Robinson Crusoe Discovers a Footprint: NCERT Class 5 English Story

etmantra20 Jul 202010 min read

Imagine living alone on an island for many years and then finding a footprint that is not yours. In this chapter, Robinson Crusoe tells us in his own words how this one footprint filled him with fear. It is a gripping story about feelings, imagination and courage.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 5, unit 3. NCERT’s newer Class 5 book is Santoor, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Robinson Crusoe Discovers a Footprint

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

Words for feelings: amazed, confused, frightened, bolder
Reading a story told by 'I' (first person)
Using 'neither … nor' to say two things are not true
How fear and imagination can grow, and how we calm down

What the story is about

Robinson Crusoe's ship was wrecked, and he has lived alone on an island for many years. One day, walking towards his boat, he sees the print of a man's foot on the sand. He looks and listens all around, and searches up and down the shore, but finds no other footprint.

He goes home very frightened, looking behind him every few steps and thinking every bush and tree is a man. He runs into his cave, which he calls his castle, and cannot sleep that night. He fears the footprint belongs to someone from the mainland who came in a small boat. If that person saw his boat, they might come back with others to harm him.

For many days he stays in fear and prays, which comforts him. After two or three days of seeing nothing, he becomes bolder and goes back to measure the footprint with his own foot. It is larger than his, and he has not been to that part of the beach for a long time. His fear returns: he is now sure someone else has been on the island.

New words, with Hindi meanings

footprint: the mark a foot leaves on the ground (हिंदी: पैरों का निशान)
amazed: very surprised (हिंदी: हैरान)
imagination: pictures and ideas made up in your mind (हिंदी: कल्पना)
confused: not able to understand or think clearly (हिंदी: उलझन में)
frightened: afraid (हिंदी: डरा हुआ)
mainland: a large piece of land, not an island (हिंदी: मुख्य भूमि)
bolder: braver (हिंदी: ज़्यादा हिम्मती)
inhabited: having people living there (हिंदी: आबाद / बसा हुआ)

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.

Where did Robinson Crusoe find the footprint, and what did he do first?
Why did he think every bush and tree was a man on his way home?
How did he find out that the footprint was not his own?
Have you ever felt scared of something that turned out to be nothing? What helped you feel brave?

Answers for parents

He found it on the sand while walking towards his boat. He stood amazed, then looked and listened all around and searched up and down the shore.
He was so frightened that his mind made every shape look like a person following him.
He measured it with his own foot. It was larger than his, and he had not been to that part of the beach for a long time.
For example: I was scared of a shadow on my wall at night. My father switched on the light and showed me it was only a towel.

Grammar corner: Using 'neither … nor'

We use 'neither … nor' to say that two things are both not true. Crusoe uses it when he can hear nothing and see nothing. The action word after 'neither' and 'nor' stays in its simple form.

On the empty beach, Crusoe could neither find a boat nor see a person.
That night he could neither sleep nor stop thinking.
The footprint was neither small nor his own.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: He could ___ hear ___ see anyone.
Choose the word that means 'having people living there': (mainland / inhabited / confused)
Make a sentence with 'frightened' about something in the chapter.

Answers: 1. neither, nor · 2. inhabited · 3. For example: Crusoe was frightened when he saw the strange footprint.

Try this

Ask your child to imagine they are Robinson Crusoe and write a short diary entry for the night he found the footprint: what he saw, how he felt and what he plans to do next. Then let them read it aloud with feeling, as if they are really scared.

Tip for parents

Ask your child to tell you the story in Hindi first: 'रेत पर क्या दिखा, और वो इतना डर क्यों गया?' Then pick two feeling words, like 'frightened' (डरा हुआ) and 'confused' (उलझन में), and ask for one English sentence with each. Mixing languages while thinking is fine; praise the ideas as well as the English.

Questions parents ask

What is Robinson Crusoe Discovers a Footprint about?

Robinson Crusoe, who has lived alone on an island for years, finds a man's footprint on the sand. He becomes very frightened, and when he measures it later, he finds it is bigger than his own foot, so someone else must have been on the island.

Why was Robinson Crusoe afraid of the footprint?

He feared it belonged to someone from the mainland who had come in a small boat. If that person had seen his boat, they might come back with others to harm him.

Which book is Robinson Crusoe Discovers a Footprint from?

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

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