Chapter 2 — The Tinkling Bells

Chapter 2 of the Class 4 English NCERT textbook (Santoor), "The Tinkling Bells", tells the story of Chinna, a bright Grade 4 boy from a village, who loses the money gifted by his grandfather and is comforted by his mother Kamala. When a fruit seller accidentally gives him extra change at the market, Chinna is tempted but chooses to return it, earning praise for his honesty. Download the PDF and read the full summary and Q&A below.

• Chinna and the Tinkling Bells — Chinna, a village boy studying in Grade 4, spots a pair of shiny tinkling bells at Chacha's shop priced at ten rupees. He discovers his pocket money — given by his grandfather Dadaji — is missing and walks home feeling sad. His mother Kamala consoles him, promises to replace the money, and takes him to the market.
• Honesty at the Fruit Stall — At the pineapple stall, Kamala pays a hundred-rupee note for two pineapples costing forty-five rupees each. The fruit seller mistakenly gives Chinna two ten-rupee notes instead of the correct ten-rupee change. Though tempted to keep the extra money and buy chocolates, Chinna decides to return it after his mother reminds him how he felt when his own money went missing.
• Degrees of Comparison (Grammar) — The chapter's grammar section teaches comparative and superlative adjectives. Adding -er compares two people or things (e.g., 'Charu is taller than Chinna'), while adding -est compares within a whole group (e.g., 'Jasmine is the tallest'). Practice exercises ask students to fill in blanks using -er or -est correctly.
• Bell Craft Activity — The 'Let us Do' section guides students to make their own tinkling bells using waste materials such as small metal bottle caps or tin cans, pebbles or beans for the tinkling sound, aluminum foil for decoration, string, cardboard tags, and safety scissors. The eleven-step craft encourages creativity and links directly to the story's theme.

1. 01Chinna is a Grade 4 boy who wants to buy tinkling bells for his pet kid (baby goat) named Tara, priced at ten rupees from Chacha's shop.
2. 02Goats under six months old are called 'kids' — a vocabulary fact highlighted in the chapter.
3. 03Chinna loses his pocket money given by his grandfather Dadaji and is comforted by his mother Kamala.
4. 04At the market the fruit seller accidentally gives Chinna ten rupees extra as change for two pineapples worth forty-five rupees each out of a hundred-rupee note.
5. 05Chinna returns the extra money to the fruit seller, who calls him an honest boy and is very happy.
6. 06Kamala rewards Chinna's honesty by taking him back to Chacha's shop to buy the tinkling bells for ten rupees.
7. 07The grammar lesson covers degrees of comparison: adding -er for comparing two things and -est for comparing within a group.
8. 08The chapter includes a hands-on bell craft activity using recyclable materials like bottle caps, pebbles, string, and aluminum foil.