Read: The Story

Class 6 English · Chapter 6: The Chair · NCERT Poorvi section pp. 59–63

Learn

Before you read: what words come to mind when you think of friendship? Laughter, helpful, loyal, loving, trust, hope, caring, support... There are many words for a friend too: partner, buddies, companion, classmates. What do you call a friend in your own language?

Part I (in short): Mario loves having lots of friends and shows off about how many he has. His grandfather bets him a fruit chaat that many of them are only companions, not real friends. Mario accepts, but how can he test it? Grandpa goes to the attic and returns as if carrying something, though Mario can see nothing: "It's a very special invisible chair. If you manage to sit on it at school, the magic will show you your real friends."

Part II (in short): brave and determined, Mario takes the "chair" to school. At break he gathers everyone in a circle and tries to sit on it, but falls on his backside. His classmates laugh. "Just a slight technical problem!" He tries again and again, falling each time, but won't give up. Suddenly, he doesn't fall: he is sitting in mid-air!

Looking around, Mario sees Guneet, Asma and Deepa, three buddies, holding him up so he won't fall, while many "friends" only laughed at every fall. That was the magic: true friends care for us and never enjoy our bad luck. That evening the four children visit Grandpa, who has won the bet, and enjoy stories and lots of fruit chaat. They use the magic chair test many times after that.

Explore: put the story in order.

1. Put the five events in order.

Remember

• Grandpa's invisible chair test shows Mario who his real friends are.
• Real friends (Guneet, Asma, Deepa) held him up; others only laughed.

Quick check

Why did Mario seem to sit in mid-air?

1. Guneet, Asma and Deepa held him up
2. The chair was real
3. He was standing on a box
4. Grandpa used magic

Think about it

Was Grandpa's chair really magic? Explain.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.