Have you ever seen a snake fighting a mongoose, or getting into a hole, or swimming in the river? Everyone, almost everyone, believes that snakes are dangerous. Some are, most are not. Read this poem on a harmless garden snake.

I saw a snake and ran away…

Some snakes are dangerous, they say;

But mother says that kind is good,

And eats up insects for his food.

So when he wiggles in the grass

I’ll stand aside and watch him pass,

And tell myself, “There’s no mistake,

It’s just a harmless garden snake!”

Working with the Poem

1. Answer the following questions.

(i) Pick out the line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes. (ii) Which line shows a complete change of the child’s attitude towards snakes? Read it aloud.

(iii) “But mother says that kind is good…” What is mother referring to

2. Find the word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass.

3. There are four pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Say them aloud.

4. A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast. Can you guess how? Discuss in the group.

5. Can you recall the word used for a cobra’s long sharp teeth? Where did you come across this word first?

Do you know

Answer

According to some botanists, plants are able to sense the vibrations of music through their stomata. How this occurs is not yet known. Yields of some crops are reported to have increased substantially when the plants were exposed to music. Many plant lovers, including Prince Charles of Britain, believe that talking to plants makes them grow better.