Gone with the Scooter : Lesson -2

It was a summer afternoon. Gopi was sitting in the veranda, reading a book.

Suddenly, he heard something rustling past and falling with a thud in the garden. He wondered what it could be. Perhaps, it was a mango falling from the tree. Immediately, Gopi put his book aside, got up, and ran into the garden.

He searched in between the thick grass near the garden fence. But, he found nothing. He looked among the bushes. Nothing was there again. Then, his eyes fell on a heap of dry leaves. There was a white ball on the heap. Gopi reached out and took the ball in his hands. It was a hockey ball.

Gopi wondered, “Whose ball could this be?” He looked around, and peeped outside the gate, but could see no one. Just then he heard his mother calling. “Gopi!

What are you doing out in the garden? It’s very hot. Come inside.”

Gopi went inside, and drank a glass of water. He lay down on the mat, and said to himself, “I can’t keep this ball for myself. I will ask around.”

In the evening, Gopi went to the nearby playground where all his friends regularly gathered to play hockey.

“Friends, this afternoon I found a ball. Did any of you lose your ball recently?”

Manoj said, “I lost a ball four months ago.” Gopi said, “So, the ball that I found cannot be yours.”

Ramani said, “Then the ball is mine.”

“How do you know?’ asked Gopi. “What colour is it?”

“Show me the ball and I will tell you,” said Ramani smilingly.

Another friend Deepak boasted that his father had bought him a brand-new football the previous day. “The ball I found is a hockey ball,”said Gopi.

Everyone laughed. Gopi took out the ball from his pocket. Manoj grabbed it and tossed it over to Deepak.

Seeing this, Gopi said at the top of his voice. “Stop! I say, stop! Let’s play before it gets dark.”

Manoj went to the goalpost as he liked to be a goalkeeper. Gopi stood at the centre of the field holding the hockey stick. He passed the ball to Deepak, who drove the ball towards Ramani. Ramani dribbled the ball with the stick and it went to Jay.

“Come on Jay, play the shot and drive it towards the goalpost,” Manoj said loudly.

Jay tightened his wrist around the stick with the flat side touching the ball. He hit the ball so hard that it went past the playground gate and fell into the basket of a passing scooter. The scooterist who was unaware of what had happened, drove past. By the time the children ran to the gate, the scooter was gone… and so was the ball. They looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Also read this: Papa’s Spectacles :  lesson – 1

New Words

Dribble – टपकाना
Rustling – सरसराहट
Grab – झपटना
Boast unaware – अनजान होकर घमंड करना
Thud – गिरना

Let us Think

A. Answer the following questions.

1. What was Gopi doing on the veranda?
Ans. Gopi was sitting on the veranda reading a book.

2. What sound did Gopi hear before he went the garden?
Ans. Gopi heard something rustling past and falling with a thud.

3. Describe Gopi’s search for the ball.
Ans. Gopi searched in the thick grass near the garden fence, then among the bushes, and finally on a heap of dry leaves where he found the ball.

4. Complete the table given below.
Ans. Students will do it themselves.

5. Who grabbed the ball from Gopi? How did the game start?
Ans. Manoj grabbed the ball from Gopi. The game started when Gopi suggested playing before it got dark and passed the ball to Deepak.

6. Why did everyone laugh at the end of the story?
Ans. Everyone laughed because the hockey ball went into the basket of a passing scooter and was carried away.

B. Think and answer

1. What would you have done if, like Gopi. you had found a ball that did not belong to you?
Ans. I would try to find the owner of the ball and return it, just like Gopi did.

2. Imagine what happens to the hockey ball after it is taken away by the scooter. Where does it go? Who finds it?
Ans. The ball might fall from the scooter on the road or reach the scooterist’s house. Someone else may find it and try to return it.

3. Notice that the scooterist is wearing a helmet. Why is it important to wear a helmet? Should the pillion rider also wear a helmet?
Ans. A helmet protects the head from serious injury during accidents. Yes, the pillion rider should also wear a helmet for safety.