A Child’s Beauty
👑 Lesson 7: A Child’s Beauty
1. Matching Facts
(a) Akbar – was the Emperor.
(b) Salim – was Akbar’s son.
(c) Birbal – was a minister in the court of Akbar.
(d) The young prince – was Salim’s son.
2. Sequence of Events
The sentences are rearranged in the order they happened in the story:
(c) Akbar said no child was more beautiful than his grandson.
(b) Birbal said that all parents found their children very beautiful.
(a) Each minister brought a child to judge who was the most beautiful child.
(d) The mother did not let Birbal bring the child to the court.
(e) Akbar with his minister went in disguise to see the child.
(g) They found a child playing on a heap of sand.
(h) Akbar said he had never seen a child uglier than this.
(f) The mother got angry when she heard Akbar’s words.
(j) The mother took the baby inside and shut the door.
(i) Akbar agreed with Birbal that all parents find their own children beautiful.
3. Comprehension Questions
(a) Why was Akbar happy?
Ans:- Akbar was happy because his son Salim had a son (his grandson).
(b) Who used to say, “There is no child more beautiful than my grandson.”?
Ans:- Emperor Akbar used to say this.
(c) Why did each minister bring a child to the court?
Ans:- They brought a child to the court so they could judge for themselves which child was the most beautiful.
(d) Why didn’t Birbal bring any child?
Ans:- Birbal didn’t bring a child because the mother was refusing to let him bring the child to the court.
(e) Why did Akbar and the ministers go in disguise?
Ans:- They went in disguise because the child’s mother did not want strangers to cast an evil eye on her child.
(f) Why did the mother of the child scream at Akbar?
Ans:- The mother screamed at Akbar because he called her child ugly.
(g) What did Akbar realize?
Ans:- Akbar realized that all children seem beautiful to their parents.
4. Who Said What
(a) “I have found a child who is the most beautiful child in the entire country.” – Birbal
(b) “If this is so, we can go and see the child in disguise.” – Akbar
(c) “He is the most beautiful child God could have given me.” – The Mother of the child
(d) “Then we can judge for ourselves.” – One Minister
6. Grammar: Adjectives of Degree
(b) Degrees of Comparison
Positive Comparative Superlative
ugly. uglier ugliest
dirty dirtier dirtiest
big bigger biggest
Important more important most important
(c) Sentence Examples
Positive: My grandson is a beautiful child.
Comparative: There is no child more beautiful than my grandson.
Superlative: I have found the most beautiful child in the entire village.
7. Clauses (Subject, Finite Verb, and Underlining)
(b) Subject (S) and Finite Verb (F) Identification
(i) He (S) plays (F) cricket for the school team.
(ii) Rita (S) will not come (F) today / because she (S) has gone (F) to town.
(iii) She (S) took (F) the umbrella / as it (S) was raining (F).
(iv) I (S) forgot (F) to bring my book.
(v) Ron (S) was reading (F) a novel / when I (S) came (F) to his house.
(c) Underlining the Clauses (Clauses separated by ‘/’)
(i) Whoever came to this house / was chased by that dog.
(ii) After the man came / the boy closed the library door.
(iii) Swimming is my favourite summer time activity.
(iv) The bananas look ripe / but they are not ready to be eaten.
(v) She ate an apple from the basket.
9. Paragraph on: ‘All children seem beautiful to their parents.’
The statement means that a parent’s love is unconditional and protective, overriding any flaws or lack of physical beauty perceived by outsiders. This deep love, often seen as the highest expression of love on earth (especially a mother’s love), colors the parent’s perception, making their child’s happiness and mere existence a source of unique beauty and joy. Akbar learned this lesson when he saw the ugly child’s mother fiercely defending him, proving that love is blind and that beauty truly lies in the eyes of the beholder—the parent’s eyes.
10. Completing the Conversation
Akbar: Look, how beautiful my grandson is!
Minister: Yes, Huzur, there is no child more beautiful than your grandson.
Birbal: The young prince is very beautiful, but all parents find their children beautiful.
Akbar: How dare you say this, Birbal? No child is more beautiful than my grandson!
Minister: Then, let’s find out tomorrow. Tomorrow each of us will bring a child whom we find beautiful and we can then judge.
[Next day]
Akbar: Birbal, why have you not brought a child? / Where is the child that is more beautiful than my grandson?
Birbal: Sorry Huzur, the mother is refusing to let me bring the child to the court.
Akbar: How dare she! Let’s go and see the child in disguise.
Birbal: Huzur, we have arrived. They are inside the small hut.
Akbar: Birbal, you call this child the most beautiful! I have never seen an uglier child than this before in my life.
Birbal: (After the mother screams) Huzur, you are right. All children seem beautiful to their parents.
11. Synonyms
(a) beautiful – (iii) pretty
(b) happy – (ii) glad
(c) dirty – (ii) filthy
(d) scared – (iii) afraid
(e) disguise – (iv) to change appearance
(f) screamed – (ii) shouted