Sundari: NCERT Class 1 English Story (Marigold Unit 7)

etmantra7 Jul 20209 min read

Sundari is a kite with feelings of her own, and children enjoy seeing the world through her eyes. The busy fair, the naughty little dog and her big flight make it a lively story to listen to and retell.

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From the NCERT English book Marigold for Class 1, unit 7. NCERT’s newer Class 1 book is Mridang, but many schools still teach Marigold.

Watch: Sundari

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

Colour words: red, white and blue
Words about a fair: band, tune, merry-go-round
Strong action words: leaped, tugged, ran
Describing words like big, little and long

What the story is about

Bobby makes a big red, white and blue kite. She smiles at him, and he names her Sundari because she is beautiful. One day Bobby takes Sundari to a fair, where a band is playing and children are riding the merry-go-round. Bobby looks for an open space to fly his kite.

Bobby runs on the grass holding Sundari high, but she cannot rise very far, because a little dog is holding her long tail in his mouth. Bobby shoos the dog away and tries again. This time Sundari leaps up and tugs hard at the string. She tugs so hard that Bobby has to let her go, and Sundari flies up, up and away, as high as she likes.

New words, with Hindi meanings

kite: a light toy that flies in the wind on a string (हिंदी: पतंग)
fair: an outdoor place with rides, games and shops (हिंदी: मेला)
band: a group of people playing music (हिंदी: बाजा)
tune: a short piece of music (हिंदी: धुन)
wooden: made of wood (हिंदी: लकड़ी का)
leaped: jumped up high (हिंदी: उछली)
tugged: pulled hard (हिंदी: ज़ोर से खींचा)
string: a long thin thread or cord (हिंदी: डोर)

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.

What colours was Sundari?
Where did Bobby take Sundari?
Why could Sundari not fly high the first time?
Have you been to a fair? What did you see there?

Answers for parents

Sundari was red, white and blue.
Bobby took Sundari to the fair.
A little dog was holding her long tail in his mouth.
For example: Yes, I went to a fair with my family. I saw a big swing, balloons and a man selling sweets.

Grammar corner: Describing words (adjectives)

A describing word tells us more about a naming word. In “a little dog”, the word little tells us about the dog. This story has many describing words, such as big, long and wooden.

Bobby held a long string.
The fair had a noisy band.
A small girl sat on a wooden horse.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank: The dog held Sundari's long ___ in his mouth.
Match each word to its meaning: band, tugged, fair. (pulled hard / a place with rides and shops / a group playing music)
Make a sentence about your favourite toy using a describing word.

Answers: 1. tail · 2. band – a group playing music; tugged – pulled hard; fair – a place with rides and shops · 3. Sample: My red ball is very bouncy.

Try this

Make a paper kite tail. Tie or tape small bits of paper to a long piece of thread or wool, and let your child run with it to see it fly behind. Then act out the story: one child is Sundari, one is Bobby holding the “string”, and one is the little dog.

Tip for parents

Ask in Hindi first: “सुंदरी ऊँचा क्यों नहीं उड़ पाई?” Let your child answer in Hindi, English or a mix of both. Then say the English answer together, “The dog held her tail”, and praise every try.

Questions parents ask

Who is Sundari in the story?

Sundari is a big red, white and blue kite that Bobby made. He named her Sundari because she was beautiful.

What happens at the end of Sundari?

Sundari tugs at the string so hard that Bobby has to let her go. She flies up high into the sky, as high as she likes.

Which NCERT book has the story Sundari?

It is Unit 7 of NCERT's older Marigold book for Class 1. 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 →