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4. When the good old man saw that the dog, whom he had lent, did not come home, he went next door to ask what had become of him; and the wicked old man answered that he had killed the dog and buried him at the root of a pine-tree; so the good old fellow, with a heavy heart, went to the spot, and having set out a tray with delicate food, he burnt incense, and adorned the grave with flowers, as he shed tears over his lost pet.
5. That night, when the good old man was fast asleep in bed, the dog appeared to him, and, after thanking him for all his kindness, said “Cause the pine-tree, under which, I am buried, to be cut down and made into a mortar, and use it, thinking of it as if it were myself.”
6. The old man did as the dog had told him to do, and made a mortar out of the wood of the pine-tree; but when he ground his rice in it, each grain of rice turned into some rich treasure. When the wicked old couple saw this, they came to borrow the mortar; but no sooner did they try to use it, all their rice turned into filth; so, in a fit of rage, they broke the mortar and burnt it. But the good old man, little suspecting that his precious mortar had been broken and burnt, wondered why his neighbours did not bring it back to him.
Explanation:
The good old man awaited his dog, which he had given to his neighbour, as it still hadn't returned home. He went to the evil old couple to get back his dog. They were remarkably cruel and answered that they had killed it and buried it under the pine-tree. The good old man felt sad as he loved his dog very much. To show his love towards his dog, he set a plate with delicious food and burnt some incense sticks at the dog's grave under the pine-tree. He also decorated the dog's grave with some flowers and cried.
That night, when the good old man was sleeping, the dog came in his dream and thanked him for all the things he had offered to its grave. The dog felt that the old man was too kind and asked him to cut the pine-tree under which it was buried and make a machine- mortar. It even asked the kind man to take care of the mortar as if it was the dog himself.
The old man made the mortar with the wood of the pine-tree. When he started using the mortar to ground some rice, each grain of rice turned into some treasure. Once again, the evil old couple saw the treasure, and in greed, borrowed the mortar. They tried to use the mortar to convert grains of rice to treasure, but they got only dust from it. They got enraged and burnt the mortar. The good old man was wondering why the evil old couple had not returned the mortar.
Meaning of difficult words:
Numbers | Word | Meanings |
1. | Wicked | Evil. |
2. | Incense | A substance that is burnt for sweet smell. |
3. | Mortar | A type of machine. |
4. | Treasure | Riches. |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2018). Term-1 English Standard-9. The Envious Neighbour (pp. 187-190). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
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