Name………………………………….

Year V
Subject – English Facilitators – Suzan and Kripa

The Sparrow's Lost Bean

PREDICTION
What do you think is the story about?
 The Sparrow's Lost Bean

Once upon a time, there was a sparrow who was very neat and clean. Its
nest was spotless and it always washed up before eating. One morning, the
sparrow found a bean and was overjoyed that it didn't have to search for food.
As was its habit, it went down to the river to wash up after putting the bean
away safely on the bridge.

When the sparrow returned expecting to eat a fine breakfast, alas, the bean was
nowhere to be found. As it was looking everywhere for its food, it saw a
carpenter walking up the bridge. The sparrow went up to the carpenter and
said, "I have lost my bean. Please help me find it." "Who is going to listen to
you?" said the carpenter and continued on his way.

Just then the sparrow saw a soldier walking up the bridge. It pleaded with him
to help find the bean, but the soldier too was uncooperative. "Who is going to
help a sparrow?" he said and walked away. Then a captain came up the bridge,
but he would not help the sparrow either. And then a minister, but no help from
him too. He just laughed and kept walking.

The hungry sparrow became desperate. Then the king came riding on an
elephant. The sparrow was certain that it would get justice from the most
powerful person in the country. But the king pretended not to hear the sparrow
pleas and said nothing. As the sparrow sat there dejected, an ant came up and
asked, "What's the matter? Didn't you see the king pass by?" The sparrow then
told the ant how everybody from the carpenter to the king had ignored its
appeals to help it find the lost bean.

"Don't worry," said the ant. "We will find the bean somehow." The ant then
crawled up to the elephant's ear and said, "Tell the king to find the sparrow's
bean or I will go inside your ear and bite you." The terrified elephant turned to
the king and said, "You better help the sparrow, oh king, or I will throw you off
my back."

The king was startled. He immediately summoned the minister and ordered,
"Help the sparrow or you are fired." The minister called the captain right away
and said, "Do whatever the sparrow says or you are in trouble." The captain
then called the soldier and gave him explicit orders. The soldier, in turn, found
the carpenter and told him, "Find the sparrow's bean or I will hang you from this
bridge itself." The carpenter searched for half a day and finally found the lost
bean, and the sparrow had a satisfying breakfast that day.
Activities
1. Pretend you are the author of the book. In a brief paragraph, explain
what you would change in the book, and why.
2. Write the meaning of the following words and make sentences of each:
a. spotless
b. summon
c. pretend
d. deject
e. startled
f. explicit
3. Find five singular nouns in the story. Write down the singular forms, then
write the plural form of the nouns.
4. Answer the following questions in brief.
a. What did the sparrow do before eating?
b. What was lost in the story?
c. Who was the most powerful person in the country?
d. Who helped the sparrow in finding its lost bean?
e. Do you think the sparrow was careless? Why/why not?
f. If you have to change the title of the story, what would you prefer to
keep?
5. Suppose you are lost in the crowd and you are afraid that people may
mislead you. Who would you ask for the help and why?
6. Make a STORY TIMELINE of the important events that happened in the
story in a sequential order. Include important events that took place in the
story. Include a few sketches of the main events. A sample and a template
are attached below.
TIMELINE - A timeline is a tool that organizes information. It is a list of important events arranged in
the order in which they happened starting with the earliest event and moving forward through time.

SEQUENCING TIMETABLE
7. Write the summary of the story 'The Sparrow's Lost Bean' using the
above major events in 100 words.