Class 6 English Chapter 1 A Bottle of Dew: Summary, Question Answers & Notes

Chapter Overview: A Bottle of Dew

A Bottle of Dew is an engaging folk tale by Sudha Murty included in the CBSE Class 6 English Poorvi textbook. The story centers on a lazy landowner's son named Rama Natha, who becomes obsessed with finding a magical potion that can turn base objects into gold.

The narrative unfolds as Rama Natha seeks out the wise sage Mahipati for the secret of turning things into gold. Instead of giving him magic, the sage tricks Rama Natha into planting hundreds of banana saplings and collecting morning dew to prepare the special potion. Over six years of tireless labor, Rama Natha inadvertently transforms his neglected land into a massive, flourishing plantation that yields a fortune in harvested bananas. When he finally collects enough dew to take back to the sage, Mahipati shows him that the genuine magic potion was his own hard work and perseverance.

The core moral of the story teaches students that true wealth and ultimate success come from patience, dedication, and physical labor rather than looking for shortcuts or magical solutions.

Chapter: A Bottle of Dew

Let us do these activities before we read. (Page 4)

1. Circle the picture that matches with each word. Check your answers by sharing them with your

classmates and teacher.

• (a) worried: 

• (b) plantation: 

• (c) sage:

• (d) surprise: 

2. Answer these questions and discuss them with your classmates and teacher.

• (a) Think of a time when you worked hard. What did you do then?

• Answer:During my school annual sports day practice, I worked hard by running every morning for two hours to improve my stamina.

• (b) How did it help you?

• Answer: It helped me build better physical endurance and confidence, allowing me to finish the race

successfully.

• (c) How did it make you feel?

• Answer: It made me feel proud, accomplished, and happy that my consistent effort paid off.

Let us discuss (Page 5)

1. What did Rama Natha believe?

• Answer: Rama Natha believed that there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold.

2. How did the sage help Rama Natha?

• Answer: The sage told him the method to make the magic potion: to plant a banana plant, water it

regularly with his hands, collect the winter morning dew from the leaves in a bottle, and bring five litres

of it to him so he could chant magic words over it.

3. Do you think Rama Natha will be able to collect the dew? Give a reason.

• Answer: Yes, because he is determined to follow the instructions and work hard on planting banana

trees during the winter months, even though it will take years.

Let us discuss (Page 6)

1. Why was Rama Natha angry?

• Answer: Rama Natha was angry because after waiting and working for six years to collect five litres of

dew and giving it to the sage, nothing happened to the copper vessel when the sage sprinkled the

water on it, making him feel cheated of six precious years of his life.

2. How did Rama Natha and Madhumati create wealth?

• Answer: They created wealth through hard work by clearing their large empty fields, planting rows and

rows of banana plants, tending to them carefully, collecting and selling the banana crop in the market

over the course of six years, and earning a good price for the fruits.

Let us think and reflect (Pages 6–8)

1. Read the following lines and answer the questions that follow.

• (a) He spent all his time to learn about the magic potion. People cheated him often, promising

to tell him about it, but he did not give up. His wife, Madhumati, was tired of this and also

worried because she saw how much money Rama Natha was spending. She was sure that

soon they would be without money.

• (i) Complete the sentence with a suitable reason.

• Answer: Rama Natha did not 'give up' because he strongly believed that a magic potion existed

and kept searching for ways to learn about it.

• (ii) Read the column which shows 'what happened' and write the correct outcome in the next

column.

• What Happened: People promised to tell Rama Natha about the magic potion.

Outcome: They cheated him often.

• What Happened: Rama Natha was spending a lot of money.  Outcome: His wife

Madhumati grew tired and worried that they would soon be without money.

• (iii) Write whether the following statements are True or False.

• a. Madhumati was troubled about what her husband did.  True

• b. Rama Natha was very happy digging his fields. False 

• c. The sage wanted to show the right path to Rama Natha. True

• (b) Carefully, he took the bottle to the sage. The sage smiled and muttered something over the

water. Then he returned the bottle and said, "Try it out." Rama Natha sprinkled a few drops on a

copper vessel and waited for it to turn to gold. To his surprise nothing happened!

• (i) Choose the option that lists the events given below in the correct order.

• a. The sage smiled.

• b. Rama Natha gave the bottle to the sage.

• c. Rama Natha dropped a few drops of water on a copper vessel.

• d. He said something in a low voice over the water.

• e. Rama Natha waited to see if the magic worked.

1. a, e, d, b, c

2. b, a, d, c, e

3. c, d, a, b, e

4. a, d, b, e, c

Answer:

2. b, a, d, c, e

• (ii) Fill in the blank with the correct word from the lines given above.

• Answer: Seeing that the plant had dried up, the gardener sprinkled some water on it.

• (iii) How might Rama Natha have felt when nothing happened to the copper vessel?

• Answer: Rama Natha must have felt shocked, cheated, angry, and deeply disappointed.

2. Answer the following questions.

• (a) What did the sage ask Rama Natha to do to make the magic potion?

• Answer: The sage asked him to plant a banana plant, water it regularly with his hands, collect the

winter morning dew from the leaves in a bottle, and bring five litres of dew to him.

• (b) Why did the sage ask Rama Natha to do everything himself?

• Answer: The sage wanted Rama Natha to work hard on his land and create a plantation through his

own physical effort rather than looking for shortcuts.

• (c) How could Rama Natha have a big banana plantation after six years?

• Answer: By consistently clearing his empty land, planting rows of banana plants, tending to them

carefully every winter to collect dew, and continuously expanding his cultivation over the years.

• (d) How did the sage make Rama Natha believe that there is no magic potion?

• Answer: By showing him that his hard work, combined with his wife's efforts in the market, had

generated stacks of gold coins from selling the bananas, proving that wealth comes from hard work

and not magic.

• (e) Fill in the 'before' and 'after' table about Rama Natha.

Let us learn (Pages 9–10)

1. Use the words correctly to complete the paragraph given below. There are two extra words in

the box that you do not need.

Use the words correctly to complete the paragraph given below. There

are two extra words in the box that you do not need

There was a farmer who had a huge coconut plantation. He worked hard and did not depend on luck.

Every day was difficult but he did not give up. One day, a man bought a bag of coconuts from him, and

promised to pay him the money the next day. Days passed and the man did not pay him anything. The

farmer felt cheated. About two months later, he met the same man and asked him about his money. The

man said, "Oh! I had forgotten. Now, I remember buying coconuts from you." And he paid the money.

2. Read the words from the story in Column A. Read the new words in Column B. Complete the

meanings of the words given in Column B. Meanings of some words are given.

Question 3.

Choose four homophones from the table above, and for each pair write a sentence that uses both homophones in the same sentence. Check your answers by sharing them with your teacher and classmates. An example has been given below:

I ate eight bananas for breakfast today.

Answer:

I can see with my eyes.

You’re going to love your new book.

The dew on the grass looked beautiful, and the time for our meeting was almost due.

The sun shines brightly while my son plays outside.

He won the race and became the number one athlete in the school.

I see the vast sea from the shore.

4. Match the phrases in Column A with the phrases in Column B. Use the

connecting words given in the middle column to make meaningful

sentences.

1. The children submitted their work (When?) as soon as the deadline.

2. He did not want to try rock climbing (Why?) because of his fear of heights.

3. The children ran towards the gate (When?) before the bell rang.

4. Nitin was late to school today (Why?) as there was a traffic jam.

5. Here are two sentences with letter ‘b’.

Read them slowly the first time. As you read them a few more times,

read them faster each time.

5. Tongue Twister practice:

• Bunyi bhaiyya bought a big bunch of bananas.

• A big bunch of bananas was bought by Bunyi bhaiyya.

Let us listen (Page 11)

(Note: Requires the textbook transcript from page 36 to number the events (a) to (g) correctly).

Let us speak (Page 11)

1. Read aloud the following words from the story:

• sage, promising, wisdom, trees, surprise

• Sound variations of letter 's':

• /s/ sound: sage, promising, surprise (first 's')

• /z/ sound: wisdom, trees, surprise (second 's')

Let us write (Pages 11–12)

1. Use the information given in the picture to write eight sentences about a banana.

• Answer:

1. A banana is a healthy fruit that gives energy and is rich in vitamins.

2. It has an outer covering that is generally yellow or green in colour.

3. The outer skin feels smooth and soft to the touch.

4. It has a sweet taste and a pleasant fruity smell.

5. Many people like to eat a banana during breakfast or break time.

6. It stores fats and is very filling for the body.

7. The fruit is easy to peel and consume.

8. It is widely grown and eaten in different parts of India.

Let us explore (Page 12)

• Blue Java Banana / Ice Cream Banana information:

• It is a special kind of banana known for its blue skin and creamy texture that tastes like ice cream.

• It is grown in South East Asia and Hawaii, and the plants grow to a height of fifteen to twenty feet.