Page 110 - Lavender-B-6

When I take up father’s pen or pencil and write upon his book

just as he does,—a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i,—why do you get cross with me then, mother?

You never say a word when father writes.

When my father wastes such heaps of paper, mother, you don’t seem to mind at all.

But if I take only one sheet to make a boat with, you say,
‘Child, how troublesome you are!’

What do you think of father’s spoiling sheets and sheets of paper get cross: get angry
with black marks all over both sides?

—From The Crescent Moon by Rabindranath Tagore

About the Poet
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a poet, songwriter, storywriter, dramatist, philosopher and educator. He started
writing in Bengali and began translating his collection of poems, Gitanjali, into English. It was published in September
1912 in London. In 1913, he received the Nobel Prize for literature for Gitanjali. He wrote over one thousand poems,
eight volumes of short stories, almost two dozen plays and playlets, eight novels, and many books and essays on
philosophy, religion, education and social topics. He also composed more than two thousand songs, both music and
lyrics. Two of them became the national anthems of India and Bangladesh. In 1929, he even began painting. He was
fondly called Gurudev.

Time to answer

A. Choose the correct answer.
1. According to you, who is the narrator of this poem?

a father a mother a child a writer

2. After reading the poem, what do you think is the profession of the narrator’s father?

a banker an author

a fireman a paper merchant

3. With whom is the narrator having the conversation?

with his mother with his father

with his brother with his grandparents

4. Which of the following adjectives best describe the child?

innocent and pure mischievous and impudent

curious and observant polite and caring

110