PDF chapter test TRY NOW
Owls are hunters. They eat rats and snakes and frogs. And in Payal’s house, they were all vegetarian, even the dogs! Payal’s mother was totally anti-meat. But now that Owlie had come to stay, she had to get over her dislike for meat. That was another reason why that day was memorable. It was the first day that meat was brought to the house! Payal got the number from her friend and called the meat shop to ask them to deliver half a kilogram of minced meat to the house. They put the meat before Owlie.
Of course, Owlie didn’t know what to do with it. She was just a baby, after all. If the mother owl had been there, she would have softened the meat and shoved it down Owlie’s throat. Payal’s mother decided she had to be mother owl! She picked up a tiny bit of meat with her right hand and squished it up until it was soft. Then with her left hand, she pressed open Owlie’s beak and shoved the food down. In a second, Owlie fell off her perch on to the floor of the cage. She lay on her back on the floor of the cage with feet up in the air.
Explanation:
Owls usually hunt and eat their food. They eat rats, snakes, frogs etc. But in Payal's house, all of them were vegetarian, and they fed the dogs also with vegetarian food only. Payal's mother hated meat. But they had to buy meat to feed the owl. Payal got the contact number of the meat shop from her friend and called the meat shop. They delivered half a kilogram of minced meat. It was the first-day the meat was brought into their house. That was the reason why the arrival of Owlie had been so unforgettable. Payal and her mom put the meat in front of Owlie.
Mother birds generally feed their young ones by shoving food down their throat.
Since Owlie's mother was not there, Payal's mother decided to be the mother of the owl. She took a small bit of the meat with her right hand and mashed it up until it was soft. She pressed Owlie's beak to open the beak with her left hand and pushed the food down her throat. Immediately, Owlie fell from the rod to the floor of the cage. She laid down with her feet facing upwards.
Meanings of difficult words:
Words | Meanings |
| squished | mashed |
| shove | push roughly |
| perch | a temporary resting place (here, the rod in the cage where Owlie was sitting) |
Reference:
State Council of Educational Research and Training (2019). Term-1 English Standard-6. Owlie - Vijaya Ghose(pp. 101-104). Published by the Tamil Nadu Textbook and Educational Services Corporation.
Register for free to see more content