This is Jody’s Fawn Summary & Solution - CBSE Class 8 English Honeydew chapter 6

Summary 

Jody, a little lad, came across a frail fawn in the woods. The poor creature was in pain and terrified. Jody's heart broke for it, and he resolved to care for the fawn. He brought it home despite knowing his family would be upset.

Jody's parents were anxious. They were kind, but they were aware that rearing a fawn may be difficult. They were also concerned that it would have an impact on their farm and disrupt their way of life. Jody's commitment to save the fawn, on the other hand, won them over.

He made a comfortable home for the deer in the barn, feeding it milk and tending to its wounds. Jody spent time with the fawn every day, making sure it felt loved and protected. In turn, the fawn became attached to Jody, following him around and nuzzling against him.

Their secret, however, could not be hidden indefinitely. Jody's father discovered the fawn one day. He appreciated Jody's concern for the farm, but he was concerned about its future. Jody was devastated when his father told him they couldn't keep the fawn.

Jody prepared to say goodbye to his cherished friend with a sad heart. But fate had other plans. The mother of the deer, who had been looking for her offspring, came. It was a heartfelt reunion. The fawn returned to its mother, now cured and powerful.

Jody had a combination of emotions: grief that she had to let go of the fawn, but yet joy that it was back where it belonged. Jody learned compassion, responsibility, and the bittersweet aspect of letting go as a result of her experience.

Jody kept thinking about the fawn as time passed. He knew that even though they were apart, the link they shared would live on in his heart forever. He learnt to treasure the memories and lessons the fawn taught him.

Jody's fawn's story reminds us the value of caring for others, even if it requires making sacrifices. It exemplifies the purity of infancy, the delight of making connections, and the significance of realizing that certain relationships are intended to teach us and then set us free.

Jody got wiser in the end. He recognized that, while it was difficult to say goodbye, it was sometimes the greatest thing for those we care about. He took the teachings of love, compassion, and letting go with him for the rest of his life, grateful for the brief but profound time he spent with the deer.

The story of Jody's fawn tells us that love has no borders and that even the most insignificant act of compassion may form a relationship that lasts a lifetime.

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English Honeydew Chapter 6 This is Jody’s Fawn

Comprehension Check (Page 86)

Questions:

1. What had happened to Jody’s father?
2. How did the doe save Penny’s life?
3. Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?
4. How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?

Answers:

1. A rattlesnake had bitten Jody's father.
2. Jody's father was the one who murdered the doe or she dear. He extracted the snake's venom with her heart and liver. Penny's life was therefore spared by the doe.
3. The doe had been slain by Jody's father. Without the mother-deer, the fawn would most certainly die of starvation in the wild. As a result, Jody desired to bring the little fawn home.
4. The markings on the fawn's body told Jody it was a male.

Comprehension Check (Page 87)

Questions:

1. Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they?
2. Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?

Answer:

1. Jody didn't want Mill-wheel to accompany him on his hunt for the deer. The reason for this was that he was concerned about the fawn's safety. He didn't want Mill-wheel to know how disappointed he was.
2. Mill-wheel was concerned that Jody might go lost in the bush.

Comprehension Check (Page 90)

Questions:

1. How did Jody bring the fawn back home?
2. Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you find at least three words or phrases which show how he felt?
3. How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?
4. Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would?

Answer: 

1. Jody took the fawn into his arms and walked home. He let the fawn down and rested after some distance. The fawn later followed him. As a result, he returned the fawn to his home.

2.(i) With its liquid eye, (the fawn) rocked him to his core.

(ii) The fawn's touch made him insane.

(iii) As if the fawn was a china deer.

3. Jody's fingers were dipped in the milk. Then he stepped back and let the fawn lick his fingers. He repeated himself multiple times. Finally, the fawn drank the entire contents of the gourd.

4. \The deer couldn't elevate its feet to ascend the steps.

Working With the Text (Page 90)

Questions 1:

Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?

Answer:

Penny was persuaded by Jody's argument that leaving the fawn to starve in the forest would be disrespectful. He realized Jody was correct.

Question 2:

What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes quite free”?

Answer:

Doc Wilson meant that Penny had to repay the doe he had slaughtered for personal benefit by bringing up her fawn.

Question 3:

How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for doing this?

Answer:

Jody was like a mother to the faWh. He made it drink milk by dipping his fingers in it. A woman feeds her baby in this manner. Jody was relieved to have discovered the fawn.

Question 4:

How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the fawn home? Why does she react in this way?

Answer:

When Jody's mother found that he was bringing back the fawn, she frowned. She was taken aback since she didn't want to see an animal in her house.

Working With Language (Page 90&91)

Question 1:

1. Look at these pairs of sentences.

    Penny said to Jody, “Will you be back before dinner?”

    Penny asked Jody if he would be back before dinner.

    “How are you feeling, Pa?” asked Jody.

    Jody asked his father how he was feeling.

Here are some questions in direct speech. Put them into reported speech.

1. Penny said, “Do you really want it son?”
2. Mill-wheel said, “Will he ride back with me?”
3. He said to Mill-wheel, “Do you think the fawn is still there?”
4. He asked Mill-wheel, “Will you help me find him?”
5. He said, “Was it up here that Pa got bitten by the snake?”

Answer:

1. Penny asked his son if he really wanted the fawn.
2. Mill-wheel enquired if Jody would ride back with him.
3. Jody asked Mill-wheel if he thought the fawn was still there.
4. He asked Mill-wheel if he would help him find the fawn.
5. Mill-wheel wanted to know if that was the place where Pa had got bitten by the snake.

Question 2:

Look at these two sentences.

He tumbled backward.

It turned its head.

The first sentence has an intransitive verb, a verb without an object. The second sentence has a transitive verb. It has a direct object. We can ask: “What did it turn?” You can answer. “Its head. It turned its head.”

Say whether the verb in each sentence below is transitive or intransitive. Ask yourself a “what’ question about the verb, as in the example above. (For some verbs, the object is a person, so ask the question ‘who’ instead of ‘what’).

(i) Jody then went to the kitchen.

(ii) The fawn wobbled after him.

(iii) You found him.

(iv) He picked it up.

(v) He dipped his fingers in the milk.

(vi) It bleated frantically and butted

(vii) The fawn sucked his fingers.

(viii) He lowered his fingers slowly into the milk.

(ix) It stamped its small hoofs impatiently.

(x) He held his fingers below the level of the milk,

(xi) The fawn followed

(xii) He walked all day.

(xiii) He stroked its sides.

(xiv) The fawn lifted its nose.

(xv) Its legs hung limply.

Answer:

Question 3:

Here are some words from the lesson. Working in groups, arrange them in the order in which they would appear in the dictionary. Write down some idioms and phrasal verbs connected to these words. Use the dictionary for more idioms and phrasal verbs.

Answer:

dioms or phrasal verbs associated to the aforementioned terms.

clearance: campaign, clearance

close shave, close up, and close quarters

Draw: a curtain on/over a blank page

bring to light: in the light of

make the most of, make the most of

part with, part with comparison

Select: select, select and select

slender: the slender neck

Sweet: a sweet taste, seventeen, sweet tongued, sweet nothings

marvel: marvel the globe, wonder the burden, wonder the nine days, wonder about, accomplish wonders.

Speaking (Page 92)

Question 1:

Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:

The majority of the animals are our buddies. Dogs, horses, elephants, and cows are a few examples of service animals. However, humans have been murdering codfish and whales for oil. Tigers are slaughtered for their skins and bones. This is not right. However, there is no wrong in killing any of them just to safeguard human life, properly, and agriculture.

Killing animals, on the other hand, is a crime. It is unethical to slaughter wild animals for their hides or for sport.

Question 2:

Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it? Discuss it in groups and present your argu­ments to the class.

Answer:

We are drawn to the young of cats, dogs, and some birds, much as we are to a human child. I always wanted to have a kitten or a puppy as a pet when I was a kid. One day, a decent breed puppy appeared on my porch. However, it caused a disturbance in the home. My mother became upset by the obtrusive presence of dogs in the house. They bite and bark, invade the kitchen or sit on our beds, and dirty the environment. But I told her that I would look after and train my pet. The devoted dog would serve as both a security guard and a playmate. My parents eventually gave in and allowed me keep the unfortunate dog as a pet.

Questions:

What had happened to Jody’s father?

How did the doe save Penny’s life?

Why does Jody want to bring the fawn home?

How does Jody know that the fawn is a male?

Answer:

Jody’s father had been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Jody’s father killed the doe or she dear. He used her heart and liver to draw out the snake’s poison. In this way the doe saved Penny’s life.

Jody’s father had killed the doe. Without the mother-deer, the fawn was likely to starve to death in the forest. So Jody wanted to bring the young fawn home.

The spots on the fawn’s body made Jody know that it was a male.

Questions:

Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel with him for two reasons. What were they?

Why was Mill-wheel afraid to leave Jody alone?

Answer:

Jody didn’t want Mill-wheel to join him in the search for the fawn. The reason was that he was not sure about the fawn’s safety. He didn’t want Mill-wheel to see his disappointment.

Mill-wheel was afraid that Jody might be lost in the jungle.

Comprehension Check (Page 94)

Questions:

How did Jody bring the fawn back home?

Jody was filled with emotion after he found the fawn. Can you find at least three words or phrases which show how he felt?

How did the deer drink milk from the gourd?

Why didn’t the fawn follow Jody up the steps as he had thought it would?

Answer:

Jody picked up the fawn into his arms and proceeded to home. After some dis­tance, he kept the fawn down and took rest. Later on, the fawn followed him. Thus he brought the fawn back home.

(i) (The fawn) shook him through with the stare of its liquid eye.

(ii) The touch of the fawn made him delirious.

(iii) As though the fawn were a china deer.

Jody dipped his fingers in the milk. Then he left the fawn suck his fingers. He did so several times. Finally, the fawn drank off all the milk from the gourd.

The fawn didn’t know how to raise its feet to climb the steps.

Working With the Text (Page 94)

Questions 1:

Why did Penny Baxter allow Jody to go find the fawn and raise it?

Answer:

Penny was convinced by Jody’s argument that it would be ungrateful if they left the fawn in the forest to starve. He realised that Jody was right.

Question 2:

What did Doc Wilson mean when he said, “Nothing in the world ever comes quite free”?

Answer:

Doc Wilson meant that Penny must pay back to the doe whom he had killed for his own gain by bringing up her fawn.

Question 3:

How did Jody look after the fawn, after he accepted the responsibility for doing this?

Answer:

Jody looked after the faWh like a mother. He made it drink milk with his fingers dipped in milk. This is how a mother feeds her baby. Jody was glad that he had found the fawn.

Question 4:

How does Jody’s mother react when she hears that he is going to bring the fawn home? Why does she react in this way?

Answer:

Jody’s mother turned her nose when she heard that he was going to bring back the fawn. She gasped with surprise because she didn’t want to see an animal in her home.

Speaking (Page 92)

Question 1:

Do you think it is right to kill an animal to save a human life? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer:

Most of the animals are our friends. Dogs, horses, elephants, cows are a few such animals that serve us. But man has been killing codfish or the whales for oil. Tigers are killed for their skin and bones. This is not fair. But there is no harm if any of them are killed strictly to save human life, properly and agriculture.

However, killing animals is a crime. It is wrong to kill wild life for their hide or for pleasure.

Question 2:

Imagine you wake up one morning and find a tiny animal on your doorstep. You want to keep it as a pet but your parents are not too happy about it. How would you persuade them to let you keep it? Discuss it in groups and present your argu­ments to the class.

Answer:

The young ones of cats, dogs and some birds attract us as does a human child. When I was a child, I wanted to adopt a kitten or a puppy as pet. I found a good breed puppy at my doorstep one day. But it created a commotion in the house. My mother got irritated at the veiy presence of pets in the house. They bite and bark, enter the kitchen or sit on our beds and make things dirty. But I assured her that I would look after my puppy and train it. The loyal dog would act as security guard and a playmate. My parents finally relented and let me have the poor puppy as a pet.

Writing (Page 92)

Question 1:

Imagine you have a new pet that keeps you busy. Write a paragraph describing your pet, the things it does, and the way it makes you feel. Here are some words and phrases that you could use.

frisky, smart, disobedient, loyal, happy, enthusiastic, companion, sharing, friend, rolls in mud, dirties the bed, naughty, lively, playful, eats up food, hides the newspaper, drinks up milk, runs away when called, floats on the water as if dead.

Answer:

I've adopted a kitten as a pet. It has silky hair and skin and is female. She keeps me occupied. My mother is uninterested in my pet. She condemns the child for causing trouble, roaming around the house, and getting the bed and floor dirty. The kitty walks into the kitchen and sips milk. She is also wicked and disobedient. She is the polar opposite of a dog, which is faithful, obedient, and strong. Nonetheless, I enjoy my pet since it is active, playful, and frisky.

Question 2:

Human life is dependent on nature (that’s why we call her Mother Nature). We take everything from nature to live our lives. Do we give back anything to nature?

(i) Write down some examples of the natural resources that we use.

(ii) Write a paragraph expressing your point of view regarding our relationship with nature.

Answer:

(i) Man and nature are mutually beneficial. For centuries, man has relied on woods, minerals, and chemicals for sustenance. Nature and the earth are our lifelines. They assist us either directly or indirectly. Consider the paper we use, as well as books and newspapers. They are made from trees. Nature provides us with fruits, flowers, and fodder. Nature provides us with clean water and air. It is regrettable that we are overusing and polluting our finite resources.

Our Mother is Nature. We must not deplete something to the point that it cannot be replenished organically. In some ways, tearing down forests or killing whales deprives our offspring of their share. Let us return to nature.

(ii) Some of the natural resources that we use are water, coal, mineral oil, etc.

Question 3:

In This is Jody’s Fawn, Jody’s father uses a “home remedy’ for a snake bite. What

should a person now do if he or she is bitten by a snake? Are all snakes poisonous?

With the help of your teacher and others, find out answers to such questions. Then write a short paragraph on—What to do if a snake chooses to bite you.

Answer:

Snakes are the most feared of all natural animals. This is why we kill them with sticks. There are a lot of deadly snakes. Water snakes and green snakes are not venomous. We still don't know for sure. As a result, we don't take any chances. We hire a snake charmer to entice the cobra out of the premises. A snake bite may kill a person in a matter of minutes. However, the sufferer can be rescued if he receives first help in the form of blood transfusions and anti-venom serum. The snake bite treatment is prepared in advance of the snake's venom.

 

In case I am bitten by a poisonous snake, the first thing I would do is to put a band tightly over the bitten part. Then I shall use a blade or knife to make a small cut on the bitten part, and press the poisonous blood out. Then I shall go to hospital for medical help. I shall not go to sleep until I feel better and safe.