Taro’s Reward Summary

Taro’s reward is a well-known Japanese folk tale. This is the story of a caring and loving son. He wanted to fulfil his father’s wishes.
Taro was a poor child. He made money by chopping down trees in the forest. However, the money he made was insufficient to support him and his parents.

It began to grow cold wind one day. The wind blowing from the tracks of the wooden house made everyone in the house feel cold. His father sought for some liquor to revitalise his heart. (Sake is a popular and expensive Japanese drink.) Taro was disappointed since he did not have enough money to purchase the pricey sake.

He made the decision to work hard. He got up early the next day and went to the forest to chop wood.

He was startled to hear the sound of falling water. It perplexed him because there had previously been no river here.

He followed the sound of water since he was thirsty as well. He soon discovered a waterfall behind the rock. He approached the river and placed his hand in it. He moistens his lips with water. To his surprise, he learned that the ordinary water was actually sake. He smiled and poured some sake into his pitcher.

When he arrived at his father’s house, he offered him his sake. The father sipped the sake and began to dance joyfully.

In the evening, a neighbour arrived. Father presented her with a cup of Sake. The woman gladly accepted the sake. Taro then taught her all about the enchantment of waterfalls.

Now the woman has informed everyone in the community. Everyone in the village rushed to Taro’s house to sample the sake.

Taro awoke early the next morning. He went to the waterfall after searching for the largest pitcher.

Surprisingly, he discovered that other villagers were also going to the waterfall.

People quickly arrived at the water fall and sampled the water. However, they discovered that the waterfall’s water was not sake, but rather plain water. People became enraged and resolved to drown Taro in water. Taro hid in the forest to avoid their wrath. He tasted liquid after they had left. It was the same excellent sake. The waterfall produced Taro Sake, whereas the villager received plain water.

The king learned of Taro’s concern for his parents. He gave Taro twenty pieces of gold as a reward. Then he named the city’s most beautiful fountain Taro. This was done to encourage other children to look after their parents.

The moral of the story is that we must look after our parents and elders. Only those who take good care of their parents will be blessed by God.

Main Characters

Taro: Taro is a young boy who is hardworking and thoughtful. He makes a little money by chopping wood. He loves and cares for his elderly parents so much that he wants to meet all of their demands. God surprises him by unexpectedly rewarding his goodness.

Taro’s parents: Taro’s parents are pretty old and frail. His father wishes to drink sake to keep himself warm. When his loving and caring son offers him sake, he becomes quite excited.

Villagers: The villagers are greedy and self-centred because they are unkind to their parents and want to have everything without having to work for it, the magical waterfall gives them plain cold water.

Emperor: He is a wise emperor who praises Taro for being kind and kind to his parents. In this way, he hopes to teach all children to respect, obey, and serve their parents.

Questions and Answers of Taro’s Reward

Comprehension Check

Q. 1. Why did Taro run in the direction of the stream? (5)
Ans: Taro ran in the direction of the stream because he was thirsty. Secondly, he had never before heard the sound of falling water in that area.

Q. 2. How did Taro’s father show his happineQss after drinking sake? (7)
Ans: Sake gave warmth as well as energy to the old man. Taro’s father stopped shivering and started dancing to show his happiness.

Q. 3. Why did the waterfall give Taro sake and others  plain cold water? (12)
Ans: The waterfall obliged Taro and changed water into sake because he was a hard working and thoughtful son who served his old parents sincerely. Sake was the reward for his goodness. Other people were selfish and greedy so they got only plain water.

Q. 4. Why did the villagers want to drown Taro? (10, 11)
Ans: The villagers went to the waterfall to collect sake but they got only plain cold water. They thought that Taro had tricked them. So they decided to punish him.

Q. 5. Why did the Emperor reward Taro? (13)
Ans: The Emperor of Japan rewarded Taro for being good and kind towards his parents. This was Emperor’s way to encourage all children to respect, obey and care their parents.

EXTRA QUESTIONS

Short Answer Type Questions

Q. l. Who was Taro? What was his most endearing quality?
Ans: Taro was a young woodcutter. He was poor but hardworking. He honestly wanted to serve his old parents, and keep them happy. That was his greatest virtue.

Q. 2. What did Taro’s father wish for one cold day?
Ans: Taro’s old father shivered with cold. He wished he had a cup of sake which would warm his body and do good to his heart.

Q. 3. How did the villagers come to know about the magic waterfall?
Ans: The old man offered a cup of sake to a lady and also told her about the discovery of the magic waterfall. She spread the story among villagers.

Q. 4. How did the villagers react after tasting the water of the magic waterfall?
Ans: They tasted the water and found it plain cold water. They were angry and disappointed. They decided to drown Taro into the stream for fooling them.

Q. 5. How did the Emperor of Japan reward Taro?
Ans: The Emperor rewarded Taro with 20 pieces of gold for his goodness. He also named the most beautiful fountain of the city after Taro.

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS

Q. 1. What is the moral of the story, Taro’s Reward?
Ans: The moral is,  one should always work hard to fulfil the dreams and wishes of the parents. A child should be thoughtful, obedient, and hard working to make parents’ lives happier. With hard work, one can get whatever he wants and even nature helps that person with miracle.

Q. 2. How did Taro meet the demand of his father?

Ans: Taro was a young woodcutter. He honoured, loved and obeyed his parents. But he earned very little money which was not enough to buy Sake for his father. Taro began to work harder to earn more money and buy sake. His goodness was favoured by the God. He discovered a waterfall that gave him sake. He brought a pitcher full of that drink to meet the demand of his father.

B. Mark the right item.
1. Taro earned very little money because-
(i) he didn’t work hard enough.
(ii) the villagers didn’t need wood.
(iii) the price of wood was very low.

2.Taro decided to earn extra money- (i) to live a more comfortable life.
(ii) to buy his old father some sake. (iii) to repair the cracks in the hut.

3. The neighbour left Taro’s hut in a hurry because- (i) she was delighted with the drink.
(ii) she was astonished to hear Taro’s story.
(iii) she wanted to tell the whole village about the waterfall.

Ans. 1. (iii), 2. (ii), 3. (iii)

Working With Language  
A .   Strike off the words in the box below that are not suitable.
Taro wanted to give his old parents everything they needed. This shows that he was ….                           thoughtful        hardworking         loving          honest                             considerate       trustworthy           efficient kind

Ans. honest, trustworthy, efficient.

B. 1.‘This made Taro sadder than ever.” This’ refers to
(i) a strong wind that began to blow.
(ii) Taro’s father’s old age.
(iii) Taro’s inability to buy expensive sake for his father.
(Mark the right item.)

2. ‘This, said the emperor was to encourage all children to honour and obey their parents.” This’ refers to
(i) the most beautiful fountain in the city.
(ii) rewarding Taro with gold and giving the fountain his name.
(iii) sending for Taro to hear his story. .
(Mark the right item.)

Ans:  1.(iii) 2. (ii)

D. Fll in the blanks with words from the box.

A__________ woodcutter lived on a______________ hillside. He was a_____________ son who worked__________ but earned______________ money. One day he saw a____________ waterfall hidden behind a rock. He tasted the water and found it___________________.

Ans. A young woodcutter lived on a lonely hillside. He was a thoughtful son who worked hard but earned little money. One day he saw a beautiful waterfall hidden behind a rock. He tasted the water and found it delicious.

Find these sentences in the story and fill in the blanks.

(i)This made Taro____________ than ever. (3)
(ii)He decided to work___________ than before. (3)
(iii)Next morning Taro jumped out of bed_____________ than usual. (4)
(iv) He began to chop even____________ . (4)
(v) Next morning, Taro started for work even_____________________ than the morning before. (10)

Ans: (i) sadder (ii) harder (iii) earlier (iv)faster (v) earlier

C. 1.Listen to these children. What are they talking about?

Ans: The three boys are talking about their problems. One finds swimming more difficult than driving. The second disagrees with his view. He thinks that swimming much less difficult than driving. But the third boy says that learning English is much more difficult than swimming and driving.

2. Work in groups. Come to some agreement on each of the activities given below. Decide which is the most interesting, dullest, most dangerous, safest, most rewarding, most exciting.