Class 6 English · Original EZT practice
The Unlikely Best Friends (Class 6 English Chapter 4): an elephant and a dog show what friends are for
A royal elephant and a stray dog become the best of friends in this gentle story by Subba Rao from Poorvi Unit 2, Friendship. When the dog's owner takes him home, both friends stop eating - until the farmer understands and lets them reunite. Below: a summary, word meanings, comprehension practice and grammar work on the three forms of the past tense. (Note: this is original practice, not a textbook exercise key.)
6 original worked examples, 6 fresh self-check questions and 4 mixed questions, with explained answers. 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 22 October 2026:
1. Story summary and characters
Gajaraj, the king's elephant, has every comfort but no friend. A tired, hungry stray dog wanders into the stable, Gajaraj shares his food, and the two become inseparable - until a farmer recognises the dog, Buntee, and takes him home.
2. Reading comprehension
Separated, both friends refuse food - Gajaraj leaves his favourite meal untouched, and Buntee will not eat at the farmer's house either. The farmer realises the dog misses his friend and sets him free.
3. Word meanings
The chapter glosses story words - strayed (came by mistake), munching (chewing), wagged (moved from side to side), convey, crumbs, chores (daily tasks), indigestion (upset stomach), sprang (jumped), relieved.
4. Grammar - three forms of the past tense
Simple past tells of an action that happened earlier (verb + -d/-ed or the second form); past progressive tells of an action that was going on (was/were + verb-ing); past perfect tells of an action already completed (had + third form of the verb).
Choose, solve, check, then try a fresh question.
Before calculating, read the method prompt and name the condition that makes it useful. Write your own attempt. Open the steps only when you need them, and use the check to catch a wrong sign, unit or interpretation. Finish with the fresh question before reading its answer.
Explain Gajaraj's sadness
Choose the method: Comfort is not company.
EZT practice question
Why was Gajaraj sad even though he lived in royal comfort?
Show the worked solution
- Gajaraj had the best booth, good food and regular baths.
- But he had no friend to play with.
- The mahout was a kind caretaker - and a caretaker is not the same as a friend.
Answer: He had no friend. The mahout was a kind caretaker who fed and bathed him, but a caretaker is not the same as a friend to play with.
Check: The story opens on this gap - every comfort except company - which the dog then fills.
Watch for this: Do not say Gajaraj was ill or badly treated - the text gives him every comfort; loneliness is the problem.
Now try it yourself
Who was the only one Gajaraj interacted with before the dog arrived?
Check your answer
The mahout, his elephant trainer and caretaker.
One caretaker is still no playmate.
Describe the first meeting
Choose the method: A shared meal starts the friendship.
EZT practice question
How did Gajaraj welcome the stray dog?
Show the worked solution
- A tired and hungry dog strayed into the stable.
- Gajaraj was munching his food.
- He pushed some of it towards the dog to feed him.
Answer: He pushed some of the food he was munching towards the tired and hungry dog.
Check: Sharing food on first meeting is the story's quiet way of saying the friendship began at once.
Watch for this: Do not say the mahout fed the dog first - the welcome comes from Gajaraj himself.
Now try it yourself
What was the dog's name, and who gave it?
Check your answer
Buntee - the farmer, his owner.
The farmer recognises and names him later in the story.
Retell the ending
Choose the method: Two pairs of friends, not one.
EZT practice question
How did the story end? Who were friends at the end?
Show the worked solution
- The farmer removed Buntee's rope and let him go.
- The dog ran back to the stable, and Gajaraj lifted him with his trunk in a joyous swing.
- The mahout and the farmer became friends too - 'It's not only Gajaraj who has found a friend... I've also found one.'
Answer: The farmer let Buntee go; the dog ran back to the stable and Gajaraj lifted him with his trunk in a joyous swing. Gajaraj and Buntee were friends again - and the mahout and the farmer became friends too.
Check: The closing line doubles the friendship - animals and humans both gain a friend.
Watch for this: Do not end the story at the separation - the reunion and the new human friendship complete it.
Now try it yourself
Why did the farmer let Buntee go?
Check your answer
He could not see the dog go hungry and understood Buntee missed Gajaraj: 'If you miss your friend so much, go to him.'
The farmer puts the dog's happiness above owning him.
Explain the mahout's worry
Choose the method: No sickness, just missing.
EZT practice question
Why did the mahout worry about Gajaraj?
Show the worked solution
- Gajaraj would not eat for days.
- The mahout checked him and found nothing wrong with his tummy.
- The real cause was that the elephant was missing his friend.
Answer: The elephant would not eat for days, though there was nothing wrong with his tummy - he was missing his friend.
Check: Buntee refuses food at the farmer's house too - the parallel refusals prove the cause is the separation.
Watch for this: Do not blame indigestion - the mahout only guesses that; the story rules it out.
Now try it yourself
What is the message of the story?
Check your answer
Friendship is precious - even animals need friends, and true friends cannot bear to be apart.
Both friends stop eating until they reunite.
Match story words to meanings
Choose the method: Fix each word to one plain meaning.
EZT practice question
Match: strayed, munching, wagged, sprang - with their meanings.
Show the worked solution
- strayed - came by mistake.
- munching - chewing.
- wagged - moved from side to side; sprang - jumped.
Answer: strayed - came by mistake; munching - chewing; wagged - moved from side to side; sprang - jumped.
Check: Try each in the story: the dog strayed in, Gajaraj was munching, tails wagged, and someone sprang up in joy.
Watch for this: Do not confuse strayed with stayed - straying is wandering in by mistake.
Now try it yourself
The mahout finished his other 'chores'. What are chores?
Check your answer
Daily duties or tasks.
Feeding and bathing Gajaraj were among them.
Sort the three past forms
Choose the method: Done, was doing, had done.
EZT practice question
Sort into simple past, past progressive, past perfect: (a) Gajaraj pushed some food towards the dog. (b) The dog was sleeping in the stable. (c) The farmer had tied the dog with a rope.
Show the worked solution
- (a) reports a completed action with the second form - simple past.
- (b) uses was + verb-ing for an action in progress - past progressive.
- (c) uses had + third form for an already completed action - past perfect.
Answer: (a) simple past; (b) past progressive; (c) past perfect.
Check: Look for the markers: plain second form, was/were + -ing, had + third form - one per sentence.
Watch for this: Do not mix past progressive and past perfect - 'was sleeping' is ongoing, 'had tied' is finished.
Now try it yourself
Write the past perfect of 'The friends ate their food.'
Check your answer
'The friends had eaten their food.'
had + eaten (third form) marks the past perfect.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. Who are the unlikely best friends?
Show answer and reason
Gajaraj, the king's elephant, and Buntee, a stray dog.
An unusual pair who become inseparable.
2. Why did Gajaraj stop eating?
Show answer and reason
He missed Buntee after the farmer took the dog home.
True friends cannot bear to be apart.
3. Who wrote the story?
Show answer and reason
Subba Rao.
It is the first piece in Poorvi Unit 2, Friendship.
4. 'Had + third form' makes which tense?
Show answer and reason
The past perfect.
Simple past uses the second form; past progressive uses was/were + -ing.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- What was the dog's name, and who gave it?
- Write the past progressive of 'The dog wags his tail.'
- What does 'relieved' mean in 'The mahout was relieved'?
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Questions about this practice page
- Who are the unlikely best friends in the story?
- Gajaraj, the king's elephant, and Buntee, a stray dog - an unusual pair who become inseparable.
- Why did Gajaraj stop eating?
- Because his friend Buntee was taken away by the farmer; he missed the dog too much to eat.
- Who wrote 'The Unlikely Best Friends'?
- Subba Rao.
- What grammar does this chapter teach?
- The three forms of the past tense - simple past, past progressive, and past perfect.
- Are these the NCERT exercise questions for Class 6 English Chapter 4?
- No. EZT pages are original practice following the chapter's section order - use them to prepare for the textbook exercises, not as a substitute for your book.