The Cap-Seller and the Monkeys: NCERT Class 1 Story (Mridang Unit 2)

etmantra3 Nov 20264 min read

This much-loved story shows how a calm, clever idea can solve a big problem. Children laugh at the copycat monkeys and love guessing what the cap-seller will do. The chapter also has a butterfly song and a short cat-and-rat story.

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From NCERT’s new English book Mridang for Class 1, unit “Life Around Us”. Unit 2.

What your child learns

Following a story from start to end
Words: cap, basket, tree, monkey
Thinking about what happens next
Using 'a' before one thing: a cap, a tree

What the story is about

A man sells caps and carries them in a basket on his head. One day he sleeps under a tree full of monkeys. The monkeys come down and take all his caps. When he wakes up, his basket is empty and the monkeys are wearing his caps.

He shakes his fist, and the monkeys copy him. He scratches his head, and they copy again. Then he gets an idea. He throws his own cap into the basket, and the monkeys throw theirs too. He picks up all his caps and goes away happy. The chapter also has a song about butterflies going up and down, and a story where a fat cat tries to catch a little rat who hides in a hat and then a box.

New words, with Hindi meanings

cap: a small hat (हिंदी: टोपी)
basket: a box made of thin sticks to carry things (हिंदी: टोकरी)
seller: a person who sells things (हिंदी: बेचने वाला)
empty: with nothing inside (हिंदी: खाली)
idea: a new thought to solve a problem (हिंदी: तरकीब)
threw: sent something through the air (हिंदी: फेंका)
fist: a closed hand (हिंदी: मुट्ठी)
scratched: rubbed with fingers (हिंदी: खुजाया)

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.

Where did the cap-seller sleep?
What did the monkeys do with the caps?
How did the cap-seller get his caps back?
Do you have a cap? What colour is it?

Answers for parents

He slept under a tree.
They took them and wore them.
He threw his cap into the basket, and the monkeys copied him and threw theirs.
For example: Yes, I have a blue cap.

Grammar corner: Using 'a' before one thing

We use 'a' when we talk about one thing: a cap, a tree, a monkey. If there are many, we do not use 'a', we add -s: caps, monkeys.

The man had a big basket.
A monkey sat on a branch.
The monkeys wore red caps.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: The cap-seller slept under ___ tree.
Choose: The monkeys wore the (caps / basket).
Make a sentence with 'basket'.

Answers: 1. a · 2. caps · 3. For example: My mother has a basket for fruits.

Try this

Play the copycat game. One person is the cap-seller and the others are monkeys. The cap-seller claps, waves or scratches his head, and the monkeys must copy. Then use a real cap or a folded paper hat to act out the clever ending.

Tip for parents

Tell the story first in Hindi so your child knows what happens, then tell it again using English words like cap, monkey and basket. Let your child retell it in a mix of Hindi and English. Praise every English word they use.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of The Cap-seller and the Monkeys?

The story shows that staying calm and thinking of a clever idea can solve a problem. The cap-seller did not fight the monkeys; he used the fact that they copy him.

Who are the characters in The Cap-seller and the Monkeys?

The characters are the cap-seller, a man who sells caps, and the monkeys who live in the tree.

Is The Cap-seller and the Monkeys in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 2 of Unit 2, Life Around Us, in NCERT's new Mridang book for Class 1.

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 →