A Bottle of Dew Questions & Answers | Class 6 English | CBSE NCERT

(b) — The text says, "His father left him large tracts of land when he died."

(c) — He believed a magic potion could turn any object into gold, so he spent all his time learning about it instead of working.

(b) — 'Tracts' here means large areas or stretches of land, as the glossary in the chapter also explains.

cheated

Rama Natha was so eager to learn about the magic potion that he would believe anyone who promised to tell him about it. People took advantage of this weakness and cheated him.

No, it was not wise. He ignored the real wealth (his land) that his father had left him, and wasted time and money chasing something that did not exist.

(b) — She was tired and worried because her husband was spending a lot of money, and she was sure they would soon be without money.

(c) — The sage says he heard how such a potion could be made during his travels in the Himalayas.

(b) — People had cheated him often and never truly helped him, so a famous sage saying 'Yes' was unexpected good luck.

True

Madhumati was a practical and caring wife. She saw the harm her husband's obsession was doing to their money and future, and she was tired and worried about it.

I would gently tell them that the dream is harming the family, and advise them to work hard at something real instead of wasting money on something that may not exist.

(b) — The sage said, "You have to plant a banana plant and water it regularly with your hands."

(c) — The sage told him to bring five litres of dew to be turned into the magic potion.

(b) — 'Chant' means to repeat or sing a word or phrase, usually as part of a magic ritual.

In winter, in the morning.

He promised to chant some magic words over the dew, which would turn it into the magic potion that could change any object into gold.

The sage knew that a short cut would teach Rama Natha nothing. The long task of planting, watering and collecting dew for years would force him to work hard — which was the sage's real plan.

(b) — He knew that dew forms only in winter, so collecting five litres would take many years.

(c) — The sage clearly said, "you must look after them yourself and collect the dew with your own hands."

(a) — Dew is the small drops of water that form on leaves during the night.

False

The sage wanted Rama Natha to learn the value of hard work. If someone else did the work, Rama Natha would learn nothing and would keep waiting for magic.

I would think carefully before accepting it, because a task that takes years needs patience and daily effort. If I truly wanted the result, I would accept it and work steadily.

(a) — He cleaned his large, empty fields and planted rows and rows of banana plants.

(d) — The same man who had never looked after his land now cleaned, planted, watered and collected dew carefully.

(b) — 'Tended' means looked after; he took care of the plants carefully.

empty

He 'tended' the plants carefully and collected the winter dew 'with great care', which shows he was patient and attentive in his work.

His wife helped him, so the work was shared and became easier. Alone it would have been much harder for Rama Natha to look after so many plants and earn from them.

(b) — Madhumati gathered the banana crop, took it to the market and got a good price for it.

(c) — At the end of six years, he finally had his five litres of dew.

(b) — Besides the dew, they had a huge banana plantation, and Madhumati sold the fruits at a good price.

A good price.

It shows he had learnt patience and perseverance — he stuck to the difficult task for six long years without giving up.

She could see that the work itself was bringing them prosperity, so she quietly supported the plan and did her share by selling the crop.

(b) — He sprinkled a few drops on a copper vessel and waited for it to turn to gold.

(b) — 'Muttered' means spoke in a low, unclear voice.

(c) — When the drops did not turn the vessel into gold, he believed the sage had deceived him and wasted six precious years of his life.

copper

The sage knew there was no magic in the water and that nothing would happen. His smile shows he was calm and confident, because his real plan was about to be revealed.

I would have felt shocked, cheated and heartbroken, because I would have believed six years of hard work had gone to waste.

(b) — The sage called Madhumati to come forward, and she came with a big box.

(a) — When she opened it, inside shined stacks of gold coins.

(b) — The box of gold coins was the sage's way of proving that hard work — not magic — had made them rich.

Stacks of gold coins.

The coins had come from selling bananas in the market. While Rama Natha looked after the trees, Madhumati had sold the fruits and saved the money.

It teaches that when family members support each other and divide work sensibly, even an impossible-looking task can become a success.

(b) — The sage says clearly, "It was your hard work that created this wealth, not magic."

(c) — The sage himself says, "If I had told you about this earlier, you would have not listened to me."

(a) — 'Wisdom' means deep understanding; Rama Natha understood the deep truth behind the sage's words.

False

He had just seen the drops fail on the copper vessel and had accused the sage of cheating, so he did not expect Madhumati to appear with a box full of gold coins.

Yes, in this case the trick harmed nobody and cured Rama Natha of a harmful belief, turning him into a hardworking man. A wise teacher sometimes teaches through experience rather than plain instruction.

Rama Natha believed there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold. He spent all his time trying to learn about this potion instead of looking after his land.

People knew that Rama Natha was desperate to learn about the magic potion. They took advantage of his eagerness by promising to tell him about it and cheated him of his money.

Madhumati was tired and worried because she saw how much money Rama Natha was spending on his search for the potion. She was sure that soon they would be without money.

Mahipati was a famous sage who came to their town. Rama Natha became his follower and asked him about the magic potion.

The sage asked him to plant banana plants, water them with his own hands, collect the morning dew from the leaves in winter, and bring five litres of it to him.

Winter lasts only a few months, and only a little dew forms each morning. So collecting five litres would take many years.

He cleaned his large fields, which had been lying empty for years, planted rows and rows of banana plants, tended them carefully, and collected the winter dew with great care.

Madhumati helped him in his work. She gathered the banana crop, took it to the market and got a good price for it.

It took him six years to finally collect his five litres of dew.

Nothing happened at all. The vessel did not turn into gold, and Rama Natha was shocked and angry.

He felt the sage had cheated him and that he had wasted six precious years of his life on a false promise.

Inside the box shined stacks of gold coins, which the couple had earned over the years.

Rama Natha had worked hard on his land and created a banana plantation, and Madhumati had sold the fruits in the market. Their hard work, not magic, had created the wealth.

The sage knew that Rama Natha would not have listened to plain advice earlier, so he played a trick to make him learn through his own hard work.

He understood the wisdom behind the sage's words and worked even harder on his plantation from that day on.

The word is 'tended' — "He tended them carefully."

'Precious' means valuable — e.g., "Time is precious, so we must not waste it."

The story teaches that there are no short cuts to wealth. Prosperity comes only through steady, honest hard work.

Before meeting the sage, he was a lazy dreamer who never looked after his land. After meeting the sage, he became a hardworking farmer with a huge banana plantation.

The sage is wise, patient and kind. He understands human nature and teaches an important lesson through experience rather than punishment.

The sage asked Rama Natha to plant banana plants and collect morning dew for five litres, promising to turn it into a magic potion. To finish this task, Rama Natha had to work daily for six years. Through this work he unknowingly built a plantation and earned wealth. When the 'potion' failed, the sage revealed the truth — the hard work itself had created the wealth. Thus the plan turned a dreamer into a hardworking farmer.

At the start, Rama Natha is a lazy and foolish dreamer. He inherits large tracts of land but never looks after it, and wastes money chasing a magic potion. However, he is also determined — he does not give up easily. Once he has a goal, he works patiently for six long years. In the end, he shows wisdom by accepting his mistake and working even harder.

Madhumati is a sensible, hardworking and caring wife. She is worried about her husband's wasteful ways and their falling money. Yet she stands by him — she helps him with the plants, gathers the banana crop, sells it in the market and gets a good price. Her steady support is a major reason for the family's wealth.

The sage's real purpose was not to make a potion but to change Rama Natha's habits. A task lasting years would force him to work daily, season after season. Long effort alone can build the habit of hard work; a quick task would have taught him nothing. In those years he built a plantation, earned money and forgot his lazy ways.

The central theme is that there is no magic path to riches — wealth and success come only from sustained hard work. The story also shows the value of patience, teamwork between husband and wife, and the role of a wise teacher. Hard work quietly creates what empty dreaming can never achieve.

The couple divided their work sensibly. Rama Natha cleaned the empty fields, planted rows and rows of banana plants and tended them carefully. Madhumati gathered the crop, took it to the market and got a good price for it. Over the years their teamwork produced a huge banana plantation, stacks of gold coins and even the five litres of dew.

No, the six years were not wasted at all. In those years Rama Natha turned empty fields into a huge banana plantation, earned a steady income, and collected the five litres of dew as promised. He also gained the greatest reward of all — the understanding that hard work creates wealth. So the years gave him prosperity and wisdom.

Rama Natha's blind belief in a magic potion made him lazy, poor and an easy target for cheats. The sage's practical wisdom used the same belief cleverly — as a rope to pull Rama Natha towards honest labour. When belief is finally replaced by understanding, Rama Natha becomes truly prosperous. The story thus rewards wisdom and gently punishes blind belief.

The bottle of dew is the heart of the story's plot. It is the goal for which Rama Natha works for six years, and it is the 'magic potion' that turns out to be plain water. The bottle symbolises the excuse that transforms his life — while collecting it, he builds real wealth. The title therefore points to both the trick and the lesson.

The story warns that those who look for short cuts often end up poorer, cheated and frustrated, just like Rama Natha in the early years. Short cuts promise gold but deliver nothing. Real and lasting success comes only from patient, daily effort. The sooner one stops dreaming of magic and starts working, the sooner one prospers.

Rama Natha is the son of a rich landlord who left him large tracts of land, yet he does not spend even one day looking after it. He is a dreamer who believes a magic potion can turn any object into gold. He is foolish with money — people cheat him often, and his wife worries they will soon be poor. But he also has a hidden strength: he 'did not give up'. When the sage gives him a difficult task, he shows a new side of himself. He cleans the fields lying empty for years, plants rows and rows of banana plants, tends them carefully and collects dew with great care for six long years. When the potion fails, he first reacts with anger, calling it cheating. But once the sage explains the truth, he shows true wisdom by accepting the lesson and working even harder from that day on. Thus, Rama Natha grows from a lazy, gullible dreamer into a patient, hardworking and wiser man.

Sage Mahipati is a famous and wise teacher. He is widely respected — Rama Natha becomes his follower as soon as he comes to town. He understands human nature deeply: he knows that Rama Natha, obsessed with magic, "would have not listened" to plain advice, so he designs a clever trick. He is patient — he is willing to let his lesson unfold over six long years. He is also kind and fair: he never takes Rama Natha's money, and his trick harms no one. When the moment comes, he reveals the truth gently, with a smile, and calls Madhumati forward with the box of gold coins as proof. He gives credit where it is due — to Rama Natha's hard work and his wife's selling of the fruits. Above all, he is a teacher in the true sense: his goal is not to show power but to reform a man and make him self-reliant.

The central theme of the story is that wealth and success come from hard work, not from magic or short cuts. Rama Natha wastes years and money believing that "there was a magic potion that could turn any object into gold". The sage uses this very belief to redirect him to honest labour — planting banana plants, watering them with his own hands and collecting dew for six years. The turning point comes when the 'potion' fails on the copper vessel, and Madhumati's box reveals stacks of gold coins. The sage then states the theme plainly: "It was your hard work that created this wealth, not magic." The story also carries a second message about teaching and learning — sometimes people learn only through experience, as the sage admits when he explains why he played a trick. Finally, the changed Rama Natha, who "worked even harder on his plantation from that day on", proves that the lesson was truly learnt.

The story teaches several lasting values. First, the dignity of hard work: Rama Natha's wealth appears only when he works on his land and "created this plantation". Second, patience and perseverance: collecting dew drop by drop over six years shows that great results come from small, steady efforts. Third, teamwork in a family: Madhumati helps her husband and sells the fruits in the market, proving that shared work multiplies success. Fourth, the courage to accept one's mistakes: instead of staying angry, Rama Natha "understood the wisdom behind these words and worked even harder". Fifth, healthy scepticism about get-rich-quick promises: people who promised to tell him about the potion only cheated him. Together, these values turn a simple folk tale into a lesson for life.

The lesson that hard work, not magic, creates success applies directly to a student's life. When I want good marks, no 'magic' — luck, copying or last-minute cramming — can replace daily study, just as Rama Natha's plantation grew from day-to-day care. If I want to learn a skill like music or sport, I must practise regularly for years, the way he watered the plants with his own hands every day. The story also warns me against short cuts: offers that sound too good to be true, like the cheats who promised to reveal the potion, usually cheat us. It teaches me to share work with family and classmates, like Madhumati did, and to accept correction gracefully, as Rama Natha finally did. Above all, it reminds me that every 'bottle of dew' of achievement is filled drop by drop.

I was once the laziest man in our town. My father had left me large tracts of land, but I never touched it, because I believed a magic potion could turn anything into gold. People cheated me often, and my wife Madhumati worried we would soon be penniless. Then the sage Mahipati came to town. To my astonishment, he told me how to make the potion — plant banana plants, collect the morning dew with my own hands, and bring him five litres. I cleaned my fields, which had lain empty for years, and planted rows and rows of banana plants. Winter after winter I collected dew with great care, while my wife sold the fruits in the market. After six years, I proudly carried the bottle to the sage. He muttered something over it and said, "Try it out." I sprinkled drops on a copper vessel — nothing happened! I cried that I had wasted six precious years. Then the sage called Madhumati, who opened a big box full of gold coins. He explained gently that there was no potion; our own hard work had made us rich, and he had played a trick because I would not have listened earlier. That day I understood the wisdom of his words, and I have worked even harder on my plantation ever since.

The story would most likely have ended sadly, with no plantation and no gold coins. The sage himself gives the clue: "If I had told you about this earlier, you would have not listened to me." Rama Natha was so lost in his dream that people had cheated him for years, yet "he did not give up" his search for the potion. Plain advice would have bounced off him, and he would have continued ignoring his fields and spending money until the family was ruined. Because the sage instead gave him a 'magic' goal, Rama Natha willingly cleaned his empty fields, planted banana plants, tended them for six years and let Madhumati sell the crop — habits he would never have adopted otherwise. The trick converted his weakness (blind belief) into his strength (steady labour). Without it, there would have been no dew bottle, no huge plantation and no stacks of gold coins — only an older, poorer and still-dreaming Rama Natha.