The Shed – Class 7 English NCERT Solutions

Explore the solutions for “The Shed,” Class 7 English NCERT. This fascinating poem teaches children about facing their fears and not letting imagination run wild. It shows how sometimes the things we fear are just in our minds, and when we gather courage to face them, they turn out to be harmless. The poem also touches upon sibling dynamics and how older siblings sometimes take advantage of younger ones’ fears.

Summary of the Poem

The poem “The Shed” is about a curious child’s mixed feelings about an old shed at the bottom of their garden. The shed appears mysterious with its spider’s web, creaky hinges, and broken window panes. While the child’s brother tries to scare them by saying there’s a ghost under the floorboards, the speaker knows it’s just a lie to keep the shed as his den. Despite feeling scared, the speaker shows determination to explore the shed someday.

हिंदी सारांश: कविता “द शेड” एक बच्चे की मिश्रित भावनाओं के बारे में है जो अपने बगीचे के एक पुराने शेड को लेकर उत्सुक है। शेड मकड़ी के जाले, चरमराते कब्जे और टूटी खिड़कियों के साथ रहस्यमय दिखता है। जबकि बच्चे का भाई उसे डराने की कोशिश करता है कि फर्श के नीचे एक भूत है, लेकिन बच्चे को पता है कि यह सिर्फ एक झूठ है ताकि भाई शेड को अपने डेन के रूप में रख सके। डर के बावजूद, बच्चा एक दिन शेड की खोज करने का दृढ़ संकल्प दिखाता है।

Word Meanings

Working with the Poem

Question 1: Is there a room in your house or a house in your neighbourhood/locality where you would rather not go alone and never at night? If there is such a place and a story to go with it, let others hear all about it.

Yes, the basement in our house has always been a place that gives me shivers, especially at night. It’s a dark, musty space filled with old furniture and boxes. The creaking wooden stairs leading down to it make eerie sounds, and the single light bulb casts strange shadows on the walls. One stormy evening, when I had to get some tools from there, I heard unusual scratching sounds. My heart was pounding as I slowly descended the stairs. The light was flickering, making everything more frightening. Later, we discovered it was just our neighbor’s cat that had somehow found its way in through a small window. Even though I know there’s nothing to fear, the basement’s atmosphere still makes me uncomfortable when I’m alone. Now, I always take someone with me, usually my elder sister, whenever I need to go down there.

Question 2: Answer the following questions:

(i) Who is the speaker in the poem?

The speaker in the poem is a young child who lives in the house with the shed in their garden. We can tell this because of their curiosity about the shed and how they mention their brother trying to scare them with ghost stories. The speaker shows both fear and bravery, typical of a young child trying to overcome their fears.

(ii) Is she/he afraid or curious, or both?

The speaker is definitely both afraid and curious. Their curiosity is evident in repeated phrases like “I’ll open that door one day,” “I’ll peep through that window one day,” and “I’ll take a peek one day.” However, fear is also present when they:

• Listen to the creaking hinges from their bed
• Feel like someone is staring at them through the window
• Think about their brother’s ghost stories

(iii) What is she/he planning to do soon?

The speaker is planning to explore the shed soon. Throughout the poem, they make several promises to themselves:

• To open the door
• To peep through the window
• To go inside the shed

(iv) “But not just yet…” suggests doubt, fear, hesitation, laziness or something else. Choose the word which seems right to you. Tell others why you chose it.

The phrase “But not just yet…” most strongly suggests hesitation. This hesitation comes from a mixture of lingering fear and natural caution. Here’s why:

• The speaker has already figured out that their brother’s ghost story is a lie
• They know the spider’s web is empty and old
• Yet they still haven’t entered the shed