The Clever Birbal – Class 4 English NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for “The Clever Birbal,” Class 4 English NCERT. This story teaches children about the importance of mother tongue and how intelligence can solve complex problems. It also shows that in moments of surprise or difficulty, we naturally express ourselves in our mother tongue. The story demonstrates Birbal’s wit and wisdom in solving challenges at Akbar’s court.

Story Summary (English)

The story revolves around a learned Pundit who visits Emperor Akbar’s court. He boasts about his knowledge of multiple languages and challenges everyone to identify his mother tongue. When no one succeeds, Birbal accepts the challenge. Using his cleverness, Birbal visits the sleeping Pundit at night and tickles his ear with a feather. The startled Pundit instinctively speaks in Telugu, revealing his mother tongue. This proves Birbal’s wisdom that people naturally speak in their mother tongue during unexpected moments.

कहानी का सारांश (Hindi)

यह कहानी एक विद्वान पंडित की है जो सम्राट अकबर के दरबार में आता है। वह कई भाषाओं के अपने ज्ञान की डींग हांकता है और सभी को अपनी मातृभाषा पहचानने की चुनौती देता है। जब कोई सफल नहीं होता, तो बीरबल चुनौती स्वीकार करता है। अपनी चतुराई का उपयोग करते हुए, बीरबल रात में सोते हुए पंडित के पास जाता है और एक पंख से उसके कान को गुदगुदी करता है। चौंके हुए पंडित सहज रूप से तेलुगु में बोल पड़ते हैं, जो उनकी मातृभाषा है। यह बीरबल की बुद्धिमत्ता को सिद्ध करता है कि लोग अचानक के क्षणों में अपनी मातृभाषा में ही बोलते हैं।

Word Meanings

Reading is Fun

Q1. Who came to Akbar’s court?

A learned Pundit (a wise and knowledgeable scholar) visited Emperor Akbar’s court. He was known for his exceptional language skills and wisdom.

Q2. What did he claim to know?

The Pundit claimed that he had mastery over many different languages. He was so skilled that he could speak multiple languages fluently, making it impossible for anyone to identify which language was his mother tongue.

Q3. How did he challenge everybody?

The Pundit confidently challenged everyone in Akbar’s court to identify his mother tongue. He was sure that no one would be able to figure out which language he had learned first as a child because he spoke all languages with equal fluency.

Let’s Talk

Q1. What is your mother tongue?

My mother tongue is Hindi. It is the language I first learned as a child and the one I speak at home with my family. I feel most comfortable expressing my emotions in Hindi.

Q2. Tell the class a joke in your mother tongue.

Here’s a simple Hindi joke: टीचर: बताओ, दुनिया का सबसे बुद्धिमान जानवर कौन है?
छात्र: गधा!
टीचर: वो कैसे?
छात्र: क्योंकि वो कभी स्कूल नहीं जाता!

Q3. Do you know any other language? Do you know a joke in English? Tell your friends.

Yes, I know English and Sanskrit apart from Hindi. Here’s a funny joke in English:
Teacher: Why are you late?
Student: Because the sign said…
Teacher: What sign?
Student: The sign that says “School Ahead, Go Slow!”

Let’s Listen

Q1. Listen to your favourite advertisement on the radio or T.V. Repeat it with stress on the words. Act, draw, and write the advertisement.

Here’s my favorite advertisement about a chocolate brand:
*Drawing a chocolate bar*
“The TASTE of MAGIC in every BITE!
Sweet and CREAMY, pure DELIGHT!
When you’re feeling DOWN or BLUE,
This chocolate will make your dreams come TRUE!”
(Note: Words in CAPS are stressed while speaking)

Say Aloud

Q1. Tick the words which end with the sound -id. Say each word aloud.

Let’s identify words ending with the ‘id’ sound:

• ✓ accepted (ends in ‘ed’ sound)
• ✓ completed (ends in ‘id’ sound)
• irritated (ends in ‘id’ sound)
• ✓ cried (ends in ‘id’ sound)
• ✓ fried (ends in ‘id’ sound)
• answered (ends in ‘ed’ sound)
• challenged (ends in ‘ed’ sound)
• failed (ends in ‘ed’ sound)
• surprised (ends in ‘ed’ sound)

Word Building

Q1. Write all the words that show you are happy.

Here are words and expressions that show happiness:

• Hurray!
• Ha! Ha!
• Wow!
• Yippee!
• Awesome!
• Fantastic!
• Yahoo!

Q2. Match the words in Column A with words in Column B.

Q3. Play this game with a friend using a/an.

Here are more creative sentences using a/an:

• Can I have an umbrella, please?
• Would you like a sandwich for lunch?
• May I borrow an eraser from you?
• Can you get me a pencil from the store?
• I would like an ice cream cone.

Q4. Look and fill in the columns with words ending in -ly.

Q5. Make a class dictionary with words from the story.

Here are some words with their meanings and example sentences:

• Mastery: He showed complete mastery in playing the guitar.
• Challenge: She accepted the challenge to run a marathon.
• Fluent: My friend speaks fluent Spanish and French.
• Whisper: The children whispered secrets during class.
• Surprise: The birthday party was a wonderful surprise.

Q6. Tick the right answer.

i) “I visited the court of Akbar” means:

• ✓ (b) You came there for a short time

ii) To imitate someone means:

• ✓ (a) copy someone

Let’s Share

Q1. How did Birbal find out about the Pundit’s mother tongue?

Birbal used a clever trick to discover the Pundit’s mother tongue. Late at night, he quietly entered the Pundit’s room while he was sleeping. He then gently tickled the Pundit’s ear with a feather and whispered something. This sudden action startled the Pundit, who instinctively shouted out words in Telugu – his mother tongue. This proved Birbal’s theory that people naturally speak in their mother tongue when surprised or startled.

Q1. Crossword Fun – Indian Languages

Let’s solve the crossword about languages spoken in different Indian states: Across:

• 1. Orissa (Odisha) → Oriya
• 2. Karnataka → Kannada
• 4. Assam → Assamese
• 7. Andhra Pradesh → Telugu
• 8. Maharashtra → Marathi

• 3. Kerala → Malayalam
• 5. Our national language → Hindi
• 6. Language of Goan people → Konkani
• 7. Tamil Nadu → Tamil
• 9. Widely spoken in UP and elsewhere → Urdu