The Story of the Road: NCERT Class 3 English Story (Marigold Unit 6)

etmantra29 Jul 20217 min read

This lively story is full of sounds: chirping sparrows, a cawing crow, a bicycle bell and chattering children. Children enjoy copying each sound and love the funny ending when the road finally speaks.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 3, unit 6. NCERT’s newer Class 3 book is Santoor, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: The Story of the Road

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

Sound words: caw, tring-a-ling, chatter
Names of vegetables in English
Using 'says' and 'calls' to show who is speaking
Noticing the sounds around us

What the story is about

It is early morning and everything is quiet. The road seems to be asleep. The sparrows call “cheer up” and the crow keeps cawing “wake up”. Then the newspaper boy comes along, ringing his bicycle bell. Next comes the vegetable man, calling out the names of the vegetables he is selling, such as peas, cabbages, potatoes and carrots.

After that, the school children walk by, chattering as they go. The sparrows, the crow and the vegetable man keep making their sounds. The crow still keeps telling the road to wake up. At last the road answers the crow. It calls the crow a foolish bird and says it has been wide awake all along.

New words, with Hindi meanings

asleep: sleeping (हिंदी: सोया हुआ)
quiet: with very little or no noise (हिंदी: शांत)
sparrows: small brown birds that chirp a lot (हिंदी: गौरैया)
newspaper: printed sheets with the day's news (हिंदी: अख़बार)
vegetable: a plant or part of a plant we eat, like peas or carrots (हिंदी: सब्ज़ी)
chatter: to talk fast about small things (हिंदी: बकबक करना)
foolish: silly, not thinking well (हिंदी: मूर्ख)
wide awake: fully awake, not sleepy at all (हिंदी: पूरी तरह जागा हुआ)

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 do the sparrows say, and what does the crow say?
Who comes on a bicycle? What sound does it make?
What does the road say to the crow at the end?
What sounds do you hear outside your home in the morning?

Answers for parents

The sparrows say 'cheer up', and the crow says 'caw caw' and 'wake up'.
The newspaper boy comes on a bicycle. Its bell goes tring-a-ling.
The road calls the crow a foolish bird and says it has been wide awake all along.
For example: I hear the milkman's bell, birds chirping and cars honking.

Grammar corner: Showing who speaks with 'says' and 'calls'

In a story, words like 'says' and 'calls' tell us who is speaking. The speaker's words go inside quotation marks. 'Calls' is used when someone speaks loudly to people far away.

'Fresh tomatoes!' calls the vegetable man.
'Good morning, road,' says the little sparrow.
'Hurry up, we are late,' says a school girl.

Practice at home

Match the sound to who makes it: caw, tring-a-ling, chatter — bicycle bell, children, crow.
Fill in the blank: At the end, the road says it is wide ___.
Name three vegetables you can buy from a vegetable seller, and say them aloud like he does.

Answers: 1. caw – crow, tring-a-ling – bicycle bell, chatter – children · 2. awake · 3. For example: Peas, carrots, potatoes!

Try this

Play a morning sound game. Give each person a part: sparrow, crow, newspaper boy with a bell, vegetable man and school children. One child is the sleepy road. Each person makes their sound in turn, and at the end the road sits up and says it was awake all the time. Then talk about the real sounds you hear on your own street.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi: 'सुबह सड़क पर कौन-कौन सी आवाज़ें आती हैं?' Let your child answer in Hindi, then say each sound and name in English together, like 'crow, caw caw'. Mixing Hindi and English is fine; praise every word your child tries.

Questions parents ask

What is the story of the road about?

Early in the morning, everyone thinks the road is asleep. Birds, a newspaper boy, a vegetable man and school children pass by making sounds, and at the end the road says it was awake all the time.

Who are the characters in The Story of the Road?

The road, the sparrows, the crow, the newspaper boy, the vegetable man and the school children.

Is The Story of the Road in the new NCERT book?

The Story of the Road is a chapter from NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 3. The newer NCERT English book for Class 3 is Santoor, so check your child's school book list to see which one the school uses.

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 →