The Crow: NCERT Class 2 English Poem (Mridang Unit 4)

etmantra3 Nov 20264 min read

A simple poem with a big message: you are lovely just as you are. Children enjoy the silly crow and the kind friends who set him right.

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From NCERT’s new English book Mridang for Class 2, unit “Life Around Us”. Unit 4.

What your child learns

Bird names: crow, peacock, sparrow, parrot
Rhyming words: crow, know, grow
Clapping syllables: pea-cock, beau-ti-ful
Liking yourself as you are

What the poem is about

A black crow wants to be beautiful and wishes for colourful feathers. He finds peacock feathers and sticks them in his tail, his wings and on his head. He dances and says he is now beautiful.

The other crows laugh and tell him he is being foolish. They tell him he is beautiful in black and that they love him for who he is. The poem teaches children to be proud of themselves and not to copy others.

New words, with Hindi meanings

beautiful: very nice to look at (हिंदी: सुंदर)
colourful: having many bright colours (हिंदी: रंग-बिरंगा)
feather: one of the soft things that cover a bird (हिंदी: पंख)
peacock: a big bird with a long, bright tail (हिंदी: मोर)
wings: the parts a bird uses to fly (हिंदी: पंख)
fool: someone who does a silly thing (हिंदी: मूर्ख)
another: one more (हिंदी: एक और)

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 the crow want?
Where did the crow put the peacock feathers?
What did the other crows tell him?
What is one good thing about you?

Answers for parents

He wanted to be beautiful with colourful feathers.
In his tail, in his wings and on his head.
They said he was beautiful in black and they loved him as he was.
For example: I am good at helping my friends.

Grammar corner: Rhyming words

Rhyming words end with the same sound, like 'crow' and 'grow'. Poems use rhymes to sound musical. Saying rhymes helps children hear sounds in words.

The crow will grow and say hello.
A hen sat by a pen.
A sparrow flew past an arrow.

Practice at home

Find the bird that rhymes: pen — ___en
Clap and count the parts: beautiful
Fill in the blank: The crow found a ___ feather.

Answers: 1. hen · 2. 3 claps: beau-ti-ful · 3. peacock

Try this

Play 'Rhyme Time with Birds'. Say a word and the child finds a bird that rhymes: 'grow' (crow), 'pen' (hen), 'carrot' (parrot). Then each person says one nice thing about another family member, just as the crows said to their friend.

Tip for parents

Tell the poem's story in Hindi first and ask, 'कौवा क्यों मोर बनना चाहता था?' Then say the English words for the birds together. Use this chance to tell your child one thing you love about them, in Hindi and in English.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of the poem The Crow?

Be happy with who you are. The other crows tell the crow he is beautiful in black and they love him as he is.

Which words rhyme in The Crow?

Crow, know and grow rhyme in the poem. The other birds' names in the chapter, like hen and parrot, also rhyme with pen and carrot.

Is The Crow in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 3 of Unit 4 in NCERT's new Mridang book for Class 2.

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 →