A picture containing text Description automatically generated

GARDEN SNAKE 

Summary

-by Muriel L Sonne 

In the poem “Garden Snake” by Muriel L Sonne, the speaker talks about an incident that happened when he was a child. He sees a snake in the garden and gets scared. He runs away thinking that it might be dangerous. The poem talks about how misconceptions can mislead a person. The speaker’s mother tells him that the garden snake is harmless and good. It eats insects around the place, thereby protecting them from transmitting diseases. The speaker realises his mistake and allows the snake to pass by. He realises that no creature can cause harm unless it is disturbed or attacked. The speaker emphasises on co-existing peacefully with all creations.

Conclusion

The poem, ‘Garden Snake’ is a simplistic description of a harmless snake. The young child narrator encounters a snake in the garden and runs away from it out of fear. However, his mother informs him that certain kinds of snakes are not dangerous at all. They feed merely on insects.

NCERT SOLUTIONS

Questions (Page No. 137-138)

(Working with the Poem)

Question 1. Answer the following questions:

  1. Pick out the line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes.
  2. Which line shows a complete change of the child’s attitude towards snakes? Read it aloud.
  3. “But mother says that kind is good…” What is mother referring to?

Answer:

  1. The line that suggests that the child is afraid of snakes is:

“I saw a snake and ran away…”

  1. The line that shows a complete change of child’s attitude towards snakes is:

“I’ll stand aside and watch him pass,”

  1. The mother is referring to the “garden snakes”.

Question 2. Find the word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass.

Answer: “Wiggles” is the word that refers to the snake’s movements in the grass.

Question 3. There are four pairs of rhyming words in the poem. Say them aloud.

Answer: The four pairs of rhyming words in the poem are:

Away-say

Good-food

Grass-pass

Mistake-snake

Question 4. A snake has no legs or feet, but it moves very fast. Can you guess how? Discuss in the group.

Answer: A snake wiggles and that’s how it moves very fast although it does not have legs or feet.

Question 5: Can you recall the word used for a cobra’s long sharp teeth? Where did you come across this word first?

Answer: The word used for cobra’s long sharp teeth is “fangs”. I have heard this word while watching Discovery channel.