CHAPTER – 4 The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom | CLASS 7TH | NCERT ENGLISH IMPORTANT QUESTIONS & MCQS | EDUGROWN

(a) treasure

(b) a dead kitten

(a) he was kind

(a) it turned Into gold coins

(c) dog died

(a) Into ashes

(a) troubled

(c) the visit of daimio

(a) the cherry tree blossom

(d) all the above

(c) was beaten to death

(c) Jealous

Answer: (b) love

Answer: (a) a fish

Answer: (b) insensitive towards

Answer: (a) to mourn the death of his dog

Answer: (c) a heap of gold coin

Answer: (a) lumps of foul mass of worms

Answer: (c) ash, sprinkle

Question 1.
How did the old couple treat their dog?
Answer:
The old couple treated the dog as their own child. The old farmer had created a cushion made of blue crepe for the dog. During the meals they used to feed the dog plenty of rice and tidbits of fish from their own chopstick.

Question 2.
Did the farmer forget his virtues after becoming rich?
Answer:
No, he didn’t. The kind farmer bought a piece of land hosted a feast for his friends and helped his poor neighbours when he became rich.

Question 3.
Describe the change, the cherry tree, underwent after the kind old man poured a pinch of ash over it.
Answer:
It was winter season and the cherry tree in the old couple’s garden didn’t have leaves. The old man sprinkled a pinch of the ashes and blossoms sprouted out of it. Pink flowers came on it and their fragrance filled the air.

Question 4.
How did the farmer please the daimios?
Answer:
The daimio was pleased by seeing the magic of the withered cherry tree bursting into blossom.

Question 5.
Why did the leader ignored the kind old man sitting on the cherry tree?
Answer:
The leader of the van allowed the old man to remain seated at the cherry tree considering him to be very old.

Question 6.
What preparations did the kind old couple make for the New Year?
Answer:
For the New Year the old couple planned to make rice pastries and bean sauce.

Question 7.
Why daimios did punish the wicked couple?
Answer:
The wicked farmer was killed brutally by the daimios men and was thus punished for his greed.

Question 8.
How did the dog repay to the love of his masters?
Answer:
The dog was treated like a family member by the old couple. The dog made his masters rich by giving them gold coins. His masters became prosperous with it and bought a piece of land.
He then asked them to collect the ashes which had the power to sprout blossoms of a withered tree. The magic was seen by the daimio who had rewarded the old couple.

Question 9.
The wicked farmer wanted to be rich like his neighbour. What happened every time when he tried to do so?
Answer:
First time when the neighbour tried to be rich, all he got was a foul smelling dead kitten. In their second . attempt, the old couple got heap of worms from the dough of rice pastry and bean sauce. In the third attempt, the old man failed to create magic with the ashes. He spoiled daimio’s procession and was killed by his men as punishment.

Question 10.
Why did the neighbours kill the dog?
Ans.
The neighbours killed the dog in anger. They have expected the dog to help them get a treasure, but the dog had rather taken them to a foul smelling dead kitten.

The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom Extra Questions and Answers Long Answer Type

Question 1.
The unconditional love of old couple made them rich. Elucidate.
Answer:
The old couple was issueless so when they found a little dog, they look after as if it were their child. Once he was taken to a heap with buried gold by digging. Later during the New Year feast, they were made rich. Further the king showered him with gifts.

Thus if we spread selfless love to the animals, they too reciprocate with their bountiful love. So without having selfish interests one should unconditionally love the animals. The one who has selfish interest, would remain empty handed.

Question 2.
How does the story underscores values such as honesty, compassion, diligence with a hint of magical realism?
Answer:
The love of the dog for old couple was obvious as they look after it with affection. The story is different as magic of his appearance in dreams and of changing food into gold. These elements create interest of the reader. Moreover, the love, kindness and compassionate behaviour made the couple rich. However, they did not leave their virtues; they were appreciated by the king also.
On the contrast, the cruel and wicked couple were punished for their misdeeds.

Question 3.
The old farmer is a kind person. What evidence of his kindness do you find in the first two paragraphs.
Answer:
The old farmer is a kind person. He loved his dog as if it was his own baby. He fed it with fish with his v- own chopsticks and all the boiled rice it wanted. He was patient and kind to everything that had life and often dug up a sod on purpose to give food to the birds.

Question 4.
What did the dog do to lead the farmer to the hidden gold?
Answer:
The dog came running to the farmer and kept on whining and ruining to and for till the farmer followed him. The dog began a lively scratching. Thinking it was possibly a buried bone or fish, the farmer struck his hoe in the earth and found the hidden gold.

Question 5.
(i) How did the spirit of the dog help the farmer first?
(ii) How did it help him next?
Answer:
(i) The spirit of the dog came in the farmer’s dream and first asked him to chop the pine tree and make mortar and hand-mill out of it. With the mortar and mill it gave the farmer heaps of gold,
(ii) The dog’s spirit again came in the farmer’s dream for the second time and told the farmer to collect ‘the ash of the mortar and the mill and sprinkle it on the withered trees and they will blossom’. The farmer did this in front of the daimio and was awarded with lavish gifts.

Question 6.
Why did the daimio reward the farmer but punish his neighbour for the same act?
Answer:
The daimio rewarded the farmer for making an old withered cherry tree blossom once again. Like the farmer his greedy neighbour also sprinkled ashes over a withered cherry tree. However, the result this time was different. The tree did not blossom, while the wind blew the dust into the noses and eyes of the daimio and his wife. This was the reason why the greedy neighbour was punished.

The Ashes that Made Trees Bloom Extra Questions and Answers Reference to Context

Question 1.
One day the dog came running.to him, putting his, paws against his legs and motioning with his head to some spot behind. The old man at first thought his pet was only playing and did not mind it. But the dog kept on whining and running to and fro for some minutes. Then the old man followed the dog a few yards to a place where the animal began a lively scratching. Thinking it was possibly a buried bone or bit of fish, the old man struck his hoe in the earth, when, lo! a pile of gold gleamed before him.

(i) What was the intention of the dog?
(ii) Why was the dog ‘whining and running’?
(iii) What did the old man think was buried?
(iv) What was there when he struck his hoe?
(v) Write the past participle ‘gleam’.
Answer:
(i) The dog wanted to take his master to a heap.
(ii) The dog was excited to show his master the heap of riches.
(iii) The old man thought that it was possibly a buried bone or bit of fish.
(iv) There was a pile of gold gleamed when struck his hoe.
(v) Gleamed.

Question 2.
So the old man chopped down the tree and cut out of the middle of the trunk a section about two feet long. With great labour, partly by fire, partly by the chisel, he scraped out a hollow place as big as a small bowl. He then made a long handled hammer of wood, such as is used for pounding rice.

When New Year’s time drew near, he wished to make some rice pastry. When the rice was all boiled, granny put it into the mortar, the old man lifted his hammer to pound the mass into dough, and the blows fell heavy and fast till the pastry was all ready for baking. Suddenly the whole mass turned into a heap of gold coins. When the old woman took the hand-mill, and filling it with beans began to grind, the gold dropped like rain.

(i) What did the old man do to the tree?
(ii) What did he wish to make for New Year?
(iii) What did they do when the rice was boiled?
(iv) What happened to the food?
(v) Give the meaning of ‘Pounding’.
Answer:
(i) The old man chopped down the tree and cut out of the middle of the trunk a section about two feet long.
(ii) When New Year’s time drew near, he wished to make some rice pastry.
(iii) When the rice was all boiled, granny put it into the mortar, the old man lifted his hammer to pound the mass into dough.
(iv) The whole mass turned into a heap of gold coins. When the old woman took the hand-mill and filling it with beans began to grind, the gold dropped like rain.
(v) It means repeated and heavy striking or hitting someone or something.

Question 3.
Not long after that, the good old man dreamed again, and the spirit of the dog spoke to him, telling him how the wicked people had burned the mill made from the pine tree. “Take the ashes of the mill, sprinkle them on the withered trees, and they will bloom again,” said the dog-spirit.

Questions
(i) Who came in good old man’s dream?
(ii) What did wicked man do with the mill?
(iii) What instruction did the spirit give to the old man?
(iv) What change happen to the withered trees?
(v) Give past participle of ‘spoke’.
Answer:
(i) The spirit of the dog came in the good old man’s dreams.
(ii) The wicked man had burned the mill.
(iii) The spirit instructed the old man to take the ashes of the milk and to sprinkle them on the withered trees.
(iv) The withered trees started blooming again.
(v) Spoken.

Question 4.
Now, in? the days of the daimios, it was the custom, when their lord passed by, for all the loyal people to shut up their high windows. They even pasted them fast with a slip of paper, so as not to commit the impertinence of looking down on his lordship. All the people along the road would fall upon their hands and knees and remain prostrate until the procession passed by. The train drew near. One tall, competent man marched ahead, crying out to the people by the way, “Get down on your knees! Get down on your knees!” And everyone kneeled down while the procession was passing.

(i) What was the custom of the daimyo’s?
(ii) What did they paste on high windows?
(iii) How long did they remain prostrate?
(iv) Who cried out to the people?
(v) Write an antonym competent’.
Answer:
(i) In the days of the daimio’s, it was the custom, when their lord passed by, for all the loyal people to shut up their high windows.
(ii) They pasted the windows with a slip of paper.
(iii) They remained prostrate until the procession passed by.
(iv) One tall, competent man cried out to the people to get down.
(v) Incompetent/ inefficient.