The Mountain And The Squirrel is a poem written by Ralph Waldo Emerson; this poem is included in English Literature subject for ICSE Class 5 students.
The Mountain And The Squirrel: Complete Poem
The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter
“Little prig.”
Bun replied,
“You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I’m not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry:
I’ll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track.
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut.”
The Mountain And The Squirrel: Question and Answers
Question. Put a tick against the statements that you think are true and a cross against those that you think are not.
- a. The mountain and the squirrel disagreed with each other [✓].
- b. The mountain was rude to the squirrel [✓].
- c. The squirrel was rude to the mountain. [x]
- d. The squirrel doubted that the mountain was large. [x]
- e. The squirrel praises the squirrel track that the mountain makes [✓].
- f. The squirrel believed that being small is better than being large. [x]
Question: Pick out and list three pairs of opposites from the poem.
Answer: The three pairs of opposites from the poem are – former and latter; year and sphere; large and small.
Read these lines and answer the following questions:
a. “The mountain and the squirrel Had a quarrel, And the former called the latter ‘little prig’.”
Question: Who are the characters in these lines?
Answer: The characters are – the mountain and the squirrel.
Question: What was the quarrel about?
Answer: The quarrel was about the size and significance of them.
Question: Who called whom ‘little prig’?
Answer: The mountain called the squirrel ‘little prig’.
“But all sorts of things and weather Must be taken in together To make up a year And a sphere.”
Question: Who says these lines and to whom?
Answer: The Squirrel says these lines to the mountain.
Question: What makes up a year? Why does the speaker refer to a year?
Answer: All sort of things and weather make up a year. The year is contained of several things – big and small.
Question: What is the ‘sphere’ that the speaker refers to?
Answer: The speaker refers to the world itself.
Question: The Squirrel lists two things it can do that the mountain cannot. Which are these two things?
Answer: The two things that the Squirrel can do but the mountain cannot are – i) Squirrel can spry. ii) It can crack a nut.
Question: What does the Squirrel mean by saying “If I am not so large as you, You are not so small as I”?
Answer: The Squirrel means to say they are two different characters, each with unique characteristics. One should not brag if one is large or small.
Question: ”All is well and wisely put.” Who has put things wisely and well? What would happen if everyone had the same talents
Answer: The Almighty God, the creator of this world has put things wisely and well.
If everyone had the same talents, the world would not run so smoothly and it would also become a monotonous place. Every creation of God, each with different talent, can help others and substitute their needs.
Question: What do you think the mountain would have said in reply to the Squirrel?
Answer: I think and I really hope that the mountain understood the point the Squirrel was trying to make and they would not fight anymore and they became friends forever.
Question: A fable is a short story that has a moral. Is the poem a fable? Give reasons for your answer.
Answer: Yes, the poem is sort of a fable because it conveys a moral. There are two characters and it teaches us the significance of each and every creation of God.
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