The Tailor and His Friend: NCERT Class 1 Story (Marigold Unit 10)

etmantra13 Jun 20209 min read

A story about two friends, a trick that goes wrong, and saying sorry. Children enjoy Appu the elephant and his trunk full of water.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 1, unit 10. NCERT’s newer Class 1 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: The Tailor and His Friend

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

Telling a story in order: first, then, at the end
Words from a tailor's shop: tailor, needle, clothes
Saying sorry and making up with a friend
Talking about right and wrong ways to treat friends

What the story is about

Kaloo the tailor has a shop near the river, where he makes colourful clothes for children. His friend Appu the elephant visits every day, and Kaloo gives him nice things to eat.

One day Kaloo plays a trick: he gives Appu nothing to eat and pricks his trunk with a needle instead. Appu runs away in pain. Two days later he fills his trunk with river water and sprays it all over the shop, and the new clothes get wet. “An elephant never forgets,” says Appu. Kaloo says sorry, and they become good friends again.

New words, with Hindi meanings

tailor: a person who makes and sews clothes (हिंदी: दर्ज़ी)
colourful: with many bright colours (हिंदी: रंग-बिरंगा)
trick: something done to fool or tease someone (हिंदी: शरारत)
needle: a thin, sharp tool used for sewing (हिंदी: सुई)
pricked: made a small hole with something sharp (हिंदी: चुभोया)
trunk: the long nose of an elephant (हिंदी: सूँड)
forgets: does not remember (हिंदी: भूलता है)

Explained in Hindi

If your child finds the English hard, watch this explanation of the story and its word meanings in Hindi, then go back to the English video.

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 was Kaloo, and who was his friend?
What trick did Kaloo play on Appu?
What did Appu do two days later?
Was Kaloo a good friend that day? What should we do when we hurt a friend?

Answers for parents

Kaloo was a tailor. His friend was Appu the elephant.
He gave Appu nothing to eat and pricked his trunk with a needle.
Appu filled his trunk with river water and sprayed it all over the shop, so the new clothes got wet.
For example: No, he was not kind that day. When we hurt a friend, we should say sorry and be kind again.

Grammar corner: Saying sorry and making up

When we hurt someone, we say “I am sorry.” We can add what we did wrong, and then ask to be friends again. These small words help friends feel better.

I am sorry I pricked your trunk, Appu.
I am sorry. I will not play that trick again.
Let us be friends again, Kaloo.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: A tailor sews clothes with a ___.
Match: trunk → (elephant / tailor); needle → (elephant / tailor).
Say aloud what Kaloo could say to Appu to make up.

Answers: 1. needle · 2. trunk → elephant; needle → tailor · 3. For example: I am sorry, Appu. Please be my friend again.

Try this

Act out the story. One of you is Kaloo with a pretend needle, the other is Appu with an arm for a trunk. At the end, practise the two important lines: “An elephant never forgets” and “I am sorry, let's be friends again.”

Tip for parents

Tell the story first in Hindi, in your own words: दर्ज़ी कालू और हाथी अप्पू. Then retell it using a few English words, like tailor, needle and trunk, and let your child fill in the rest in any language. Praise them when they use even one English word, and practise “I am sorry” together.

Questions parents ask

Who are the characters in The Tailor and His Friend?

The two main characters are Kaloo, a tailor, and his friend Appu, an elephant.

What is the moral of The Tailor and His Friend?

We should not play mean tricks on friends. If we hurt someone, we should say sorry, as Kaloo does, and make up.

Which book is The Tailor and His Friend from?

It is from NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 1 (Unit 10). The newer NCERT English books are Mridang for Class 1–2 and Santoor for Class 3–5.

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 →