NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English (First Flight) Chapter 1: A Letter to God

Complete solutions for Class 10 English First Flight Chapter 1 – “A Letter to God” by G.L. Fuentes: an original summary, theme and message, word meanings, and every textbook exercise (Oral Comprehension Check, Thinking about the Text, Thinking about Language, Talk about it) answered fully. The questions are kept exactly as in the NCERT book, with original, exam-ready answers written by ClearStudy.

Class: 10 Subject: English Book: First Flight Type: Prose (Chapter 1) Author: G.L. Fuentes Session: 2026–27
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About the author

“A Letter to God” was written by Gregorio López y Fuentes (G.L. Fuentes), a noted Mexican writer, journalist and poet. Born in 1895 in the state of Veracruz, he grew up among farmers and the rural countryside, and these everyday village people became the heart of his stories. He is best remembered for his novel El Indio (1935), a powerful portrait of Mexico’s indigenous people, which won the country’s first National Prize for Literature. His simple, realistic style and deep sympathy for ordinary working folk shine through this short story about a poor, faithful farmer named Lencho.

Summary

Lencho, a hard-working farmer, lives with his family in the only house on a low hill in the valley. His field of ripe corn promises a good harvest, but the crop needs rain. When the rain finally arrives, Lencho is overjoyed and compares the big drops to ‘new coins’. His happiness, however, is short-lived. A sudden storm brings heavy hail that falls for a full hour and destroys the entire crop, leaving the field looking white, as if covered with salt. Lencho is filled with sorrow, fearing his family will go hungry that year.

Yet Lencho has one deep, unshakeable hope – the help of God, whose eyes, he believes, see everything. Being a literate man, he writes a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and survive until the next harvest. He drops the letter, addressed simply ‘To God’, into the post box. A postman, amused, shows it to the postmaster.

The kind-hearted postmaster is touched by Lencho’s incredible faith and decides not to let it be shaken. He collects money from his employees, his friends and his own salary, but can gather only a little over half. He sends seventy pesos to Lencho, signing the letter ‘God’. The next Sunday, Lencho takes the money without surprise, but becomes angry on counting it. He writes again to God, complaining that only seventy pesos reached him and asking for the rest – but warns God not to send it through the mail, because the post-office employees are ‘a bunch of crooks’.

Theme & message

The story explores the theme of faith versus reality, and the contrast between human goodness and a simple man’s blind trust. Lencho’s unquestioning faith in God is so absolute that he never doubts that his prayer will be answered. The deep irony is that the very people he calls ‘crooks’ – the postmaster and his staff – are the kind, charitable human beings who actually helped him. The story reminds us that real generosity often comes quietly from ordinary people, and that we should value human kindness instead of being blinded by either suspicion or unrealistic expectation.

Word meanings

WordEnglish meaningHindi meaning
cresttop of a hillबुलंदी / शिखर
downpoura heavy fall of rainमूसलाधार बारिश
intimatelyvery closely / thoroughlyघनिष्ठता से
resembleto look likeसमान दिखना
hailstonessmall balls of ice that fall like rainओले / बर्फीले टुकड़े
drapedcovered (with cloth)ࣺका हुआ
plaguea large-scale calamity / swarmमहामारी / आपदा
locustsinsects that fly in swarms and destroy cropsटिड्डियाँ / सलाब
sorrowfulfull of sadnessदुखद / शोकपूर्ण
solitarylonely, singleएकांत / अकेला
consciencean inner sense of right and wrongअंतरात्मा / विवेक
pesothe currency of several Latin American countriesपेसो (मुद्रा)
amiablefriendly and pleasantमिलनसार / सुशील
heartilyin a loud, hearty mannerखुलकर / दिल खोलकर
correspondenceexchange of lettersपत्र-व्यवहार
resolutiona firm decisionदृढ़ संकल्प
charitykindness; giving help to the needyदान / परोपकार
contentmentsatisfactionसंतोष
affixedstuck / attachedचिपकाया
crooksdishonest people; cheatsबेईमान / ठग

Oral Comprehension Check

(Page 1 – up to the first hope of help)

1. What did Lencho hope for?

ANSWERLencho hoped for a good downpour of rain – or at least a shower – so that his ripe field of corn would get the water it needed for a good harvest.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?

ANSWERFor Lencho, the rain meant a healthy crop, which meant money and prosperity for his family. So he happily compared the big drops to ten-cent pieces and the little ones to fives – like fresh, new coins that would bring him wealth.

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?

ANSWERA strong wind began to blow and very large hailstones, resembling new silver coins, started to fall. The hail rained for a whole hour over the house, garden, hillside and cornfield. The field turned white, as if covered with salt; not a leaf was left on the trees, and the corn was totally destroyed.

4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?

ANSWERLencho’s soul was filled with sadness. He told his sons that even a plague of locusts would have left more than this, and that the hail had left nothing – this year they would have no corn. That night was a sorrowful one, with everyone fearing hunger.

(Page 2 – after the letter is written and read)

1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

ANSWERLencho had complete faith in God, whose eyes, he believed, see everything – even what is deep in one’s conscience. Acting on this faith, he wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos, addressed it ‘To God’, and posted it at the town post office.

2. Who read the letter?

ANSWERA postman, who also helped at the post office, first read the letter and showed it, laughing, to his boss – the postmaster.

3. What did the postmaster do then?

ANSWERThe postmaster, a fat and amiable fellow, was deeply moved by Lencho’s faith. To keep that faith from being shaken, he decided to answer the letter. He collected money from his employees, gave part of his own salary, and got friends to contribute too. Unable to gather the full hundred pesos, he sent Lencho a little more than half – seventy pesos – signing the reply ‘God’.

(Page 3 – after Lencho receives the money)

1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

ANSWERNo, Lencho was not at all surprised. Such was his confidence in God that he had fully expected the money to arrive – he showed not the slightest surprise on seeing it.

2. What made him angry?

ANSWERHe became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had asked for. Believing God could neither make a mistake nor deny his request, he concluded that the post-office employees had stolen the rest.

Thinking about the Text

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?

ANSWERLencho has complete, unshakeable faith in God. Sentences that show this include: “All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God”; “…whose eyes… see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience”; “Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence”; and “God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.”

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?

ANSWERThe postmaster is so impressed and touched by Lencho’s deep, childlike faith in God that he does not want it to be shaken or destroyed. To protect this faith, he decides to play the part of God by sending the money. He signs the letter ‘God’ so that Lencho believes his prayer has truly been answered by God himself.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

ANSWERNo, Lencho never tried to find out who had sent the money. He was completely certain that the money had come from God in answer to his letter. His faith was so total that the thought of any human sender never even occurred to him.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)

ANSWERLencho thinks the post-office employees have taken the rest of the money, calling them ‘a bunch of crooks’. The irony is that these very employees – especially the postmaster – are actually the kind, charitable people who gave their own money to help him. Instead of being thanked, the people who showed real generosity are accused of being dishonest thieves. This is the opposite of what one would expect.

5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

greedy   naive   stupid   ungrateful   selfish   comical   unquestioning

ANSWERYes, there are people like Lencho in the real world – simple, deeply religious people whose faith in God is absolute and unquestioning. Lencho can be described as naive and unquestioning in his blind trust, and even slightly comical in the way he writes to God and then scolds the post office. At the same time he is hardworking and sincere, though his complete failure to recognise human kindness makes him appear a little ungrateful.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

ANSWERHuman versus nature: Lencho depends on nature for his livelihood, yet nature destroys him. The rain he prayed for turns into a violent hailstorm that wipes out his entire corn crop in an hour, threatening his family with hunger.Human versus human: Although the postmaster and employees secretly help Lencho out of pure kindness, Lencho mistrusts them and brands them ‘crooks’ who have stolen his money. Thus the goodwill of the human helpers clashes with Lencho’s unfair suspicion of them.

Thinking about Language

I. Names of storms – match the names with their descriptions

ANSWER1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle – cyclone2. An extremely strong wind – gale3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds – typhoon4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel – tornado5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean – hurricane6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage – whirlwind

II. The word ‘hope’ – match Column A with the meanings in Column B

ANSWER1. “Will you get the subjects you want…? I hope so.” → wanting something to happen (and thinking it quite possible).2. “I hope you don’t mind my saying this…” → showing concern that what you say should not offend or disturb the other person: a way of being polite.3. “This discovery will give new hope to HIV/AIDS sufferers.” → a feeling that something good will probably happen.4. “We were hoping against hope that the judges would not notice our mistakes.” → wishing for something to happen, although this is very unlikely.5. “I called early in the hope of speaking to her…” → thinking that this would happen (it may or may not have happened).6. “Just when everybody had given up hope, the fishermen came back…” → stopped believing that this good thing would happen.

III. Relative Clauses – join the sentences using who, whom, whose, which

ANSWER1. I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.2. My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.3. These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.4. Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.5. This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

IV. Using Negatives for Emphasis – find sentences from the story

ANSWER1. The trees lost all their leaves. → “Not a leaf remained on the trees.”2. The letter was addressed to God himself. → “It was nothing less than a letter to God.”3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career. → “Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.”

V. Metaphors – complete the table from the story

ObjectMetaphorQuality or Feature Compared
CloudHuge mountains of cloudsThe mass or ‘hugeness’ of mountains
RaindropsNew coins (ten-cent and five-cent pieces)The value / preciousness of the rain, like fresh money
HailstonesNew silver coins / frozen pearlsTheir bright, round, silvery appearance and (deceptive) preciousness
LocustsA plague of locustsAn epidemic (a disease) that spreads very rapidly and leaves many people dead – here, total destruction of the crop
Man (Lencho)An ox of a manHis great physical strength and tireless capacity for hard work, like an ox

Talk about it

Have you ever been in great difficulty, and felt that only a miracle could help you? How was your problem solved? Speak about this in class with your teacher.

ANSWER (sample)This is a speaking activity, so share a true experience of your own. Sample response: “Once, just before my final exams, I fell badly ill and could not study for almost a week. I felt that only a miracle could help me pass. But my friends visited every evening, shared their notes and explained the difficult chapters, while my parents took care of me. Their help was the ‘miracle’ I had hoped for – with their support I recovered, prepared in time and did well. I learnt that miracles often come in the form of caring people around us.”

Extra questions

Short answer (30–40 words)

1. Where was Lencho’s house situated?

ANSWERLencho’s house was the only one in the entire valley. It sat on the crest of a low hill, from where he could see the river and his field of ripe corn dotted with flowers.

2. Why did Lencho need exactly a hundred pesos?

ANSWERAfter the hail destroyed his crop, Lencho needed a hundred pesos to sow his field again and to feed his family until the next harvest came in. So he asked God for that exact amount in his letter.

3. Why did the postman laugh on seeing the letter?

ANSWERThe postman laughed heartily because the envelope was simply addressed ‘To God’. Never in his career had he come across such an address, and the idea of someone writing a letter to God amused him greatly.

4. How did Lencho react when he counted the money?

ANSWERLencho was not surprised to receive the money, but he grew angry on counting it, finding only seventy pesos. Convinced God could not err, he believed the post-office staff had stolen the remaining thirty pesos.

5. What did Lencho write in his second letter to God?

ANSWERIn his second letter, Lencho complained that only seventy of the hundred pesos had reached him and asked God to send the rest. He warned God not to send it by mail, as the post-office employees were ‘a bunch of crooks’.

Long answer (100–120 words)

6. Describe the character of the postmaster. How do his actions reveal his goodness?

ANSWERThe postmaster is a fat, amiable man with a warm and generous heart. Although he laughs at first on seeing the letter addressed to God, he quickly turns serious, struck by the writer’s extraordinary faith. He is sensitive and kind, for he cannot bear the thought of that faith being shaken. He becomes practical and resourceful, collecting money from his employees, contributing part of his own salary and persuading friends to give ‘for an act of charity’. When he cannot raise the full amount, he sends what he can, signing it ‘God’. His quiet, selfless generosity – expecting no thanks and even risking insult – reveals him as a truly good and compassionate human being.

7. ‘A Letter to God’ is built on irony. Discuss the various ironies in the story.

ANSWERThe story is rich in irony. First, the rain that Lencho prays for as a blessing turns into a destructive hailstorm – the very thing he wished for ruins him. Secondly, Lencho’s blind faith that God will answer him is, ironically, ‘answered’ not by God but by ordinary humans. The greatest irony is at the end: the postmaster and employees, who out of pure kindness give their own money to help Lencho, are branded ‘a bunch of crooks’ and accused of theft. The people who actually help are insulted, while the unseen God gets all the credit. This dramatic irony gives the story both humour and a gentle message about human goodness.

MCQs & Assertion–Reason

1. Where was Lencho’s house located?

(a) In a busy town   (b) On the crest of a low hill   (c) Beside the post office   (d) On the sea coast

2. The only thing Lencho’s earth needed was:

(a) better seeds   (b) a downpour or a shower   (c) more workers   (d) sunshine

3. Lencho compared the big raindrops to:

(a) silver coins   (b) ten-cent pieces   (c) pearls   (d) seeds

4. How long did the hail rain on the valley?

(a) a few minutes   (b) half a day   (c) for an hour   (d) all night

5. After the storm, the field looked as if it were covered with:

(a) snow   (b) salt   (c) sand   (d) ash

6. How much money did Lencho ask God for?

(a) fifty pesos   (b) seventy pesos   (c) a hundred pesos   (d) two hundred pesos

7. Who first read Lencho’s letter to God?

(a) the postmaster   (b) a postman   (c) Lencho’s son   (d) a priest

8. How much money did the postmaster manage to send Lencho?

(a) a hundred pesos   (b) seventy pesos   (c) thirty pesos   (d) fifty pesos

9. How did the postmaster sign the reply to Lencho?

(a) Postmaster   (b) A friend   (c) God   (d) Anonymous

10. In his second letter, whom did Lencho call ‘a bunch of crooks’?

(a) his neighbours   (b) the post-office employees   (c) his sons   (d) the farmers

Answer key: 1-(b), 2-(b), 3-(b), 4-(c), 5-(b), 6-(c), 7-(b), 8-(b), 9-(c), 10-(b).

Assertion–Reason – choose: (a) A and R true, R explains A; (b) A and R true, R does not explain A; (c) A true, R false; (d) A false, R true.

1. Assertion (A): Lencho was happy when the rain first began to fall.

Reason (R): He believed the rain would water his ripe corn and ensure a good harvest.

ANSWER(a) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A.

2. Assertion (A): Lencho was not surprised to receive money in reply to his letter.

Reason (R): He had complete confidence that God would answer his prayer.

ANSWER(a) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A.

3. Assertion (A): The postmaster sent Lencho the money to make fun of him.

Reason (R): The postmaster was deeply moved by Lencho’s faith and wished to protect it.

ANSWER(d) A is false (he helped out of genuine kindness, not mockery), while R is true.

4. Assertion (A): Lencho accused the post-office employees of being crooks.

Reason (R): He was sure God could not have made a mistake or denied his request.

ANSWER(a) Both A and R are true, and R correctly explains A.

5. Assertion (A): The hailstorm proved a blessing for Lencho’s family.

Reason (R): The hail destroyed the entire corn crop and left the family fearing hunger.

ANSWER(d) A is false (the hailstorm was a disaster, not a blessing), while R is true.

Exam tips

Score better in this chapter

1. Remember the central irony – the ‘crooks’ Lencho blames are the very people who helped him. Long-answer and value-based questions almost always test this.

2. Learn key facts precisely: a hundred pesos asked for, seventy pesos received, the hail fell for an hour, the field looked ‘covered with salt’.

3. Be ready to write character sketches of Lencho (faithful, hardworking, naive, unquestioning) and the postmaster (kind, generous, sensitive).

4. For theme questions, link faith, human goodness and irony together rather than treating them separately.

FAQs

Who wrote ‘A Letter to God’ and who is its main character?

The story was written by the Mexican author G.L. Fuentes (Gregorio López y Fuentes). Its main character is Lencho, a poor but deeply faithful farmer.

Why did Lencho write a letter to God?

A hailstorm destroyed his entire corn crop, leaving his family facing hunger. Out of complete faith, Lencho wrote to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and survive until the next harvest.

What is the irony in ‘A Letter to God’?

The postmaster and his employees kindly collected money to help Lencho, yet Lencho calls them ‘a bunch of crooks’ and accuses them of stealing part of his money – the opposite of what they deserved.

Questions are reproduced verbatim from the NCERT First Flight textbook; the summary and all answers are written originally by ClearStudy.

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