Bihar Board Class 7 English Chapter 5 Solutions is available for free here. It covers all question answers of chapter 5 – “Gopal and the Hilsa Fish”, from new book – Honeycomb.
“Gopal and the Hilsa Fish” is a delightful folk tale about Gopal, a clever man who works in the king’s court. In this story, the king gets annoyed because everyone is talking only about Hilsa fish, so he challenges Gopal to bring a fish to the palace without anyone noticing it. Gopal cleverly solves this problem by wearing strange clothes and acting silly, making people look at him instead of the fish he’s carrying. You’ll find the detailed solutions for Chapter 5 – Gopal and the Hilsa Fish from Bihar Board Class 7 English Book below.
Bihar Board Class 7 English Chapter 5 Solutions
Contents
| Class | 7 |
| Subject | English (Honeycomb) |
| Chapter | 5. Gopal and the Hilsa Fish |
| Board | Bihar Board |
WORKING WITH THE TEXT
Answer the following questions.
1. Why did the king want no more talk about the hilsa-fish?
Ans: The king was annoyed because everyone in the palace was talking only about hilsa fish. He was tired of hearing about it all the time, so he ordered that no one should talk about hilsa fish anymore.
2. What did the king ask Gopal to do to prove that he was clever?
Ans: The king challenged Gopal to buy a large hilsa fish from the market and bring it to the palace. The difficult part was that no one should talk to Gopal about the fish during his entire journey from the market to the palace.
3. What three things did Gopal do before he went to buy his hilsa-fish?
Ans: Before going to buy the hilsa fish, Gopal did three unusual things:
(i) He shaved only half of his face
(ii) He smeared ash all over his body
(iii) He wore torn and ragged clothes
4. How did Gopal get inside the palace to see the king after he had bought the fish?
Ans: When Gopal reached the palace, the guards refused to let him meet the king. So Gopal started singing and dancing loudly outside the palace. When the king heard the noise, he ordered his guards to bring Gopal inside.
5. Explain why no one seemed to be interested in talking about the hilsa-fish which Gopal had bought.
Ans: No one talked about the fish because everyone was surprised and curious about Gopal’s strange appearance. They were more interested in asking why his face was half-shaven, why ash was smeared on his body, and why he was wearing ragged clothes. His odd look made people forget about the fish.
6. Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following sentences.
(i) The king lost his temper easily _____.
Ans: True
(ii) Gopal was a madman _____.
Ans: False
(iii) Gopal was a clever man _____.
Ans: True
(iv) Gopal was too poor to afford decent clothes _____.
Ans: False
(v) The king got angry when he was shown to be wrong _____.
Ans: False
WORKING WITH LANGUAGE
1. Change the following sentences in the story to reported speech.
(i) How much did you pay for that hilsa?
Ans: The woman asked the man how much he had paid for that hilsa.
(ii) Why is your face half-shaven?
Ans: Gopal’s wife asked him why his face was half-shaven.
(iii) I accept the challenge, Your Majesty.
Ans: Gopal told the king that he accepted the challenge.
(iv) I want to see the king.
Ans: Gopal told the guards that he wanted to see the king.
(v) Bring the man to me at once.
Ans: The king ordered the guard to bring the man to him at once.
2. Find out the meaning of the following words by looking them up in the dictionary. Then use them in sentences of your own.
challenge, mystic, comical, courtier, smearing
Ans:
challenge – a difficult task that tests someone’s ability
Sentence: The teacher gave us a math challenge to solve during the weekend.
mystic – a person who seeks spiritual truth or believes in mysterious things
Sentence: The old mystic lived alone in a small hut on the mountain.
comical – funny or amusing
Sentence: The clown made comical faces that made all the children laugh.
courtier – a person who attends a royal court as an advisor or companion to the king or queen
Sentence: The courtier bowed before the king and delivered the message.
smearing – spreading a substance on a surface in a rough or careless way
Sentence: The little boy was smearing paint all over the wall with his hands.
PICTURE READING
1. Look at the pictures and read the text aloud.
Ans: Please do by yourself.
2. Now ask your partner questions about each picture.
(i) Where is the stag?
Ans: The stag is standing beside a pond.
(ii) What is he doing?
Ans: The stag is looking at his reflection in the water of the pond.
(iii) Does he like his antlers (horns)?
Ans: Yes, the stag really likes his antlers and feels proud of them.
(iv) Does he like his legs?
Ans: No, the stag thinks his legs are too thin and ugly.
(v) Why is the stag running?
Ans: The stag is running because some hunters are chasing him.
(vi) Is he able to hide in the bushes?
Ans: No, he cannot hide properly because his antlers got stuck in the branches of the bushes.
(vii) Where are the hunters now?
Ans: The hunters are coming closer, just behind the stag.
(viii) Are they closing in on the stag?
Ans: Yes, the hunters are getting closer to the stag.
(ix) Is the stag free?
Ans: Yes, the stag finally got free and ran away because his legs could run very fast.
(x) What does the stag say about his horns and his legs?
Ans: The stag realizes that he was proud of his horns but they almost got him killed. He was ashamed of his thin legs, but they actually saved his life by helping him run fast.
3. Now write the story in your own words. Give it a title.
Ans: Title – The Stag’s Lesson
Once, a stag with beautiful antlers was drinking water from a pond. Looking at his reflection, he admired his grand antlers but disliked his thin legs.
“My antlers are so handsome, but my legs are too skinny and ugly,” he thought.
Suddenly, he heard hunters approaching with their dogs. The stag ran quickly on his thin legs. While running through the forest, he tried hiding in some bushes, but his antlers got stuck in the branches.
The hunters came closer as the stag struggled. Finally, he freed himself and escaped thanks to his fast legs.
Safe at last, the stag realized, “How strange! I was proud of my antlers, but they nearly got me killed. I hated my thin legs, but they saved my life by helping me run fast.”
The stag learned that what we think is our weakness might actually be our strength, and what we’re proud of might sometimes cause problems.
