Unit 2, titled Wit and Humour, explores the lighter side of life through stories, poems, and plays that highlight cleverness, funny situations, and the importance of communication and social etiquette.
A prose story adapted from Hugh Lofting's classic tale about a doctor who learns to speak to animals.
Doctor John Dolittle, a people's doctor, is advised by the Cat's-food-Man to become an animal doctor because of his deep understanding of animals. His clever parrot, Polynesia, reveals to him that animals have their own spoken and body languages. Polynesia teaches him "bird language" and how other animals, like dogs, communicate using their ears, feet, tails, and noses. Dr. Dolittle learns these languages so well that he gives up human medicine entirely to become a highly successful animal doctor.
One of his notable patients is a plough horse who was treated unsuccessfully by a local vet with pills. Dr. Dolittle talks to the horse, diagnoses his vision problem, and provides him with green spectacles. Soon, animals from all over the countryside flock to his clinic, requiring him to build special doors for different species (such as 'HORSES', 'COWS', 'SHEEP', and a tiny tunnel for mice).
A whimsical, nonsensical poem by Natalie Joan that celebrates eccentric behavior and humor.
One day a funny kind of man
Came walking down this street
He wore a shoe upon his head
And hats upon his feet.
He raised the shoe and smiled at me,
His manners were polite;
But never had I seen before
Such a funny sounding sight.
He said, "Allow me to present
Your Highness with a rose."
And taking out a currant bun
He held it to my nose.
I staggered back against the wall
And then I answered, "Well!
I never saw a rose with such
A funny looking smell."
He then began to sing a song,
And sat down on the ground;
You never heard in all your life
Such a funny feeling sound.
"My friend, why do you wear two hats
Upon your feet?" I said.
He turned the other way about,
And hopped home on his head.
A humorous play by G.C. Thornley about the comical disasters of social etiquette.
Scene I: Mrs. Shaw prepares her daughter, Mary, for a visit from Mrs. Harding (the wife of a wealthy man) and Mrs. Lee. Mrs. Shaw advises Mary to be polite, say kind things to please the guests, keep the conversation going if there is silence, and look sorry when they want to leave by asking them to stay longer.
Scene II: When the guests arrive, Mary tries to follow her mother's advice but hilariously misinterprets it. She repeatedly makes awkward blunders: she insists Mrs. Harding has children when she has none, mocks a local banker (who turns out to be Mrs. Lee's brother), laughs at Mrs. Best's clothes (which match Mrs. Harding's outfit), criticizes a woman who stays in bed and calls the doctor (which both guests do), calls Mrs. Shaw's friend talkative, and calls a dirty dog outside a nuisance (which is Mrs. Harding's pet). Finally, when the guests decide to leave, Mary blunders her mother's parting advice by saying, "Oh, must you stay? Can't you go?"
Words formed by combining two different words to create a new meaning. They are categorized into three types:
A word, phrase, or sequence that reads the same backwards as forwards.
has/have + V3 (past participle). Used for recently completed actions or past actions relevant to the present (e.g., "That man's got sense", "It has stopped raining").has/have + been + verb + -ing. Used for actions that started in the past and continue to the present, or recent ongoing activities with visible results (e.g., "She has been staying with them", "Mrs. Shaw has been cleaning the room").Combinations of a verb with a preposition or adverb that function as a single unit with a unique meaning.
Word endings added to root words to change their form or meaning.
humour + -ous = humorous (noun to adjective)hilarious + -ly = hilariously (adjective to adverb)come + -ing = coming (verb participle)beauty + -ful = beautiful (noun to adjective)A limerick is a nonsensical and funny verse consisting of five lines with a strict AABBA rhyme scheme. Edward Lear is a famous writer of limericks.
Vasudhaiva Kuṭumbakaṁ is a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the world is one family" ('Vasudha' = Earth, 'eva' = is thus, 'Kutumbakam' = family). Originating from ancient texts like the Maha Upanishad and Hitopadesha, it emphasizes global unity, empathy, and interconnectedness.