Class 7 English – Honeycomb
Lesson 4: The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom
Complete: Comprehension Check • Working with the Text • Working with Language • Speaking & Writing
🌸 Lesson Summary (English)
This Japanese folktale retold by William Elliot Griffis celebrates kindness and condemns greed. A gentle old couple love their dog Muko like a child. Guided by Muko, the farmer discovers buried treasure and remains generous. Their greedy neighbours, unable to get treasure, kill the dog. In dreams, the dog’s spirit helps the farmer: a mortar and mill made from a pine produce gold; later, ashes from the burnt mill make withered trees bloom. The daimio rewards the kind farmer for the blossoms. When the greedy neighbour imitates the act with selfish intent, the ashes turn to nuisance and he is punished. Moral: kindness and honesty bring lasting blessings; greed leads to downfall.
🌸 पाठ-सार (हिंदी)
यह जापानी लोककथा दयालुता का सम्मान और लालच की निन्दा करती है। एक बूढ़ा दंपति अपने कुत्ते मुक्को को बेटे की तरह चाहता है। मुक्को उन्हें दबी हुई धरोहर तक ले जाता है; वे अमीर होकर भी उदार रहते हैं। लालची पड़ोसी खजाना न मिलने पर कुत्ते को मार देते हैं। सपने में कुत्ते की आत्मा किसान की मदद करती है—देवदार से बनाई गई ओखली-चक्की सोना देती है; बाद में जली चक्की की राख सूखे पेड़ों पर छिड़कने से वे फूलों से लद जाते हैं। दाइम्यो दयालु किसान को सम्मान देता है। वही काम जब लालची पड़ोसी स्वार्थ से करते हैं तो राख परेशानी बनती है और उन्हें दंड मिलता है। शिक्षा: दया-ईमानदारी सुख देती है, लालच विनाश लाता है।
✍️ About the Author
William Elliot Griffis (1843–1928) was an American educator and author known for his writings on Japan, including folklore and cultural history. He adapted Japanese tales like “The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom” to share their moral wisdom with English readers.
📘 Comprehension Check — Original Qs + Correct Answers
1. Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Answer: Because the dog did not dig up treasure for them; instead it scratched out a dead kitten. Angry and greedy, they killed it. (लालच और गुस्से में क्योंकि खजाना नहीं मिला, बल्कि मरी बिल्ली निकली।)
2. Mark the right item.
(i) The old farmer and his wife loved the dog
✅ (b) as if it was their own baby.
✅ (b) as if it was their own baby.
(ii) When the old couple became rich, they
✅ (c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
✅ (c) lived comfortably and were generous towards their poor neighbours.
(iii) The greedy couple borrowed the mill and the mortar to make
✅ (a) rice pastry and bean sauce.
✅ (a) rice pastry and bean sauce.
🧠 Working with the Text — Original Qs + Answers
1. The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs?
Answer: He loved his dog like a child, fed it tidbits from his chopsticks, and was kind to all living beings—turning up soil on purpose so birds could eat worms.
2. What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Answer: It ran to the farmer, tugged at him, led him to a spot, and scratched there until the farmer dug and found the treasure.
3. (i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
(ii) How did it help him next?
(ii) How did it help him next?
(i) It told him to make a mortar and a mill from the pine tree; these produced gold.
(ii) It told him to sprinkle the mill’s ashes on withered trees so they would bloom.
(ii) It told him to sprinkle the mill’s ashes on withered trees so they would bloom.
4. Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Answer: The kind farmer’s ashes made the tree bloom, delighting the daimio; the neighbour’s ashes created only dust and nuisance, causing sneezing and spoiling the procession—so he was punished.
✍️ Working with Language — All Exercises Solved
1. Frame questions on the italicised phrases.
Text: “Anil is in school… in the left row… reading a book… in the second row… sharpening his pencil… on the blackboard… in their copybooks… out of the window.”
(i) Where is Anil? → In school.
(ii) Where is Anil sitting? → In the left row.
(iii) What is Anil doing? → Reading a book.
(iv) Where is Anil’s friend sitting? → In the second row.
(v) What is he doing? → Sharpening his pencil.
(vi) What is the teacher doing? → Writing on the blackboard.
(vii) What are the children doing? → Writing in their copybooks / looking out of the window.
(ii) Where is Anil sitting? → In the left row.
(iii) What is Anil doing? → Reading a book.
(iv) Where is Anil’s friend sitting? → In the second row.
(v) What is he doing? → Sharpening his pencil.
(vi) What is the teacher doing? → Writing on the blackboard.
(vii) What are the children doing? → Writing in their copybooks / looking out of the window.
2. Write appropriate question words in the dialogue.
NEHA: When did you get this book?
SHEELA: Yesterday morning.
NEHA: Why is your sister crying?
SHEELA: Because she has lost her doll.
NEHA: Whose room is this, yours or hers?
SHEELA: It’s ours.
NEHA: How do you go to school?
SHEELA: We walk to school. It is nearby.
SHEELA: Yesterday morning.
NEHA: Why is your sister crying?
SHEELA: Because she has lost her doll.
NEHA: Whose room is this, yours or hers?
SHEELA: It’s ours.
NEHA: How do you go to school?
SHEELA: We walk to school. It is nearby.
3. Fill in the blanks with words from the box (how / what / when / where / which).
(i) My friend lost his chemistry book. Now he doesn’t know what to do and where to look for it.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide which one to buy.
(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman how to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon when to start building your house.
(v) Do you know how to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember when and how I learnt it.
(vi) “You should know how to talk and when to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.
(ii) There are so many toys in the shops. Neena can’t decide which one to buy.
(iii) You don’t know the way to my school. Ask the policeman how to get there.
(iv) You should decide soon when to start building your house.
(v) Do you know how to ride a bicycle? I don’t remember when and how I learnt it.
(vi) “You should know how to talk and when to keep your mouth shut,” the teacher advised Anil.
4. Add im- or in- and use in place of the italicised words.
(i) The project appears very difficult… → The project is impossible at first sight, but it can be completed with hard work.
(ii) He lacks competence… → He is incompetent…
(iii) “Don’t lose patience…” → Don’t be impatient…
(iv) That’s not a proper remark… → That is improper…
(v) He appears to be without sensitivity… → He is insensitive…
(ii) He lacks competence… → He is incompetent…
(iii) “Don’t lose patience…” → Don’t be impatient…
(iv) That’s not a proper remark… → That is improper…
(v) He appears to be without sensitivity… → He is insensitive…
5. Use a, an or the in the blanks.
There was once a play which became very successful. A famous actor was acting in it. In the play his role was that of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in a castle for twenty years. In the last act of the play someone would come on stage with a letter which he would hand over to the prisoner. Even though the aristocrat was not expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that the letter be written out from beginning to end.
6. Encircle the correct article.
Nina was looking for a job. After many interviews she got the job she was looking for.
A: Would you like an apple or a banana?
B: I’d like an apple, please.
A: Take the red one in the fruit bowl. You may take an orange also, if you like.
B: Which one?
A: The one beside the banana.
A: Would you like an apple or a banana?
B: I’d like an apple, please.
A: Take the red one in the fruit bowl. You may take an orange also, if you like.
B: Which one?
A: The one beside the banana.
🗣️ Speaking and ✍️ Writing — Model Responses
1. Anecdote about a greedy/jealous person and unhappy result.
The greedy neighbour in this lesson tried to imitate the kind farmer. But his intention was selfish; the ashes caused trouble and he was punished. संदेश: लालच विनाश का कारण बनता है, दया और ईमानदारी से सम्मान मिलता है।
2. Put in correct order and fill the paragraph.
Correct order of phrases:
• he writes in both English and Hindi
• many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi
• my Hindi is much better than my English
Paragraph:
Ravi Kant is a writer, and he writes in both English and Hindi. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi. My Hindi is much better than my English. I find his books a little hard to understand.
• he writes in both English and Hindi
• many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi
• my Hindi is much better than my English
Paragraph:
Ravi Kant is a writer, and he writes in both English and Hindi. Of course, he is much happier writing in English than in Hindi. He has written many books in English and only a few short stories in Hindi. My Hindi is much better than my English. I find his books a little hard to understand.
3. Paragraph on a story you read (model).
Title: The Ashes That Made Trees Bloom • Author: William Elliot Griffis
Characters: Kind old couple, their dog Muko, greedy neighbours, the daimio.
Favourite: Muko—the loyal dog.
Details & Main point: Kindness and honesty bring true rewards; greed brings punishment. I recommend this story because it shows how good deeds and pure intentions turn into blessings.
Characters: Kind old couple, their dog Muko, greedy neighbours, the daimio.
Favourite: Muko—the loyal dog.
Details & Main point: Kindness and honesty bring true rewards; greed brings punishment. I recommend this story because it shows how good deeds and pure intentions turn into blessings.
🧩 Thought What? (Fun Tongue-Twister)
I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought
I thought I thought.
All questions are included exactly as provided; solutions are concise and classroom-appropriate. Light theme for easy printing and reading.