I Want: NCERT Class 2 English Story (Marigold Unit 2)

etmantra18 Jun 20209 min read

Little Monkey keeps wishing to be like other animals, and a magic wand makes every wish come true. Children laugh at the funny sounds and learn that being yourself is best.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 2, unit 2. NCERT’s newer Class 2 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: I Want

Play the video three or four times. The first time, just listen. Then point at the pictures, and from the third time, say the lines along with the video. Short, repeated listening is how CALP builds a child’s English.

What your child learns

Animal body parts: neck, trunk, stripes
Saying wishes with “I want”
Sound words: pop, bang, whiz
Feeling happy with who you are

What the story is about

Little Monkey wants to be big and strong. A wise woman gives him a magic wand that can make his wishes come true. He sees a giraffe eating leaves from the tops of trees and wishes for a long neck. Pop! He gets one. He sees an elephant spray water over himself and gets a trunk. He sees a zebra and gets stripes all over.

Then he looks into the river and sees himself. He thinks it is a monster and calls for his mother. She tells him it is only him, with all the things he wished for. Little Monkey cries and says he wants to be himself again. With a pop and a whiz, he is himself once more. He jumps for joy, throws the wand into the river and never wants to be anyone else again.

New words, with Hindi meanings

wise: knowing a lot and making good choices (हिंदी: समझदार)
magic wand: a special stick that can make wishes come true (हिंदी: जादू की छड़ी)
stretches: reaches out to make something longer (हिंदी: फैलाता है)
trunk: the long nose of an elephant (हिंदी: सूँड)
stripes: long lines of colour, like on a zebra (हिंदी: धारियाँ)
monster: a big, scary, strange creature (हिंदी: राक्षस)
awful: very bad (हिंदी: बहुत बुरा)

Explained in Hindi

If your child finds the English hard, watch this explanation of the story and its word meanings in Hindi, then go back to the English video.

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.

What did Little Monkey get from the wise woman?
Which animal had the long neck?
Why did Little Monkey cry for help at the river?
Have you ever wished to be like someone else? What do you like about being you?

Answers for parents

He got a magic wand that could make his wishes come true.
The giraffe had the long neck.
He saw himself in the water and thought he was a monster.
For example: Yes, I wished I could run as fast as my friend. I like being me because I can draw well.

Grammar corner: Saying what you wish for with “I want”

We use “I want” to say what we wish to have or do. After “I want” we can put a naming word, as in “I want a kite”, or “to” and an action word, as in “I want to swim”. Little Monkey uses both.

I want a long tail like a peacock.
I want to swing from the tall trees.
I want big ears like an elephant.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: The elephant fills his ___ with water.
Match the animal to its body part: giraffe, elephant, zebra. (stripes / long neck / trunk)
Make two sentences: one with “I want a …” and one with “I want to …”.

Answers: 1. trunk · 2. giraffe – long neck; elephant – trunk; zebra – stripes · 3. Sample: I want a new cycle. I want to play in the rain.

Try this

Make the magic sounds of the story: “pop”, “bang” and “whiz”. Use a pencil or spoon as a pretend wand. Each time you wave it, your child acts a new animal part: a long neck, a trunk or stripes. At the end, wave it once more and say “pop, whiz” to turn back into themselves.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi, “तुम्हें क्या चाहिए?”, and let your child answer in Hindi. Then turn the answer into English together: “I want a ___.” Praise every try, even if half the sentence is still in Hindi.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of the story I Want?

Be happy being yourself. Little Monkey gets every body part he wishes for, but he looks awful and only feels happy when he is himself again.

Who are the characters in I Want?

Little Monkey, the wise woman who gives him the magic wand, his mother, and the giraffe, elephant and zebra he wants to be like.

Which NCERT book has the story I Want?

It is Unit 2 of NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 2. The newer NCERT English books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

Learn every Class 2 lesson with CALP

Every lesson of Mridang, NCERT’s new book, with read-along videos, new words with Hindi meanings, and listen-and-say practice with a score, made for young children with a parent nearby. ₹999 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →