Rama to the Rescue — Class 6 English (Poorvi)
"The plan worked! We're saved." — Rama's wife
1. About the Chapter
This is the third and final chapter of Unit 1: Fables and Folk Tales in the Poorvi textbook. It is a folk tale from Tamil Nadu, presented as a short play. Rama, the village kotwal (policeman), and his wife hear a thief entering their home at night. Unable to fight him directly, they use a clever plan — pretending to discuss what to name their future child — to alert the real kotwal and get the thief arrested.
Why This Chapter
- Celebrates CLEVERNESS over force
- Shows that ordinary people can outsmart danger
- Folk tale format — cultural storytelling from Tamil Nadu
- Play/dialogue format — good for reading aloud and role-play
2. Characters
Rama (the husband)
- Lives in a village in Tamil Nadu
- Not the village kotwal — just a man with the same name as the kotwal
- Quick-thinking and clever
- Comes up with the plan to call out the name "Rama" repeatedly
Rama's Wife
- Alert — she hears the thief first ("SSSSH! Listen!")
- Works with her husband to execute the plan
- Plays along with the "naming the child" conversation
- Asks the right questions to keep the thief confused
The Thief
- Breaks into the house at night
- Hides and waits for the couple to fall asleep
- Gets impatient as they keep talking about naming their child
- Wonders why they won't discuss where their money is
- Eventually caught by the real kotwal
The Kotwal (village policeman)
- Also named Rama
- Hears his name being called loudly from the house
- Runs to investigate
- Finds and arrests the thief
4. The Story (from NCERT Poorvi Textbook)
A folk tale from Tamil Nadu
In a village, one night —
Rama: Oh-Humm! What a hard day it has been! I'm feeling so sleepy… What's the matter? What are you looking at?
Rama's wife: SSSSH! Listen!
Rama: Somebody trying to get in. I… I think he has already got in… the noise has stopped.
Rama's wife: We… down… don't look. It's a thief… He must have somehow got past Rama.
(Rama was the village kotwal.)
Rama's wife: What should we do?
Rama: I tell you, listen…
Meanwhile —
Thief (to himself): Voices… I'll have to wait till they fall asleep. I wonder where they keep their money. They're saying something. Perhaps they're talking about their money. I'd better listen closely.
Rama's wife: What should we name our child?
Rama: If he is a boy we'll call him Rama.
Rama's wife: Rama? Yes… That's a good name. When he's in the house, I'll call out softly to him, Rama! Rama!
Rama: But what if he's in the yard?
Rama's wife: Then I'll call out a little louder. Rama, Rama!
Thief (to himself): I wish they would stop this silly game and talk about their money instead. Or fall asleep at least!
Rama: But my dear, what if the boy is not in the house or in the yard, but in the street?
Rama's wife: Oh, then I'll call out very loudly… Rama! Rama!
Kotwal: Listen! Rama! Rama!
(Rama, the village kotwal, runs to the house from which he heard his name being called.)
Kotwal: OH, OH! Some thief has dug his way into this house. AH, at last they've stopped their chatter!
Thief: Now soon they'll go to sleep and… EH!
Kotwal: You're under arrest.
Rama: It's Rama! He hears us!
Rama's wife: The plan worked! We're saved.
The man and his wife by their cleverness had saved themselves from being robbed.
5. What Happens in the Story (Summary)
- Nighttime: Rama and his wife are about to sleep when they hear a thief entering their home
- The Problem: They cannot fight the thief directly — he might be armed or stronger
- The Plan: They pretend to discuss what to name their future child. They decide on "Rama"
- The Trick: They discuss calling the child's name at different volumes — softly in the house, louder in the yard, VERY loudly in the street
- The Thief's Frustration: The thief grows impatient. He wants them to discuss their money, not baby names
- The Signal: They call out "RAMA! RAMA!" loudly — and the real village kotwal, also named Rama, hears his name
- The Rescue: The kotwal rushes to the house, finds the thief, and arrests him
- The Result: The couple's cleverness saves them from being robbed
6. Moral of the Story
Cleverness Over Force
Rama and his wife couldn't physically fight the thief. But they didn't need to. They used their MINDS — and that was enough.
Stay Calm Under Pressure
When they heard the thief, they didn't panic. They didn't scream. They stayed quiet, thought of a plan, and executed it together.
Teamwork
The plan only worked because both husband and wife played their parts perfectly. She asked the questions; he gave the answers. They were a team.
Community Policing
The story also shows how village communities worked — the kotwal was nearby, alert, and responded immediately when he heard his name.
7. Important Lines from the NCERT Text
"SSSSH! Listen!"
"What should we name our child?"
"If he is a boy we'll call him Rama."
"When he's in the house, I'll call out softly to him, Rama! Rama!"
"Oh, then I'll call out very loudly… Rama! Rama!"
"The plan worked! We're saved."
8. What We Learn
| Value | How the Story Shows It |
|---|---|
| Cleverness | The couple couldn't fight — so they outsmarted the thief with a naming game |
| Calm Under Pressure | Instead of panicking when they heard the thief, they quietly made a plan |
| Teamwork | Husband and wife worked together — each playing their role perfectly |
| Quick Thinking | Rama came up with the plan instantly — using his own name as the signal |
| Community | The kotwal was nearby and responsive — village communities looked out for each other |
9. Important Vocabulary
- KOTWAL: a village policeman or guard (historical Indian term)
- CHATTER: continuous, casual talk
- DUG: past tense of "dig" — the thief dug his way into the house
- ARREST: to take someone into custody for a crime
- CLEVERNESS: intelligence and quick thinking
- ROBBED: to be stolen from
- WIT: intelligence, mental sharpness
- EXECUTED: carried out (a plan)
- FRUSTRATED: annoyed, impatient
- SIGNAL: a sign or action that communicates a message
10. Activities
Activity 1: Reading Aloud / Role Play
This chapter is written as a PLAY. Form groups of 4-5 students. Assign roles: Rama, Rama's wife, Thief, Kotwal, and a narrator. Read the play aloud with expression. Think about how each character would sound — Rama is calm, his wife is alert, the thief is impatient, the kotwal is authoritative.
Activity 2: Comprehension
- What did Rama's wife hear first?
- Why couldn't Rama and his wife fight the thief directly?
- What was Rama's plan?
- Why did they choose the name "Rama" for their imaginary child?
- How did the real kotwal get alerted?
Activity 3: Creative Thinking
Imagine you hear a thief in your house at night. You cannot fight, and you cannot call for help loudly without alerting the thief. What clever plan would YOU come up with? Write 5-6 sentences describing your plan.
Activity 4: Discussion
Discuss with your class: "Is cleverness more important than strength?" Think of examples from stories, history, or your own experience where a clever solution worked better than force.
Activity 5: Writing
Rewrite the story from the THIEF'S point of view. What was he thinking when he entered the house? Why was he frustrated by the couple's conversation? How did he feel when the kotwal caught him?
11. Worked Examples
Example 1: How did the naming game work as a plan?
- The couple pretended to discuss what to name their future child
- They chose the name "Rama" — which was also the name of the village kotwal
- They discussed calling "Rama" at different volumes: softly (in the house), louder (in the yard), loudly (in the street)
- When they called "RAMA! RAMA!" loudly, the real kotwal heard his name
- The kotwal came to investigate and found the thief
- The thief never suspected because the conversation sounded like a normal family discussion
Example 2: Why couldn't they just call for help directly?
- If they had screamed "THIEF! HELP!" — the thief would know he had been detected
- He might have attacked them before help arrived
- He might have run away before the kotwal could catch him
- The clever plan let them call for help WITHOUT the thief realising what was happening
- The thief was caught by surprise
Example 3: What makes this a "folk tale"?
- It's set in a village — a traditional setting
- The characters are ordinary people (not kings or heroes)
- The hero wins through cleverness, not strength
- It has a simple, satisfying ending: thief caught, couple saved
- It was passed down orally in Tamil Nadu before being written down
- Folk tales often teach practical wisdom: stay calm, think fast, work together
12. Conclusion
"Rama to the Rescue" is the perfect closing chapter for Unit 1: Fables and Folk Tales. Like "A Bottle of Dew," it uses a clever trick to solve a problem. Like "The Raven and the Fox," it shows that intelligence beats brute force. But this story adds something new: the power of teamwork under pressure.
Rama and his wife had seconds to react when they heard the thief. They could have panicked. They could have frozen. Instead, they communicated silently, hatched a plan, and executed it perfectly — all while pretending to have a normal conversation about baby names.
The story also gives us a glimpse into traditional Indian village life — where a kotwal was both a police officer and a neighbour, close enough to hear his name being called and rush to help. It's a story about wit, yes, but also about community and trust.
Together, the three chapters of Unit 1 teach us: work hard (A Bottle of Dew), stay humble (The Raven and the Fox), and when trouble comes — use your head (Rama to the Rescue).
