Summary
Chapter 6 of NCERT Class 8 English (Honeydew), "This is Jody's Fawn", is a story by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings about a boy named Jody whose father Penny is bitten by a rattlesnake. Penny kills a doe and uses its heart and liver to draw out the poison and survive. Jody, troubled by the thought of the orphaned fawn left behind, persuades his father to let him bring the fawn home and raise it. The story follows Jody's journey into the scrub to find the fawn, and his joy when he succeeds in bringing it home.
When Jody's father Penny is bitten by a rattlesnake, he kills a doe and uses its heart and liver as a home remedy to draw out the poison, saving his own life. Jody, moved by compassion, worries about the fawn the doe has left behind. He persuades his recovering father that it would be ungrateful to let the fawn starve, since the doe gave her life for Penny's sake. Penny gives permission, and Jody rides out with Mill-wheel before going alone into the scrub to find the fawn. He discovers it, carries it home, and teaches it to drink milk from a gourd by dipping his fingers in it, forming a deep and tender bond with the orphaned animal.
Key points & formulas
- 01Penny Baxter is bitten by a rattlesnake and kills a doe, using its liver to draw out the poison and save his life.
- 02Jody is troubled by the thought of the orphaned fawn and persuades his father with the argument that they took the fawn's mother and it was not to blame.
- 03Penny tells Jody he has him 'hemmed in' and gives permission, saying it would be ungrateful to leave the fawn to starve.
- 04Jody rides back with Mill-wheel but chooses to search for the fawn alone, not wanting to share the private moment of finding it.
- 05Jody identifies the fawn as a male because its spots are arranged in a line — his father had told him that on a doe-fawn the spots are 'every which way'.
- 06Jody finds the fawn in the scrub, carries it through the thicket shielding its face from prickling vines, and walks it home, alternating between carrying it and letting it follow him.
- 07At home, Jody feeds the fawn by dipping his fingers in milk and guiding it to drink from a gourd, and the fawn contentedly closes its eyes as it feeds.
Frequently asked questions
01What happened to Jody's father Penny at the start of the story?
Penny Baxter was bitten by a rattlesnake. He quickly killed a doe and used its heart and liver to draw out the poison, which saved his life.
02Why did Jody want to bring the fawn home?
Jody felt that since they had killed the doe to save his father, the fawn was left without a mother through no fault of its own. He believed it would be ungrateful to leave the fawn to starve.
03How did Jody convince his father to let him keep the fawn?
Jody told his father that the fawn might be hungry and scared, that he was old enough not to need milk himself so the fawn could have it, and that 'we took its mother, and it wasn't to blame.' Penny said Jody had him 'hemmed in' and agreed, saying he could not say no.
04What did Doc Wilson say about bringing the fawn home?
Doc Wilson supported Jody, saying 'Nothing in the world comes quite free. The boy's right and his daddy's right,' meaning the family owed a debt to the doe that had saved Penny's life.
05How did Jody's mother react when she heard about the fawn?
Ma Baxter gasped and seemed reluctant. She eventually agreed, saying she would give the fawn her milk since they had nothing else to feed it, but set down the coffee pot 'helplessly'.
06Why did Jody want to search for the fawn alone rather than with Mill-wheel?
Jody had two reasons: if the fawn was dead or could not be found, he did not want his disappointment to be seen; and if the fawn was there, the meeting would be 'so lovely and so secret' that he could not endure sharing it.
07How did Jody know the fawn was a male?
Jody said the spots were all in a line. His father had told him that on a doe-fawn the spots are 'every which way,' so the lined spots meant it was a male.
08What did Jody find when he returned to the clearing where the doe had been killed?
He found buzzards sitting in a circle around the carcass of the doe. He also saw large cat prints in the sand, though the big cats had not fed on the doe. The night's rain had washed away all the fawn's hoof prints.
09How did Jody carry the fawn home through the scrub?
He lifted the fawn and carried it under his arm, hoisting it as high as possible because its legs were surprisingly long. He shielded its face from prickling vines as he pushed through the thicket, alternating between carrying it and letting it walk and follow him on the trail.
10How did Jody teach the fawn to drink milk?
Jody poured milk into a small gourd, but the fawn could not drink from it directly. He dipped his fingers in the milk and let the fawn suck them, then slowly lowered his fingers into the gourd. As long as he held his fingers below the level of the milk, the fawn drank contentedly until the milk was gone.
11What was Penny's reaction when Jody brought the fawn to his bedside?
Penny turned his head, saw Jody standing with the fawn clutched against him, and said, 'I'm glad you found him.' Penny also noticed that Jody's eyes were as bright as the fawn's.
12Is the NCERT PDF for 'This is Jody's Fawn' available for free?
Yes. The NCERT Class 8 English Honeydew PDF, including Chapter 6 'This is Jody's Fawn', is available for free on CBSE PrepMaster. No sign-up or payment is required to read or download it.
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