The Tiny Teacher Summary In English
The story of an ant’s life is too remarkable to be true. An ant is the smallest and the wisest creature that we have seen.
Ants have comfortable homes. Each home has hundreds of little rooms and passages. In some of these rooms the queen ant lays eggs. Others are nurseries for the young ants. Workers have their reserved quarters. Some rooms serve as storehouses for food. Soldiers have separate barracks. Ants in a house never quarrel with each other.
Each ant does its share of work intelligently and bravely. So the ants lead a very peaceful life. We know so many other facts about ant’s life. People have kept ants as pets. They have watched their daily behaviour closely. An ant uses its feelers or antennae to talk to or to greet other ants. There are many kinds of ants. The commonest among them are the black or red ones.
The queen ant is the mother of the entire population of ants of a colony. It has a pair of wings. After its wedding flight, it gets rid of its wings. After that it does nothing but lays eggs. Eggs hatch and grubs come out. Grubs take two or three weeks to become cocoons. Cocoons take three more weeks to become perfect ants. Thus it takes five or six weeks for a grub to become a complete ant.
When the eggs become grubs, soldiers guard them. Worker ants carry the grubs about for airing, exercise and sunshine. New ants are trained for the jobs of workers like soldiers, builders, cleaners etc. After a few weeks’ training, small ants are ready to go out for work.
Creatures other than the ants also live in the anthill. These are beetles, lesser breed of ants and the greenfly. Some of them give pleasant smell to the ants; others give various juices, and some are just pets or playthings. The ants train greenfly to give honeydew. They milk it just as we milk the cow.
Man can learn many things from the ant, the “tiny teacher”. Hard work, sense of duty, discipline, cleanliness and care for the young ones are some of them. Above all an ant has firm loyalty to the land where it lives. Hard work is easy to see as each ant does its duty most regularly. Sense of duty and discipline are the most important qualities of an ant’s life. Hence the ants of a colony are never seen fight each other. All ants together take care of the young ones. Queen ant lays the eggs and soldiers guard the grubs. Workers feed and clean them. They also carry them about for airing, exercise and sunshine. New ants are taught by the old ones.
Question-answers
Comprehension Check
1. The story of an ant’s life sounds almost untrue.
The italicised phrase means
(i) highly exaggerated.
(ii) too remarkable to be true.
(iii) not based on facts.
Ans: (ii) too remarkable to be true.
2. Complete the following sentences.
(i) An ant is the smallest, …….
(ii) We know a number of facts about an ant’s life because…….
Ans: (i) An ant is the smallest, the commonest but the wisest insect.
(ii) We know a number of facts about an ant’s life because people have kept ants as pets, and have watched their daily behaviour closely.
3. In what ways is an ant’s life peaceful?
Ans: An ant’s life is peaceful because they do their own work and never fight with other ants of the same group. They know sharing and contribution and do not interfere in the other’s work.
Page No: 5
Comprehension Check
1. How long does it take for a grub to become a complete ant?
Ans: It takes five to six weeks for a grub to become a complete ant.
2. Why do the worker ants carry the grubs about?
Ans: The worker ants carry them about daily for airing, exercise and sunshine.
3. What jobs are new ants trained for?
Ans: The jobs which the new ants are trained for are workers, soldiers, builders, cleaners, etc.
4. Name some other creatures that live in anthills.
Ans: Some other creatures that live in anthills are beetles, lesser breeds of ants, greenfly etc.
5. Mention three things we can learn from the ‘tiny teacher’. Give reasons for choosing these items.
Ans: We can learn team work as ants do their work by sharing and contribution without interference in the other’s work.
We can learn hard work as ants spend most of their time in doing their respective jobs without hesitation.
We can learn discipline as ants live a disciplined life and always follow the rules of their group and loyal towards it.
Exercise
Discuss the following topics in groups.
1. (i) What problems are you likely to face if you keep ants as pets?
(ii) When a group of bees finds nectar, it informs other bees of its location, quantity, etc. through dancing. Can you guess what ants communicate to their fellow ants by touching one another’s feelers?
Ans: These questions are supposed to be done in groups. Students have to do this by their own. If further demanded, our team will provide the solution.
Page No: 6
2. Complete the following poem with words from the box below. Then recite the poem.
Soldiers live in barracks
And birds in ————,
Much like a snake that rests
In a ————. No horse is able
To sleep except in a ————.
And a dog lives well,
Mind you, only in a ————.
To say ‘hi’ to an ant, if you will,
You may have to climb an ————.
Hole, kennel, nests, anthill, stable
Ans: Soldiers live in barracks
And bird in nests,
Much like a snake that rests
In a hole. No horse is able
To sleep except in a stable.
And a dog lives well,
Mind you, only in a kennel.
To say ‘hi’ to an ant, if you will,
You may have to climb an anthill.
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