FIRE IN
THE FOREST
Norah (Aileen)
Burke
WORD MEANING
1. Halt – stop
2. Prevent – stop someone from doing
something
3. Undergrowth – bush, jungle that grows
under trees
4. Spotted – noticed, observed
5. Herd – a large number of animals
6. Fawn – a young deer
7. Flicking – hit something lightly and
quickly
8. Sneezed – sudden and uncontrolled sound
from nose
9. Anxiously – worried and afraid
10. Nudged – rubbed with elbow
11. Hooves – hard part of the foot horse and
some animals
12. Glances – to look at
13. Urge – request
14. Staggered – hesitate, doubt
15. Furnace – a place where fire is set
16. Terror – fear
17. Quivering – shivered, trembling, shacking
18. Exploding – blasting, cracked
19. Panicked – extreme fear
20. Bruised – hit, injured
21. Rage – rose, anger out of control
22. Frizzled – fried, heated
23. Sparks – flickering of fire
24. Gasping – out of breath
25. Speckled – patches of light
26. Upwind – in the direction from which the
wind is blowing
27. Hind – a female deer
28. Frisky – playful
29. Nipping – giving small, sharp bites
30. Turned on him – suddenly attacked him
31. Panting – breathing heavily
32. Boulders – large rocks
33. Blundering shove – uncalculated push
34. Shovelled – moved with great force
35. Heeled over – tilted very far to one side
36. Savage – wild and frightening
37. Tepid – slightly warm
A. CHOOSE THE RIGHT OPTIONS TO ANSWER
THESE QUESTIONS.
1. Why was the hind separate from the herd?
a. She
had gone in search of food.
b. She
had lost her way in the forest.
c. She
was having a baby.
d. Her
herd did not want her anymore.
Ans:
c. She was having a baby.
2. Why was the fawn being disobedient?
a. It
wanted to play with its friends.
b. It was
a naughty little fawn.
c. It was
a newborn and did not realise the danger it was in.
d. The
fawn only listened to the stag.
Ans:
c. It was a newborn and did not realise the danger it was in.
3. The hind was stamping because of
a. a
leopard.
b. a strange
noise.
c. her
impatience.
d. the
fire.
Ans:
d. the fire.
B. THINK AND ANSWER
1. She forced her baby on with rough bites, nipping his soft
flesh. Why?
Her baby
was so slow, so weak, and disobedient too. He kept sinking down, exhausted, refusing
to get up. The baby did not know about the danger of the fire, which was so
close behind them. Therefore, she was trying every possible way to save her baby.
2. How did the forest department put out the fire?
The
forest department people immediately went into action. They reached to the next
fire line – already cut through the jungle for exactly this purpose; all the
trees and undergrowth cleared away. They lit counter fire all along the edge of
the fire line. When the two fire met, there would be nothing left for them to
burn, so they would both go out.
3. How did the hind save her baby?
At first
as the fire rose high in sky, the hind sprang sharply to her fawn, and nudged him
to his feet. She urged him along and then forced her baby on with rough bites,
nipping his soft flesh. Finally, the hind shovelled her fawn forward to the
edge of the water.
D. DISCUSS IN DETAIL.
What do you understand about a mother’s instinct to save its
child, from the way the hind treats the fawn?
At the
time when danger comes, mothers try their best to save their children. When everyone
leaves, a mother just cannot ignore its child and by all means, until its last
makes all efforts to protect its child. In the process the mother urges, forces,
pushed bites and kicks its own baby with the hope it would cooperate with the
mother. The mother was very anxious about the safety of its baby.
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