3.3 Too Scared to Sleep
Complete textbook exercise solutions — Maharashtra State Board (Balbharati), Grade Six English.
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About the chapter
This is a funny story about two girls, Beth and Kelly, who sleep outdoors near Uncle Frank’s cabin. Uncle Frank tells Beth to fasten the gate. Beth thinks he said “ghosts”, and at night the girls see white shapes near the gate. In the morning they find out that the “ghosts” were only goats.
Key points
- Uncle Frank asked Beth to fasten the gate.
- Beth misheard the word “goats” as “ghosts”.
- At night, an owl’s hoot and rustling leaves made the girls afraid.
- They saw white shapes at the gate and ran into the cabin.
- The white shapes were the neighbour’s goats.
- Message: many of our fears are only in our mind.
Words to remember
- fasten – to close firmly
- rattle – to make short, sharp knocking sounds
- rustle – a soft sound, like that of dry leaves
- squirm – to twist the body about
- cabin – a small wooden house
(i) What do you do when you get frightened?
This is a personal-response question. Students should write their own answer.
(ii) What do you do to stay strong even when you feel a little scared?
This is a personal-response question. Students should write their own answer.
(iii) Why did Beth think that there was a ghost rattling the gate?
Uncle Frank had told Beth to fasten the gate “so the ghosts won’t come in”. It was a dark night. Beth heard an owl hoot and dead leaves rustle. Then she saw something white moving and the gate rattling. Because of her uncle’s words, she thought it was a ghost.
(iv) Why did the children run inside the cabin?
The girls saw two white shapes near the gate. They were sure these were ghosts. So they got out of their sleeping bags and ran into the cabin. They locked the door.
What they really were: Uncle Frank had said “goats”, not “ghosts”. The white shapes were the neighbour’s goats.
This is a personal-response question. Students should write their own answer about their own experience.
Points that may help: Where and when did it happen? · What did you think it was? · What did you do? · How did you find out the truth? · Why does it make you laugh now?
This is a collection and display activity. Students should collect their own information.
Festivals and art forms students may look for: Bohada of the Adivasi communities of Maharashtra, in which large painted masks of deities are worn; Chhau dance of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal; Theyyam of Kerala; Kathakali face art of Kerala; Gomira masks of Bengal; and Majuli mask-making of Assam.
This is a craft activity. Students should make their own masks.
Yes, I agree. In the story, there was no real danger. There were only two goats near the gate. But Beth had misheard her uncle and expected ghosts. So every small sound frightened her. In the morning, the same white shapes made the girls laugh. This shows that many fears are only in our mind.
- two — I have two pencils in my box.
- to — We are going to the market.
- by — She came by bus.
- bye — He waved and said bye.
- buy — I want to buy a new notebook.
- ship — A big ship sailed into the harbour.
- sheep — The shepherd counted his sheep.
- meet — Let us meet after school.
- meat — The shop sells fresh meat.
Remember: Homophones sound the same but have different spellings and meanings. Ship and sheep only sound similar — the vowel in ship is short and in sheep it is long.
- bank — Father went to the bank to deposit money. / We sat on the bank of the river.
- seal — Please seal the envelope. / A seal was swimming near the rocks.
- tire — Long walks tire my grandmother. / The tire of my cycle is flat.
- bark — The dog began to bark. / The bark of the neem tree is rough.
Remember: Homographs have the same spelling but different meanings.
A pun is a play on words. It uses a word with two meanings or a similar sound to make a joke.
- I used to be a baker, but I couldn’t make enough dough.
- The tailor said he was sew tired.
- My history teacher has a lot of dates to remember.
- The scared girls found out that the ghosts were just kidding! (A baby goat is called a kid.)