“A Secret” is a lesson of Class 8 Textbook of MPBSE. Here all the Exercises Questions are done by teachers.
1. Fill in the blank spaces using the rhyming words given below:
Rhyming Words: wrong, tree, weep
(i) We are three under the sweet cherry tree.
(ii) When I sing a song, I am never wrong.
(iii) When I sleep I never weep.
2. ‘G’ has two different sounds: ज as in ‘page’ and ग as in ‘pig’. Classify the words given below accordingly.
Words to classify:
giraffe, bridge, cage, gem, leg, gun, gate, giant, glass, gypsy, age, go, bag, grass, message, twig
| giraffe (ज sound) | glass (ग sound) |
|---|---|
| giraffe | glass |
| bridge | leg |
| cage | gun |
| gem | gate |
| giant | go |
| gypsy | bag |
| age | grass |
| message | twig |
Comprehension
Answer the following questions:
a. Who is the speaker in the poem?
The speaker in the poem is the poet, a young boy.
b. Who told the secret to the boy?
The tree told the secret to the boy.
c. In the second stanza the poet says, “And laid the four little….. something in it?” What does the poet mean by ‘four little’?
By ‘four little,’ the poet refers to the four eggs laid by the robin in her nest.
d. Who told the secret to the tree?
The robin told the secret to the tree.
e. When will the secret be out?
The secret will be out when the little birds fly out of the nest.
f. What is the secret?
The secret is that the robin has built a nest in the cherry tree and laid four eggs in it.
g. The poet says, “Just we three.” The first one is a bird, the second one is the poet himself. Who is the third one?
The third one is the sweet cherry tree.
Let’s Read
Read the poem carefully:
The leaves said, “It’s spring,
And here are we,
Opening and stretching
On every tree.”
The leaves said, ” It’s summer
Each bird has a nest,
We make the shadow
Where they can rest.
The leaves said, “It’s autumn,
Aren’t we all gay?”
Scarlet and golden
And russet were they.
The leaves said, “It’s winter,
Weary are we.”
So they lay down and slept
Under the tree.
Questions and Answers:
(i) What did the leaves say in the spring?
The leaves said, “It’s spring, and here are we, opening and stretching on every tree.”
(ii) In which season do birds make nests in the trees?
Birds make nests in the trees during the summer season.
(iii) What did the leaves say in the autumn?
The leaves said, “It’s autumn, aren’t we all gay?” and described themselves as scarlet, golden, and russet.
(iv) What happened to the leaves in the winter?
In winter, the leaves said they were weary, and they lay down and slept under the tree.
(v) Give an appropriate title to the poem.
An appropriate title for the poem is “The Life of Leaves”.
Look at the picture given with the poem “A secret” carefully and describe it in at least five to six sentences.
The picture accompanying the poem “A Secret” shows a boy standing under a large cherry tree. The tree is full of leaves, and on one of its branches, there is a nest where a bird, likely a robin, is sitting. The boy seems to be observing the bird and the nest with curiosity and wonder. In the background, there are hills and a clear sky, adding a peaceful and serene touch to the scene. The bird appears to be guarding its nest, which contains its young ones, as suggested by the poem. This image beautifully complements the theme of the poem, where the boy, the bird, and the tree share a special secret.