Class 6 English · Original EZT practice
A Bottle of Dew (Class 6): summary and reading practice
A neglected field, a promised magic potion and five litres of dew lead Rama Natha to the wealth he was chasing in the wrong place.
6 original reading questions, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with model answers and reasons. These are not copied textbook exercises, an official chapter index or a full answer key. No affiliation with NCERT is claimed.
Official sources for topic and edition context, checked 17 October 2026:
A short summary for context
Rama Natha inherits large tracts of land but neglects them while chasing a magic potion that he believes can turn objects into gold. People often cheat him, and Madhumati worries about the money he spends. Sage Mahipati tells him to plant banana plants, tend them himself and collect five litres of winter dew with his own hands. Rama Natha works for six years, with Madhumati helping and selling the banana crop. When the sage’s potion fails to change a copper vessel, Rama Natha is angry. Madhumati then opens a box of gold coins earned from the plantation. The sage explains that hard work created the wealth, not magic, and Rama Natha understands the lesson.
Original EZT paraphrase of the linked NCERT selection. Read the full account for its voice and detail.
Read, make a claim, support it, then revise.
Read the passage, then write your own answer. Choose an accurate detail and explain what it supports. Open the model only after attempting the question. Check whether you have confused an observation, a character's view and your interpretation.
Separate the belief from what it costs
Reading approach: Name the observable action first, then the interpretation Rama Natha gives it.
EZT practice question
What does Rama Natha believe, and what does that belief cost him?
Show a model answer
- He believes a magic potion can turn any object into gold.
- He spends his time and money chasing it while his inherited land remains neglected.
Answer: He believes in a gold-making potion, and chasing it costs him money and care for his land.
Check: The opening directly says that people cheat him and Madhumati worries about the spending.
Watch for this: Do not say he has no ability to work; the later plantation shows that he can work when redirected.
Now try a fresh reading question
Why is Madhumati worried at the start?
Read a model response
She sees how much money he is spending and fears they will soon be without money.
Her concern is stated before the sage arrives.
Track the sage’s exact conditions
Reading approach: A condition question needs every limiting phrase, not only the main object.
EZT practice question
What must Rama Natha do before the sage will chant over the dew?
Show a model answer
- He must plant banana plants and water or tend them himself.
- During winter, he must collect five litres of dew from those leaves with his own hands.
Answer: He must grow and tend banana plants himself and personally collect five litres of dew.
Check: Rama Natha recognises that winter is short, so the task will take years.
Watch for this: Do not leave out the five-litre amount or the own-hands condition.
Now try a fresh reading question
Why does the sage allow more banana plants?
Read a model response
More plants can provide more dew, but Rama Natha still has to look after them himself.
Increasing the number of plants does not remove the work condition.
Explain why the task takes six years
Reading approach: Connect the time span to the change in Rama Natha’s habits.
EZT practice question
Why is the six-year length important to the story’s lesson?
Show a model answer
- Collecting five litres of dew takes many winters.
- During those years, Rama Natha clears fields, plants bananas and keeps working on the land.
Answer: The long task turns his daily effort into farming experience and produces the plantation that earns the gold.
Check: The source says that at the end of six years he finally has the five litres.
Watch for this: Do not treat six years as proof that every goal needs six years; it is this story’s chosen span.
Now try a fresh reading question
What changes in Rama Natha during the six years?
Read a model response
He moves from neglecting his fields to tending a large banana plantation.
The change is shown through repeated work, not through the potion.
Follow the failed test and the real source of gold
Reading approach: Keep the failed potion test separate from the successful farm earnings.
EZT practice question
What happens when Rama Natha tests the potion, and where has the gold actually come from?
Show a model answer
- He sprinkles drops on a copper vessel, but nothing happens.
- Madhumati opens a box of gold coins earned by selling bananas from the plantation.
Answer: The potion fails; the gold comes from banana crop earnings.
Check: The sage directly says that the couple’s hard work created the wealth.
Watch for this: Do not claim that the potion worked secretly or that the sage created the coins.
Now try a fresh reading question
Why does Rama Natha call the sage’s act cheating?
Read a model response
He thinks he has wasted six years because the drops do not turn copper into gold.
His anger makes sense before Madhumati reveals the earnings.
Read Madhumati as an active partner
Reading approach: Use only the roles the source gives her.
EZT practice question
How does Madhumati help create the family’s wealth?
Show a model answer
- She warns and worries about the spending at the start.
- She helps with the work, gathers the banana crop and takes it to market for a good price.
Answer: Madhumati helps with the plantation and turns the banana harvest into market earnings.
Check: She brings the box of gold coins at the reveal.
Watch for this: Do not invent a secret savings plan or say she does all the farming alone.
Now try a fresh reading question
Which detail shows that the wealth is shared work rather than Rama Natha’s solo success?
Read a model response
The source says Madhumati helped him and sold the banana crop.
Both spouses contribute to the final earnings.
Evaluate the sage’s trick without making it a rule
Reading approach: Explain why the trick works in this story while keeping its limits visible.
EZT practice question
Why does Sage Mahipati use a false potion task instead of simply lecturing Rama Natha?
Show a model answer
- Rama Natha is so fixed on magic that he may not accept a plain correction.
- The task makes him practise the useful behaviour before he learns that the potion is false.
Answer: The sage redirects the obsession into work, letting the result teach the lesson.
Check: The sage says Rama Natha would not have listened if told earlier.
Watch for this: Do not turn one fictional trick into advice that deception is always acceptable.
Now try a fresh reading question
What makes the sage’s plan instructive rather than merely magical?
Read a model response
It requires sustained effort that produces real crops and earnings.
The lesson comes from the work and its visible result.
Try a mixed set
Write your own explanation before opening each model response.
1. Does the potion turn the copper vessel into gold?
Show answer and reason
No.
Nothing happens when Rama Natha tests it.
2. Who sells the banana crop in the market?
Show answer and reason
Madhumati.
The source says she gathers the crop and gets a good price for it.
3. Is the story presented as a historical account?
Show answer and reason
No.
It is a folk tale in the Fables and Folk Tales unit.
4. Does the story promise that every kind of hard work will produce gold?
Show answer and reason
No.
Its lesson is about useful effort in this story, not a universal money guarantee.
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Questions about this practice page
- Which textbook has A Bottle of Dew?
- NCERT’s current Class 6 Poorvi Unit 1 begins with this story. Schools using the older Honeysuckle book have a different Chapter 1.
- What is the moral of A Bottle of Dew?
- In this folk tale, steady useful work creates the wealth that a magic shortcut could not. It is a story lesson, not a promise that every effort earns money.
- Why does the sage ask for dew from banana plants?
- The condition forces Rama Natha to plant, tend and harvest crops over several years. The work behind the ingredient is the real lesson.
- How does Madhumati help?
- She worries about the spending, helps with the plantation, gathers the banana crop and sells it in the market.
- Are these the Poorvi Unit 1 textbook questions?
- No. These are original EZT reading questions on the story. Use them alongside the textbook, not as its answer key.