Rama to the Rescue | CBSE Class 6 English Notes

This note covers Rama to the Rescue: the graphic story and the people who made it, the activities before reading, a part-by-part summary, the four characters, the couple's plan, the turning points and the story map, the themes and message, how the pictures and words tell the story, key quotations, the words and contractions, the tense, adverb and sentence work, the listening, speaking, writing and exploring tasks, and answers to the reading questions.

What is Rama to the Rescue, and who made it?

About the text

Rama to the Rescue is a graphic story, a story told in drawn pictures with words. Its subtitle calls it a folktale from Tamil Nadu. The script is by Luis M. Fernandes and the illustrations are by Ram Waeerkar, and the story is credited to Amar Chitra Katha.

It is the third piece in Unit 1, Fables and Folk Tales, of Poorvi, the English textbook for Grade 6. The unit offers timeless wisdom through engaging narratives. The other two pieces are a story, A Bottle of Dew, and a fable told in poetic form, The Raven and the Fox.

The story demonstrates the value of presence of mind in overcoming challenges. A husband and wife realise at night that a thief has got into their house, and they save themselves without a fight, by thinking quickly.

How is a graphic story read?

The story runs across thirty panels, the framed pictures of a comic strip, read left to right and top to bottom. Words appear in three kinds of shapes.

• Speech bubbles with a pointed tail hold words a character says aloud.
• Thought bubbles, cloud shapes joined to a head by small circles, hold what a character thinks but does not say. Every line of the thief inside the house is a thought.
• Captions, the boxes at the top or bottom of some panels, hold the narrator's words, such as the time and place.

What do the before-reading activities ask?

The first task shows three people to identify and asks how they help in trouble. The second asks what rescue means; the answer is option 2, save someone.

Three standing figures. On the left, a police officer in a khaki uniform, peaked cap and red belt salutes. In the middle, a doctor with glasses and her hair in a bun wears a white coat over green clothes, with a stethoscope round her neck and arms folded. On the right, a firefighter in a yellow helmet with a lamp and a brown suit with yellow stripes holds a red fire extinguisher.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 20

In the pair task, the student ticks the phrases describing those who need to be rescued. A man stuck in a building on fire and a dog that has hurt its leg clearly need rescue. A woman buying vegetables in the market does not. A tree being cut down is open to discussion, since some may argue it also needs saving.

The policeman in the story is called the kotwal, and some people call him thaanedar. The student shares the word for a policeman in their own language. The last task imagines facing a problem alone at home. Of the three choices, thinking quickly about ways to solve it matches what the couple in the story do.

What happens in the story, part by part?

Part 1: a sound in the night

In a village, one night, a man stretches and yawns, saying it has been a hard day. He lies down, feeling very sleepy. His wife, sitting beside the bed with a plate, turns her head to one side and listens.

The man asks what the matter is. She hushes him and tells him to listen. He says somebody is trying to get in. Then she says the noise has stopped, and she thinks the intruder has already got in.

The man tells her to lie down and not look, and both lie under a red blanket. He says it is a thief who must have got past Rama. A caption explains that Rama was the village kotwal.

Part 2: a plan and a waiting thief

The wife asks what they should do. The man promises to tell her and asks her to listen. Meanwhile, a bald thief with a black mask across his eyes peeps round a door. Hearing voices, he decides to wait until they fall asleep.

He stands by a wooden chest and wonders where they keep their money. Across the room is a hole broken through the wall, with bricks on the floor. Thinking the couple might be discussing their money, he cups a hand to his ear to listen.

Part 3: the name game

Under the blanket, the couple talk about what to name their child. If he is a boy, they will call him Rama, and the wife agrees it is a good name. She says she will call him softly when he is in the house.

Her husband asks what she will do if the boy is in the yard; she will call a little louder. The thief grows angry and wishes they would talk about their money or fall asleep. Next the husband asks about the street, and she says she will call very loudly. She shouts "Rama! Rama!" while her husband lies back, smiling.

Part 4: Rama hears his name

Out in the moonlit village, the kotwal, carrying a long stick, hears his name. He runs to the house from which it was called. There he sees the hole in the wall and realises that a thief has dug his way in, and he crawls inside through the same hole.

Inside, the thief is relieved that the couple have at last stopped talking. He does not see the kotwal crouching beside the pots.

Part 5: the arrest

The thief thinks the couple will soon be asleep, but a hand reaches for his shoulder. The kotwal seizes him and tells him he is under arrest. The man sits up, delighted that Rama heard them, and his wife says their plan worked and they are saved.

The final caption says that the man and his wife had saved themselves from being robbed by their cleverness. They watch from their doorway as the kotwal leads the thief away.

Who are the characters, and what are they like?

The story has four characters. Only the kotwal has a name; the couple are called the man and his wife, and the thief is never named.

The man: calm and quick-thinking

The man begins tired and sleepy after his hard day. Once he hears the thief, he takes charge. His order to lie down and not look keeps the couple out of the thief's way.

His real skill shows in the talk. Each of his questions, first about the yard and then about the street, gives his wife a reason to call louder. He lies back smiling during the loudest call, which suggests he knows exactly what the shout will bring. At the end, he is the one who announces that Rama has heard them.

The wife: alert and a willing partner

The wife is the first to sense danger, which shows she is alert. From the silence after the noise, she works out that the thief is inside.

She does not hesitate once the plan begins. She plays her part in the talk about the child's name, raises her voice in steps and finally shouts the name very loudly. Her words at the end show that she knew the talk was a plan.

The thief: greedy and too sure of himself

The thief has dug through the wall to get in. His thoughts keep coming back to the couple's money: where they keep it and whether they are talking about it.

He is patient at first, ready to wait until the couple sleep. As the talk goes on he becomes impatient and angry, and he dismisses it as a silly game. He never suspects that the game is aimed at him, and his relief when the talking stops comes too soon.

Rama, the village kotwal: the rescuer

Rama is the kotwal, the village policeman, and he carries a long stick. He answers a call at night at once, running to the house the moment he hears his name.

He is observant, reading the hole in the wall as a sign of a break-in. He is also quiet and firm: he follows the thief's own way in, takes him by surprise and arrests him.

How does the couple's plan work?

What are the steps of the plan?

The reader never hears the plan explained. After the man says he will tell his wife, the story cuts to the thief, and the plan shows only through what the couple then say and do. The wife later confirms that it was a plan.

1. The couple stay under the blanket and keep talking, so the thief decides to wait until they fall asleep.
2. They begin a family talk about naming a child, choosing Rama if he is a boy.
3. The wife says how she would call the boy softly in the house and a little louder in the yard.
4. When the husband asks about the street, she has a reason to call out very loudly.
5. She shouts the name, and Rama, the village kotwal, hears it outside and comes to the house.

Why does the name Rama matter?

The name does two jobs at once. To the thief, Rama is only a name for the couple's child, part of a harmless family chat. To the kotwal outside, it is his own name, a call for help.

Raising the voice in steps also matters. Because the calls grow louder one at a time, the final shout sounds like a natural part of the talk rather than an alarm.

How does the plan fool the thief?

What are the turning points of the plot?

Which moments change the direction of the story?

The story is short, but its direction changes at six points. Each one moves the problem closer to its solution.

How is the story map filled in?

While reading, the student fills in five boxes about the story. One way to complete them:

What themes and message does the story carry?

Theme 1: presence of mind

Presence of mind means staying calm and thinking clearly in a sudden danger. The couple are frightened, but they neither panic nor give up. In the middle of a break-in, they think of a way to call for help that the thief will not notice.

Theme 2: cleverness, not force

The couple never face the thief or try to fight him. The closing caption says it was their cleverness that saved them from being robbed. The story values a quick, clever idea over strength.

Theme 3: working together

The plan needs both partners. The husband sets it up with his questions, and the wife carries it out with her voice, so their success is shared.

Theme 4: help from those who protect a community

Rama is ready to help at night, runs to the call and arrests the thief. The before-reading task about people who help in trouble, such as a police officer, connects to this theme.

Theme 5: greed blinds the thief

The thief listens only for talk about money, so he dismisses the talk about a child as silly. His greed keeps him from seeing the trap.

What is the message in one line?

A calm mind and a clever idea can overcome danger, even when strength cannot.

How do the pictures and words tell the story?

How do bubbles let the reader know more than the characters?

The thief's thoughts sit in thought bubbles. The couple cannot hear them, and he does not know what their talk is for, so only the reader follows both sides, which builds both suspense and humour.

How do captions move time and place?

Short captions do the narrator's work. One sets the scene in a village at night, and "Meanwhile" switches from the couple to the thief. Another explains who Rama is just when the name first matters, and the last sums up the lesson.

How do sounds and pauses add feeling?

Sound words and exclamations carry feelings. The man's "Oh-humm!" shows tiredness, "Ssssh!" asks for silence, "Oh, oh!" shows the kotwal's surprise, and the thief's "Eh!" shows his surprise when a hand reaches him. Dots between words, as in the wife's stammered "I... I think", show fear and broken speech.

How is the loud call drawn?

Under a night sky with a full moon, a moustached man in a red cap, a red coat with a grey band across it and a white dhoti walks along a village path holding a long stick. A large yellow banner-shaped shape carrying the word RAMA! stretches across the panel to his ear. In the next panel he runs along the path with his stick towards a house, with the yellow RAMA! in front of him.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 24

Drawing the word as a big yellow shape shows how loud the call is and how far it travels. The picture does the work that a long description would do in a prose story.

What is the tone?

The tone is light and humorous, even though the story is about a break-in. The angry thief, the smiling husband and the thief's complaint about a silly game make the danger feel playful, and no one is hurt.

Which key quotations matter most?

It's a thief... he must have somehow got past Rama.

Speaker: the man. Context: the first time the name Rama appears; a caption then explains that Rama is the village kotwal.

Voices! They're awake. I'll have to wait till they fall asleep.

Speaker: the thief, in a thought bubble. Context: his decision to wait gives the couple time for their plan.

When he's in the house, I'll call out softly to him.

Speaker: the wife. Context: the first of her three steps from soft to loud calling.

I wish they would stop this silly game

Speaker: the thief, in a thought bubble. Context: he dismisses the talk that is about to trap him.

Oh, oh! Some thief has dug his way into this house.

Speaker: Rama, the kotwal, in a thought bubble. Context: he sees the hole in the wall and understands what has happened.

The plan worked! We're saved.

Speaker: the wife. Context: after the arrest; her words show that the talk about the child was a plan all along.

What do the story's words and contractions teach?

What do the new words mean?

Six words from the story are matched with their meanings. The pairs are below.

Each word appears in the story: the thief wonders where the money is, listens closely and thinks perhaps the couple are discussing it. Wonder takes the one meaning left over, a feeling of surprise, which is its meaning as a noun; the thief uses it as a verb, meaning that he asks himself where the money is. The husband asks about the yard, the thief wishes for money talk instead, and he is glad the chatter has stopped.

What is a contraction?

A contraction joins two words and leaves out a letter or letters. An apostrophe marks the place of the missing letters. In I'm the missing letter is a (I am), in It's it is i (It is), and in They're it is a (They are).

The first and last rows are printed as examples. The example sentences are one possible set; any correct sentence using the contraction is acceptable. In the thief's thought that he had better listen closely, I'd stands for I had.

How are tenses, adverbs and sentence types used?

What is the present progressive tense?

Verbs that describe what someone or something is doing at the moment of speaking are in the present progressive tense. Each is built from am, is or are plus a verb ending in -ing.

Five sentences from the story use it, such as the man saying he is feeling sleepy and the thief thinking the couple are saying something. All five refer to actions that are going on at the time of speaking.

The blanks in the next task are filled as follows:

1. I am studying in Grade 6.
2. My friend is reading a story book.
3. We are playing a board game.
4. I am learning a new language.
5. The teachers are sitting in the staff room.
6. My mother is cooking food in the kitchen.

A boy in a blue striped T-shirt and a girl in a pink T-shirt run after a black and white football while a small brown puppy runs nearby. A woman in a red top sits on a grey bench reading a book. A boy in a wheelchair holds up a score card reading Govind 2, Anu 3. A girl in a yellow dress and hat reaches for a flower beside a picnic cloth with fruit, sandwiches, a cup and a bottle, and birds fly overhead.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 29

From the picture, the six sentences read: Govind and Anu are playing football; Pema is picking flowers; Anil is holding the score card; the mother is reading a book; the dog is running to catch the ball; and the birds are flying in the sky.

What are adverbs?

Words that give more information about the verb, such as how, when or where, are called adverbs. In the story, the thief will listen closely, and the wife will call out softly and then very loudly. Each answers the question "how?".

With the box warmly, gracefully, smoothly, beautifully, funnily, quickly and hurriedly, one fitting set is: he solved the problem quickly; the car moved smoothly; the musician played beautifully; Shobha danced gracefully; and Rohit left hurriedly. Warmly and funnily are extra.

In the forest paragraph, the animals lived peacefully, the tortoise moved slowly, the ants worked tirelessly, the lion ruled honestly and the birds sang sweetly. Brightly and angrily are extra.

Which feelings and sentence types appear?

The man's yawn about a hard day expresses tiredness. The thief's thought that they have stopped their chatter expresses relief. The couple's questions about what to do and what to name the child ask questions.

Sentences that express a strong feeling are exclamatory and end with an exclamation mark. Sentences that ask questions are interrogative and end with a question mark. The four practice sentences are punctuated like this:

1. Wow, what an intelligent man he is! (exclamatory)
2. Oh, how big the hole is! (exclamatory)
3. Do you like to read comic books? (interrogative)
4. What is your favourite story? (interrogative)

What do the listening, speaking, writing and exploring tasks ask?

Listening: a security guard's announcement

A security guard warns the neighbourhood about reports of robbery. The announcement asks people to lock all doors and windows at night and when leaving the house. Children must tell adults about any suspicious activity at once, and they should not talk to strangers or take anything from them.

The four blanks are filled with: 1. robbery; 2. adults; 3. safety; 4. 100, the number to dial in an emergency.

Speaking: contractions and keeping safe

The student repeats twelve contractions after the teacher, including I'll, it's, don't and they're, then six more such as can't, won't and didn't. Contracted forms are used while speaking and expanded forms while writing.

Of the seven reasons for keeping a house and its people safe, the suitable ones are to be safe from injury, to keep family members and pets safe, to stop accidents and to stop robbery. Visiting the doctor, paying the electricity bill and saving money fit less well, since they are not about safety.

One possible answer for three safety ideas, using the hints: "I think they should lock all doors and windows at night. They must not talk to strangers. It might be better to dial 100 in an emergency."

Writing: the man tells the neighbour

The next day a neighbour asks the man what happened. Writing as the man, the student covers when, where, what, how and why, starting from the opening line provided. One possible answer:

My wife and I were about to go to sleep last night when we heard someone trying to get into our house. Then the noise stopped, and we knew a thief had got in. We lay down under the blanket and talked about naming a child Rama. My wife called the name softly, then louder, then very loudly.

Rama, our village kotwal, heard his name and ran to our house. He found the hole the thief had dug in the wall, crept in and arrested him. We did this so that help would come without the thief guessing what we were doing.

Exploring: who to call, and a maze

The student asks a teacher or parents whom to call in six situations: a fire, someone getting hurt, a wounded animal, someone suspicious, a lost child, or being lost. The answers come from that conversation.

A green-lined maze fills the page. At the top left a bearded policeman in a khaki uniform and cap runs in with a stick. At the bottom right a thief in a red and black striped T-shirt, red cap and black eye mask runs off carrying a green sack. The task is to find the right path for the kotwal to catch the thief.

Reference: NCERT Class 6 Poorvi, printed page 35

How can the reading questions be answered from the story?

Questions during reading

Circle the odd one. In "husband, wife, children", the odd one is children, because no child appears; the couple only talk about naming one. In "guest, robber, Kotwal", the odd one is guest, because the robber and the kotwal entered the house and no guest did.

True or False. The man tells his plan to his wife: True, since he promises to tell her what to do and she later says the plan worked. The thief wants to know where they keep their jewels: False, because he wonders where they keep their money.

What will happen next? One possible prediction, after the wife's loud call, is that Rama, the village kotwal, will hear his name and come to the house.

Questions on the first set of lines

What makes the man say the first line? As he lies down to sleep, his wife suddenly looks away to one side, alert, so he asks what is wrong and what she is looking at. What does "Ssssh" mean? Option D, be silent.

How can it be told that the wife was listening carefully? She heard the sound before her husband did, and she noticed the moment the noise stopped. From that silence she worked out that the thief had already got in.

Questions on the second set of lines

The blank is filled with kotwal, the only word from the given lines that fits: the villagers took the thief to the kotwal. That sentence is the exercise's own; in the comic, no villagers catch the thief, and the kotwal arrests him himself and leads him away. The words "Oh, Oh!" show surprise, option A.

How can it be told that the kotwal was good at his job? He ran to the house as soon as he heard his name. He understood the hole in the wall at once, entered quietly through it and arrested the thief before he could escape.

Questions on the whole story

Why could the couple not fall asleep? They heard someone trying to get into the house, and then realised the thief was already inside.

What did the thief wish would happen? Did it happen? He wished the couple would stop their silly game and talk about their money, or at least fall asleep. It did not happen: they never mentioned their money, and the loud call brought the kotwal, who arrested him.

How did the couple get help from the kotwal? They talked about naming a boy Rama and calling him softly, louder and very loudly. When the wife shouted the name, Rama, the village kotwal, heard it and came.

Can cleverness help solve problems? One possible answer: yes. The couple could not fight the thief, but a clever plan brought the kotwal to them, and the closing caption credits their cleverness for saving them from being robbed.

Glossary

• Rescue: to save someone from danger or trouble; in the story, Rama the kotwal comes to the rescue of the man and his wife
• Kotwal: the policeman in the story; Rama is the village kotwal, who hears his name being called and arrests the thief
• Thaanedar: another word that some people use for a policeman, such as the kotwal in this folktale from Tamil Nadu
• Graphic story: a story told in a series of drawn panels, with words in speech bubbles, thought bubbles and captions, like Rama to the Rescue
• Wonder: a feeling of surprise; as a verb, the thief uses it when he asks himself where the couple keep their money
• Yard: an area outside a building; the husband asks what his wife would do if the boy were in the yard
• Chatter: talk for a long time about unimportant things; the thief is relieved when he thinks the couple have stopped their chatter
• Instead: in place of someone or something; the thief wishes the couple would talk about their money instead of the child's name
• Closely: carefully; the thief decides that he had better listen closely to what the couple are saying
• Perhaps: maybe; the thief thinks that perhaps the couple are talking about their money
• Contraction: a short form that joins two words and leaves out letters, with an apostrophe in their place, such as I'm for I am
• Present progressive tense: the verb form for what someone or something is doing at the moment of speaking, such as is trying or are saying
• Adverb: a word that gives more information about a verb, such as how, when or where; closely, softly and loudly are examples
• Exclamatory sentence: a sentence that expresses a strong feeling and is marked by an exclamation mark, such as "Oh, how big the hole is!"
• Interrogative sentence: a sentence that asks a question and is marked by a question mark, such as "What should we do?"

Common errors and misconceptions

• Misconception: the couple have a son called Rama. Correct: they only talk about naming a child Rama if he is a boy; Rama is the name of the village kotwal, and the talk is their plan.
• Misconception: the man fights the thief and catches him. Correct: the couple stay under the blanket and use cleverness; it is Rama, the kotwal, who arrests the thief.
• Misconception: the thief comes in through the door. Correct: he digs a hole through the wall, and the kotwal later crawls in through the same hole.
• Misconception: the thief understands the plan and runs away. Correct: he thinks the talk is a silly game, keeps waiting for the couple to sleep and is caught inside the house.
• Misconception: the thief is looking for jewels. Correct: he wonders where the couple keep their money and hopes they will talk about it.
• Misconception: the couple can hear what the thief is thinking. Correct: his lines are in thought bubbles, so only the reader knows them.
• Misconception: a sentence such as "They are saying something" describes a past action. Correct: it is in the present progressive tense and describes an action going on at the time of speaking.
• Misconception: softly and loudly describe the wife. Correct: they are adverbs that describe the verb, telling how she calls out.

Exam-style questions with model answers

Q1. A man lying in bed asks his wife what the matter is and what she is looking at. She replies, "Ssssh! Listen!" Soon after, she tells him she thinks the intruder has already got in, because the noise has stopped. Give two ways in which the wife shows that she is listening carefully. [2 marks]

1. She hears the sound before her husband does and hushes him with "Ssssh!" so that both of them can listen.
2. She notices the moment the noise stops and works out from the silence that the intruder has already got into the house.

Q2. Inside the house, the thief hears the couple's voices and thinks he will have to wait till they fall asleep. He wonders where they keep their money. Later he wishes they would stop their silly game and talk about their money instead, or fall asleep at least. State two things that the thief wants. [2 marks]

1. He wants the couple to talk about their money, because he is trying to find out where they keep it.
2. He wants the couple to fall asleep, so that he no longer has to wait before he can look for the money.

Q3. The couple talk about naming a boy Rama. The wife says she will call out softly to him in the house, a little louder in the yard and very loudly in the street, and then she calls "Rama! Rama!" loudly. A thief inside the house is waiting for them to fall asleep and thinks their talk is a silly game. Rama is the village kotwal, and he runs to the house from which he heard his name being called. Explain three ways in which this plan brings help. [3 marks]

1. Naming the child Rama gives the wife a reason to say the kotwal's name aloud without making the thief suspicious.
2. Moving the boy from the house to the yard to the street lets her raise her voice step by step until she can call out very loudly.
3. Rama, the village kotwal, hears his name being called and runs to that very house, where the thief is waiting.

Q4. Rama, the village kotwal, runs to the house from which he heard his name being called. He sees a hole in the wall and thinks that some thief has dug his way into the house. He crawls in through the hole, and while the thief waits by the door for the couple to sleep, the kotwal takes him by surprise, tells him he is under arrest and leads him away. Give three points to show that the kotwal is good at his job. [3 marks]

1. He responds at once: as soon as he hears his name at night, he runs to the house from which it was called.
2. He is observant: he notices the hole in the wall and understands that a thief has dug his way into the house.
3. He acts quietly and firmly: he enters through the same hole, surprises the thief and arrests him before he can escape.

Q5. Verbs that describe what someone or something is doing at the moment of speaking are in the present progressive tense. Complete these lines from the story using the verb parts in brackets, and say what each shows: (a) I ___ so sleepy. [am + feel + ing] (b) Somebody ___ to get in. [is + try + ing] (c) They ___ something. [are + say + ing] (d) Perhaps, they ___ about their money. [are + talk + ing] [4 marks]

1. (a) I am feeling so sleepy: the man's sleepiness is going on at the moment he speaks.
2. (b) Somebody is trying to get in: the attempt to break into the house is going on while the man speaks.
3. (c) They are saying something: the thief hears the couple talking at that very moment.
4. (d) Perhaps, they are talking about their money: the thief guesses what the talk going on at that moment is about.

Q6. A thief digs a hole through the wall of a couple's house at night. Hearing voices, he decides to wait till they fall asleep, and he wonders where they keep their money. He listens closely in case they talk about their money, grows angry when they talk about naming a child, calls their talk a silly game and wishes they would fall asleep at least. When the talking stops he is relieved and thinks they will soon sleep, but the kotwal, who has crept in through the hole, arrests him. Describe the thief's character in five points. [5 marks]

1. He is a burglar who gets into the house by digging a hole through its wall at night.
2. He is greedy: his thoughts keep returning to where the couple keep their money and whether they will mention it.
3. He is patient at first, choosing to wait until the couple fall asleep rather than act while they are awake.
4. He becomes impatient and angry, calls their talk a silly game and wishes they would fall asleep at least.
5. He is too sure of himself: he relaxes when the talking stops and does not notice the kotwal behind him until he is caught.

Q7. Rama to the Rescue demonstrates the value of presence of mind in overcoming challenges. A couple hear a thief get into their house at night. They lie down and do not look, and the man says he will tell his wife what to do. They talk about naming a boy Rama and calling him softly, a little louder and very loudly, and the wife then shouts the name. The thief, still waiting for them to sleep, thinks their talk is a silly game. Rama, the village kotwal, hears it, comes and arrests the thief, and the last caption says they saved themselves by their cleverness. Explain in five points how the story shows presence of mind. [5 marks]

1. The couple stay calm enough to think: they lie down and do not look, so they keep out of the thief's way.
2. The man makes a plan quickly, at the very moment the thief is already inside the house.
3. The plan uses the kotwal's name, Rama, as the name of a child, so calling it sounds harmless to the thief.
4. The wife raises her voice in steps from soft to very loud, so the loud shout seems a natural part of their talk.
5. The kotwal hears his name and arrests the thief, and the couple save themselves by cleverness, not force.

Q8. In the story, the wife hears a sound, hushes her husband and later says the noise has stopped and the intruder has got in. The man tells her to lie down and not look, and says he will tell her what to do. In their talk he asks what she would do if the boy were in the yard, and then in the street; she answers that she would call a little louder, and then very loudly, and she shouts "Rama! Rama!". After the arrest the man says Rama heard them, and the wife says the plan worked and they are saved. Explain in six points how the man and the wife each play a part in escaping the thief. [6 marks]

1. The wife is the first to hear the sound, and she hushes her husband so that they can both listen.
2. She notices that the noise has stopped and works out that the intruder has already got into the house.
3. The man tells her to lie down and not look, and he promises to tell her what to do.
4. In their talk, the man asks what she would do if the boy were in the yard and then in the street.
5. His questions let the wife say she would call louder each time, until she shouts the name Rama very loudly.
6. When the kotwal arrives, the man sees that Rama heard them, and the wife says their plan worked and they are saved.

Key takeaways

• Rama to the Rescue is a graphic story and a folktale from Tamil Nadu, with the script by Luis M. Fernandes and illustrations by Ram Waeerkar.
• It is the third piece in Unit 1, Fables and Folk Tales, of Poorvi, and it shows the value of presence of mind in overcoming challenges.
• One night a thief digs his way into a village couple's house, and the couple lie down quietly and make a plan.
• They talk about naming a boy Rama, the name of the village kotwal, and the wife calls the name softly, then louder, then very loudly.
• Rama hears his name, finds the hole in the wall, crawls in and arrests the thief, who is still waiting for the couple to sleep.
• Thought bubbles let the reader see the thief's greed and impatience, which the couple cannot see, and this makes the story both tense and funny.
• The themes are presence of mind, cleverness over force, working together, help from those who protect a community, and greed that blinds.
• The language work covers contractions with apostrophes, the present progressive tense, adverbs, and exclamatory and interrogative sentences.

Test yourself

Who was Rama?

Rama was the village kotwal, the policeman of the village, who heard his name being called and came to arrest the thief.

How did the thief get into the house?

He dug a hole through the wall. The kotwal later crawled into the house through the same hole.

What did the thief want to know?

He wondered where the couple kept their money, and he hoped they would talk about it.

Why did the wife call out more and more loudly?

In their talk, the boy was imagined in the house, then the yard, then the street, so each place gave her a reason to call louder.

What does "Ssssh" mean in the story?

It means be silent. The wife says it so that she and her husband can listen to the sound.

What does the last caption say saved the couple from being robbed?

Their cleverness saved them from being robbed, because their plan brought the kotwal to the house.

Which letter is missing in I'm, It's and They're?

The missing letters are a in I'm (I am), i in It's (It is) and a in They're (They are).

What is the present progressive tense?

It is the verb form for what someone or something is doing at the moment of speaking, such as is trying or are talking.