Feathered Friend: NCERT Class 8 English Story (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20266 min read

What happens when a construction worker secretly brings a pet canary to a space station? This funny and clever science fiction story by Arthur C. Clarke shows how a tiny yellow bird becomes everyone's friend, and then saves everyone's life. Students enjoy the humour, learn how life in space differs from life on Earth, and practise the many ways English talks about the future.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 8, unit “Science and Curiosity”. Unit 5.

What your child learns

Space and story words: girders, canary, sluggish, sheepish, inexplicable, safeguarded
Talking about the future with will, going to, the simple present and the present progressive
Merged words (brunch, smog, vlog) and words with silent letters (whistle, island, receipt)
Asking for and giving advice, and writing a short article

What the story is about

The narrator works on a space station. Sven Olsen, one of the best construction men, has quietly brought a small yellow canary named Claribel up from Earth, partly out of scientific curiosity: he wants to see how a bird flies when it has no weight. The narrator first meets her when he hears a musical whistle beside his ear and thinks it is the intercom. Claribel quickly learns to move without gravity, doing loops in the air, and soon she is a pet for the whole crew. They hide her whenever important visitors come from Earth.

One 'morning', the narrator wakes up with a headache and feels slow and half asleep. Sven comes to breakfast holding Claribel, who looks dead. A shot of oxygen revives her, but she faints again. Suddenly the narrator remembers that miners once carried canaries to warn them of gas, and he realises something is wrong with the air. The engineer, Jim, checks and finds that during a rare eclipse part of the air purifier froze, and the only working alarm failed. The little canary had warned them in time. The story ends with a smile: if you hear birdsong on a space station, you are being safeguarded twice over.

New words, with Hindi meanings

regulation: an official rule about how something must be done (हिंदी: नियम)
forbid: to not allow something (हिंदी: मना करना, रोकना)
girders: long, strong pieces of steel that hold up a big structure (हिंदी: लोहे के गर्डर, शहतीर)
canary: a small, usually yellow songbird often kept as a pet (हिंदी: कैनरी चिड़िया)
confess: to admit that you did something (हिंदी: क़बूल करना)
smuggled: took something somewhere secretly, against the rules (हिंदी: चोरी-छिपे ले गया)
sluggish: slow and without energy (हिंदी: सुस्त)
revived: came back to life or became conscious again (हिंदी: होश में आया)
sheepish: embarrassed because you made a mistake (हिंदी: झेंपा हुआ, शर्मिंदा)
inexplicable: that cannot be explained (हिंदी: अजीब, जिसे समझाया न जा सके)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

Why did Sven bring a canary to the space station?
How was Claribel different from a bird on Earth?
How did the narrator find out that something was wrong with the air?
Why did the alarm not warn the crew?
Have you ever had a pet or watched a bird closely? What did you notice about it?

Answers for parents

Sven said it was partly out of scientific curiosity. He wanted to see how a bird would fly when it had no weight but could still use its wings.
She floated without gravity, hung in the air with her wings folded, and did loops that no bird on Earth could do. She learned quickly and did not waste any effort.
Claribel fainted twice, and he himself felt sleepy and slow. Then he remembered that miners used to carry canaries to warn them of gas, so he guessed the air was bad.
During a rare eclipse, part of the air purifier froze. The second alarm circuit was not connected yet, and the single alarm failed to go off.
For example: My grandmother feeds the sparrows on our balcony every morning. I noticed that they come at the same time each day and fly away when someone moves suddenly.

Grammar corner: Talking about the future

English has several ways to talk about the future. Use 'will' for predictions, promises and offers, and 'going to' for plans and things we can see coming. Use the simple present for timetables and schedules, and the present progressive (am/is/are + -ing) for fixed personal arrangements. 'Will have' + past participle means something will be finished by a certain time.

The next supply ferry leaves the space station on Monday.
Sven is going to teach Claribel a new trick.
By tonight, the engineers will have repaired the air purifier.

Practice at home

Choose the right form: The school bus ___ (leaves / is leaving) at 7 a.m. every day, and tomorrow is no different.
Make merged words: smoke + fog = ___ ; video + log = ___
Say these words aloud and name the silent letter: whistle, island, receipt.

Answers: 1. leaves (a regular timetable takes the simple present) · 2. smog; vlog · 3. whistle (t), island (s), receipt (p)

Try this

Play 'Canary in the house'. One person secretly hides a soft toy somewhere and makes a whistling sound now and then. The others must find it by following the sound, just as the crew followed Claribel's peeps. Afterwards, each person makes one sentence about the future: 'Next time, I will hide it under...', 'Tomorrow I am going to...'.

Tip for parents

Ask your child to tell the story to you in Hindi first: एक मज़दूर अंतरिक्ष स्टेशन पर छिपाकर एक कैनरी चिड़िया ले गया, और उसी चिड़िया ने हवा ख़राब होने पर सबकी जान बचाई. Then ask for the same story in English, one part at a time, and let them use Hindi words where they get stuck. You can also talk in Hindi about your own plans for tomorrow, and ask your child to say them in English with 'will' or 'going to'.

Questions parents ask

What is the story Feathered Friend about?

It is a science fiction story by Arthur C. Clarke about Claribel, a pet canary secretly kept on a space station. When the air purifier fails and the alarm does not ring, Claribel faints, which warns the crew that the air is bad and saves their lives.

Why is the story called Feathered Friend?

Claribel, the canary, is a friend with feathers. She is a pet and a friend to the whole crew, and in the end she proves a true friend by warning them of danger.

Is Feathered Friend in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 13 of Poorvi, NCERT's new English book for Class 8, in Unit 5 (Science and Curiosity).

Learn every Class 8 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 8 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →