enact the poem. You may take the help of the pictures given below.
Answer: This is a hands-on activity. You should try making these paper puppets by following the steps shown in the pictures under the guidance of your teacher or parents.
In simple words: This is a fun craft activity where you fold paper to make animal puppets with help from an adult.

Exam Tip: Follow craft instructions step-by-step carefully, and use thin paper so that the folds are sharp and easy to make.