NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Question And Answers

The Chapter ‘The Banyan Tree’ Has Been Written By Ruskin Bond. It Is A Story That Celebrates The Beauty Of Nature Found In The Grandfather’s House Of The Author In Dehradun. The Author Narrates A Classic Fight Between A Cobra And A Mongoose.

The Fight between the Cobra and the Mongoose

The fight between the cobra and the mongoose is a fight often seen in India. The mongoose is not immune to cobra’s poison. However, it is faster and quicker than the cobra.

The cobra assumes a posture of defense and attempts to reach the animal, but the quick-moving mongoose jumps out of reach and tries to kill the snake. This movement tires and discourages the snake and the mongoose is finally able to kill the snake by biting its neck.

Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Question And Answers Part 1

Grandfather’s House in Dehradun

The author talks about his grandfather’s house in Dehradun. He talks about an old banyan tree in the garden. The author says that the old banyan tree was his tree because his sixty-five-year-old father could no longer. climb it. The tree was even older than his grandfather and the house itself. It was as old as Dehradun.

The many branches and its structure which had squirrels, snails, and butterflies made the author happy. The author used to hide in its branches and behind its thick green leaves.

Author and the Squirrel

The author’s first friend was a small gray squirrel. The squirrel didn’t like the author at first. But it became friendly when it found out that the author didn’t carry any, thing (catapult or air gun) to harm the squirrel.

Then, it grew bold when the author started bringing pieces of cake and biscuits for it. The squirrel soon began to take food from the hands and pockets of the author. The squirrel was very young and the author wondered whether its relatives thought that it was foolish to trust a human.

The Magnificent Banyan Tree

During springtime, Birds Such As Bulbuls, Parrots, Myna, And Crows Would Come To The Banyan Tree To Eat The Small Red Figs. As A Result, The Tree Would Become The Noisiest Place In The Garden.

The Author Had Built A Platform On The Tree Where He Would Spend His Afternoons And Read Books Like Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn, And The Story Of Dr. Dolittle. When The Author Did Not Feel Like Reading, He Would Look Down Through The Leaves. On A Hot Afternoon, The Author Witnessed A Classic Fight Between A Cobra And A Mongoose.

Part 2

The Cobra and the Mongoose

On A Hot Afternoon, The Author Was Feeling Sleepy And Wondering Whether He Should Go And Swim In The Pond With Ramu And The Buffaloes. Then, He Saw A Big, Black Cobra Slide Out Of The Thick Bush Of Cactus.

A Mongoose Also Emerged From The Bushes And Started A Fight With The Cobra. The Cobra Knew That The Three Feet Long, Gray Mongoose Was Clever, Violent, And A Very Skillful Fighter’

The Cobra Too Was A Skillful And Experience Fighter. It Could Strike Quickly And Carried Deadly Poison In Its Sharp Teeth’ As The Fight Was About To Start, The Cobra Raised Half Of His Body From The Ground And Spread His Broad Hood’ The Mongoose Bushed His Tail And The Long Hair On His Spine Stood Up.

The Battle of Champions

The fight between the cobra and the mongoose began. This battle had three viewers – the author, a myna, and a jungle crow. The myna and the jungle crow sat on the cactus to see the fight. However, they soon became participants in the fight.

The cobra stood on the defensive while moving slowly from side to side trying to attract the mongoose into making a false move. The mongoose knew the power of the cobra’s glassy eyes, so it focused just below the cobra’s hood. The mongoose then, attacked the cobra.

The mongoose quickly came near the cobra and pretended to move to one side. Immediately the cobra tried to bite the mongoose. The author thought the mongoose would be killed. But the mongoose jumped to one side, but the snake on the back and jumped away.

The Fate of the Crow

When The Cobra Was Trying To Bite The Mongoose, The Myna, And The Crow Tried To Hit The Cobra But They Missed The First Two Times. They Kept Hitting Each Other Instead. After Each Attempt, They Would Insult Each Other And Sit Back On The Cactus. In The Third Round, However, Both Of Them Did Not Hit Each Other. They Missed The Cobra And Tried To Fly Back To The Cactus.

The Myna Was Successful But The Crow Was Not’ The Crow Was Trying To Fly Up When The Cobra Bit It With Force. The Crow Fell Twenty Feet Away And Stopped Moving. After That, The Myna Decided To Stop Attacking The Cobra.

The Winner of the Classic Battle

When The Cobra Started Getting Tired, The Mongoose Took The Opportunity To Attack. It Walked Up To The Cobra Fearlessly And Caught The Cobra By Its Mouth. The Cobra Struggled And Wrapped Itself Around The Mongoose, But It Was Of No Use. When It Stopped Moving, The Mongoose Dragged It Into The Bushes. The Myna Congratulated The mongoose with a shrill cry and flew away.

Word Meaning

Ncert Folder Working With The Text

Question 1. Complete The Following Sentences.

1. The Old Banyan Tree ‘Did Not Belong’to Because…………….
2. The Small Grey Squirrel Became Friendly When
3. When The Boy Started To Bring Him Pieces Of Cake And Biscuits, The Squirrel
4. Ln The Spring, The Banyan Tree
5. And ………………. Would Come There.
6. The Banyan Tree Served The Boy As A ………….
7. The young boy spent his afternoon in the tree……….

Answer:

1. The 65-year-old man could not climb on it
2. It Found That The Boy Did Not Carry Any Catapult Or Air Gun In His Hand
3. Became Bold Enough To Take Pieces Of Food From His Hand And Pocket
4. Was Full Of Small Red Figs And Birds Of All Kinds
5. Platform To Sit, Read And Spend The Afternoon In
6. Leaning Against It, Reading Storybooks

Answer the following questions.

Question 1. it was to be a battle of champions.”

What qualities did the two champions have? Pick out words and phrases from the paragraph above this line in the text and write them down.

Answer:

Question 2. What did the cobra and the mongoose do, to show their readiness for the fight?
Answer: The cobra produced a hissing sound and moved his tongue in and out to challenge the mongoose’ It raised itself off the ground and spread its broad hood. The mongoose moved his tail and the long hair on his spine stood up

Question 2. Who were the other two spectators? What did they do? (Did they watch or did they join in the fight?)
Answer: Apart from the author, the other two spectators were a myna and a jungle crow. First, they sat on the cactus to watch the outcome of the fight. Later, they tried to take part in the proceedings and tried to attack the cobra three times but failed’ The crow died at the end after the cobra attacked it’ The mongoose dragged the dead snake into the bushes and the myna flew away safely

Question 3. Read The Descriptions Below Of What The Snake Did And What The Mongoose Did’ Arrange Their Actions In The Proper Order.

Answer:

Question 1. What happened to the crow in the end?
Answer: The crow became a victim of snakebites and died in the end.

Question 2. What did the myna do finally?
Answer: The myna decided not to interfere in the fight’ After the snake was killed and dragged into the bushes by the mongoose, the myna flew away.

Working With Language

Question 1. The word ’round’ usually means a kind of shape’ What is its meaning in the story?
Answer: Here, it means a number in a series of events

Question 2. Find five words in the following paragraph, which are generally associated with trees’ But here, they have been used differently. Underline the words’ Hari leaves for work at nine every morning’ He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner’ Hari’s success is the fruit of his labor. He is happy, but he has a small problem. The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office. The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.
Answer: Hari leaves for work at nine every morning’ He works in the local branch of the firm of which his uncle is the owner. Hari’s success is the fruit of his labor. He is happy, but he has a small problem’ The root cause of his problem is a stray dog near his office’ The dog welcomes Hari with a loud bark every day.

Question 3. The words in the box are all words that describe movement. Use them to fill in the blanks in the sentences below

1. When he began to trust me, the squirrel began ………. into my pockets for morsels of cake’
2. I saw a cobra …….. out of a clump of cactus
3. The snake hissed, his forked tongue. in and out.
4. When the cobra tried to bite it, the mongoose ….. aside.
5. The snake …….. his head ……. to strike at the crow.
6. The birds,….. at the snake.

Answer:

1. delving
2. gliding
3. darting
4. sprang
5. whipped, back
6. dived

Question 3. Find words in the story, which show things striking violently against each other.

1. The cobra struck the crow, his snout th………ing against its body.
2. The crow and the myna c…11… in mid-air. (13)
3. The birds dived at the snake, but b……d into each other instead.

Answer:

1. Thudding
2. Collided
3. Bumped

Question 4. Look At These Sentences

• ln the spring, birds of all Grandfather, at sixty-five, kind would flock into the could no longer climb the banyan tree’s branches.
• Grandfather, at sixty-five, could no longer climb the banyan tree
• I could hide myself in its branches
• I would spend the afternoons there.
• I could look down through the leaves at the world below.
• I could read there.
• Would’ tell us what the author used to do author was usually able to or what used to happen
• Could tell us what the author used to do author was usually able to do or what grandfather is now not able to do

Choose Would And Could To Replace The Italicised Words In The Following Sentences.

Grandfather says, in the old days,

1. Elephants were able to fly in the sky, like clouds. They were also able to change their shapes. They used to fly behind clouds and frighten them. People used to look up at the sky in wonder.
2. because there was no electricity, he used to get up with the Sun and he used to go to bed with the Sun, like the birds.
3. like the owl, he was able to see quite well in the dark. He was able to tell who was coming by listening to their footsteps

Answer:

1. Elephants could fly in the sky, like clouds. They could also change their shapes. They would fly behind clouds and frighten them. People would Look up at the sky in wonder.
2. Because there was no electricity, he would get up with the Sun and he would go to bed with the Sun, like the birds.
3. Like the owl, he could see quite well in the dark. He could tell, who was coming by listening to their footsteps.

Speaking

Question 1. Look at these sentences.

The tree was older than my grandfather.

Grandfather was 65 years old.

How old was the tree? Can you guess?

The tree was as old as Dehradun itself.

Suppose Dehradun is 300 years old. How old is the tree?

When two things are the same in some way, we use as…as.

Here is another set of examples.

Mr. Sinha is 160 cm tall.

Mr. Gupta is 180 cm tall.

Mrs. Gupta is 160 cm tall.

Mrs. Gupta is as tal/ as Mr. Sinha.

Use the words in the box to speak about the people and the things below, using as… as or -er than.

(Notice that in the word ‘hot’, the letter ‘t’ is doubled when -er is added.)

• Zeba is as tall as Rani.
• Zeba is taller than Ruby.
• Rani is taller than Ruby.
• Ruby is shorter than Zeba and Rani.

Question 2. Weight Lifters

• Vijay Is As Strong As Akshay.
• Anwar Is Stronger Than Vijay As Well As Akshay’
• Neither Akshay Nor Vijay Is As Strong As Anwar

Question 3. City Temperatures

• Shimla is as cold as Gangtok.
• Srinagar is colder than Shimla.
• Shimla is not colder than Srinagar.

Question 4. Lengths

• Romi’s pencil is as long as Raja’s pencil.
• Mona’s pencil is longer than Raja’s pencil.
• Romi’s pencil is shorter than Mona’s pencil.

Question 5. City Temperatures

• Delhi is as hot as Nagpur
• Delhi is hotter than Chennai.
• Chennai is not as hot as either Delhi or Nagpur.

Writing

My favorite place 

Read Again The Paragraphs Of The Story In Which The Author Describes The Banyan Tree And What He Used To Do There. Is There A Place In Your House Or Your Grandparents’ Or Uncles’ Or Aunts’ Houses, That You Especially Like? Write A Short Paragraph About It, Saying

• where it is.
• what do you do there?
• Why do You like it?

You may instead write about a place you dislike or are afraid of.
Answer: My Favourite Place Is My Uncle’s House In Mumbai. I Usually Visit Him With My Family During Vacations. He Is A Painter And Has A Big Room Where All His Paintings Are Kept. His Colours And Brushes Are Kept In The Room.

I Spend Long Hours In His Room, Watching And Admiring His Paintings. Sometimes, I Also Try To Draw Some Sketches. I Like This Place Because I Like Drawing And Painting. I Have Requested Him To Teach Me How To Paint. I Would like to Have My Place Like His Someday

NCERT Class 6 English Literature Prose Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Multiple Choice Questions

Question 1. What is the main idea of paragraphs 1, and 2?

1. The history of the banyan tree.
2. The physical appearance of the banyan tree.
3. The writer’s relationship with the banyan tree.
4. The importance of the banyan tree for the family.

Answer: 2. The physical appearance ofthe banyan tree

2. The squirrel initially ……… the writer’s invasion of his privacy.

1. Resented
2. Liked
3. Loved
4. Both 1 and 2

Answer: 1. resented

Question 3. He Was A Very Young Squirrel And His Friends And Relatives Probably Thought Him Footish And Headstrong For Trusting A Human.

1. What Does The Line Above Show About The Writer?
2. He Was Imaginative. Competent-Oy Based
3. He Understood Animal Behaviour.
4. He Had A Keen Sense Of Observation.
5. He Wanted To Prove He Was Trustworthy.

Answer: 3. He Had A Keen Sense Of Observation.

Question 4. What Did The Writer Offer The Squirrel?

1. Pieces Of cake, Peanuts
2. Peanuts, Biscuits
3. Biscuits, Pieces Ofcake
4. Pieces Of cake, Peanuts, Biscuits

Answer: 3. Biscuits, Pieces Ofcake

Question 5. Read The Given Statements And Choose The Correct Answer.

1. Statement 1 The Author’s Grandfather Had A Magnificent Banyan Tree In His House.
2. Statement 2 The Author Loved To Sit On The Branches of Trees and Read Books.
3. Statement 1 Is Correct But Statement 2 is Incorrect.
4. Statement 2 Is Correct But Statement 1 Is Incorrect.
5. Both The Statements Are Correct.
6. Both The Statements Are Incorrect.

Answer: 3. Both The Statements Are Correct

Question 6. Which Of The Following Books Was Not Part Of The Banyan Tree Library?

1. Treasure Island
2. Huck blueberry firm
3. The Story Of Dr. Dolittle
4. Midnight’s Children

Answer: 4. Midnight’s Children

Question 7. At The Beginning Of Part Ll, Why Was No One Outside?

1. It Was Hot.
2. Everyone Was Sleeping.
3. The Cobra Had Scared People Away.
4. People Had Gone To See Ramu’s Buffaloes.

Answer: 1. It Was Hot.

Question 8. What Does The Phrase ‘Grandstand View’ Mean?

1. View From A Very High Place.
2. Clear View From The Best Position.
3. A Magnificient Scene.
4. A Large Crowd.

Answer: 2. Clear View From The Best Position.

Question 9. Ln A Clearing Beneath The Banyan Tree, In Bright Sunshine, They Came Face To Face, The Underlined Word In The Line Means

1. A Closed Space.
2. An Open Space In A Park.
3. An Open Space In A Jungle Where There Are Lots of Oftrees.
4. An Open Space In A Lungle Where There Are No Trees.

Answer: 4. An Open Space In A Jungle Where There Are No Trees

Question 10. The long hair on the …… of the mongoose stood up.

1. Tail
2. Head
3. Back
4. Pine

Answer: 4. pine

Question 11. Had they been content only to watch, all would have been well with both of them.

1. What does the writer do in the line above?
2. Mock the curiosity of the birds.
3. Explain the role ofthe birds in the fight.
4. Suggests that bird-watching fights are common.

Answer: 1. Hint at the future of the birds.

Question 12. What Is The Main Purpose Of Part 2 Of The Text?

1. To Narrate An Interesting Incident
2. To Describe The Nature Of Animal Fights
3. To Prove That Mongooses Are Smarter Than Snakes
4. To Explain Why Snakes And Mongooses Are Enemies

Answer: 1. To Narrate An Interesting Incident

Question 13. Read The Given Statements And Choose The Correct Answer.

1. Statement 1 The Author Loved To Read Fantasy Books Like Treasure Island.
2. Statement 2 The Author Loved To Read Religious Books Like The Torah.
3. Statement 1 Is Correct but Statement 2 Is Incorrect’
4. Statement 2 Is Correct But Statement 1 Is Incorrect’
5. Both The Statements Are Correct.
6. Both The Statements Are Incorrect.

Answer: 1. Statement 1 Is Correct But Statement 2 Is Incorrect’

Question 14. Arrange The Following Options In The Correct Sequence.

1. The Cobra Hit The Crow With Its Snout And Killed It
2. The Author Wondered Whether He Should Swim In The Pond.
3. The Mongoose Dragged The Dead Snake To The Bushes.
4. A Black Cobra And A Mongoose Came Face To Face In The Clearing.

Choose The correct option 

1. (1), (2), (3), (4)
2. (4), (3), (2), (1)
3. (2), (4), (1), (3)
4. (1), (2), (4), (4)

Answer: 3. (2), (4), (1), (3)

Extract Eased Questions

Question 1. Read The Extract Given Below And Answer The Questions That Follow.

My First Friend Was A Small Grey Squirrel. Arching His Back And Sniffing Into The Air, He Seemed At First To Resent My Invasion Of His Privacy.

But When He Found That I Did Not Arm Myself With a Catapult Or an Air Gun, He Became Friendly And When I Started Bringing Him Pieces Of Cake And Biscuit He Grew Quite Bold And Was Soon Taking Morsels From Hand.

Before Long, He Was Delving Into My Pockets And Helping Himself To Whatever He Could Find. He Was A Very Young Squirrel And His Friends And Relatives Probably Thought Him Foolish And Headstrong For Trusting A Human.

1. What did the author bring for the squirrel?
Answer: The author brought pieces of cake and biscuits for the squirrel.

2. What happened when the squirrel became bold?
Answer: When the squirrel became bold, he started taking morsels from the author’s hand and searching for food in the author’s Pocket.

3. Do you think the squirrel liked the author at first?
Answer: No, the squirrel did not like the author at first and resented the author’s invasion ofhis privacy.

4. The word ………… in the extract is the opposite of ‘wise’.
Answer: ‘foolish’

5. The word ‘morsels’ in the extract means
Answer: small pieces of food

Question 2. Read The Extract Given Below And Answer The Questions That Follow

In A Clearing Beneath The Banyan Tree, In Bright Sunshine, They Came Face-To-Face. The Cobra Knew Only Too Well That The Grey Mongoose, 3 Ft Long, Was A Superb Fighter, Clever And Aggressive.

But The Cobra, Too, Was A Skillful And Experienced Fighter. He Could Move Swiftly And Strike With The Speed Of Light And The Sacs Behind His Long Sharp Fangs Were Full Of Deadly Poison. It Was To Be A Battle Of Champions.

1. ‘They’ In The First Line Of The Extract Refers To
Answer: The Cobra And The Mongoose.

2. What Kind Of Skills Does The Mongoose Possess?
Answer: Mongooses Are Superb Fighter, Clever And Aggressive

3. Write One Feature Of A Cobra.
Answer: The Sacs Behind A Cobra’s Long Fangs Are Full Of Deadly Poison.

4. Which Fight Was The Battle Of Champions?
Answer: The Fight Between The Cobra And The Mongoose Was The Battle Of The Champion.

5. Which Word In The Extract Is The Opposite Of ‘Slowly’?
Answer: ‘Swiftly’in The Extract Is The Opposite Of ‘Slowly”

Question 3. Read The Extract Given Below And Answer The Questions That Follow.

Though The Combatants Were Unaware Of My Presence In The Tree, They Were Soon Made Aware Of The Arrival Of Two Other Spectators. One Was A Myna, The Other A Jungle Crow. They Had Seen These Preparations For Battle And Had Settled On The Cactus To Watch The Outcome. Had They Been Content Only To Watch, All Would Have Been Well with Both Of Them.

Question 1.’The Combatants In The First Line Of The Extract Refer To

1. The Crow And The Squirrel
2. The Cobra And The Mongoose
3. The Myna And The Crow
4. The Myna And The Mongoose

Answer: 2. The Cobra And The Mongoose

Question 2. Where Was The Writer In The Extract?

1. On A Tree
2. On A Hill
3. In A Car
4. In A Hut

Answer: 1. On A Tree

Question 3. Who Had Settled On The Cactus To Watch The Outcome?

1. The Cobra
2. Thejunglecrow
3. The Myna
4. Both (2) And (3)

Answer: (4) Both (2) And (3)

Question 4. The Opposite Of ‘Presence’as Used In The Extract Is

1. Absent
2. stain
3. Absence
4. Participation

Answer: 3. Absence

Question 5. The Word ‘Combatants’ As Used In The Extract Means

1. Participants In A Summit
2. Participants In A Rehearsal
3. Participants In A Debate
4. Participants In A Fight

Answer: 4. Participants In A Fight

Question 4. Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow.

I saw the bird flung nearly twenty feet across the garden. lt fluttered about for a while, then lay still The myna remained on the cactus plant and when the snake and the mongoose returned to the fight, very wisely decided not to interfere again!

1. ‘The bird’ in the first line of the extract refers to the myna

1. The jungle crow
2. The Sparrow
3. The pigeon

Answer: 2. the jungle crow

Question 2. What happened to the bird?

1. It had been struck by the cobra.
2. It had been struck by the mongoose.
3. It had been struck by lightning.
4. It had been struck by the myna.

Answer: 1. Ithadbeen the cobra.

Question 3. ‘Lay still’ in the extract means

1. To lie on one side
2. To lie upside down
3. To lie motionless
4. To lie moving from side to side

Answer: 3. To lie motionless

Question 4. The opposite of ‘wisely’ is cruelly

1. Innocently
2. Foolishly
3. Thoughtfully

Answer: 3. foolishly

Question 4.’The bird’ in the extract

1. Had been badly injured
2. Had been pretending to be asleep
3. Had died
4. Had survived

Answer: 3. had died

Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Question And Answers Part 2 Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. Where was the author’s grandfather’s house? Diksha
Answer: The author’s grandfather’s house was in Dehradun.

Question 2. Who was the author’s first friend? Diksha
Answer: The author’s first friend was a small grey squirrel.

Question 3. The squirrel became quite fearless towards the writer. Justify the statement using evidence from the StOry.
Answer: The following statement shows that the squirrel became quite fearless towards the writer: “Before long he has was delving into my pockets and helping to whatever he could find.

Question 4. When was the banyan tree the noisiest place in the garden?
Answer: The banyan tree was the noisiest place in the garden during the fig season.

Question 5. Why did the banyan tree become noisy in spring?
Answer: The banyan tree became noisy in spring because birds of all kinds would flock to its branches.

Question 6. Name some books which made up the author’s library.
Answer: Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn, and The Story of Dr. Dolittle were some of the books that made up the author’s banyan tree library’

Question 7. What did the author like to do apart from reading?
Answer: When the author did not feel like reading, he used to look down through the leaves at the world below’

Question 8. What did the author see one afternoon? Diksha
Answer: One afternoon, the author saw a fight between a mongoose and a cobra.

Question 9. Who was unaware of the author’s presence on the tree?
Answer: The snake and the mongoose were unaware of the author’s presence on the tree’

Question 10. Why did the snake try to mesmerize the mongoose?
Answer: The snake tried to mesmerize the mongoose to persuade him to make a false move.

Question 11. Who was participating in the fight? Diksha
Answer: A myna and a crow were also participating in the flight.

Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Question And Answers Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. How did the squirrel become friendly with the author?
Answer: The young squirrel became friendly when it found that the author did not wish to harm him with a catapult or an air gun. The author did not want to harm it and brought him pieces of cake and biscuits.

Question 2. How did the crow die in the fight between the cobra and the mongoose?
Answer: The crow and the myna tried to interfere in the fight. They dived at the cobra and missed their mark twice. However, during the third time, the cobra struck the crow with great force. The crow flung nearly 20 feet across the garden and died.

Question 3. Do you think the myna behaved cleverly? Give a reason to support your answer. Or The Myna learned its lesson. Justify the statement using evidence from the story.
Answer: Yes, the myna behaved in a clever way’ It always reached a safer place after diving at the cobra. When the myna realized that it could lose its life if it interfered in the cobra’s and the mongoose’s fight, it sat back on the cactus. It now only saw the fight and after the mongoose had killed the cobra, it flew away.

Chapter 8 The Banyan Tree Question And Answers Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. How did the mongoose manage to kill the snake?
Answer: Though both the cobra and the mongoose were champions, the mongoose behaved cleverly. The mongooses are superb and aggressive fighters. Even though the cobra tried to mesmerize the mongoose, it knew the power of his opponent’s glassy eyes. The mongoose fixed his gaze at a point below the cobra’s hood and opened the attack.

He was clever enough to make a pretended move. He defended himself well, biting the snake. The cobra coiled itself about the mongoose, but was not successful’ The cobra could not struggle more and died at the end.

Question 2. Describe the garden where the author used to spend his afternoon.
Answer: The garden has a magnificent old banyan tree. The tree was older than the house and his grandfather, who was sixty-five at the time. Its branches were spread everywhere. The author used to hide in its branches and spy on the world below. It was home to squirrels, snails, and butterflies.

During the spring season, the tree was full of small red figs, and birds such as bulbul, parrots, myna, and crows would flock to its branches. The tree would become the noisiest place in the garden’

Question 3. Why should one never underestimate the power of one’s opponent?
Answer: One should never underestimate the power of one’s opponent because such a behavior develops overconfidence which leads to failure. In the story Banyan Tree’, the cobra knew that the grey mongooses were superb fighters and clever too.

But the cobra made wrong decisions, fell into the mongoose’s trap, and died in the end. Instead of giving full attention to the mongoose, the cobra focused on killing the crow and the myna. The cobra killed the crow, but could not save itself.

Question 4. The author used the old banyan tree as his place. Justify the statement.
Answer: The author used the magnificient old banyan tree all by himself since grandfather could no longer climb it’ It had thick green leaves which allowed the author to hide in the tree branches and spy on the world below. The author had built a crude platform where he would spend the afternoons when it was not too hot.

He would lean against the tree with a cushion and read from the books he had collected. The little library atop the banyan tree consisted of books like Treasure Island, Huckleberry Finn, and the story of Dr. Dolittle when he didn’t read, he would look at the world below.