The Decision of the Panchayat: NCERT Class 5 Story (Santoor Chapter 8)

etmantra3 Nov 20265 min read

Can you sell a well but keep the water? A cunning man tries this trick on a hardworking farmer. This story shows how a village Panchayat uses clever thinking to be fair, and children love the twist in the judgment.

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From NCERT’s new English book Santoor for Class 5, unit “Ups and Downs”. Chapter 8.

What your child learns

Words for people and their ways: cunning, adamant, wise
Place words: under, at, near, in
How a fair decision is made after hearing both sides
Retelling a story in the right order

What the story is about

A hardworking farmer buys a new field and also buys the well next to it from his neighbour. The neighbour is cunning. The next day he stops the farmer from taking water and says he sold only the well, not the water inside it. The worried farmer goes to the village chief, and she calls a meeting of the Panchayat under the banyan tree.

At the meeting the neighbour will not change his mind. The chief agrees that only the well was sold, and the neighbour smiles. Then she adds a twist: if the water is his, he has no right to keep it in the farmer's well. He must remove it or use it all at once, or it will belong to the well's owner. The farmer is relieved. The neighbour pays a fine and says sorry, and the villagers praise the Panchayat's wisdom.

New words, with Hindi meanings

prospered: did well and became richer (हिंदी: तरक्की की)
neighbour: a person who lives near you (हिंदी: पड़ोसी)
cunning: clever in a tricky way (हिंदी: चालाक)
summoned: called to come to a place (हिंदी: बुलाया गया)
adamant: refusing to change one's mind (हिंदी: ज़िद्दी)
judgment: a decision made after thinking (हिंदी: फ़ैसला)
apologise: to say sorry (हिंदी: माफ़ी माँगना)
wisdom: good sense and clever thinking (हिंदी: समझदारी)

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.

Why did the farmer buy the well?
What trick did the neighbour play?
What did the Panchayat decide?
Have you ever helped two friends settle a fight? What did you do?

Answers for parents

He needed water for his fields, and the well was next to his new field.
He said he had sold only the well, not the water, and would not let the farmer take water.
If the water belonged to the neighbour, he had to take it out of the farmer's well or use it all at once. Otherwise it would belong to the farmer.
For example: Yes, I listened to both of them and asked them to take turns with the toy.

Grammar corner: Place words (prepositions): under, at, near, in

Place words tell us where something or someone is. 'Under' means below, 'near' means close to, and 'in' means inside. They come before a naming word.

The Panchayat met under the big banyan tree.
The cunning neighbour stood near the well.
There was plenty of water in the farmer's well.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: The villagers sat ___ the banyan tree. (under / on)
Match the word to its meaning: (a) cunning (b) adamant — 1. refusing to change one's mind 2. clever in a tricky way
Make a sentence with 'apologise'.

Answers: 1. under · 2. a-2, b-1 · 3. Sample answer: I apologise to my brother when I break his pencil.

Try this

Hold a pretend Panchayat at home. One person is the farmer, one the neighbour, and the rest are Panchayat members. Each side speaks, then the members whisper and give a decision. Afterwards, try a small family 'case', like who gets the window seat, and decide it fairly.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi first: 'पंचायत ने क्या फ़ैसला किया?' Let your child explain the trick in Hindi, then say one English line together: 'The water belongs to the farmer.' If English words are missing, give them gently and praise the effort.

Questions parents ask

What is the moral of The Decision of the Panchayat?

Cheating does not help in the end. A fair and wise decision can stop a trick.

Who are the characters in The Decision of the Panchayat?

A hardworking farmer, his cunning neighbour, the village chief (a woman), the Panchayat members and the villagers.

Is The Decision of the Panchayat in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 8 of NCERT's new Santoor book for Class 5, in Unit 4, 'Ups and Downs'.

Learn every Class 5 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 writing practice. ₹1,299 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →