Std.

9 Main Text Book

Unit : 1 Cheetah's Tears
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Long long ago a Zulu hunter was sitting under a tree. His name was
Edie. He saw a large herd of deer grazing in the lush green meadow.
He said to himself, " These deer are really wonderful but I have to
run a lot to catch one of them. Can't there be an easy way to get one?"
Suddenly, he saw a female cheetah crawling silently closer to the
grazing animals. Then she leapt and caught a deer. After some time her
two young cubs came out of the bush. They all enjoyed their meal.
Edie's eyes brightened. They sparkled with an idea. He envied the
cubs. "Can I be lucky as these beautiful cubs? They got their food without
any effort. Can I have a hunter like their mother?," he thought.
He decided to catch a young cub and train it to hunt for him. Then I
shall only say, " O my dear, go and kill a dear for me." Ah ! My life will be
very comfortable then. He was quite pleased with his own idea.
He decided to follow the cubs and steal one. From his experience
Edie knew that a cheetah never attacks a man. Therefore, it was safe to
steal a cub. He followed the cheetah family till evening. At sunset, the
mother cheetah hid her cubs in a thick bush and left for a stream. Quickly,
the hunter picked up his net and spear and ran into the bush. They looked
at him with their bright eyes. They were too young to run away. Edie threw
the net over them and the cubs were caught. He needed only one cub but
he thought, "Ah ! It is always better to have two slaves instead of one !"
He dragged them with him and hid them under a big basket.
1
 The mother cheetah returned after a while. She did not find her cubs.
She looked all around. First of all she became angry and jumped wildly.
She sniffed all around. But alas ! She could not find her dear babies. At
last, she became sad and started crying.
She cried and cried for the whole night till the next evening.
At night, the mother cheetah cried so loudly that she was heard by a
wise man living in the village. The old man understood what had
happened. He immediately took his strong club and came out of his hut.
This old man, Shanno was very wise. He loved animals and knew all
about them.
When Shanno found out the hidden cubs, he knew that it was Edie's
wicked idea. He got angry with Edie. He rushed to the hut and shouted. "I
hate you, Edie ! Everybody of our tribe will hate you because you are lazy
and wicked, too. We know that a hunter must hunt with his own strength
and skill. But you are a lazy hunter. You are a thief. You have broken the
rules of our tribe. You have brought dishonour to the whole tribe."
All the members of the hunter tribe got together. They decided to
drive away Edie from their village forever. Shanno took the cubs on his
shoulders and returned them to their mother. He saw that the long
weeping of the mother cheetah had stained her face forever.
Facts about Cheetah:
Height : 100 cm
Weight : 65 kg
Weight at birth : 300 gram
Age of maturity : 2 years

2
Identification : The cheetah has a lighter body and its legs are longer than
the leopard's. It has isolated black spots whereas the leopard has clusters
of spots.
Habitat : Cheetahs usually live in open forests. Presently they are found
mainly in Africa. We had lot of cheetahs in India, but the last one was shot
by hunters around 1950.
Habits : It is the fastest animal on the earth. Its top speed can be around
100 km per hour. But it can maintain this speed for a very short distance.
Sometimes it can take a leap as long as 25 metres. It creeps silently
behind the prey and then leaps up to catch it. It does not preserve its
prey. This sometimes causes death of cubs and young cheetah. The
cheetah is a solitary creature. It does not live in a groups or herds. A
family separates as soon as the cubs are mature.
Diet : Medium-sized bucks are its main food. It also catches hares and
large birds.
Cubs : The female gives birth to 2 to 4 cubs at a time. They are very
beautiful with long silver-grey fur. The mother calls them by giving a high-
pitched whistle like a bird.
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Words:
hunter - શળકાયી
herd - ટોળું
deer - હયણ
to graze - ચયવ ું

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lush green - રીલછ
ું ભ

meadow - ફીડ, ઘાસન ું ભેદાન

suddenly - એકાએક, અચાનક
female - નાયીજાશતન ું, ભાદા
to crawl - ધીભે ધીભે સયકવ ું
silently - અલાજ શલના, ળાુંશતથી, ચ ૂ઩ચા઩
leapt (to leap) - કદ્
ૂ ું

cub - ફચચ ું
meal - ખોયાક
to sparkle - ચભકવ ું
envy - ઈર્ષમાા , અદે ખાઈ
lucky - નસીફદાય
to train - કે઱લવ,ું તારીભ આ઩લી
to hunt - શળકાય કયલો
comfortable - સ્લસ્થ, આયાભદામક
own - ઩ોતાન ું
to follow - ઩ાછ઱ ઩ાછ઱ જવ ું
experience - અનબલ
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to set - આથભી જવ,ું અસ્ત થલો
hid (to hide) - છુ઩ાવય ું
thick - ગાઢ
stream - ઝયણ ું
net - જા઱
spear - બારો
tiny - નાન ું
bright - ચભકત ું
slave - ગરાભ
to drag - ખેંચવ,ું ઘસડવ ું
to sniff - સઘવ
ું ૂ ું

alas - અયે યે ! અપસોસ

dark - કાળું
stain - ડાઘ
cheek - ગાર
to weep - યડવ ું
wise - સભજદાય, ડાહ્ ું
to understand - સભજવ ું
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club - ડાુંગ
wicked - દર્ષટ
to hate - શધક્કાયવ ું
rule - શનમભ
tribe - જભાત, જાશત
lazy - આ઱સ ું
thief - ચોય
dishonour - અ઩ભાન, ફદનાભ
forever - હુંભેળને ભાટે
facts - ભાહહતી, હકીકત
height - ઊંચાઈ
maturity - ઩હય઩ક્લતા, પખ્તતા, ઩ાકટતા
identification - ઓ઱ખ
leopard - દી઩ડો
isolated - છૂટુંછલાય ું
spot - ડાઘ
cluster - ઝૂભખ ું
habitat - શનલાસસ્થાન
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presently - હારભાું
habit - આદત
to maintain - જા઱લી યાખવ ું
distance - અંતય
to creep - સયકવ ું (crept ભ ૂ.કા.)
behind - ઩ાછ઱
prey - શળકાય
to preserve - સાચલવ ું
to cause - અસય થલી - કયલી
death - મ ૃત્ય, ભોત
solitary - એકરલાય ું
group - સમ ૂહ, ટોળું
to separate - જદું , શલખ ૂટું
diet - ખોયાક
buck - કાળ઱માય
hare - સસલ ું
silver-grey - ર઩ેયી
fur - રલાુંટી
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high-pitched - તીવ્ર, તીક્ષ્ણ
whistle - શસસોટીના જેલો તીણો અલાજ
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idioms:
1. instead of - ના ફદરે
Raju wanted to buy a tractor instead of a trailer.
2. all around - ચાયે ફાજ, ફધે જ
The little boy looked all around the garden for his dog.
3. to break rules - શનમભોનો બુંગ કયલો
The prince broke the rules of his family and married a poor girl.
4. to get together - એકઠાું થવ,ું બેગા થવ ું
The children got together to plan for a picnic.
5. to drive away - હાુંકી કાઢવ,ું કાઢી મ ૂકવ ું

The rich man drove away the hungry beggar.

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Ex. A Comprehension:
paragraph 1
Long long ago a Zulu hunter was sitting under a tree. His name was Edie.
He saw a large herd of deer grazing in the lush green meadow.
He said to himself, " These deer are really wonderful but I have to run a
lot to catch one of them. Can't there be an easy way to get one?"
8
1. Who was Edie?
Ans. Edie was a Zulu hunter.
2. What did Edie see?
Ans. Edie saw a herd of deer grazing in the meadow.
3. What did Edie think when he saw the deer?
Edie thought that he had to run a lot to catch one of those deer and
wondered if there was an easy way to get a deer.
paragraph 2
Suddenly, he saw a female cheetah crawling silently closer to the grazing
animals. Then she leapt and caught a deer. After some time her two
young cubs came out of the bush. They all enjoyed their meal.
1. How did a female cheetah catch a deer?
Ans. A female cheetah crawled silently closer to the grazing animals and
then she leapt and caught a deer.
2. With whom did the cheetah enjoy the meal?
Ans. The cheetah enjoyed her meal with her two cubs.
paragraph 3
Edie's eyes brightened. They sparkled with an idea. He envied the cubs.
"Can I be lucky as these beautiful cubs? They got their food without any
effort. Can I have a hunter like their mother?," he thought.
1. Why did Edie envy the cubs?
Ans. Edie envied the cubs because they got their food without any effort.
2. What idea did Edie get?

9
Ans. Edie got the idea to have a hunter like the mother cheetah to hunt
his food.
paragraph 4
He decided to catch a young cub and train it to hunt for him. Then I shall
only say, " O my dear, go and kill a dear for me." Ah ! My life will be very
comfortable then. He was quite pleased with his own idea. He decided to
follow the cubs and steal one.
1. Why did Edie think of catching a cheetah-cub?
Ans. Edie thought of catching a cheetah-cub so that he could train it to
hunt for him.
2. Why was Edie pleased with his idea?
Ans. Edie was pleased with his idea because he thought that he would
have to only order the cub to hunt a deer for him and thus his life would
be very comfortable.
3. What did Edie decide to do?
Ans. Edie decided to follow the cubs and steal one.
paragraph 5
From his experience Edie knew that a cheetah never attacks a man.
Therefore, it was safe to steal a cub. He followed the cheetah family till
evening. At sunset, the mother cheetah hid her cubs in a thick bush and
left for a stream. Quickly, the hunter picked up his net and spear and ran
into the bush. He saw two tiny cubs.
1. Why was it not dangerous for Edie to steal a cub?
Ans. From his experience Edie knew that a cheetah never attacks a man
and so it was not dangerous to steal a cub.
10
2. What did the mother cheetah do in the evening?
Ans. In the evening, the mother cheetah hid her cubs in a thick bush and
left for a stream.
3. What happened when the mother cheetah left for a stream?
Ans. When the mother cheetah left for a stream, Edie picked up his net
and spear and ran into the bush to catch a cub.
paragraph 6
He saw two tiny cubs. They looked at him with their bright eyes. They
were too young to run away. Edie threw the net over them and the cubs
were caught. He needed only one cub but he thought, "Ah ! It is always
better to have two slaves instead of one !" He dragged them with him and
hid them under a big basket.
1. How many cubs did Edie see?
Ans. Edie saw two tiny cubs.
2. Why could the cubs not run away?
Ans. The cubs could not run away because they were too young
3. How did Edie catch the cheetah-cubs?
Ans. Edie threw the net over the cubs, caught them, dragged them and
hid them under a big basket.
4. Why did Edie catch both the cubs?
Ans. Edie caught both the cubs because he thought that it was better to
have two slaves than one.
paragraph 7
The mother cheetah returned after a while. She did not find her cubs. She
11
looked all around. First of all she became angry and jumped wildly. She
sniffed all around. But alas ! She could not find her dear babies. At last,
she became sad and started crying. She cried and cried for the whole
night till the next evening.
1. What was the reaction of the mother cheetah when she found her cubs
missing?
Ans. When the mother cheetah found her cubs missing, she became
angry and jumped wildly.
2. What happened to the mother cheetah at last?
Ans. At last, the mother cheetah was so sad that she began crying and
cried for the whole night till the next evening.
paragraph 8
At night, the mother cheetah cried so loudly that she was heard by a wise
man living in the village. The old man understood what had happened. He
immediately took his strong club and came out of his hut. This old man,
Shanno was very wise. He loved animals and knew all about them.
When Shanno found out the hidden cubs, he knew that it was Edie's
wicked idea.
1. Who was Shanno? What were his qualities?
Ans. Shanno was a wise old man, who loved animals and knew all about
them.
2. What did Shanno do?
Ans. Shanno took his strong club and came out of his hut.
3. What did Shanno know when he found out the cubs?

12
Ans. When Shanno found out the cubs, he knew that it was Edie's wicked
idea.
4. What happened at night?
Ans. At night, the mother cheetah cried so loudly that she was heard by a
wise man in the village.
paragraph 9
He got angry with Edie. He rushed to the hut and shouted. "I hate you,
Edie ! Everybody of our tribe will hate you because you are lazy and
wicked, too. We know that a hunter must hunt with his own strength and
skill. But you are a lazy hunter. You are a thief. You have broken the rules
of our tribe. You have brought dishonour to the whole tribe."
1. Why was Shanno angry with Edie?
Ans. Shanno was angry with Edie because he was wicked and lazy and
he had broken the rules of their tribe and brought dishonour to the whole
tribe.
2. According to Shanno, what must a hunter do?
Ans. According to Shanno, a hunter must hunt with his own strength and
skill.
3. Who was angry with Edie?
Ans. Shanno was angry with Edie.
paragraph 10
All the members of the hunter tribe got together. They decided to drive
away Edie from their village forever. Shanno took the cubs on his

13
shoulders and returned them to their mother. He saw that the long
weeping of the mother cheetah had stained her face forever.
1. What did all the members of the tribe decide?
Ans. All the members of the tribe decided to drive away Edie from their
village forever.
2. What did Shanno do for the cubs?
Ans. Shanno took the cubs on his shoulders and returned them to their
mother.
3. What was the result of the long weeping of the mother cheetah?
Ans. As a result of the long weeping, the mother cheetah had stained her
face forever.
paragraph 11
Facts about Cheetah
Height : 100 cm
Weight : 65 kg
Weight at birth : 300 gram
Age of maturity : 2 years
Identification : The cheetah has a lighter body and its legs are longer than
the leopard's. It has isolated black spots whereas the leopard has clusters
of spots.
1. What is the height and weight of the cheetah?
Ans. The cheetah is 100 cm tall and weighs 65 kg.
2. What is a cub's weight?
14
Ans. A cub weighs 300 gram.
3. What is a cheetah's age of maturity?
Ans. A cheetah's age of maturity is 2 years.
4. How will you identify a cheetah?
Ans. A cheetah has isolated black spots on his body.
paragraph 12
Habits : It is the fastest animal on the earth. Its top speed can be around
100 km per hour. But it can maintain this speed for a very short distance.
Sometimes it can take a leap as long as 25 metres. It creeps silently
behind the prey and then leaps up to catch it. It does not preserve its
prey. This sometimes causes death of cubs and young cheetah. The
cheetah is a solitary creature. It does not live in a groups or herds. A
family separates as soon as the cubs are mature.
1. What do you know about the cheetah's speed?
Ans. The cheetah is the fastest animal on the earth and its top speed can
be around 100 km per hour.
2. How far can the cheetah leap?
Ans. A cheetah can take a leap as long as 25 metres.
3. How does the cheetah kill its prey?
Ans. The cheetah creeps silently behind the prey and then leaps up to
catch it.
4. Why do cubs and young cheetahs sometimes die?
Ans. The cheetah does not preserve its prey and hence, sometimes the
cubs and young cheetahs die.
15
5. Why is the cheetah called a solitary creature?
Ans. The cheetah is called a solitary creature because it does not live in
groups.
6. When does the cheetah family separate?
Ans. A cheetah family separates as soon as the cubs mature.
paragraph 13
Diet : Medium-sized bucks are its main food. It also catches hares and
large birds.
Cubs : The female gives birth to 2 to 4 cubs at a time. They are very
beautiful with long silver-grey fur. The mother calls them by giving a high-
pitched whistle like a bird.
1. What does a cheetah eat?
Ans. A cheetah eats a medium-sized bucks, hares and large birds.
2. What do you know about the cubs?
Ans. The cubs are very beautiful with long silver-grey fur.
3. How does the mother call the cubs?
Ans. The mother calls the cubs by giving a high-pitched whistle like a bird.
paragraph 14
Habitat : Cheetahs usually live in open forests. Presently they are found
mainly in Africa. We had lot of cheetahs in India. But the last one was shot
by hunters around 1950.
1. Where do the cheetahs usually live?
Ans. Cheetahs usually live in open forests.
16
2. Where are the cheetahs presently found?
Ans. Presently, the cheetahs are found mainly in Africa.
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Ex. B Use the set of words in your own sentences.

1. herd - graze
Raju took his herd of cows to graze in the field.
2. deer - meadow
The deer are grazing in the meadow.
3. suddenly - leapt
The policeman suddenly leapt from behind the tree and caught the thief.
4. crawl - silently
The lion crawled silently and caught the goat.
5. tiny - sparkle
The eyes of the tiny kitten sparkled in the dark.
6. lucky - train
Sachin is lucky to have been trained by an expert like Ramnath.
7. envy - comfortable
Everyone envied Vipul because he lived a very comfortable life.
8. experience - wise
As you grow old, you learn from your experience and become wise.
9. follow - thick
The policeman followed the thief, but he disappeared behind a thick bush.
17
10. drag - lazy
Mother dragged Mihir out of the bed because she knew he was lazy.
11. wicked - hate
People hated the king because he was wicked.
12. habit - dishonour
His bad habit of stealing has brought dishonour to the family.
13. maintain - distance
While driving, you must maintain a safe distance from other vehicles.
14. cause - death
The police have revealed the cause of death of the famous actor.
15. drive away - group
The principal asked the peon to drive away the group of shouting
students.
16. instead of - hunt
Instead of going to the court, the king decided to go for hunting in the
forest.
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Ex. C Write who said to whom the following sentences.

1. These deer are really wonderful but I have to run a lot to catch one of
them.
Ans. This sentence was said by Edie to himself.
2. Can I be lucky as these beautiful cubs?

18
Ans. This was said by Edie to himself.
3. Ah ! It is always better to have two slaves instead of one !
Ans. This sentence was said by Edie to himself.
4. Everybody of our tribe will hate you because you are lazy and wicked,
too.
Ans. This sentence was said by Shanno to Edie.
5. You have brought dishonour to the whole tribe.
Ans. This sentence was said by Shanno to Edie.
6. You have broken the rules of our tribe.
Ans. This sentence was said by Shanno to Edie.
7. We know that a hunter must hunt with his own strength and skill.
Ans. This sentence was said by Shanno to Edie.
8. But you are a lazy hunter.
Ans. This sentence was said by Shanno to Edie.
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Ex. D Fill in the blanks choosing the correct words from the
brackets.
1. (meadow,grazing,herd)
Long long ago a Zulu hunter was sitting under a tree. His name was Edie.
He saw a large herd of deer grazing in the lush green meadow.
2. (crawling,leapt,closer)

19
Suddenly, he saw a female cheetah crawling silently closer to the grazing
animals. Then she leapt and caught a deer.
3. (effort,brightened,envied)
Edie's eyes brightened. They sparkled with an idea. He envied the cubs. "
Can I be lucky as these beautiful cubs? They got their food without any
effort."
4. (comfortable, steal, pleased)
My life will be very very comfortable then. He was quite pleased with his
own idea. He decided to follow the cubs and steal one.
5. (experience,steal,attacks)
From his experience Edie knew that a cheetah never attacks a man.
Therefore it was safe to steal a cub.
6. (bright,tiny,young)
He saw two tiny cubs. They looked at him with their bright eyes. They
were too young to run away. Edie threw the net over them and the cubs
were caught.
7. (dragged,hid,instead of)
It is always better to have two slaves instead of one ! He dragged them
with him and hid them under a big basket.
8. (wildly,angry,returned)
The mother cheetah returned after a while. She did not find her cubs. She
looked all around. First of all she became angry and jumped wildly.
9. (alas,sniffed,sad)

20
She sniffed all around. But alas ! She could not find her dear babies. At
last, she became sad and started crying.
10. (wicked,immediately,wise)
He immediately took his strong club and came out of his hut. This old
man, Shanno was very wise. He loved animals and knew all about them.
When Shanno found out the hidden cubs, he knew that it was Edie's
wicked idea.
11. (lazy,tribe,strength)
Everybody of our tribe will hate you because you are lazy and wicked, too.
We know that a hunter must hunt with his own strength and skill.
12. (dishonour, thief, lazy)
But you are a lazy hunter. You are a thief. You have broken the rules of
our tribe. You have brought dishonour to the whole tribe.
13. (weeping, drive away, stained)
All the members of the hunter tribe got together. They decided to drive
away Edie from their village forever. Shanno took the cubs on his
shoulders and returned them to their mother. He saw that the long
weeping of the mother cheetah had stained her face forever.
14. (isolated,clusters,lighter)
The cheetah has a lighter body and its legs are longer than the leopard's.
It has isolated black spots whereas the leopard has clusters of spots.
15. (creeps,preserve,and leaps)
It creeps silently behind the prey and then leaps up to catch it. It does not
preserve its prey. This sometimes causes death of cubs and young
cheetah.
21
16. (groups,solitary,mature)
The cheetah is a solitary creature. It does not live in groups or herds. A
family separates as soon as the cubs are mature.
================================================================================

22