Maharashtra Board Class 5 English Balbharti Unit Two Chapter 14 A Lesson for All PDF Download

14. A Lesson For All

Characters

Humans

Newspaper boy, Milkman, Hawker, School-bus driver, Dr Sawant, Mrs Patel - a housewife, Mr Desai - a businessman, Mayor of the town, Mrs Joshi - a housewife, Nidhi and Madhu - Mrs Joshi's daughters (school-going girls)

Animals

Rabbit, Deer, Peacock, Squirrel, Bear, Birds, Tortoise

A City Street, Early In The Morning

(The street is littered with plastic bags, cartons, tins, cans, broken glass, old tyres, waste paper balls, bags and other garbage. Enter Mr Desai.)

Mr Desai: (looking out into the distance) Why hasn't the newspaper been delivered on time today? It's nine o'clock. Almost time to leave for my office. (looks out again) Let me ask the Patels if they have received their copy.

(Goes into the Wings and returns with Mrs Patel.)

Mrs Patel: No Mr Desai, the newspaper boy hasn't delivered the papers as yet. Nor has our milkman turned up! Mr Patel is so grumpy. He is waiting for his morning cup of tea.

Mr Desai: Very strong! And look! The state the street is in, is simply shocking.

Mrs Patel: My word! What's this? Where did all this litter and garbage come from?

Teacher's Note

This play teaches us about keeping our city clean. In India, we see garbage on streets everywhere. This story shows why it is a big problem.

Exam Trick

Remember: The play starts with a problem - dirty streets. This problem teaches everyone a lesson. So the title "A Lesson for All" means everyone learns about cleanliness.

Points to Remember

The play is about a dirty street with lots of garbage.
Many characters come together to solve the problem.
Animals also play an important role in the story.
The play teaches us not to waste or litter on streets.

(Enter Mrs Joshi with her daughters.)

Mr Desai: I returned rather late from the office last night and the street was bare then. How did all this rubbish gather here overnight?

(Suddenly, Madhu falls and injures her foot - gives out a cry of pain.)

Madhu: Oooh! Ouch! My foot! It hurts!

Mrs Joshi: Oh dear! Madhu, are you alright? Oh, no, oh, no, her foot is bleeding so much! Somebody help, please!

Mrs Patel: Nidhi, run and fetch Dr Mrs Sawant. Request her to come quickly. Your sister has cut herself on a broken glass bottle.

Mr Desai: I'll get some ice at once.

Mrs Joshi: (almost in tears) My poor child! How did all this broken glass happen to be here?

Mrs Patel: Look around. It's not just broken glass, but....

Mrs Joshi: Dear me! What nonsense this is! Unbelievable! Where has all this rubbish come from?

(Dr Sawant enters with Nidhi. She has a doctor's kit.)

Dr Sawant: Let me see the wound.

Mr Desai: Here's some ice to stop the bleeding.

Dr Sawant: What presence of mind! Good! (Applies ice on the wound.) There now! It has stopped bleeding. It's a deep cut. I'll dress the wound and she will be fine.

Mrs Joshi: Thank you, Doctor. So kind of you to come at once. But I am going to complain to the Mayor. Have you seen the rubbish and the litter on the road?

Dr Sawant: Oh, it's a mystery. All this garbage was not there yesterday. And now..... just look!

(Enter newspaper boy, milkman, hawker, etc.)

Mrs Patel: The Mayor must not have seen ... Look, the newspaper boy! He is limping. And the milkman at last! (To the milkman) Why, where's your bicycle and why are you so late?

Milkman: The tyres were punctured. I had to come walking all the way with this heavy milk can.

Newspaper boy: And I tripped over an old tyre and sprained my foot. It was quite dark early this morning. I did not expect an old tyre right in the middle of the road.

Mr Desai: I see! Something must be done.

(Bus driver enters carefully avoiding the litter.)

Teacher's Note

See how the garbage hurts people? The newspaper boy gets hurt. The milkman has problems. This teaches us that dirty streets affect everyone in our community.

Exam Trick

Remember: Every character has a problem because of the garbage. The newspaper boy is limping. The milkman is late. This shows why cleanliness is important for all.

Points to Remember

Garbage causes harm to people living in the area.
Children can get hurt by broken glass and sharp things.
It slows down people's work like the milkman and newspaper delivery.
Everyone must work together to keep streets clean.

Bus driver: Mrs Joshi, Mrs Joshi, I'm sorry. I can't drive the school bus today. On every road and street there is nothing but litter. It looks like an obstacle race course.

Mrs Joshi: I know! I'm going to send for the Mayor at once. He must see this. Our children are not safe with all these dangerous broken objects around.

Hawker: No one is safe. Let's request the Mayor to come and see for himself.

Mr Desai: I'll fetch him. (Exit)

(Enters again with the Mayor and his retinue.)

Mayor: (Annoyed) Unbelievable! Shocking! How do you expect people to walk through all this rubbish? Why don't you all dispose of the garbage properly?

Mrs Patel: But we do, Mr Mayor. We give our garbage to the garbage collector.

Mrs Joshi: Yes, we don't litter our streets like this.

Mr Desai: Or we take it to the dumping ground near the river-side - away from here. The rains then wash it away.

Mrs Patel: Or the winds blow it away.

Mayor: Then how did it come back into the town overnight?

Bus driver: That's the problem! Nobody knows how it got here. It's a mystery.

Newspaper boy: It looks like someone has done it purposely to spoil our town.

Mrs Joshi: And endanger our children.

Milkman: And hinder our daily work.

Mayor: We will not tolerate this! I must look into this. I will not spare anyone. Who has done this? Who is responsible for this mess?

(Enter animals who have been hiding - deer, rabbit, birds, squirrel, bear, etc. Each one comes out from its cover turn by turn, saying)

Animals: We are responsible!

We have brought in all the litter.

We have spread the garbage all over the town.

Deer: Yes! We confess we did so.

Mayor: What? You! How dare you?

Mrs Joshi: What right do you have to spoil our town and make it unsafe to move around?

Milkman: And hinder our daily work.

Mayor: We will not tolerate this! I must look into this. I will not spare anyone. Who has done this? Who is responsible for this mess?

(Enter animals who have been hiding - deer, rabbit, birds, squirrel, bear, etc. Each one comes out from its cover turn by turn, saying)

Animals: We are responsible!

We have brought in all the litter.

We have spread the garbage all over the town.

Deer: Yes! We confess we did so.

Mayor: What? You! How dare you?

Mrs Joshi: What right do you have to spoil our town and make it unsafe to move around?

Teacher's Note

Now comes the important part! The animals speak and tell why they brought the garbage. They show us how our waste harms them. This is very important for us to understand nature.

Exam Trick

Remember: The animals are the heroes of this story. They teach humans a lesson about garbage. They explain their side - how garbage hurts them and their forest homes.

Points to Remember

Animals live in forests but garbage affects them too.
We dump waste in rivers and forests where animals live.
Animals suffer and die from chemicals and poisoned water.
Animals decided to return the garbage to teach humans a lesson.

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