Poem 9. Garden Snake

Textual Questions and Exercises

Q1. Answer the following questions.

 (i) Pick out the line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes.

(ii) Which line shows a complete change of the child’s attitude towards snakes? Read it aloud.

(iii) “But mother says that kind is good…” What is mother referring to?

 Ans. (i) The line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes is ‘I saw a snake and ran away…’

(ii) ‘I’ll stand aside and watch him pass,

And tell myself, “There’s no mistake,

It’s just a harmless garden snake!”’

(iii) The mother is referring to the harmless garden snake.

Q2. Find the word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass.

 Ans. The word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass is ‘wiggles’.

Q3. There are four pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Say them aloud.

 Ans. (i)  ‘Away’ – ‘say’

(ii) ‘Good’ – ‘food’

(iv) ‘Grass’ – ‘pass’

(iv) ‘Mistake’ – ‘snake’

Q4. A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast. Can you guess how? Discuss in the group.

 Ans. A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast as it slides over the grass with the help of its scales.

Q5. Can you recall the word used for a cobra’s long sharp teeth? Where did you come across this word first?

 Ans. Cobra’s long sharp teeth are like two bows or forks that are ready to chase you down. It makes me frightened. They are called fangs which is hollow tube attached to a poisonous gland on one side. I came across these words as it looks very dangerous and sharp like knife.