Detailed explanation of “A Letter to God”, including definitions of difficult words. In addition, the explanation is followed by a lesson summary. Also, NCERT Question and Answers are also provided to help students understand this Chapter and do well in their exams.
Introduction
Summary
Lencho was a poor but hardworking farmer. His house was on the top of a hill with his family and that was the only house in the valley. His field was full of ripe corn and easily visible from the house. He hoped for a good harvest, but his fields needed rain or at least a shower. He waited for the rain and it did come.
One day, it started drizzling at the time of supper. This made Lancho very happy. In the beginning, Lencho felt that the falling rain drops as ‘new silver coins’ falling from the sky. But gradually, strong winds began to blow and the rain transformed into a hail storm. The storm continued for about an hour. It destroyed his crop completely. The field was now covered with snow like a white layer of white salt. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
He thought that they would go hungry the whole year unless they found someone who could help them. Suddenly his heart was filled with hope. He had firm faith in God. Lencho knew how to read and write. The following Sunday, he wrote a letter to God mentioning about his destroyed crop and asked God to send hundred pesos so that he could sow his field again. He also wrote that if God didn’t help him, h is family would die of hunger.
Then he put the letter in an envelope, addressed it to God and went to the post office. He affixed a stamp on it and dropped it in the mail-box. The postman, who took the letter out of the mail box saw the letter and showed it to the postmaster. Everyone in the post office had a hearty laugh. The postmaster was a kind person.
The postmaster realised the man’s predicament and unshakable faith in God. He decided to help the man. The postmaster requested his colleagues and all of them decided to give some money for an act of charity. They collected money, put it in an envelope and addressed it to Lencho. This letter contained a single word in the form of a signature : God.
The next Sunday, Lencho went to the post office. The postmaster handed him the letter. He became happy to see the money. Lencho was not at all surprised on receiving a letter from God. He had unshakable faith that God would reply in the form of money and he did receive it. He opened the envelope but became angry on counting the money. There were only seventy pesos in the envelope, whereas he had asked for one hundred.
He knew God could not have made a mistake. Immediately, he wrote another letter to God, put it in the mail-box and went out. The postmaster took out the letter from the mail-box and opened it. Lencho had requested God to send the rest of the money i.e., thirty pesos as he had received only seventy pesos. Lencho had a feeling that the people at the post office had cheated him by taking out some money from God’s envelope. So, he wrote that God should not send money through mail as according to him, the post office employees were a bunch of crooks.
Word Meanings
Word | Meaning |
crest | top of a mountain or hill |
downpour | a heavy fall of rain |
intimately | close relationship |
supper | an evening meal |
God willing | by grace of God |
regard | Consider |
draped | Covered |
plague | an unusually large number |
solitary | single |
instructed | taught |
conscience | an inner sense of right and wrong |
daybreak | dawn |
peso | unit of currency |
shower | drizzle |
sow | planting the seeds |
contentment | a state of satisfaction |
amiable | friendly |
correspondence | letters sent or received |
resolution | firm decision |
charity | help or money given to those in need |
deed | a brave or noble act |
wrinkling | slight line or fold in the skin of the face |
lick | to strike with tongue gently |
affixed | attached |
blow | hard hit |
bunch | group |
crooks | dishonest people |
shower | drizzle |
heartily | loudly |
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