NCERT Solutions for Class 6 English Poorvi Unit 2 Friendship Chapter 1, 2 and 3

Gajaraj, the elephant, lived in the best booth of the royal stables. The king was fond of Gajaraj, and he had ordered that the elephant should be well looked after. In spite of royal comforts, Gajaraj was sad because he had no friends. The mahout, or elephant trainer, was the only one he ever interacted with. The mahout was a kind man who served Gajaraj food, and gave him a bath in the elephant pond daily. He was a good caretaker, but not a friend. “I wish I had a friend I can play with,” thought Gajaraj. One late evening, a dog strayed into the stable. Gajaraj could see that the visitor was tired and hungry. He pushed some of the food he was munching towards the dog. The visitor wagged his tail, looked up at the elephant to convey his thanks, and then turned his full attention to the food in front of him. As soon as he finished eating, he fell asleep.
The next morning, the mahout found the stray dog in the stable. He did not mind the dog. He also noticed that Gajaraj seemed to like the company. So, he threw some crumbs to the dog, which the animal accepted wagging his tail.

When the elephant went out for a bath, the dog accompanied his friend. Plunging into the water, the elephant gave himself a shower using his long trunk, as the dog watched. The elephant took a trunkful of water and playfully splashed the water on his friend. The dog yelped for he hated taking showers. The mahout laughed.
On their way home, the elephant picked up the dog with his trunk and placed him on his
back. The dog was delighted to get a ride. A farmer passing by saw the dog. “Buntee,”
he yelled. The dog ran to him. The farmer hugged the dog and told the mahout that he was
looking for his dog ever since he disappeared from his house. He was glad he found him now. The mahout had no objection to the farmer taking the dog home. The farmer tossed a
rope round the neck of the dog, saying, “Come Buntee, let’s go home.”

Only when the farmer pulled the rope did the dog realise that he was being taken away from his friend. He yelped, the elephant winced, but neither the farmer nor the mahout noticed that the two friends were in tears.
The next day at lunch time the mahout served Gajaraj his favourite food. When the mahout came back after finishing his other chores, he was surprised to see that the food had remained untouched.
“Why Gajaraj, aren’t you hungry?” he asked concerned. The elephant did not react. “He may have slight indigestion. Let me not force him to eat,” thought the mahout.
That night too, Gajaraj did not touch his food—nor the next day. Now, the mahout was worried. He ran his hand on Gajaraj’s tummy and felt there was nothing wrong. “Why was he not eating then? Is he missing his friend, that dog?” the mahout wondered.

Meanwhile at the farmer’s house, the dog had also not touched his food ever since he was brought home.
“Are you missing your friend?” asked the farmer remembering the happy look on Buntee’s face while sitting on the elephant’s back. “I cannot see you go hungry,” said the farmer, “If you miss your friend so much, go to him.”
The farmer removed the rope with which he had tied the dog. The dog, though weak, sprang to his feet. He licked the farmer’s hand once and then ran. He stopped only when he arrived at the stable. The elephant picked up the dog with his trunk and gave him a joyous swing. The mahout was relieved. He quickly brought the food. “Both of you eat first,” he said. By then the farmer who had followed the dog, joined him. The two of them watched with satisfaction the two friends eating food. “It’s not only Gajaraj who has found a friend,” said the mahout hugging the farmer, “I’ve also found one.”

Gajaraj, a royal elephant, lived comfortably but was lonely. One night, a stray dog wandered into his stable, and Gajaraj shared his food with the tired animal. They quickly became friends, playing and spending time together. The dog’s owner, a farmer, found him and took him home, but both the dog and Gajaraj were heartbroken. Neither ate in their sorrow. Realizing the bond between them, the farmer released the dog to return to Gajaraj. The joyful reunion led both to eat again, and the mahout and farmer also found friendship through this heartwarming experience.

May my friendships always be
The most important thing to me.
With special friends I feel I’m blessed,
So let me give my very best.
I want to do much more than share
The hopes and plans of friends who care;
I’ll try all that a friend can do
To make their wishes come true.
Let me use my heart to see,
To realise what friends can be,
And make no judgements from afar,
But love my friends the way they are.

The poem emphasizes the importance of valuing and cherishing friendships. It expresses a desire to give one’s best to friends, sharing in their hopes and plans, and doing whatever possible to make their wishes come true. The poem highlights using the heart to understand and appreciate friends without judgment, loving them just as they are.

There was a boy called Mario who loved to have lots of friends. He showed off a lot,
always talking about how many friends he had at school, and how he was so friendly with
everyone. One day his grandfather said to him, “Mario, I bet you a fruit chaat. You don’t have as many friends as you think you have. I’m sure many of them are nothing more than companions or partners.”
Mario accepted the bet readily. However, he wasn’t sure how he could test whether his
schoolmates were real friends or not. So, he asked his grandpa for help. He suggested, “I
have exactly what you need. It’s in the attic. Wait here a minute.” Grandpa left, soon returning as though carrying something in his hand, but Mario could see nothing there.

“Take it. It’s a very special chair. As it’s invisible, it’s rather tricky to sit on it. But if you take it to school and manage to sit on it, then the magic will work and you’ll be able to tell who your real friends are.”
Mario, brave and determined, took the strange invisible chair and set off for school. At break time, he asked everyone to form a circle. He put himself in the middle, with his chair.
“Nobody move. You’re about to see something amazing.”
Mario tried sitting on the chair. Having difficulty seeing it, he missed and fell straight onto his backside. His classmates had a pretty good laugh. “Wait, wait, just a slight technical problem,” he said, trying again. But again, he missed the seat, causing more surprised looks and laughter. Mario wouldn’t give up.

He kept trying to sit on the magic chair and kept falling to the ground until, suddenly, he tried again and didn’t fall. This time he sat, hanging in mid-air. Then he finally experienced the magic that his grandfather had been talking about. Looking around, Mario saw Guneet, Asma, and Deepa–three of his buddies—holding him up, so he wouldn’t fall. Meanwhile, many others he’d thought of as friends had done nothing but made fun of him, enjoying each and every fall.
Leaving with his three friends, he explained to them how his grandfather had so cleverly thought of a way to show him that true friends are those who care for us. A friend wouldn’t be someone who takes joy in our bad luck.
That evening the four children went to see Mario’s grandpa as he had won the bet. They had a great time listening to stories and eating a lot of fruit chaat. From then on, they used the magic chair test on many occasions and whoever passed became friends for life.

Mario, a boy who boasted about having many friends, accepted his grandfather’s bet to prove his friendships. His grandfather gave him an invisible magic chair, saying it would reveal his true friends. At school, Mario tried to sit on the chair but kept falling, amusing his classmates. Eventually, he succeeded with the help of three true friends—Guneet, Asma, and Deepa—who held him up. Mario realized these three were his real friends, unlike those who laughed at his falls. They celebrated the lesson with Mario’s grandpa, enjoying stories and fruit chaat. The magic chair test became their way of identifying lifelong friends.