This beautiful sentence is extracted from T. S. Arthur's notable short story, "An Angel in Disguise". The line simply means that death is the only moment when everyone laments for the dead one. They don't think that where he was good or bad when he was alive. Here, in this story, the woman was hated and disliked by all the neighborhood when she was alive. But after her death, everybody is rushing towards her 'tumble - down hut' with 'grave clothes' for her and foods for her children. The neighbours are not showing any kind anger or condemnation now, rather pouring pity and sorrow for her and her children. The author here very beautifully portrays the human psychology through this heart-touching sentence.

 Some points should be remembered to write a paragraph:-

1. We must use the title for the paragraph. First letter of each should be capital. We can write the whole title in capital letters as well.

Eg. Environmental Pollution or ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

2.  We should use short and simple sentences to avoid the grammatical mistakes.

3. A paragraph must have a logical development of thoughts and it should have an introduction, a body(main points) and a conclusion.

4. We can use the linkers to join the sentences.

5. When we'll end our writing, that must be concise. That means the reader must get a complete idea. He must not think that if there is something more, that will be great.

Sample Paragraph:-

                   OUR NATIONAL FLAG 

We have a national flag which shows the independence of the nation or country. Our National Flag is a beautifully designed tricolour flag, also known as "Tiranga". Our National Flag is a symbol of unity and freedom. It was first time adopted on July 22 in 1947. It it rectangular in shape. It has three-coloured horizontal stripes. The topmost colour is saffron which symbolises sacrifice and selflessness, middle is white that is the colour of truth and purity and the lower is deep green that symbolises youthfulness and energy. It has a blue wheel at the centre that stands for activity and progress. The National Flag is very sacred to us. We love and respect our National Flag.

Comprehension

A. 1. 'Hills dark with the woods' means- 

   a. The hills look dark because of the thick forest.

2. 'scarred with the torrents' means- 

    a. The hills have cuts made by the flowing river.

3. Why did Govinda throw the gold bangles into the river?

    c. To make Raghunath understand the unimportance of wealth.

B. 1. Describe the place where Govinda sat reading the scriptures?

Ans. The place where Govinda was sitting and reading scriptures was very calm and peaceful. He sat on a rock on the shore of the river Ganga. It was flowing very swiftly. Its water is pure and clean. Near the river, there were hills which was dark because of the thick forest. And in the middle of the forest, there were many small streams flowing.

2. What did Raghunath do when Govinda threw the bangles into the river? What does this tell about Raghunath?

Ans. When Govinda threw the bangles into the river, Raghunath within a wink of eye jumped into the river to find it out.

      This incident informs us that Raghunath is very materialistic and he does not have any sense spirituality. He loves wealth and money. He wants to show his wealth to his guru.

C. 1. In not more than 60 words, explain the message that Govinda tried to give his disciple by throwing the bangles into the river.

Ans. Govinda as a teacher tried to give his best lesson to his disciple. He wanted to show that when you want to get Salvation or spirituality, you need to be detached from any materialistic things. You should concentrate only on God, not on wealth and money. So, he three the bangles which are used here as a symbol of materialistic pleasure.

 The poem "Butterfly Laughter" by Katherine Mansfield shows the bitter-sweet relationship of a grandmother with her grandchildren. The grandmother is preparing the breakfast for her grandkids with beautiful decoration. She is making porridge for them on the top of which she has painted a blue-coloured butterfly to make it attractive, so that the children can enjoy it and quickly finish it. There is a competition among all the children to eat that butterfly fast. But the grandmother makes it with so much love and affection that she always says, "Do not eat the poor butterfly." The children don't understand her affection and it seems like 'sweet little joke' to them. And after listening to the grandmother's request, they start laughing. The poet seeing her grandmother's love for that butterfly is quite sure that one day that butterfly will be alive and fly from that porridge plate and will go to the grandmother's lap to get more love and affection. 

The poem is a very colourful and happy poem the young readers. Here the poet tries to make a difference between the old and young generation, where the old ones are very caring, affectionate and try to protect everything, the young ones are very jolly, fun-loving and also unaware of the feelings like affection and love, care etc. Though the poem doesn't have any rhyming words at the end of the lines, but it gives a rhythmic effect normally with its beautiful words and simplicity. 

 "The Wind" by Robert Louis Stevenson is a very beautiful and interesting poem. Hete the poet is sharing his experience of his childhood. The poet is describing the activities of the wind as well as he is complaining against it and also he is asking few questions to him.

  The first Stanza:

" I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky;

And all around I heard you pass, 

Like ladies' skirts across the grass, 

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song!"

In this para, the poet is describing the activities of the wind. He is telling that the kites are moving on the sky because wind and the birds are so flying high in the sky because of the wind's blow. The poet also can hear the sound of the wind when it is passing. Here he uses a simile. He says that when the girls' skirts are touched with the grass, a sound is made which is quite similar with the sound of the wind. He is also telling that the wind blowing all throughout the day and its sound seems like a loud song.

The Second Stanza:

"I saw the different things you did, 

But always you yourself you hid. 

I felt you push, I heard you ,

I could not see yourself at all.

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song!"

In this stanza, the poet is complaining against the wind as the poet can't see it. It is invisible. The poet can feel that the wind is pushing him. He can also hear its call. But he is not able to see it. So he is disappointed and making complaints. At the end of this stanza, again he is repiting the same lines once again to emphasize on the heavy blow of the wind.

The third Stanza:

"O you that are so strong and cold,

O blower, are you young or old?

Are you a beast of field and tree, 

Or just a stronger child than me?

O wind, a-blowing all day long, 

O wind, that sings so loud a song!"

The poet as a child has a lot of questions in his mind. In this stanza poet is curious to know about it. He tells that the wind is very strong as it has the capability to push somebody. The poet also feels coldness of the wind. But he is confused whether the wind is young or old. He also wants to know if the wind is a beast who can damage the field and destroy the trees. He is also confused about the wind's age. He wants to know if it a child who is stronger than the poet. Finally the poet again repeats the same two lines to emphasize the force of the wind and ends his poem.

The poem is completely rhythmic. The poet uses the rhyme like aa bb cc, dd ee cc, ff gg cc. The poet also uses the figures of speech like simile, personification and hyperbaton. The simple language and the rhythmic effect make this poem more beautiful and pleasant for our ear.

 "The Selfish Giant" by Oscar Wilde is a story of a giant who was very selfish and rude. He did not like the children at all. When the giant went to meet his friend Cornish Ogre for seven years, the children enjoyed the beauty of the giant's garden. They used to play there after their school's end. 

The garden was very beautiful. It was full of soft green grass with beautiful flowers which looked like 'stars'. In the garden, there were twelve peach trees also which were covered with flowers in the autumn season. All was beautiful and gorgeous until the giant came back. 

One day, the giant came back and saw that the children were playing in his garden. So he became very angry and scolded them and got them out from his garden. He always wanted to enjoy the beauty of his garden alone. Now the children were very sad and disheartened because they didn't have any place to play. They tried to play on the road, but it was full of stones and not suitable for playing. So they just sighed that how happy they had been there in that garden. 

But the giant was so much selfish that he had built a high wall around the garden and put a notice board up. On that notice board,it was written that "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED".  

When all around the country spring came, the giant's garden was full of snow as winter was still there. Spring did not want to come here as the giant had not allowed the children to come in. So, the Frost, the Hail, the Snow and the North Wind were enjoying. They thought that they could enjoy the place through out the year, as spring was not coming there. 

Now the giant became tensed. He was thinking about the reason that why spring was not coming. He consoled himself that it might be late, but it must come. But Spring never came. 

One day, the giant was lying on his bed and suddenly he heard the sound of a music. He thought that king's musicians were singing the song. But later he realised that it was a little linnet. He was surprised. He saw that the children entered into the garden through a little hole of the wall. With the children spring also came. The whole garden looked beautiful with beautiful fresh flowers and with the sound of chirping birds.

But he saw that in the one corner of the garden, winter was still there because the little boy could not climb up the tree. He was crying a lot. The tree was bending its branch so that he could climb, but he couldn't. Because he was too tiny to climb. The giant saw that and his heart was melted. He came to that corner to help him. But when the other children saw him, they escaped. But that little child could not see him. So he came to him and helped him to climb up the tree. When the other children saw that the giant was not bad anymore ,they entered into the garden again and spring also came with them. The giant broke the wall down. He told them that it had been their garden from then. 

 Snow and Chocolates

Questions and answers from "Snow and Chocolates" for Class 4 ICSE Board. NCTE solutions of "Snow and Chocolates".

1) What are the people of Switzerland called? 

Ans:- The people of Switzerland  are called Swiss people. 

2) What are the languages of Switzerland?  

Ans:- The languages of Switzerland  are- (i) German (ii) Italian (iii) French and (iv) Romansh.

3) What are the resort towns of Switzerland known for? 

Ans:- The resort towns of Switzerland are- St. Moritz,  Gstaad, Interlaken.

4) The marvellous resort towns of Gstaad and Interlaken are known for skiing. What is a resort town? 

Ans:- A resort town or a resort city is an urban area where people go for holidays. It is also known as resort destination. 

5) Why do most Swiss people live in the plateau region and not on the mountains? 

Ans:- Most of the swiss people live in the plateau region, and not on the mountains or mountains slopes, because most of the time of the year, it remains covered with snow and ice. 

Think and Answer:- 

1) Switzerland  is considered to be among the most beautiful countries. Why? 

Ans:- Switzerland  is considered to be among the most beautiful countries in the world, because of its snow-capped mountain ranges,  blue lakes, green pastures and tall trees covering the mountain slopes. 

2) Why does Switzerland have so many tunnels? 

Ans:- Swtzerland has so many tunnels because of the mountains. As there are many mountains in this city, tunnels are made to help people travel within the country.

3) If you could bring back a gift from Switzerland for a friend,  what would it be? 

Ans:- If I could bring back a gift from Switzerland for my friend,  it would be a beautiful watch.