🌦️ Unit 10, Lesson 4: A Summer Story
July, but there was still no sign of rain. Clouds crossed the sky but they only made the heat hotter. I was thirsty. What could a crow like me do on a day like this? There was no water anywhere. The wells were dry and there were no waterholes. I would have to fly miles and miles to reach anywhere in this heat unless I get to a town.
Crows know that, in times like this, to go where men live is best. They put things by when things are plenty for days when they are scarce. So I flew towards the nearest town over a dry and barren land. When I reached there, it was noon. The streets were empty. The doors were barred. The cisterns and horse‑troughs were dry. There was no water anywhere. Except in a small bottle on a pushcart at the street corner. I thanked heaven for that.
I had thanked too early. How was I going to get the water in the bottle unless I could get my beak in? My beak was too fat and the neck of the bottle too narrow. So, as usual, I went to Grandpa for advice. A doddering old crow he was, but he had seen the world and had useful things to say. Sure enough, he had a way! “Go and get pebbles from the riverbed,” he said. “Drop them in. When they fill the bottle, the water will come up to the brim. Pebbles and water can't be in the same place.” His old man had learnt it from an ancient Greek crow named Ar‑crow‑medes.
That was great! I didn't even wait to thank him. Off I went to the riverbed where pebbles lay in all shapes and sizes. Pebbles are tricky things for crows to carry. They slip out or slide in. So I had to carry them carefully, piece by piece. On a day like this, it was not easy. I panted and sweated and the colour of my wings started to run. I grew thirstier each time. On my last flight, I tried carrying two together. One slipped away and fell on the glass roof of a greenhouse — clitter‑clatter went the glass! A frightening thought struck me. What if I broke the bottle too? Grandpa's trick would fail.
That made me mad. I flew around wildly until suddenly a poster at a bus stop caught my eye. It was there all the time and I, like a fool, hadn’t noticed. If men can drink through straws, so can crows. Straws were plenty in the haystacks. I drew a few out, clipped and cleaned them, and drank the way men do. I don't blame Grandpa. He was wise in his own way. Every age has its own bag of tricks.
Multiple Choice Questions
- Why did the crow decide to fly toward the town?
- To find straw in haystacks
- Because men store resources for scarcity
- To ask Grandpa Crow for advice
- To search for a wider bottle
- What does the crow’s initial mistake of “thanking heaven too early” primarily highlight?
- The crow underestimated the challenge ahead
- Grandpa misled him intentionally
- The bottle contained no water at all
- Straws were unavailable in the town
- What major concern arises when the crow drops a pebble on the greenhouse roof?
- The pebble supply might run out
- Humans might trap the crow
- The bottle could shatter and waste the water
- Other crows might steal the water
- The reference to “Ar-crow-medes” serves what literary purpose?
- Historical accuracy about scientific discoveries
- Humorous allusion linking a fable to real science
- Depiction of Grandpa’s invention of physics
- Criticism of ancient Greek philosophies
- Which quality of the crow is most strongly demonstrated when he replaces the pebble idea with straws?
- Strict obedience to tradition
- Dependence on Grandpa’s wisdom
- Adaptive intelligence based on modern solutions
- Reluctance to change original plans
- What thematic contrast is created between Grandpa’s advice and the final solution?
- Traditional methods vs. contemporary innovation
- Magic vs. scientific reasoning
- Town life vs. rural living
- Obedience vs. rebellion
- Which detail most emphasizes the severity of drought in the story?
- The presence of haystacks in the fields
- The poster at the bus stop
- Dry cisterns and sealed houses throughout the town
- The crow sweating while carrying pebbles