Puppy and I: NCERT Class 3 English Poem (Marigold Unit 7)

etmantra22 Nov 20217 min read

Puppy and I is a gentle, rhyming poem about a walk and three chance meetings. Its repeating pattern makes it easy for children to remember and recite. They will enjoy the happy ending, when the child finally finds a friend to go with.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 3, unit 7. NCERT’s newer Class 3 book is Santoor, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Puppy and I

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

Asking “Where are you going?”
Rhyming words: hay and today, day and play
Words for places: village, hills
Reciting a poem with a repeating pattern

What the poem is about

A child goes out walking and meets a man. The child asks where he is going, and the man says he is going down to the village to get some bread. He asks the child to come along, but the child says no. Next the child meets a horse, who is going to the village to get some hay. Again the child says no.

At last the child meets a puppy. The puppy is going up into the hills to roll and play, and this time the child happily says, “I’ll come with you.” The poem shows that children are drawn to play and fun, and that a puppy can be the best companion of all.

New words, with Hindi meanings

walking: moving along on foot (हिंदी: टहलना)
village: a small place in the countryside where people live (हिंदी: गाँव)
bread: a food made from flour and baked (हिंदी: ब्रेड)
hay: dried grass that horses and cows eat (हिंदी: सूखी घास)
puppy: a baby dog (हिंदी: पिल्ला)
hills: small mountains (हिंदी: पहाड़ियाँ)
roll: turn over and over on the ground (हिंदी: लोटना)

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.

Who did the child meet first, and where was he going?
What was the horse going to get from the village?
Why do you think the child went with the puppy and not the others?
If you met a puppy on a walk, what would you like to do with it?

Answers for parents

The child met a man first. He was going down to the village to get some bread.
Some hay.
Sample answer: The puppy was going to the hills to roll and play, and that sounded much more fun than shopping in the village.
For example: I would throw a ball for it and run with it in the park.

Grammar corner: Asking questions with “Where”

We use “Where” to ask about a place. In the poem, the child asks each one “Where are you going?” The answer tells us a place, like the village or the hills.

Where are you going, Papa? I am going to the market.
Where is my school bag?
Where does the puppy sleep at night?

Practice at home

Spot the rhyme: which word rhymes with “hay”? play, bread, hills
Fill in the blank: The horse was going to the village to get some ___.
Make a question with “Where” to ask a friend.

Answers: 1. play · 2. hay · 3. Sample: Where do you play after school?

Try this

Act out the poem in pairs. One child walks and asks “Where are you going to?” The other plays the man, the horse and then the puppy, giving their answers. Use a different walk and voice for each one. At the end, both children roll and play like puppies.

Tip for parents

On your next walk, ask in Hindi first, “तुम कहाँ जा रहे हो?”, then in English, “Where are you going?” Let your child answer in either language, then try the English together. Praise them each time they ask the question back to you.

Questions parents ask

What is the poem Puppy and I about?

A child out walking meets a man, a horse and a puppy. The child says no to going to the village with the first two, but happily goes with the puppy to play in the hills. It is Unit 7 of NCERT’s older Marigold book for Class 3.

Whom does the child meet in Puppy and I?

First a man going to get bread, then a horse going to get hay, and last a puppy going up into the hills to roll and play.

Which words rhyme in Puppy and I?

Some rhyming pairs are said and bread, today and hay, and day and play. Many lines also end with “I”, which rhymes with “by”.

Learn every Class 3 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Santoor, NCERT’s new book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, grammar, speaking and first writing practice. ₹1,299 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →