📘 Chapter 5
The Old Stag
📖 Full English Reading
In a lush forest lived an old stag who was known for his kindness. Each day, he warmly greeted his fellow animals and birds. Though the forest offered plenty of food, the stag preferred staying on a small hillock with tender grass.
The hillock was covered in soft, green grass, which the old stag enjoyed. Every day, he would come down to meet his friends, and all the animals and birds loved him.
One day, the stag fell ill. He struggled to reach the hillock. The stag knew that fresh, healthy food and proper rest would help him to get well soon. So he ate the tender grass and decided to rest for a while.
The old stag could not go down the hillock to greet his friends. His friends were worried. When they learnt that the stag was unwell, they came to check on him.
“Dear stag! How are you?” asked a deer. “Too weak to come down and meet you all,” replied the stag. “Get well soon, dear stag!” said the deer.
“The grass is so tender and nice,” said an elephant. “I have never eaten such juicy green leaves,” said a giraffe.
Word soon spread about the tender green grass. Soon, all the animals who came to visit the stag feasted on the tender grass. Anyone who came to visit the stag would also eat the grass.
Soon, there was not much grass left for the old stag to eat. He started becoming weaker as days passed. His friends felt ashamed. They realised how their greed had made them forget about their friend, the old stag.
They understood that not much grass was left for the stag to eat and recover. The animals decided to find food elsewhere in the forest and not disturb the hillock. Some of them also brought fresh leaves for their friend.
It rained well that week. The grass soon grew back, and the old stag had enough food once again. Slowly, the old stag recovered from the illness.
The animals learnt an important lesson: “Nature has enough for everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.”
📚 New Words
💡 Let Us Think
🔤 Grammar Activity
Find the adjectives in these sentences.
1. The old stag was kind.
2. The grass was green.
3. The leaves were juicy.
4. The hillock was small.
2. green
3. juicy
4. small
2. green = हरा
3. juicy = रसदार
4. small = छोटा
✍️ Sentence Writing
Make meaningful sentences using these words.
kindness
nature
resources
✉️ Letter Writing Activity
Write a short letter to your friend about using natural resources wisely.
I hope you are well. We should use natural resources carefully. We should save water, protect trees and avoid wasting food. Nature gives us many useful things, so we must use them wisely.
Your friend
मुझे आशा है कि तुम अच्छे हो। हमें प्राकृतिक संसाधनों का सावधानीपूर्वक उपयोग करना चाहिए। हमें पानी बचाना चाहिए, पेड़ों की रक्षा करनी चाहिए और भोजन को बर्बाद नहीं करना चाहिए। प्रकृति हमें बहुत-सी उपयोगी चीजें देती है, इसलिए हमें उनका समझदारी से उपयोग करना चाहिए।
तुम्हारा मित्र
🗣️ Situation-Based Speaking
Imagine that you are one of the animals. What would you say to the old stag?
🎨 Picture / Drawing Activity
Draw the old stag, the hillock and the green forest.
📖 Reading Assessment
Read the passage aloud. If a word is read incorrectly, click that word to mark it red.
🎯 Full Chapter Assessment - 18 MCQs
1. Who lived in the forest?
2. What was the stag known for?
3. Where did the stag prefer to stay?
4. What was growing on the hillock?
5. What happened to the stag?
6. Why did the animals visit the stag?
7. Which animal talked about the juicy leaves?
8. What happened when word spread about the grass?
9. Why did the stag become weaker?
10. How did the animals feel?
11. What had made the animals forget their friend?
12. What did the animals decide to do?
13. What did some animals bring for the stag?
14. What happened after it rained?
15. What happened to the old stag?
16. What is the main lesson of the story?
17. What does “greed” mean?
18. What should we do with natural resources?
📘 English Summary
The story is about an old stag who lives on a hillock in a green forest. He becomes ill and rests there. His friends visit him, but they eat too much of the tender grass. The stag becomes weaker because little grass is left. The animals realise their mistake and stop disturbing the hillock. Some bring fresh leaves for him. After rain, the grass grows again and the stag recovers. The animals learn to use nature's resources wisely.