NCERT Book Class 7 English The Shed

The Shed

Do you know what a shed is? A cow shed, a tool shed, a wood shed, for example. It’s a small room, away from the main house, for storing or keeping things, animals, tools, vehicles, etc. Ask your partner if she/he has ever seen a shed. Let her/ him describe it to the class.

Now read the poem.

There’s a shed at the bottom of our garden

With a spider’s web hanging across the door,

The hinges are rusty and creak in the wind.

When I’m in bed I lie and I listen,

I’ll open that door one day.

                                       There’s a dusty old window around at the side

                                       With three cracked panes of glass,

                                       I often think there’s someone staring at me

                                       Each time that I pass,

                                       I’ll peep through that window one day.

My brother says there’s a ghost in the shed

Who hides under the rotten floorboards,

And if I ever dare to set foot inside

He’ll jump out and chop off my head,

But I’ll take a peek one day.

                                       I know that there isn’t really a ghost,

                                       My brother tells lies to keep the shed for his den;

                                       There isn’t anyone staring or making strange noises

                                       And the spider has been gone from his web

                                       since I don’t know when,

                                       I’ll go into that shed one day soon,

Working with the Poem

1. Answer the following questions.

(i) Who is the speaker in the poem?

(ii) Is she/he afraid or curious, or both?

(iii) What is she/he planning to do soon?

(iv) “But not just yet...” suggests doubt, fear, hesitation, laziness or something else. Choose the word which seems right to you. Tell others why you chose it.

2. Is there a room in your house or a house in your neighbourhood/locality where you would rather not go alone, and never at night? If there is such a place and a story to go with it, let others hear all about it. 

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 7 English The Shed