Chapter 1 A Bottle of Dew
A heartwarming story by Sudha Murty about Rama Natha's journey from believing in magic to discovering the true value of hard work and perseverance.
Chapter Overview
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About the Story: Rama Natha, a rich landlord's son, believes in a magic potion that can turn things into gold. A wise sage tricks him into working hard on his land for six years, teaching him that real wealth comes from effort and perseverance.
Chapter Summary
Read the chapter summary in English and Hindi.
Part I: Rama Natha, the son of a rich landlord, is obsessed with finding a magic potion that can turn objects into gold. He spends all his time and money on this quest, ignoring his land. His wife, Madhumati, is worried about their future. One day, a sage named Mahipati visits their town. Rama Natha asks him about the potion, and the sage tells him that he must plant banana trees, collect morning dew for six years, and bring him five litres of dew to create the magic potion.
Part II: Rama Natha follows the sage's instructions diligently. He plants banana trees, tends to them, and collects dew every winter for six years. His wife helps him and sells the bananas in the market. After six years, he finally collects five litres of dew and takes it to the sage. The sage chants some words and returns the bottle. When Rama Natha tries it on a copper vessel, nothing happens. He is angry and feels cheated.
Conclusion: The sage then reveals that there is no magic potion. The gold coins that Madhumati shows are the earnings from selling the bananas. The sage explains that hard work created this wealth, not magic. Rama Natha understands the wisdom and works even harder on his plantation from that day on.
ā¤ā¤žā¤ I: ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ, ā¤ā¤ ⤧⤍āĨ ā¤ā¤ŽāĨā¤ā¤Ļā¤žā¤° ā¤ā¤ž ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤ž, ā¤ā¤ ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ˇā¤§ā¤ŋ ā¤āĨā¤ā¤¨āĨ ā¤ā¤ž ā¤ĻāĨā¤ĩā¤žā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĩ⤏āĨ⤤āĨā¤ā¤ ā¤āĨ ⤏āĨ⤍āĨ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤Ŧā¤Ļ⤞ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ĩā¤š ⤠ā¤Ēā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤¸ā¤žā¤°ā¤ž ā¤¸ā¤Žā¤¯ ā¤ā¤° ā¤ĒāĨā¤¸ā¤ž ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤āĨā¤ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠⤞ā¤ā¤ž ā¤ĻāĨā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤ā¤ŽāĨ⤍ ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤ĒāĨā¤āĨā¤ˇā¤ž ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ā¤¸ā¤āĨ ā¤Ē⤤āĨ⤍āĨ ā¤Žā¤§āĨā¤Žā¤¤āĨ ā¤ā¤¨ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤ĩā¤ŋ⤎āĨ⤝ ā¤āĨ ⤞āĨā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤ŋā¤ā¤¤ā¤ŋ⤤ ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ā¤ ā¤Ļā¤ŋ⤍, ā¤Žā¤šā¤ŋā¤Ē⤤ā¤ŋ ā¤¨ā¤žā¤Žā¤ ā¤ā¤ ā¤ĩā¤ŋā¤ĻāĨā¤ĩā¤žā¤¨ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤ā¤¨ā¤āĨ ā¤ļā¤šā¤° ā¤ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤ ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ā¤ā¤¨ā¤¸āĨ ā¤ā¤ˇā¤§ā¤ŋ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤žā¤°āĨ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ĒāĨā¤ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ā¤ā¤° ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤¤ā¤žā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ŋ ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĒāĨā¤Ąā¤ŧ ⤞ā¤ā¤žā¤¨āĨ ā¤šāĨā¤, ā¤ā¤š ā¤¸ā¤žā¤˛ ⤤⤠⤏āĨā¤Ŧā¤š ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤ā¤ā¤āĨā¤ ā¤ž ā¤ā¤°ā¤¨āĨ ā¤šāĨ, ā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ā¤Ēā¤žā¤ā¤ ⤞āĨā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤˛ā¤žā¤¨āĨ ā¤šāĨ ā¤¤ā¤žā¤ā¤ŋ ā¤ĩā¤š ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ˇā¤§ā¤ŋ ā¤Ŧā¤¨ā¤ž ⤏ā¤āĨāĨ¤
ā¤ā¤žā¤ II: ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤āĨ ⤍ā¤ŋ⤰āĨā¤ĻāĨā¤ļāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ž ā¤ā¤Žā¤žā¤¨ā¤Ļā¤žā¤°āĨ ⤏āĨ ā¤Ēā¤žā¤˛ā¤¨ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ĩā¤š ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĒāĨā¤Ąā¤ŧ ⤞ā¤ā¤žā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ā¤ā¤¨ā¤āĨ ā¤ĻāĨā¤ā¤ā¤žā¤˛ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤š ā¤¸ā¤žā¤˛ ā¤¤ā¤ ā¤šā¤° ⤏⤰āĨā¤ĻāĨ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤ā¤ā¤āĨā¤ ā¤ž ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ā¤¸ā¤āĨ ā¤Ē⤤āĨ⤍āĨ ā¤ā¤¸ā¤āĨ ā¤Žā¤Ļā¤Ļ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨ ā¤ā¤° ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤žā¤ā¤žā¤° ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤ā¤š ā¤¸ā¤žā¤˛ ā¤Ŧā¤žā¤Ļ, ā¤ĩā¤š ā¤ā¤ā¤ŋ⤰ā¤ā¤žā¤° ā¤Ēā¤žā¤ā¤ ⤞āĨā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤ā¤ā¤āĨā¤ ā¤ž ā¤ā¤° ⤞āĨā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ ā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ēā¤žā¤¸ ⤞āĨ ā¤ā¤žā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤āĨ⤠ā¤ļā¤ŦāĨā¤Ļ ā¤ŦāĨ⤞⤤āĨ ā¤šāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤° ā¤ŦāĨ⤤⤞ ā¤ĩā¤žā¤Ē⤏ ā¤ā¤° ā¤ĻāĨ⤤āĨ ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤ ā¤ā¤Ŧ ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ā¤ā¤ ā¤¤ā¤žā¤ā¤ŦāĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧ⤰āĨ⤤⤍ ā¤Ē⤰ ā¤ā¤ā¤Žā¤žā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ⤤āĨ ā¤āĨā¤ ā¤¨ā¤šāĨā¤ ā¤šāĨā¤¤ā¤žāĨ¤ ā¤ĩā¤š ā¤āĨ⤰āĨ⤧ā¤ŋ⤤ ā¤šāĨā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ ā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸āĨ ⤧āĨā¤ā¤ž ā¤Žā¤šā¤¸āĨ⤏ ā¤šāĨā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤
⤍ā¤ŋ⤎āĨā¤ā¤°āĨ⤎: ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ⤤ā¤Ŧ ā¤ĒāĨ⤰ā¤ā¤ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ŋ ā¤āĨ⤠ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ˇā¤§ā¤ŋ ā¤¨ā¤šāĨā¤ ā¤šāĨāĨ¤ ā¤Žā¤§āĨā¤Žā¤¤āĨ ā¤ĻāĨā¤ĩā¤žā¤°ā¤ž ā¤Ļā¤ŋā¤ā¤žā¤ ā¤ā¤ ⤏āĨ⤍āĨ ā¤āĨ ⤏ā¤ŋā¤āĨā¤āĨ ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤¨āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤Žā¤žā¤ ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤¸ā¤Žā¤ā¤žā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ŋ ā¤ā¤Ąā¤ŧāĨ ā¤ŽāĨā¤šā¤¨ā¤¤ ⤍āĨ ā¤¯ā¤š ⤧⤍ ā¤ĒāĨā¤Ļā¤ž ā¤ā¤ŋā¤¯ā¤ž ā¤šāĨ, ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ ā¤¨ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤ ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤āĨā¤ā¤žā¤¨ ā¤āĨ ā¤¸ā¤Žā¤ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤° ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤Ļā¤ŋ⤍ ⤏āĨ ⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤žā¤ā¤žā¤¨ ā¤Ē⤰ ā¤ā¤° ā¤āĨ ⤠⤧ā¤ŋā¤ ā¤ŽāĨā¤šā¤¨ā¤¤ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤āĨ ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤
Word Meanings
Learn the meanings of difficult words in English and Hindi.
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| large tracts of land | large areas of land |
| potion | a liquid with magical properties |
| give up | stop trying |
| dew | small drops of water on leaves that form during night |
| chant | to repeat or sing a word or phrase |
| tended | looked after |
| muttered | spoke in a low voice |
| precious | valuable |
| wisdom | deep understanding |
| ā¤ļā¤ŦāĨā¤Ļ (Word) | ā¤šā¤ŋā¤ā¤ĻāĨ ⤠⤰āĨā¤Ĩ (Hindi Meaning) |
|---|---|
| large tracts of land | ā¤āĨā¤Žā¤ŋ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤Ąā¤ŧāĨ ā¤āĨ⤎āĨ⤤āĨ⤰ |
| potion | ā¤ā¤ ⤤⤰⤞ ā¤Ēā¤Ļā¤žā¤°āĨā¤Ĩ ā¤ā¤ŋā¤¸ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ⤠ā¤āĨ⤪ ā¤šāĨ |
| give up | ā¤ĒāĨā¤°ā¤¯ā¤žā¤¸ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤āĨā¤Ąā¤ŧ ā¤ĻāĨā¤¨ā¤ž |
| dew | ā¤Ē⤤āĨ⤤ā¤ŋ⤝āĨ⤠ā¤Ē⤰ ā¤°ā¤žā¤¤ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤Ŧ⤍⤍āĨ ā¤ĩā¤žā¤˛āĨ ā¤Ēā¤žā¤¨āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤āĨā¤āĨ ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤ĻāĨ⤠|
| chant | ā¤ā¤ŋ⤏āĨ ā¤ļā¤ŦāĨā¤Ļ ā¤¯ā¤ž ā¤ĩā¤žā¤āĨā¤¯ā¤žā¤ā¤ļ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĻāĨā¤šā¤°ā¤žā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤¯ā¤ž ā¤ā¤žā¤¨ā¤ž |
| tended | ā¤ĻāĨā¤ā¤ā¤žā¤˛ ā¤āĨ |
| muttered | ⤧āĨā¤ŽāĨ ā¤ā¤ĩā¤žā¤ā¤ŧ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ŦāĨā¤˛ā¤ž |
| precious | ā¤āĨā¤Žā¤¤āĨ |
| wisdom | ā¤ā¤šā¤°āĨ ā¤¸ā¤Žā¤ |
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Exercise Solutions
Complete NCERT exercise solutions for Chapter 1 â A Bottle of Dew.
đ Let us discuss (Page 3)
đ Let us discuss (Page 5)
đ Let us think and reflect (Page 6-7)
1. He spent all his time to learn about the magic potion. People cheated him often, promising to tell him about it, but he did not give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this and also worried because she saw how much money Rama Natha was spending. She was sure that soon they would be without money.
B. Rama Natha was very happy digging his fields. â False (He did it for the magic potion, not happiness)
C. The sage wanted to show the right path to Rama Natha. â True
B. ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤āĨ⤤āĨ⤠ā¤āĨ ā¤āĨā¤Ļā¤žā¤ ā¤ā¤°ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤šāĨ⤤ ā¤āĨā¤ļ ā¤Ĩā¤žāĨ¤ â ⤠⤏⤤āĨ⤝ (ā¤ā¤¸ā¤¨āĨ ā¤¯ā¤š ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ˇā¤§ā¤ŋ ā¤āĨ ⤞ā¤ŋ⤠ā¤ā¤ŋā¤¯ā¤ž, ā¤āĨā¤ļāĨ ā¤āĨ ⤞ā¤ŋā¤ ā¤¨ā¤šāĨā¤)
C. ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ā¤āĨ ā¤¸ā¤šāĨ ā¤°ā¤žā¤¸āĨā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤Ļā¤ŋā¤ā¤žā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤ā¤žā¤šā¤¤āĨ ā¤ĨāĨāĨ¤ â ⤏⤤āĨ⤝
Explanation: Rama Natha gave the bottle to the sage (B), the sage smiled (A), he said something in a low voice (D), Rama Natha dropped a few drops on a copper vessel (C), and then he waited (E).
⤏āĨā¤Ē⤎āĨā¤āĨā¤ā¤°ā¤Ŗ: ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ⤍āĨ ā¤ŦāĨ⤤⤞ ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĻāĨ (B), ⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ā¤ŽāĨ⤏āĨā¤āĨā¤°ā¤žā¤ (A), ā¤ā¤¨āĨā¤šāĨā¤ā¤¨āĨ ⤧āĨā¤ŽāĨ ā¤ā¤ĩā¤žā¤ā¤ŧ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤āĨ⤠ā¤ā¤šā¤ž (D), ā¤°ā¤žā¤Žā¤¨ā¤žā¤Ĩ ⤍āĨ ā¤¤ā¤žā¤ā¤ŦāĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧ⤰āĨ⤤⤍ ā¤Ē⤰ ā¤āĨ⤠ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤ĻāĨā¤ ā¤Ąā¤žā¤˛āĨ⤠(C), ā¤ā¤° ā¤Ģā¤ŋ⤰ ā¤ā¤¸ā¤¨āĨ ā¤ā¤ā¤¤ā¤ā¤žā¤° ā¤ā¤ŋā¤¯ā¤ž (E)āĨ¤
Before meeting the sage: He was lazy, obsessed with magic, neglected his land, and spent money foolishly.
After meeting the sage: He worked hard, planted banana trees, collected dew, and became wealthy through his own efforts.
⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ⤏āĨ ā¤Žā¤ŋ⤞⤍āĨ ⤏āĨ ā¤Ēā¤šā¤˛āĨ: ā¤ĩā¤š ā¤ā¤˛ā¤¸āĨ ā¤Ĩā¤ž, ā¤ā¤žā¤ĻāĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĻāĨā¤ĩā¤žā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤Ĩā¤ž, ⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤ā¤ŧā¤ŽāĨ⤍ ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤ĒāĨā¤āĨā¤ˇā¤ž ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤Ĩā¤ž, ā¤ā¤° ā¤ŽāĨ⤰āĨā¤ā¤¤ā¤žā¤ĒāĨ⤰āĨā¤ĩ⤠ā¤ĒāĨ⤏āĨ ā¤ā¤°āĨ⤠ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤Ĩā¤žāĨ¤
⤏ā¤ā¤¤ ⤏āĨ ā¤Žā¤ŋ⤞⤍āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤Ŧā¤žā¤Ļ: ā¤ā¤¸ā¤¨āĨ ā¤ā¤Ąā¤ŧāĨ ā¤ŽāĨā¤šā¤¨ā¤¤ ā¤āĨ, ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤āĨ ā¤ĒāĨā¤Ąā¤ŧ ⤞ā¤ā¤žā¤, ā¤ā¤¸ ā¤ā¤ā¤āĨ⤠āĨ ā¤āĨ, ā¤ā¤° ⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤ĒāĨā¤°ā¤¯ā¤žā¤¸āĨ⤠⤏āĨ ā¤ ā¤ŽāĨ⤰ ā¤Ŧ⤍ ā¤ā¤¯ā¤žāĨ¤
đ Let us learn | Vocabulary Exercises
| Column A | Column B | Meaning of words in Column B |
|---|---|---|
| I | eye | the organ used for seeing |
| your | you're | short form of "you are" |
| dew | due | happening at some time in the future |
| son | sun | the star that gives us light and heat |
| one | won | past tense of win |
| ate | eight | the number 8 |
| see | sea | a large body of salt water |
1. dew / due â The dew on the grass was due to the cold night.
2. son / sun â My son loves to play in the sun.
3. ate / eight â I ate eight bananas for breakfast.
4. see / sea â I can see the sea from my window.
1. dew / due â ā¤ā¤žā¤¸ ā¤Ē⤰ ā¤ā¤¸ ⤠ā¤ā¤ĄāĨ ā¤°ā¤žā¤¤ ā¤āĨ ā¤ā¤žā¤°ā¤Ŗ ā¤ĨāĨāĨ¤
2. son / sun â ā¤ŽāĨā¤°ā¤ž ā¤ŦāĨā¤ā¤ž ⤧āĨā¤Ē ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤āĨā¤˛ā¤¨ā¤ž ā¤Ē⤏ā¤ā¤Ļ ā¤ā¤°ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨāĨ¤
3. ate / eight â ā¤ŽāĨā¤ā¤¨āĨ ā¤¨ā¤žā¤ļāĨ⤤āĨ ā¤ŽāĨ⤠ā¤ā¤ ā¤āĨ⤞āĨ ā¤ā¤žā¤āĨ¤
4. see / sea â ā¤ŽāĨ⤠⤠ā¤Ē⤍āĨ ā¤ā¤ŋā¤Ąā¤ŧā¤āĨ ⤏āĨ ā¤¸ā¤ŽāĨā¤ĻāĨ⤰ ā¤ĻāĨ⤠⤏ā¤ā¤¤ā¤ž ā¤šāĨā¤āĨ¤
| Column A | Connecting Words | Column B |
|---|---|---|
| The children submitted their work (When?) | because | the bell rang. |
| He did not want to try rock climbing (Why?) | before | there was a traffic jam. |
| The children ran towards the gate (When?) | as soon as | the deadline. |
| Nitin was late to school today (Why?) | as | of his fear of heights. |
The children submitted their work before the deadline.
He did not want to try rock climbing because of his fear of heights.
The children ran towards the gate as soon as the bell rang.
Nitin was late to school today as there was a traffic jam.
Bunty bhaiya bought a big bunch of bananas.
A big bunch of bananas was bought by Bunty bhaiya.
Answer: Here are a few simple tongue twisters with the letter B
(i) Brave Bobby baked brown bread before breakfast.
(ii) Big blue birds built beautiful bamboo baskets.
(iii) Betty bought bright blue balloons for Ben.
(iv) Busy bees buzzed beside blooming bushes.
(v) Benny's black bear balanced on a big blue ball.
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