Read: The Poem

Class 6 English · Chapter 11: The Winner · NCERT Poorvi section pp. 115–117

Learn

Before you read: when do you go out to play after school? Who do you play with, where, and which games? When do you come back home? This short poem by Georgia Heard captures the joy of evening play.

What happens (in our words): every evening, the speaker and friends play ball in a neighbour's field beside a creek (a small stream). They run so fast that the speaker can't even catch their breath. The poet writes those words one per line, so the line itself looks breathless!

Then the evening changes: the blue dusk sky turns black, the grass grows cold and makes their feet ache, and the trees seem to creep closer in the dark. The game is over, and the poet says Night wins!

Why "The Winner"? We might expect the winner to be a player or a team, but the poem's surprise is that the winner is Night: darkness ends the game, so night "wins" over the children's play.

Explore: the evening, in order.

1. Put the events of the poem in order.

Remember

• Children play ball every evening by a creek until it gets too dark.
• The surprise: "Night wins!": darkness ends the game.

Quick check

Who or what is "the winner" in the poem?

1. Night
2. The speaker
3. The neighbour
4. The creek

Think about it

Why do you think the poet chose to call night "the winner"?

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.