English: Class 6 — Chapter 2: Unit 2: Friendship

Gajaraj, a majestic royal elephant, lives in comfort but suffers from deep loneliness. His life changes when a stray dog wanders into his stable. Gajaraj shares his food with the hungry animal, and they quickly form an inseparable bond, playing together during bath times and sharing daily routines. Their friendship is tested when a local farmer recognizes the dog as his lost pet, Buntee, and takes him away. Separated, both Gajaraj and Buntee fall into deep grief and refuse to eat. Recognizing their profound connection, the farmer releases the dog, leading to a joyful reunion and establishing a new bond of friendship between the farmer and the elephant's caretaker.

• stables: Living spaces designated for animals.
• strayed: Wandered or came by mistake.
• munching: Chewing steadily on food.
• convey: To communicate or express a feeling.
• plunging: Jumping or diving into water.
• winced: Shrank back in distress or pain.
• chores: Routine daily tasks or duties.
• indigestion: Difficulty in digesting food.

Written by Jill Wolf, this poem is a heartfelt reflection on the value of true friendship. The speaker expresses a desire to prioritize their friends, support their hopes and dreams, and offer unconditional love without judgment. It emphasizes seeing others with the heart and accepting them exactly as they are.

• Unconditional Love: Accepting friends with all their unique qualities and avoiding superficial judgments.
• Support and Empathy: Actively working to help friends realize their wishes and sharing in their life plans.
• blessed: Feeling deeply grateful and fortunate for having special companions.

Mario is a boastful boy who prides himself on having a vast circle of friends. To teach him a lesson, his grandfather challenges him to a bet and presents him with an invisible chair from the attic, claiming it has the magic power to reveal true friends. At school, Mario attempts to sit on the invisible chair, repeatedly falling and drawing ridicule from his classmates. However, when he finally succeeds in staying suspended in mid-air, he realizes that three of his classmates are quietly holding him up. This clever test helps Mario distinguish between fair-weather companions who laugh at his misfortune and genuine friends who support him in times of need.

• showed off: Boasted or bragged about achievements or popularity.
• readily: Without hesitation or difficulty.
• attic: A storage space directly under the roof of a house.
• invisible: Impossible to see with the naked eye.
• determined: Firm in one's decision and resolve.

The unit introduces three distinct forms of the past tense to describe historical or completed events:

• Simple Past Tense: Used for actions completed in the past (e.g., looked, gave, joined).
• Past Progressive Tense: Used for ongoing actions in the past (e.g., was looking, was munching).
• Past Perfect Tense: Used for actions completed before another past action (e.g., had ordered, had followed).

Students learn to connect ideas using paired conjunctions:

• neither...nor: Connects two negative choices (e.g., Neither the farmer nor the mahout noticed.).
• either...or: Connects two positive alternatives (e.g., He wants to play either cricket or football.).

• Opposites with Prefixes: Creating antonyms by adding prefixes like un- (unhappy), in- (incorrect), dis- (disconnect), and mis- (misuse).
• Suffixes: Identifying root words and adding endings to change their form (e.g., friend + ly = friendly; sudden + ly = suddenly).
• Adjectives: Descriptive words that modify nouns to show qualities (e.g., brave soldier, heavy rain, true friend).