Chapter 5 — The Old Stag

Chapter 5 of the Class 4 English NCERT textbook (Santoor), "The Old Stag", is a short story adapted from the Panchatantra about a kind old stag who falls ill on his hillock and whose visiting friends greedily eat up the tender grass he needs to recover — until they feel ashamed, stop, and bring him fresh leaves, letting rain restore the hillock. Download the PDF to read the full story, summary, and Q&A activities.

• The Story: The Old Stag on the Hillock — An old stag known for his kindness lives in a lush forest and rests on a small hillock covered in soft, tender green grass. When he falls ill, he stays on the hillock to eat the grass and recover. His friends come to visit him but also feast on the very grass he needs to get well, leaving almost none for him.
• Greed and Its Consequences — Word spreads about the delicious tender grass, and every animal that visits the sick stag eats from it. The stag grows weaker as the grass disappears. His friends feel ashamed when they realise their greed caused his worsening condition. The story, adapted from the Panchatantra, ends with the lesson: 'Nature has enough for everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.'
• Language Work: Adjectives and Adverbs of Manner — The chapter introduces descriptive words (adjectives) such as 'lush forest', 'tender grass', and 'healthy food', showing how they make writing more vivid. It also teaches adverbs of manner — words like 'warmly', 'slowly', and 'quickly' that describe how an action is done — and asks students to identify and use adverbs like 'cheerfully', 'carefully', and 'quietly' in sentences.
• Creative and Speaking Activities — Students complete dialogues for a comic-strip story called 'The Monkeys' Fast', write a paragraph about their best friend using personal pronouns, and discuss a sharing scenario involving a bowl of jalebis in class. A 'Thank You Card' activity asks children to imagine they are the old stag and write a grateful message to their friends who helped during illness.

1. 01The Old Stag is adapted from the Panchatantra and appears in Class 4 English Santoor, Chapter 5.
2. 02The stag lives on a hillock with tender green grass and is loved for his kindness to all forest animals.
3. 03When the stag falls ill, visiting animals eat the tender grass he needs to recover, causing him to grow weaker.
4. 04The animals feel ashamed, stop eating the grass, and some bring fresh leaves for the stag.
5. 05Rain helps the grass grow back, and the stag slowly recovers from his illness.
6. 06The moral of the story is: 'Nature has enough for everybody. But we need to use its resources wisely.'
7. 07Language lessons cover descriptive adjectives (lush, tender, healthy) and adverbs of manner (warmly, slowly, quickly).
8. 08Creative activities include completing dialogue speech blurbs, writing about a best friend, and making a Thank You card from the stag's perspective.