A Bottle of Dew | CBSE Class 6 English Notes

This note covers the story of Rama Natha and the magic potion: the writer and the unit the story belongs to, a part-by-part summary, the three characters, the sage's trick, how hard work created the wealth, the themes and message, the way the story builds its surprise, key quotations, the words and language work, the listening, speaking and writing tasks, and answers to the reading questions.

What is A Bottle of Dew, and who wrote it?

About the author and the text

A Bottle of Dew is a story credited to Sudha Murty, an acclaimed writer and educationist. It is the first piece in Unit 1, Fables and Folk Tales, of Poorvi, the English textbook for Grade 6.

The unit offers timeless wisdom through engaging narratives. Alongside this story it holds a poem, The Raven and the Fox, which is a fable told in poetic form, and a graphic story, Rama to the Rescue.

The story shows that true success comes from hard work and diligence. It encourages readers to value perseverance as a pathway to success.

How is the story built?

The story is told in two numbered parts, I and II. Part I introduces Rama Natha, his belief in a magic potion and the sage's offer. Part II shows his years of work and the sage's explanation.

A narrator outside the events tells the story in the third person and in the past tense. The sage's instructions and final explanation are in direct speech, so the reader hears the key ideas in his own words.

Before reading, four words are matched with pictures: worried, plantation, sage and surprise. Each word matters in the story. Rama Natha and Madhumati are both worried, a huge banana plantation grows, the sage guides, and surprise marks the turning points.

Four words, worried, plantation, sage and surprise, each have two small pictures beside them. For worried there are two girls' faces, one resting her chin on her hands with a troubled look and one smiling with wide eyes. For plantation there are a field of green crop plants and a single leafy tree. For sage there are an old man with a grey beard in an orange turban and robe, sitting on a mat and gesturing, and a moustached man behind a stall of vegetables. For surprise there are two boys' faces, one curly-haired and glancing sideways and one with his mouth open wide. The task is to circle the picture that matches each word.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 1

What happens in the story, part by part?

Part I: a landlord's idea and a sage's offer

Rama Natha is the son of a rich landlord. His father left him large tracts of land when he died, but Rama Natha did not spend even one day looking after it. He had a funny idea: he believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold, and he spent all his time learning more about it.

People cheated him often, promising to tell him about the potion, but he did not give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this and worried about how much money he was spending. She was sure that soon they would be without money.

One day a famous sage called Mahipati came to their town. Rama Natha became his follower and asked him about the potion. To his surprise the sage said that in his travels in the Himalayas he had heard how such a potion could be made, but that it was difficult.

Rama Natha requested him to tell, not believing his luck. The sage said to plant a banana plant, water it regularly with his hands, collect the winter morning dew in a bottle and bring five litres to him. He would chant magic words over the dew, and a drop of the potion would change any object into gold.

Rama Natha was worried, because winter is only for a few months and collecting five litres would take him years. The sage replied that he could plant as many banana plants as he wanted, but must look after them himself and collect the dew with his own hands.

Part II: six years of work

Rama Natha went home and, after talking to his wife, began cleaning his large fields, which had been lying empty all these years. He planted rows and rows of banana plants, tended them carefully and collected the dew that formed on them during the winter months, with great care.

His wife helped him too. Madhumati gathered the banana crop, took it to the market and got a good price for it. Over the years Rama Natha planted more and more plants, and they had a huge banana plantation. At the end of six years he finally had five litres of dew.

The test and the sage's explanation

Rama Natha carefully took the bottle to the sage. The sage smiled, muttered something over the water and returned the bottle with the words "Try it out." Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel and waited for it to turn to gold. To his surprise, nothing happened.

He called it cheating and said he had wasted six precious years of his life. The sage only smiled and called Madhumati forward. She came with a big box, and inside it were stacks of gold coins.

The sage then explained that there is no magic potion. Rama Natha worked hard on his land and created the plantation, and while he looked after the trees his wife sold the fruits in the market. That was how they got the money. The sage had played a trick because Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier. Rama Natha understood the wisdom behind these words and worked even harder on his plantation from that day on.

Who are the characters, and what are they like?

Rama Natha: a landowner who chases a shortcut

Rama Natha begins as a rich landlord's son who owns large tracts of land but neglects them. His idea of a magic potion takes all his time, people cheat him often, and his wife is worried about his spending.

Two features of his nature run through the story. He is persistent: he does not give up the search for the potion, and later he keeps collecting dew for six years. He is also careful: he tends the plants carefully, collects the dew with great care and takes the bottle to the sage carefully.

He changes at the end. His anger at the failed test gives way to understanding, and he works even harder on his plantation. The persistence once spent on a false idea now supports real work.

Madhumati: the practical partner

Madhumati notices the cost of her husband's search. She is tired of it and worried because she sees how much money he is spending, and she is sure that soon they will be without money.

Once Rama Natha begins planting, she helps him by gathering the banana crop and selling it at the market for a good price. Later, when the sage calls her forward, she comes with a big box of gold coins.

In the listening transcript she shares her many big bags of bananas with her mother, her friend Kalawati, a hungry boy and a neighbour. These actions show her as practical and generous.

Sage Mahipati: the teacher who plays a trick

Mahipati is a famous sage who comes to the town, and Rama Natha becomes his follower. He says he heard in the Himalayas how the potion could be made, sets a long task and calls it difficult.

The sage smiles twice: when he mutters over the water, and again when he calls Madhumati after Rama Natha says it is cheating. At the end he reveals that there is no magic potion and that he played a trick because Rama Natha would not have listened to him earlier. He leads Rama Natha to the right path through the work itself.

How does the sage's trick work?

What does the sage ask Rama Natha to do?

The sage's reply after Rama Natha says "Tell me!" lays out the whole task. In order, Rama Natha must:

1. Plant a banana plant.
2. Water it regularly with his hands.
3. Collect the morning dew that is on the leaves in winter, and store it in a bottle.
4. Bring the bottle to the sage when he has five litres of dew.

The sage adds two more conditions when Rama Natha worries that winter is only for a few months. He may plant as many banana plants as he wants, but he must look after them himself and collect the dew with his own hands.

How does each condition lead to work?

Why did the sage ask Rama Natha to do everything himself?

The sage gives the reason for his trick at the end. If he had told Rama Natha about this earlier, Rama Natha would not have listened to him. Because the task had to be done personally, Rama Natha had to do the hard work himself, and so he created the plantation with his own effort. That is how he came to see that his hard work, not magic, created the wealth.

The word difficult in the sage's first reply is true in a way Rama Natha does not expect. The task is difficult not because a potion is hard to make but because six years of planting, tending and collecting are hard work.

Two trees spread over the scene, and a low wooden fence runs behind the sage. On the left the sage, with a long grey beard, an orange turban and robe and beads at his neck, sits on a mat over a round raised platform and speaks. On the right Rama Natha, a moustached man in a yellow kurta and white trousers, sits cross-legged on a mat on the grass with his chin resting on his hand, listening. A pair of sandals lies on the ground near each of them.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 3

How did hard work, not magic, create the wealth?

How do ordinary actions lead to the money?

The money does not come from the dew. It comes from cleaning the empty fields, planting and tending banana plants, and selling the crop at the market. The sage names these actions himself: Rama Natha worked hard on his land and created the plantation, and while he looked after the trees, his wife sold the fruits in the market.

Because more and more plants were added over the years, the plantation grew huge. The five litres of dew that Rama Natha finally had at the end of six years were not the source of the money.

What did Rama Natha do before and after meeting the sage?

A moustached man in a yellow kurta and white trousers stands at the left with a hand on his hip, smiling and looking up. Beside him are rows of tall banana plants with broad green leaves, and bunches of small yellow bananas hang from several of the plants. Tufts of grass and a few small stones lie on the ground.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 4

What themes and message does the story carry?

Theme 1: hard work, not magic, creates wealth

The central message is that true success comes from hard work and diligence. The sage says it plainly: Rama Natha's hard work on his land created the plantation, and the plantation brought the money. Magic had no part in it.

Theme 2: perseverance

Rama Natha does not give up, first in his search for the potion and then through six years of planting and collecting. The story encourages readers to value perseverance. It also suggests that perseverance gives results when it is joined to real work on the land.

Theme 3: guidance can come indirectly

The sage does not begin by telling Rama Natha the truth. He explains that Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier, so he played a trick. The lesson reaches Rama Natha through his own experience, and he then understands the wisdom behind it.

Theme 4: false promises and easy shortcuts

Rama Natha believes in a potion that could turn any object into gold. People cheat him often, promising to tell him about it, and his wife worries about the money he spends. The story shows the cost of chasing a shortcut.

Theme 5: shared effort

Madhumati helps him, gathers the crop and sells it at a good price. The sage says that while Rama Natha looked after the trees, his wife sold the fruits in the market. The wealth is the result of two people's work.

What is the message in one line?

Hard work and diligence, not magic, bring wealth and success, and wisdom is worth understanding even when it arrives as a surprise.

How does the story build its surprise and its lesson?

Three moments of surprise

The story names surprise three times. Each one turns the plot.

• The sage's answer. To his surprise the sage says he heard in the Himalayas how such a potion could be made.
• The failed test. To his surprise nothing happened when he sprinkled drops on the copper vessel.
• The reveal. The very surprised Rama Natha sees stacks of gold coins and hears that there is no magic potion.

Dialogue carries the plot

Short speeches move the story forward. Rama Natha's request, "Tell me!", shows how eagerly he asks the sage for the secret. The sage's "Try it out." leads to the test, and his longer final speech explains everything.

Neglect and care

The opening says Rama Natha did not spend even one day looking after his land. Later, words of care repeat: he tended the plants carefully, collected the dew with great care and took the bottle to the sage carefully. The contrast shows how much he changes.

A gentle, humorous tone

The story calls his belief a funny idea, and the sage only smiles at Rama Natha's anger. This gentle tone helps the lesson to feel kind rather than harsh.

Which key quotations matter most?

he believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold

Speaker: the narrator. Context: this explains Rama Natha's funny idea and why he neglects his land.

Yes, in my travels in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make such a potion. But it is difficult.

Speaker: Sage Mahipati. Context: his first reply when Rama Natha asks about the potion; it begins the trick.

You can plant as many banana plants as you want. But remember, you must look after them yourself and collect the dew with your own hands.

Speaker: Sage Mahipati. Context: his answer when Rama Natha worries that it will take years to collect five litres.

“This is cheating,” he told the sage. “I have wasted six precious years of my life.”

Speaker: Rama Natha. Context: his reaction when nothing happens to the copper vessel.

There is no magic potion that can turn things into gold.

Speaker: Sage Mahipati. Context: the start of his explanation after Madhumati shows the gold coins.

It was your hard work that created this wealth, not magic.

Speaker: Sage Mahipati. Context: the central lesson of the story.

If I had told you about this earlier, you would have not listened to me, so I played a trick on you.

Speaker: Sage Mahipati. Context: his reason for the trick.

Rama Natha understood the wisdom behind these words and worked even harder on his plantation from that day on.

Speaker: the narrator. Context: the ending, which shows the change in Rama Natha.

What do the story's words, homophones and connecting words teach?

Words that the story explains

Nine words carry short meanings beside the story: large tracts of land, potion, give up, dew, chant, tended, muttered, precious and wisdom. They are defined in the glossary.

A small picture beside the word dew shows green leaves with veins and several round drops of water on their surface.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 2

What are homophones?

The words in each row of the table have the same sounds but different spellings and meanings. Such words are called homophones. An example sentence uses two of them: "I ate eight bananas for breakfast today."

Completing the coconut paragraph

A paragraph about a farmer with a coconut plantation has six blanks, and a box of eight words supplies the answers: promised, spending, cheated, luck, remember, huge, difficult, market. Two words are extra.

1. a huge coconut plantation
2. did not depend on luck
3. every day was difficult
4. a man promised to pay the money the next day
5. the farmer felt cheated
6. "Now, I remember buying coconuts from you."

The extra words are spending and market.

Joining ideas with connecting words

Four phrases ask "When?" or "Why?", and four connecting words join them to a second phrase. The connecting words are because, before, as soon as and as.

A tongue twister with the letter b

Two sentences repeat the b sound: "Bunty bhaiya bought a big bunch of bananas" and "A big bunch of bananas was bought by Bunty bhaiya." The reader says them slowly first, then faster each time, and then creates a tongue twister of their own to share.

What do the listening, speaking and writing tasks ask?

Listening: what Madhumati does with the bananas

In the listening task, Madhumati is very happy because she has many big bags of bananas. In the order she does things, she:

1. Visits her mother and gives her two dozen bananas.
2. Goes to the market to sell the bananas.
3. Meets her old friend Kalawati in the market.
4. Gifts Kalawati a dozen bananas, which the task lists as twelve bananas.
5. Decides to go home, as she has sold most of the bananas.
6. Meets a little boy who is hungry on the way home and gives him two bananas.
7. Goes to her neighbour's house and gives them a bunch of bananas.

She goes home with a smile on her face. The task lists seven events out of order. Numbered by when they happen, they are 6, 3, 1, 5, 7, 4 and 2.

Speaking: the sounds of the letter s

The letter s does not always have the same sound. In sage and promising it has an /s/ sound. In wisdom and trees it has a /z/ sound. In surprise the first s has an /s/ sound and the second has a /z/ sound.

The task then lists eight more words to sort by ear: beds, sand, clothes, sea, was, keys, bags and nose. By sound, sand and sea have /s/, while beds, clothes, was, keys, bags and nose have /z/.

Speaking: talking about hard work

Partners discuss what hard work means to them, give three reasons why hard work is important and share three ideas for someone who needs to work hard. Hints in brackets include "It means …", "Firstly, I feel … because …" and "To begin with, it is important that …".

Writing: a banana description and a script

Pairs complete the description of a banana from six prompts around a picture, then write eight sentences about a banana. They also write a script with dialogues from the story, then enact it with expressions in the assembly or classroom.

A partly peeled yellow banana sits in a circle at the centre, joined by lines to six pink boxes. The boxes ask when I like to eat a banana (at breakfast, during break or after school); taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, creamy or spicy); colour of the outer covering and fruit (green, yellow, white, brown or black); smell (fruity, strong, bad, sweet or fresh); how the outer covering feels on touch (soft, hard, smooth, silky, rough or sticky); and healthy because (gives energy, rich in vitamins, stores fats, filling or good for skin).

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 11

Exploring bananas: the Blue Java banana

The Blue Java banana is a special kind of banana whose name comes from its blue skin. It is also known as the Ice Cream banana, because it is so creamy and tastes like ice cream. It is grown in South East Asia and Hawaii, and its plants grow to a height of fifteen to twenty feet.

Two small pictures sit beside the text. The left picture shows a bunch of blue bananas hanging from a green stalk. The right picture shows a hand holding a blue banana with its peel pulled back in strips.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 12

A final task asks readers to find out which varieties of banana are grown, cultivated and eaten in different parts of India.

How can the reading questions be answered from the story?

Questions after Part I

What did Rama Natha believe? He believed that there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold.

How did the sage help Rama Natha? The sage told him how a potion could be made: plant banana plants, collect the winter dew and bring five litres. This task made Rama Natha work on his land.

Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason. Yes, probably. He did not give up even when people cheated him, and the sage allowed him to plant as many plants as he wanted. The task is long, because winter is only for a few months.

Questions after Part II

Why was Rama Natha angry? Nothing happened when he sprinkled drops on the copper vessel. He called it cheating and said he had wasted six precious years of his life.

How did Rama Natha and Madhumati create wealth? He worked hard on his land and created the plantation. While he looked after the trees, his wife sold the fruits in the market.

Questions on the lines about the potion

For "Rama Natha did not give up because ...", a suitable reason is that he believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold. In the outcome table, people promised to tell him about the potion, and they cheated him often. He was spending a lot of money, so his wife was worried and sure that soon they would be without money.

Statement A, that Madhumati was troubled about what her husband did, is true. Statement C, that the sage wanted to show the right path to Rama Natha, is also true, because the trick led him to work. Statement B, that Rama Natha was very happy digging his fields, is false for these lines: they show him spending all his time on the potion, not working in his fields, and nothing in them says he was very happy digging.

Questions on the lines about the test

The correct order of events is B, A, D, C, E, which is option (b). Rama Natha gave the bottle to the sage, the sage smiled, the sage said something in a low voice over the water, Rama Natha dropped a few drops on the copper vessel and he waited to see if the magic worked.

The word that completes the gardener sentence is sprinkled. When nothing happened, Rama Natha might have felt surprised, disappointed and angry.

Questions on the whole story

The sage asked Rama Natha to plant banana plants, water them regularly with his hands, collect the winter dew in a bottle and bring five litres. The sage's reason for the trick is that Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier, and he made Rama Natha do the work himself so that Rama Natha would see that his own hard work, not magic, created the wealth.

The sage made Rama Natha believe there is no magic potion by letting Rama Natha try the water himself, calling Madhumati, who showed the gold coins, and explaining where the money came from. Rama Natha had a big plantation after six years because he planted more and more plants over the years.

Glossary

• Potion — a liquid with magical properties; Rama Natha believes that one made from dew can turn any object into gold
• Large tracts of land — large areas of land; Rama Natha's father left him such land when he died
• Give up — to stop trying; Rama Natha does not do this, even though people often cheat him
• Dew — small drops of water on leaves that form during night; in winter it is collected from banana leaves in a bottle
• Chant — to repeat or sing a word or phrase; the sage says he will chant magic words over the five litres of dew
• Tended — looked after; Rama Natha tended his banana plants carefully and collected the dew with great care
• Muttered — spoke in a low voice; the sage muttered something over the water before returning the bottle
• Precious — valuable; in anger Rama Natha calls the six years he spent collecting dew precious years of his life
• Wisdom — deep understanding; Rama Natha understands the wisdom behind the sage's words and works even harder
• Homophones — words with the same sounds but different spellings and meanings, such as dew and due, or one and won
• Sage — a wise holy man; Mahipati is a famous sage who has travelled in the Himalayas and plays a trick on Rama Natha
• Plantation — a large area planted with one kind of crop; Rama Natha's huge banana plantation grows from rows and rows of plants
• Landlord — a person who owns land; Rama Natha is the son of a rich landlord

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: the sage's magic potion worked but was weak. Correct: the sage says there is no magic potion, and nothing happens when the drops are sprinkled on the copper vessel.
• Misconception: Rama Natha collected five litres of dew in one winter. Correct: winter is only for a few months, and he had his five litres only at the end of six years, after planting more and more plants.
• Misconception: Madhumati had no part in the wealth. Correct: she helped him, gathered the banana crop, took it to the market and got a good price, and the sage says she sold the fruits.
• Misconception: the sage allowed Rama Natha to get others to collect the dew. Correct: the sage said he must look after the plants himself and collect the dew with his own hands.
• Misconception: the gold coins came from sprinkling the potion on the copper vessel. Correct: the vessel did not turn to gold, and the sage explains that the money came from the plantation and the fruits sold in the market.
• Misconception: Rama Natha was poor at the start. Correct: he was the son of a rich landlord who inherited large tracts of land, but he did not look after the land and spent a lot of money on the potion.
• Misconception: homophones are words that are spelt the same. Correct: homophones have the same sounds but different spellings and meanings, such as dew and due.
• Misconception: the letter s always has an /s/ sound. Correct: it has an /s/ sound in sage and a /z/ sound in wisdom and trees, and surprise has both.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. Rama Natha was the son of a rich landlord, but he spent all his time learning about a magic potion and did not look after his land. People often cheated him with promises, and his wife saw how much money he was spending. Give two reasons why Madhumati was worried about the future. [2 marks]

1. She saw how much money Rama Natha was spending on his search for the potion, even though people often cheated him.
2. She was tired of his search for the potion and sure that soon they would be without money.

Q2. The sage first said, "Yes, in my travels in the Himalayas, I heard how you could make such a potion. But it is difficult." Later he said there is no magic potion and that he played a trick, because Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier. Explain two ways in which the first reply helped the trick. [2 marks]

1. By saying he had heard how to make the potion, the sage made Rama Natha believe that the task was real.
2. By calling it difficult, he made a long task of planting and collecting dew seem believable, so Rama Natha accepted hard work.

Q3. The sage told Rama Natha to plant banana plants and water them regularly with his hands, to collect the morning dew of winter in a bottle until he had five litres, and to look after the plants himself and collect the dew with his own hands. Rama Natha's large fields had been lying empty all these years, and he finally had his five litres at the end of six years, after planting more and more plants. Explain three ways these instructions made Rama Natha work hard. [3 marks]

1. Planting and watering banana plants meant cleaning his large fields, which had been lying empty, and planting rows and rows of plants.
2. Winter is only for a few months, so five litres of dew would take years, and he had it only at the end of six years.
3. Looking after the plants himself meant he had to tend them carefully through the years, planting more and more of them until he had a huge plantation.

Q4. Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel and nothing happened, so he called it cheating. The sage said there is no magic potion. Madhumati came with a big box of stacks of gold coins. The sage said Rama Natha worked hard on his land and created the plantation, while his wife sold the fruits in the market. The narrator adds that over the years he planted more and more plants and that Madhumati gathered the crop and got a good price for it. That was how they got the money, and it was hard work, not magic, that created the wealth. Explain four ways the story shows that hard work, not magic, created the wealth. [4 marks]

1. The drops sprinkled on the copper vessel did nothing, and the sage said there is no magic potion that can turn things into gold.
2. Rama Natha worked hard on his land and created the banana plantation by planting more and more plants over the years.
3. While he looked after the trees, Madhumati gathered the crop and sold the fruits in the market, getting a good price.
4. The sage said that this was how they got the money in the box, and that it was hard work, not magic, that created the wealth.

Q5. Madhumati is worried because she sees how much money her husband is spending, and she is sure that soon they will be without money. Once he starts planting, she gathers the banana crop, takes it to the market and gets a good price. When the sage calls her, she comes with a big box of gold coins, and the sage says she sold the fruits in the market. With her many big bags of bananas she gives two dozen to her mother, a dozen to Kalawati, two to a hungry boy and a bunch to a neighbour. Describe her role in the story in five points. [5 marks]

1. She is worried because she sees how much money her husband is spending on his search for the potion.
2. She is tired of his long search for the potion and of people cheating him, and sure that soon they will be without money.
3. Once he begins planting, she helps him by gathering the banana crop, taking it to the market and getting a good price for it.
4. When the sage calls her, she comes with a big box of stacks of gold coins, and the sage says her sale of the fruits is part of how they got the money.
5. With her many big bags of bananas she gives to her mother, her friend Kalawati, a hungry boy and a neighbour, which shows her as generous.

Q6. Rama Natha did not give up although people cheated him often. He cleaned empty fields, planted rows and rows of banana plants, tended them and collected winter dew with great care, and kept planting more for six years. The sage said it was his hard work that created the wealth, and Rama Natha then worked even harder. Explain in five points how the story shows that true success comes from hard work and perseverance. [5 marks]

1. Rama Natha does not give up in his search even though people cheat him often, which shows persistence.
2. He turns his persistence into real work by cleaning his large empty fields and planting rows and rows of banana plants.
3. He tends the plants carefully and collects the dew with great care through the winter months, which shows diligence.
4. He keeps planting more and more plants over six years until he has a huge plantation, so success takes long effort.
5. The sage says it was his hard work that created the wealth, and Rama Natha works even harder from that day on.

Q7. In the listening passage Madhumati visits her mother and gives her two dozen bananas. She meets her friend Kalawati in the market and gives her a dozen, which is twelve bananas. On the way home she gives a hungry boy two bananas, and then she gives her neighbour a bunch, whose number is not given. How many bananas does she give away before the neighbour's bunch, and how do you work it out? [3 marks]

1. Two dozen bananas for her mother is 2 × 12 = 24 bananas, because a dozen is twelve.
2. The dozen for Kalawati is 12 bananas, and the hungry boy gets 2 bananas.
3. The total before the neighbour's bunch is 24 + 12 + 2 = 38 bananas, and the neighbour's bunch is extra because its number is not given.

Q8. Rama Natha began as the son of a rich landlord who did not spend even one day looking after his large tracts of land and spent all his time learning about the potion, though people cheated him often. He became the sage's follower, took up the task of collecting five litres of dew, cleaned his empty fields, planted rows and rows of banana plants and tended them carefully for six years. To his surprise nothing happened to the copper vessel, and he called it cheating. After the sage's explanation he understood the wisdom behind the words and worked even harder. Explain in six points how Rama Natha changes in the story. [6 marks]

1. At the start he is a rich landlord's son who does not spend even one day looking after his large tracts of land.
2. He spends all his time learning about the magic potion, and people cheat him often, but he does not give up.
3. After meeting the sage, he becomes his follower and takes up the task of collecting five litres of dew.
4. He then cleans his empty fields, plants rows and rows of banana plants and tends them carefully for six years.
5. When nothing happens to the copper vessel, he is surprised and angry and says the sage is cheating him.
6. After the sage explains, he understands the wisdom behind the words and works even harder on his plantation from that day on.

Key takeaways

• The story is credited to Sudha Murty and is the first piece in Unit 1, Fables and Folk Tales, of Poorvi, the English textbook for Grade 6.
• Rama Natha, a rich landlord's son, neglects his large tracts of land because he believes a magic potion can turn any object into gold.
• The sage asks for five litres of winter dew from banana plants, a task that takes six years of planting, tending and collecting.
• When drops sprinkled on a copper vessel do nothing, the sage reveals that there is no magic potion and that hard work created the wealth.
• Madhumati helps by gathering the banana crop and selling it at a good price, and the sage says her sale of the fruits is part of how they got the money.
• The sage played a trick because Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier, and the trick made him do the work himself.
• The themes are hard work and diligence, perseverance, guidance that comes indirectly, the cost of chasing shortcuts and shared effort.
• Homophones have the same sounds but different spellings and meanings, such as dew and due, one and won, ate and eight, and see and sea.

Test yourself

What did Rama Natha believe?

He believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold, and he spent all his time learning more about it.

How much dew did the sage ask for, and where was it to be collected from?

He asked for five litres of dew, collected in winter from the leaves of banana plants and stored in a bottle.

How long did Rama Natha take to get the five litres of dew?

At the end of six years he finally had his five litres of dew.

What happened when Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel?

To his surprise nothing happened, and the vessel did not turn to gold.

What was inside the big box that Madhumati brought?

Inside the big box were stacks of gold coins, which the sage explained came from the plantation and the fruits sold in the market.

Who sold the banana fruits in the market?

Madhumati gathered the banana crop, took it to the market and got a good price for it.

Why did the sage play a trick on Rama Natha?

The sage said that if he had told Rama Natha earlier that there is no magic potion, Rama Natha would not have listened to him.

What are homophones?

Homophones are words that have the same sounds but different spellings and meanings, such as dew and due.