The Raven and the Fox — Class 6 English Poorvi Questions and Answers

The Raven and the Fox questions and answers: study the Class 6 Poorvi Unit 1 poem with its central idea, stanza explanations, picture-order key, rhyme pairs, alliteration, listening answers and sample activities.

Source: NCERT Poorvi, Grade 6, Unit 1, printed pages 13–19; listening transcript on page 37; supplied reprint 2026–27. Open-ended and personal responses are examples to adapt. These explanations are study support, not an official NCERT answer key.

• Poem Overview
• About the Poet
• Central Idea & Stanza Summary
• Word Meanings
• Poetic Devices
• NCERT textbook exercises
• Extra Questions
• MCQs & Answer Key
• Assertion–Reason Questions
• FAQs

Poem Overview

The NCERT poem tells an animal fable in verse. Mr Raven holds a morsel of food on a branch. Reynard the Fox praises his looks and suggests that singing would make the other birds call him King. The Raven opens his beak in foolish pride, dropping the food. The Fox laughs and gives a lesson about flattering words and pride.

The poem says only ‘a morsel’, meaning a small piece of food. It does not name the food as cheese. The animals’ dialogue and emotions belong to the fable, rather than a description of ordinary wildlife behaviour.

About the Poet – Jean de La Fontaine

NCERT credits the poem to Jean de La Fontaine, associated with animal fables. Study the text as printed in Poorvi: its four stanzas use the Fox’s speech and the Raven’s reaction to convey a lesson.

Central Idea & Stanza Summary

Central idea: exaggerated, self-serving praise can distract someone from good judgement. The Raven loses the morsel when foolish pride leads him to open his beak. The lesson concerns false flattery; sincere appreciation and healthy confidence are different.

1. Stanza 1: the Fox sees the Raven perched on a branch with food in his beak.
2. Stanza 2: the Fox praises the Raven’s appearance and tempts him to sing.
3. Stanza 3: the Raven forgets the warning sign in the Fox’s words, opens his beak and drops the food.
4. Stanza 4: the Fox laughs and explains how flattering words and foolish pride caused the loss.

Word Meanings (शब्दार्थ)

Poetic Devices in the Poem

NCERT textbook exercises

Before we read

I. The textbook points out that ravens can croak. In this poem, the Raven’s voice is described as ‘just a croak’; the Fox’s praise is intended to make him open his beak.

II. Choose 2. fox. Foxes are often portrayed as cunning in fables; this is a storytelling convention.

Let us discuss — I. Fill in the blanks

Let us discuss — II. Word-meaning matching

Using the printed Column B numbers: 1 → iv, 2 → i, 3 → v, 4 → iii, 5 → ii, 6 → vii, 7 → vi.

Let us think and reflect — I. Picture sequence

For the four original pictures on printed page 15, write:

The reading order is 3, 4 / 1, 2 across the printed grid. Use those textbook pictures for this answer; the new illustration on this page is not part of that grid.

Let us think and reflect — II. Lines and questions

1(i) Option A — shiny and beautiful, as suggested by the Fox’s admiring praise.

1(ii) According to the Fox’s flattering claim, the Raven’s fine appearance plus singing would make other birds call him King. It is a tempting promise, not a fact that the birds have already agreed to do so.

1(iii) ‘Sir’ shows pretended respect. The Fox wants the Raven to feel important and respond to his invitation to sing.

2(i) The Raven opens his beak to sing, persuaded by the praise and his foolish pride.

2(ii) foolish — the word describing the Raven contrasts with ‘clever’ for the Fox.

Let us think and reflect — III–VII

III. The praise and promise of being called King distract the Raven. In his pride, he forgets that his voice in the poem is a croak.

IV. Reynard praises the Raven’s feathers, calls him handsome and suggests that singing would earn him the title of King.

V. The Raven’s foolish pride makes him careless: he opens his beak and loses his food.

VI. He expects admiration, but instead experiences a loss and a lesson about flattery. That reversal surprises him.

VII. Sample personal response: I would thank the person politely and consider whether the praise is sincere. I would stay thoughtful instead of making a careless decision just to receive more praise. Adapt this to your own view.

Let us learn — I. Rhyming pairs

Let us learn — II. Alliteration

A clear example from Stanza 2 is ‘woods would’, repeating /w/. On page 17, ‘big beak’ illustrates /b/. The teaching example ‘song of sweet birds’ illustrates /s/; it is not an extra line to add to the four-stanza poem.

Let us learn — III. Opposites and sentences

From the given word box: perched–flew, forgot–remembered, foolish–wise, pride–humility, laughed–cried, ignore–notice, glow–dim. The unused words are happy and silly. ‘Perched’ and ‘flew’ describe contrasting bird actions in this exercise.

Four sample sentences: The bird flew to another tree. I remembered my promise. It is wise to check before deciding. The lamp grew dim.

Let us listen — transcript on page 37

The answers are 1. True; 2. False; 3. True. The crow feels sad after being cheated; he thinks he is smart even without beautiful feathers; he wants other animals to be careful with words and pride. The listening material uses ‘crow’, while the poem calls its character Mr Raven. Follow the transcript for the listening task.

Let us speak — a different ending

Let us write — conversation based on that new ending

Write only actions for the Raven while he holds the food, as the textbook asks. Adapt the sample with your own alternative ending.

Let us explore — puppets and performance

Make raven and fox figures from folded or drawn paper and attach them to sticks. Origami uses paper folding; a drawn-and-cut puppet is another craft method. Add a paper morsel and act out the poem’s sequence. Use black for the raven and suitable natural colours for the fox. Take an adult’s help for cutting tools and present with your classmates.

Additional ClearStudy questions

This practice is separate from the printed textbook exercises.

Short Answer Questions (30–40 words)

Long Answer Questions (100–120 words)

ClearStudy MCQ practice

ClearStudy assertion–reason practice

For each, choose: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. (b) Both A and R are true but R is NOT the correct explanation of A. (c) A is true but R is false. (d) A is false but R is true.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)