CW NOTES

LS-2: The Cherry Tree

New Words:
1. Gazed: Look intently in admiration
2. Whispered: Speak very softly using one’sbreath
3. Flitted: move very quickly or swiftly
4. Foliage: plant leaves collectively
5. Feast : large amount of food/meal
6. Grumpy: bad tempered and irritable
7. Plodded : walk slowly with heavy steps
8. Ranger : a keeper of a park or forest
9. Stunted : not growing fully
10. Yielding : productive

I. Read the extracts and answer the questions that follow:

“What so special about this tree? Why do we like it so much?

a) Whom does ‘we’ refer to? What was special for the speaker?
‘We’ refers to Rakesh and his grandfather. The cherry tree was special to Rakesh.

b) Why did they like the tree so much?

They liked the tree so much because they had planted the seed themselves and
had watched it grow into a tree.

c) How did the speaker feel about himself after watching the tree grow?
He was joyful to discover the transformation of a small seed growing into a big
tree. He was admiring the tree’s different parts and felt almost like ‘God’ who had
created everything.

‘Nothing is lucky if you put it away. If you want luck, you must put it to some use.’

a) Who said these words to whom?

Grandfather said these words to Rakesh.

b) What is being referred as lucky here? What did Grandfather mean when he spoke
the above words?
The cherry seed is being referred as lucky. Grandfather wants Rakesh to realise that
he must work toward being lucky and he should make use of the opportunity that
comes in his way to achieve something. If things are not put to use, and just stored,
will be of no use.

II. Answer the following questions:

1) Why did Rakesh only look at the cherry tree out of the corner of his eye?
Rakesh thought the cherry tree had stopped growing. So, he stopped looking at it
as he knew he would be disappointed. Yet, he couldn’t resist looking at it. Hence, he
looked at it from the corner of his eyes to see if there was any sign of the tree
growing.
2) Describe the feelings of Grandfather about the cherry tree?
Grandfather was as excited as Rakesh about the cherry tree. He was the first one
to see the pale pink blossom at the end of a branch. He called Rakesh immediately
to come and look at it before it fell. When the tree was fully grown, he sat under it on
a cane chair and enjoyed looking at the leaves.

3) Who benefitted from the cherry tree besides Rakesh and Grandfather? How?
Besides Rakesh and Grandfather, the birds benefitted from the cherry tree.
They feed on the nectar in the blossoms. The tiny birds pecked at the blossoms and
liked the cherries especially the bigger birds like bulbuls and scarlet minivets which
flitted in and out of foliage, feasted on the fruit.

4) How many years of Rakesh’s childhood does the story cover? Describe his
relationship with his grandfather change as the cherry tree grows?
The story covers four years of Rakesh’s childhood. Rakesh enjoyed a good
relationship with his grandfather, who taught him how to put the cherry seed to good
use by planting it, how to look after it and nurture it. Grandfather told stories whose
ending depended on his moods. After Rakesh grew older, he read a lot of books, but
he still liked listening to Grandfather’s tales. The cherry tree brought them closer to
each other as they watched over it carefully. They enjoyed spending time under the
tree. Grandfather would recline on a cane chair and Rakesh would lie on the grass.
Their bond and affection became stronger as the tree grew and yielded fruit.