LEADER
Once upon a time, there lived a herd of elephants at the but tom of the majestic Finales. Their leader was a rare white elephant who was an extremely kind-hearted soul. He greatly loved his mother who had to drown blind and feeble and could not look out for herself. Each day this white elephant would go deep into the forest in search of food. Ile would look for the best of fruits to send to his mother through other elephants of the herd. But his mother never received any. This was because the other members of the herd would always eat them up themselves. Each night, when he returned home he would be surprised to hear that his mother had been starving all day. Ile was
Absolutely disgusted with his herd. Then one day, he decided to leave them all behind and disappeared in the middle of the night along with his dear mother. He took her to Mount Andorran to live in a cave beside a beautiful lake.
It so happened that one day, when the white elephant was feeding, he heard loud cries. A forester from Banaras had lost his way in the forest and was absolutely terrified. The white elephant told him not to worry as he knew every inch of this forest and could take him to safety. He then lifted him on to his back and carried him to the edge of the forest from where the forester ‘vent on his merry way back to Banaras.
On reaching the city, he heard that King’s personal elephant had just died and the King was looking for a new elephant. His heralds were roaming the city, “announcing that any man who had seen or heard of an elephant fit for a King should come forward with the information. The forester was very excited and immediately went up to the King and told him about the white elephant that he had seen on Mount Andorran. The King was quite pleased with the information and immediately dispatched a number of soldiers and elephant trainers along with the forester. After travelling for many days, the group reached the lake beside which the elephants resided. They slowly crept down to the edge of the lake and hid behind the bushes. The white elephant was collecting lotus shoots for his mother’s meal and could sense the presence of humans. When he looked up, he spotted the forester and realized that it was he who had led the King’s men to him. He was very upset at the ingratitude but decided not to put up a struggle as many of the men would be killed. And he was just too kind to hurt anyone. So he decided to go along with them to Banaras and then seek a solution to this problem.
 On reaching the beautiful city of Banaras, the trainers laid out a feast for their new State elephant but he refused to touch a morsel. He did not respond to any kind of stimuli, be it the fragrant flowers or the beautiful and comfortable stable. He just sat there looking completely despondent. The king was extremely concerned. He offered the elephant food from the royal table and asked him why he grieved in this manner. The white elephant replied that he would not eat a thing until he met his mother back home on Mount Candorana as she must be hungry because she was blind and had no one to feed her and take care of her. He was afraid that she would die. The compassionate King was touched by the elephant’s story and assured him that his soldiers would bring his old mother to the palace as soon as possible. The king kept his promise and his soldiers took good care of his mother as well for as long as she lived. She blessed the kind King with peace, prosperity and joy until the end of his days. In this way, the white elephant could serve the king and also enjoy the royal perks at the king’s palace along with his mother.
1. What did the white elephant do when he realised that his mother had been starving even though he had been sending food for her?
 (1) He punished his herd members and told them to leave the jungle
(2) He went to Banaras to report the happenings of the herd to the King
 (3) With the help of I he King’s soldiers, he got the herd mailings killed
(4)I and his mother left the herd behind!Â
2. Why did the white elephant not put up a struggle against the King’s soldiers?
(1) I Ire did not want anyone to get hurt in the struggle
(2) Ile was blind and feeble and thus could not put up a struggle
 (3) He surrendered as he realised ‘that he would not be able to fight so many soldiers
 (4) Ile feared that the King may kill his mother if he did not go to the palace
3. Why did the white elephant collect food for his mother daily?
 (1) The king did not provide food to the elephant’s mother
(2) All the elephants from the herd refused to collect food for the old mother elephant
(3) The elephant’s mother could not fend for herself
(4) The white elephant’s mother would not accept food from anyone but her son
4. Why was the white elephant upset to see the forester along with the King’s soldiers?
(1) He had invited only the forester and not the King’s soldiers to the forest
(2) The king’s soldiers had arrested the forester for concealing the whereabouts of the white elephant
(3) He did not expect such ingratitude from the forester as he had helped him once
(4) The forester, along with the soldiers had captured the white elephant’s mother
5. Which of the following best describes the King as mentioned in the passage?
(1) Ungrateful                        (2) Weak and feeble
 (3) Dishonest                         (4) Sympathetic
6. What did the King do when I he forester told him about a white elephant?
(1) Ile rewarded the forester with lots of valuables
(2) He sent his soldiers to the forest to bring the white elephant to Banaras
(3) He sent his soldiers to the forest to hunt down the white elephant
 (4) He ordered the forester to bring the white elephant to him from the forest
7. Why was the forester terrified and crying for help in the forest?
(1) He was scared to see a white elephant.
(2) The elephant had lifted him forcefully to his back
(3) He wanted to warn the white elephant against the King’s men
(4) He had lost his way someone’s help
8. Why did the white elephant’s mother never receive the fruits sent by her son?
(1) The other members of the herd would eat up the fruits themselves instead of taking them to her.
(2) The King’s soldiers blocked her food supply in order to make her weak and capture her to be taken to the king.
(3) Because the King would never let any food sent by the white elephant reach his mother
(4) Because the ungrateful forester sold the fruits collected by the white elephant in Banaras
 9. Why was the white elephant unhappy and refused to eat in the King’s palace?
(1) He was unhappy with the royal treatment and expected more comforts
 (2) He was worried about his mother who was blind and weak
 (3) He was protesting against the forester’s ingratitude towards him
(4) The King’s soldiers had injured him and his mother while captivating both of them and wanted
ANSWERS:-
1. (4)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2. (1)
3. (3) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 4. (3)
5. (4) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 6. (2)
7.(4) Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8. (1)
9. (2)
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