Lalu and Peelu: NCERT Class 1 English Story (Marigold Unit 3)

etmantra2 Jul 20209 min read

A hot red chilli and a sweet yellow laddoo make this a story children remember. It is a lovely way to talk about colours, tastes and helping someone in trouble.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 1, unit 3. NCERT’s newer Class 1 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Lalu and Peelu

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

Colour words: red and yellow
Taste words: hot and sweet
Action words that tell what happened: ate, screamed, brought
Retelling a short story in the right order

What the story is about

A mother hen has two chicks, Lalu and Peelu. Lalu is red and loves red things. Peelu is yellow and loves yellow things. One day Lalu sees something red on a plant and eats it. It is a red chilli, and it is very hot. Lalu's mouth starts burning and he screams.

Mother hen comes running, and so does Peelu. Peelu says he will get something to help. He brings a yellow laddoo, and Lalu quickly eats it. His mouth stops burning. Mother hen and Lalu thank Peelu with a kiss. The story shows how a kind brother helps.

New words, with Hindi meanings

chicks: baby hens (हिंदी: चूज़े)
plant: a small green living thing that grows in the soil (हिंदी: पौधा)
chilli: a small vegetable that tastes very hot (हिंदी: मिर्च)
burning: feeling very hot and painful (हिंदी: जलन)
screamed: cried out loudly (हिंदी: चीखा)
laddoo: a round Indian sweet (हिंदी: लड्डू)
gobbled: ate very fast (हिंदी: झट से खा गया)

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 colour was Lalu, and what did he love?
What did Lalu eat, and what happened to his mouth?
How did Peelu help Lalu?
What is your favourite colour? Name three things of that colour.

Answers for parents

Lalu was red, and he loved red things.
He ate a red chilli. It was very hot, and his mouth started burning.
Peelu brought him a yellow laddoo. Lalu ate it, and his mouth stopped burning.
For example: My favourite colour is blue. The sky, my school bag and my water bottle are blue.

Grammar corner: Past tense with -ed

When something has already happened, we often add -ed to the action word. Scream becomes screamed, and love becomes loved. The story uses many of these words because it tells us what happened one day.

The little chick jumped over a stone.
Mother hen looked for her two chicks.
Peelu played near the yellow flowers.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: Lalu ate a red ___.
Choose the right word: Is a laddoo hot or sweet?
Say the -ed word aloud: walk → ___, call → ___, help → ___.

Answers: 1. chilli · 2. sweet · 3. walked, called, helped

Try this

Go on a colour hunt at home. Ask your child to find three red things for Lalu and three yellow things for Peelu, and put them in two groups. Then talk about tastes: name some foods and ask whether each one is hot, sweet or sour.

Tip for parents

Tell the story in Hindi first, for example “लालू ने लाल मिर्च खा ली”, and then say the English line together. If your child says “Lalu ate the mirchi”, that is fine: praise the try and gently add the English word, chilli.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of Lalu and Peelu?

The story shows that a kind brother helps quickly when someone is in trouble. Peelu does not laugh at Lalu; he brings a sweet laddoo to cool his mouth.

Who are the characters in Lalu and Peelu?

Mother hen and her two chicks: Lalu, who is red and loves red things, and Peelu, who is yellow and loves yellow things.

Which NCERT book has Lalu and Peelu?

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

Learn every Class 1 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 →