Class 8 English · Original EZT practice
The Magic Brush of Dreams (Class 8 English Chapter 8): Gopi's gift
Gopi is sent to gather wild beans, rice and mangoes, but she would rather sit under the banyan tree drawing pictures in the sand. Then a stranger slips her a magic brush with one condition: paint not for the wealthy ones, but only for the poor. When the greedy Zamindar hears of the brush and locks Gopi up, she must paint her way to freedom. This page gives a summary, poetic devices and practice questions for the folk-tale poem in Poorvi Unit 3. (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 23 October 2026:
1. Poem summary - the gift of the brush
Gopi ignores her errands and sits beneath the banyan, drawing pictures in the sand - and the wind blows by and sweeps them away. A man sitting on a stone calls her, whispers 'Hush!' because the village must not know about 'this magic brush', and slips it into her hand with a rule: she must paint only for the poor, never for the wealthy.
2. Poem summary - painting for the village, the Zamindar's greed
Gopi paints a bowl of khichdi that becomes real, and soon paints useful things for the villagers - a muffler for a farmer, a plough for another man, a shawl for a grandmother and a fan for a girl. When the news reaches the Zamindar, he orders her to paint 'a fortress tall and grand' and 'treasures, jewels, and riches rare'; Gopi refuses, and he has her seized and thrown into a cell.
3. Poem summary - the escape and the village feast
While the Zamindar dreams of gold, Gopi paints a winding road and a horse 'both strong and bold' and gallops out of the prison gates. With the Zamindar's men chasing her, she paints 'a mighty river wide' they cannot cross and warns she could paint a beast to chase them instead; the terrified Zamindar flees, and Gopi paints a feast of sweets and tea, a bright courtyard and a band for the celebrating villagers.
4. Poetic devices and form
This is a narrative (ballad-style) poem - it tells a complete story in verse, adapted from a folk tale. It mostly follows a simple ABCB rhyme scheme, and uses imagery and repetition; its tone shifts from playful and innocent, to tense and suspenseful when the Zamindar appears, to triumphant and celebratory at the end.
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.
Fix the condition on the brush
Choose the method: Poor, not wealthy.
EZT practice question
What condition does the man place on the magic brush?
Show the worked solution
- The man whispers that the village must not know about the magic brush.
- He slips it into Gopi's hand with one clear rule.
- The rule: 'Paint not for the wealthy ones, / But only for the poor.'
Answer: Gopi must 'Paint not for the wealthy ones, / But only for the poor' - the brush is a gift meant to help needy people, not to make the rich richer.
Check: The condition is about who the paintings are for, not about what she may paint.
Watch for this: Do not say the brush only works for Gopi - the rule is about serving the poor, not about ownership.
Now try it yourself
Why does the man whisper 'Hush!' to Gopi?
Check your answer
He says they must not let the village know about the magic brush - its power must stay secret.
The secrecy sets up the trouble when the news later reaches the Zamindar.
List what Gopi paints
Choose the method: Useful things for needy people.
EZT practice question
What does Gopi paint for the villagers?
Show the worked solution
- Her first painting is a bowl of khichdi - and it becomes real.
- She then paints useful things: a muffler for a farmer, a plough for another man.
- She also paints a shawl for a grandmother and a fan for a girl.
Answer: Gopi paints a bowl of khichdi, a muffler for a farmer, a plough, a shawl for a grandmother and a fan for a girl - useful things for ordinary people.
Check: Every gift answers a real need - food, warmth, a tool, comfort.
Watch for this: Do not say she paints gold or jewels for the village - luxury is exactly what she refuses to paint.
Now try it yourself
What happens to the pictures Gopi draws in the sand before she gets the brush?
Check your answer
The wind blows by and sweeps them away.
The vanishing sand pictures contrast with paintings that turn real.
Explain the Zamindar's anger
Choose the method: Demand, refusal, prison.
EZT practice question
Why does the Zamindar throw Gopi into prison?
Show the worked solution
- He orders her to paint 'a fortress tall and grand' and 'treasures, jewels, and riches rare, / Enough to rule this land'.
- Gopi bows, shakes her head and says, 'My lord, I can't comply.'
- She reminds him she swore to use the brush to help the needy - and her refusal enrages him.
Answer: Gopi refuses his order to paint a fortress and treasures, telling him she swore to use the brush only to help the needy - her refusal enrages the Zamindar, so he has her seized and thrown into a cell.
Check: The Zamindar roars, stamps his foot and bellows to his men - his greed turns to violence.
Watch for this: Do not say Gopi is imprisoned for stealing the brush - she is punished for keeping her promise.
Now try it yourself
What does the Zamindar shout through the door of the cell?
Check your answer
'Paint my fortress tall! / Paint gold and rubies, emeralds bright, / And you shall leave this hall!'
Even from prison, Gopi's freedom is priced in gold - she still refuses.
Trace how Gopi escapes
Choose the method: Road, horse, river.
EZT practice question
How does Gopi escape from the Zamindar's prison?
Show the worked solution
- While the Zamindar lies dreaming of his gold, Gopi paints a winding road and 'a horse both strong and bold'.
- The road leads out of the prison gates, and she gallops 'through fields and many villages'.
- When his men chase her, she paints 'a mighty river wide' with fast, deep currents they cannot leap across.
Answer: She paints a winding road and a strong horse and gallops out of the prison gates, then paints a mighty river with fast, deep currents that stops the Zamindar and his men.
Check: The brush that was meant to help the poor also frees her - the gift keeps its purpose.
Watch for this: Do not say the villagers rescue her - Gopi paints her own way out.
Now try it yourself
What effect does the repetition in 'On you, and you and you!' have?
Check your answer
It makes Gopi's warning about the beast feel more threatening, as if she is pointing at each man in turn.
Repetition turns her warning into a spoken gesture - the chase ends immediately.
Describe the ending
Choose the method: Flight, then feast.
EZT practice question
What does Gopi paint for the village at the end of the poem?
Show the worked solution
- The Zamindar cries 'No, no, no more!' and flees with his men.
- Gopi paints for the village folk: 'A feast of sweets and tea.'
- She adds 'a courtyard bright, a band to play, / And songs of victory.'
Answer: Gopi paints a feast of sweets and tea, a bright courtyard, and a band to play songs of victory for the celebrating villagers.
Check: The poem ends with the community sharing joy - the brush's gifts stay with the poor.
Watch for this: Do not say Gopi keeps the brush's riches for herself - the ending is a shared celebration, not a reward.
Now try it yourself
What lesson does the poem teach?
Check your answer
Greed is defeated and kindness wins - gifts and talents are best used to help people in need, not to serve the powerful.
Gopi's kept promise, not the magic itself, is what defeats the Zamindar.
Work out the rhyme scheme
Choose the method: Mark line endings A B C B.
EZT practice question
What is the rhyme scheme of the poem? Show it from the opening stanza.
Show the worked solution
- Opening lines: 'Go and gather wild beans, Gopi, / Go and fetch some rice, / Go and pluck the mangoes / And bring home something nice.'
- Only the second and fourth line endings rhyme: rice / nice.
- So the stanza scans ABCB - the pattern of a ballad.
Answer: ABCB - in 'Go and gather wild beans, Gopi (A) / Go and fetch some rice (B) / Go and pluck the mangoes (C) / And bring home something nice (B)', only the second and fourth lines rhyme (rice/nice).
Check: A story told in verse with this song-like pattern is a narrative or ballad-style poem.
Watch for this: Do not mark it AABB - lines one and three (Gopi / mangoes) do not rhyme.
Now try it yourself
How does the tone of the poem change across its three parts?
Check your answer
Playful and innocent at the start, tense and suspenseful when the Zamindar enters, and triumphant and celebratory when Gopi escapes and the villagers rejoice.
The tone tracks who holds the power - Gopi, then the Zamindar, then Gopi again.
Try a mixed set
Choose a method or explanation before opening each answer.
1. What three things is Gopi sent to gather?
Show answer and reason
Wild beans, rice and mangoes.
The opening stanza's errand list.
2. The one rule for the brush?
Show answer and reason
'Paint not for the wealthy ones, / But only for the poor.'
The stranger's condition.
3. How does Gopi answer the Zamindar's order?
Show answer and reason
She bows, shakes her head and says, 'My lord, I can't comply.'
She swore to help the needy.
4. What stops the Zamindar's chase?
Show answer and reason
A mighty river with fast, deep currents - and her warning of a beast.
He turns and flees.
Try it yourself
Work these on paper before checking any notes. Answers are deliberately not shown here.
- Quote the line that gives the condition on the magic brush.
- Name the two things Gopi paints to escape the prison.
- In one sentence, give the poem's message about greed and kindness.
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Questions about this practice page
- Is The Magic Brush of Dreams a folk tale?
- Yes - the poem is adapted from a folk tale and retells it as a narrative poem in the NCERT Class 8 textbook Poorvi, Unit 3.
- What does the magic brush do in the poem?
- Whatever Gopi paints with it becomes real - from a bowl of khichdi to a horse, a river and a village feast.
- Why does Gopi refuse to paint for the Zamindar?
- She promised the stranger who gave her the brush that she would paint only for the poor, never for the wealthy.
- How does Gopi escape from the Zamindar's prison?
- She paints a winding road and a strong horse, gallops away, and then paints a wide river that stops the Zamindar and his men.
- What lesson does The Magic Brush of Dreams teach?
- Greed is defeated and kindness wins - gifts and talents are best used to help people in need, not to serve the powerful.