Question

Given below is an outline of the story given in the form of phrases. Fill in the blanks to create the

complete story.

Salt merchant ………….. had a donkey who carried heavy loads of salt on its back ………….. donkey had to

cross a stream to transport the salt to other villages ………….. once the donkey slipped in water …………..

salt dissolved in water ………….. load became lighter ………….. donkey felt happy ………….. repeats the

process of falling in water everyday to lessen the burden ………….. merchants suspects the donkey’s evil

intentions ………….. plans to teach it a lesson ………….. loads cotton on donkey’s back ………….. as donkey

falls in water cotton becomes heavy ………….. donkey repents his actions ………….. moral.​

Answer 1

Explanation:

• once
• to places .sometimes the
• also
• even though the merchant incurred a loss,the
• and it was now able to cross the stream easily.Next time when the donkey was about to carry the heavy load , he got an idea and
• .The
• and he
• .He
• instead of salt.The donkey once again repeated the same trick
• .It was very tiring for him to move and he realised his mistake.He stopped falling down into the stream and the
• the merchant had taught the donkey a good

Answer 2

One beautiful spring morning, a merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to market to sell it. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when they reached the river. As the river bank was very slippery the donkey slipped and fell into the river. The salt from the bags melted in the water. When the donkey got up,it noticed that the bags loaded on its back had become light. There was nothing the merchant could do, except to return home.

The next day, the merchant again loaded his donkey with bags of salt. As they reached the slippery river bank, the donkey thought, “If I fall down in the water, my load will become light.” So it deliberately fell into the river. The merchant realised the donkey’s trick. He then returned home and re-loaded his donkey, this time with bags of sponge. They once again set off on their journey. On reaching the river the donkey again fell into the water. But instead of the load becoming lighter, it become heavier. The merchant laughed at and said, “You foolish donkey! Did you think you were smart and clever? I am cleverer than you.”