Chapter 4: The Unlikely Best Friends
A lonely royal elephant and a stray dog become the best of friends in this story by Subba Rao, based on a Jataka tale. Read the story in your Poorvi book, then use these topics to understand it, learn opposites with prefixes and the past tenses, and talk about your own friends.
In this chapter you will
- understand and retell the story
- tell a friend from a caretaker
- make opposites using un-, in-, dis-, mis-
- use the simple past, past progressive and past perfect
- use neither … nor and either … or
Topics
- Read: The Story NCERT pp. 39–45
Lonely Gajaraj befriends a stray dog, Buntee; when Buntee is taken away, both stop eating.
- Think and Reflect NCERT pp. 45–46
A caretaker looks after your needs; a friend shares fun, company and feelings.
- Words: Opposites with Prefixes NCERT pp. 46–47
Opposites can be made with prefixes: un-, in-, dis-, mis- (unkind, incorrect, disappear, misuse).
- Grammar: Past Tenses and Neither/Either NCERT pp. 48–49
Simple past (looked, gave); past progressive (was/were + -ing); past perfect (had + third form).
- Listen, Speak and Write NCERT pp. 49–51
Unlikely friendships happen in real life too, like the cow and the leopard.
Key words
- Unlikely
- not expected to happen
- Mahout
- an elephant trainer and keeper
- Strayed
- came somewhere by mistake
- Prefix
- letters added before a word to change its meaning (un-, dis-)
- Past perfect
- had + third form, for an action finished before another past action
Summary
- Gajaraj the elephant and Buntee the dog become friends; parted, both stop eating; the kind farmer reunites them.
- A friend shares fun and feelings; a caretaker looks after needs.
- Prefixes un-, in-, dis-, mis- make opposites.
- Past tenses: simple past, past progressive (was/were + -ing), past perfect (had + third form).