CLASS – 3

LESSON NO - 2

THE
INCOMPETENT
GENIE

PREPARED BY –
SHALINI SWAROOP
 The Incompetent Genie

Once upon a time there was a genie, of the type who

comes out of magic lamps and makes wishes come true.
Unfortunately, this particular genie was famous for
botching things up.
Whenever someone rubbed the magic lamp, he would
come out and say,’What is your wish?’ Then a great
cloud of smoke would appear and hundreds of things
would fly through the air.When people stated their wish,
the object of their desire would appear in a cloud of
dirt,covered in dust.
So many, and so embarrassing were his botches that no
one wanted him. His lamp ended up being used only to
throw at people, just like a common old box; and the
genie did not come out of it for years, and became sad
and depressed.
That was, until a lonely boy found the lamp, and could hear the sad cries of
the genie inside . So the boy decided to try to become the genie’s friend,
and the wish he asked to be granted was to be able to enter and leave the
lamp, just like the genie could, so they could spend time together.
The genie was happy to grant the wish, and as soon as the boy entered the
lamp, he could see what the genie’s problem was .It was not that he was a
bad genie.It was just that he could not have been less tidy!
In the lamp, everything was thrown all over the place, whether it be
jewellery, books, boats or camels.It was obvious that the place had not seen
a duster for years.
Being a genie, he had all sorts of stuffs in there,and as the lamp was
small,everything was crammed in together that whenever the genie tried to
get something, a cloud of dust would fly up.
The boy held his head in his hands, and the genie apologised, saying that a
genie’s job was very important and he had time for cleaning. But the boy
remembered his mother’s advice, and told the genie that the more
important his job was, the more important it was that he keep all his things
in order.And together they decided to give the place a good clean.
It took them quite a few days, but when they finished,everything was
gleaming and in its correct place. Now it was dead easy to find whatever gift
was asked for, and to retrieve it without breaking anything.
And so it was that the genie began to be respected and admired once more.
He learned once more. He learned that nothing great can be achieved without
order and cleanliness in all things.

Pedro Pablo Sacristan

 SUMMARY OF THE STORY
 Once upon a time there lived a genie popular for his botching nature.
Though he would fulfil people’s wishes but all the objects he provided
were covered with dirt and dust. And so people preferred not to call him
and he became very sad. But one day a lonely boy heard the sad cries of
the genie and in order to become his friend asked him to grant his wish
to be able to enter and leave the lamp. Inside the lamp the boy saw that
everything was crammed and covered under dust. Being a genie, he had
to keep all sort of stuff in his small lamp and he had no time for
cleaning it. So whenever he would come out of the lamp a large cloud of
dust and smoke would appear. When the boy was looking around the
shabby place he remembered his mother’s advice and told the genie that
though his job was important it was even more important that he keeps
all his things in order. And hence they decided to clean the place. In a
few days, everything was gleaming and now he could easily spot things
and retrieve it without breaking anything. Once again the genie was
respected and admired.
 MORAL – NOTHING CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT ORDER AND
CLEANLINESS.
Words to learn
 genie
 unfortunately
 embarrassing
 botching
 depressed
 obvious
 crammed
 apologised
 gleaming
 admired
 Word meanings
 incompetent not capable dead easy very easy
 botching (here) spoiling retrieve to get something back
 stated expressed ; said
 embarrassing feeling ashamed
 depressed very sad
 granted given
 obvious easy to see or understand
 crammed full of people or things
 apologised said sorry
 in order properly arranged
 gleaming shining
 ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS
1.Why was the genie famous?
A. The genie was famous for botching things up.

2.What happened when somebody rubbed the magic lamp?

A. Whenever somebody used to rub the lamp the genie would come out, ask for the wish, a
great cloud of smoke would appear, hundreds of things would fly through the air and the
object of desire appears in cloud of dirt.

3.How did the lamp look from inside?

A. Inside the lamp, everything was thrown everywhere and it was very dirty as if not dusted
from years.

4. What did the boy decide to do?

A. The boy decided to give the place a good clean.
 Home Assignment
Make sentences :
1. dirt
2. problem
3. friend
4. famous
5. lamp
Fill in the blanks :
1. A great cloud of ________ would appear. ( dust/smoke/mud)
2. The boy decided to become the genie’s ________ . ( friend/buddy/companion )
3. The boy remembered his mother’s _________ . ( advice/suggestion/teaching)
4. It was _______ that the place hadn’t seen a duster for years. (obvious/clear/evident)
5. Once upon a time there was a ________. (slave/king/genie)
State ‘true’ or ‘false’ for the following:
1. A lonely girl found the lamp. _______
2. The genie kept the place inside his lamp clean. ________
3. The boy and the genie decided to give the place a good clean. _________
4. Nothing great can be achieved without order and cleanliness. _________

Think and answer:

1. What lesson do you learn from this story?
2. Imagine that you have a friend who keeps his room untidy. What would you
like to tell him?