Summary
Explanation
Questions and answers
Lencho's house and crop
Lencho was a hardworking farmer. He lived in the only house that was there on the top of a hill. It was situated on the top of a low hill. From there one could see the river and the fields. Lencho had a good crop. But it needed rains badly.
It starts raining
Lencho saw rain clouds in the sky. His wife was preparing the dinner. He told her that God willing it would rain. Soon big drops of rain began to fall. Lencho went out to feel the rain on his body. He was very glad. He said that the drops of rain were new coins.
Hailstorm and loss therefrom
Soon the rain changed into a hailstorm. The hails fell on the house, the garden, the hillside and the corn-field. The fields became white as if covered with salt. The crop was totally destroyed. Lencho became sad. His heart was filled with sorrow. He felt that they would go hungry that year. They would have no seeds for the next crop.
Lencho writes to God
But Lencho had a single hope in his heart. It was help from God. He was sure that no one dies of hunger. He had a great belief in God. He was sure that God would help him. The following Sunday he went to the post office. He wrote letter to God to send him one hundred pesos. He wrote 'God' as the address.
Postmaster collects money for Lencho
An employee at the post office showed this letter to the postmaster. At first the postmaster laughed on seeing the address but soon he became serious. He was impressed by Lencho’s faith in God. He decided to help him. But reading it he found that the writer needed money. So, he asked all his friends and employees to give some money. He himself gave a part of his salary.
Money sent to Lencho
The postmaster could collect only seventy pesos. He put the money in an envelope and addressed it to Lencho. He wrote a single word on it ' God ' as a signature.
Lencho receives the money
The following Sunday Lencho came to the post office. He asked if there was any letter for him. He was given that letter. Lencho did not show any surprise on seeing the money. But he got angry when he counted the money. He thought that God could not have made a mistake.
Lencho's letter to God, calls post office employees crooks
Immediately Lencho wrote another letter to God. He put it into the mailbox. The postmaster opened it. Lencho had written in that letter that he had received only seventy pesos. But he had asked for one hundred pesos. He asked God to send him the rest. But he asked God not to send the money through the mail. It was because the post office employees were bunch of crooks.
THE house — the only one in the entire valley — sat on the crest of a low hill. From this height one could see the river and the field of ripe corn dotted with the flowers that always promised a good harvest.
Lencho was a farmer. He lived in the only house that was there on the top of a hill. The hill was not very high. From that house one could see the river and the field ripe corn. The field belonged to Lencho and he had the utmost confidence that the harvest would reap great profits.
The only thing the earth needed was a downpour or at least a shower. Throughout the morning Lencho — who knew his fields intimately — had done nothing else but see the sky towards the north-east.
The earth needed rain or at least a small amount of rain for a good crop. So the only thing that he awaited was rainfall. In this hope, he had been looking at the sky in the north east direction since morning.
“Now we’re really going to get some water, woman.” The woman who was preparing supper, replied, “Yes, God willing”. The older boys were working in the field, while the smaller ones were playing near the house until the woman called to them all, “Come for dinner”.
Explanation:The man, while looking at the sky, confidently tells his wife that now they will surely get some rains. The woman replied that by the grace of God, it would surely happen. The woman was preparing dinner. The elder boys were working in the field. Younger boys were playing near the house. The woman called them for a dinner and all of them came to the house.
It was during the meal that, just as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. In the north-east huge mountains of clouds could be seen approaching. The air was fresh and sweet.
While they were having food , the big drops of rain began to fall. This was exactly as predicted by Lencho. One could see large numbers of very big clouds could be seen approaching from the north-east sky. The air was fresh and its smell was very nice .
The man went out for no other reason than to have the pleasure of feeling the rain on his body, and when he returned he exclaimed, ‘‘These aren’t raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten cent pieces and the little ones are fives.’’
Exclaimed = cry out suddenly in surprise, strong emotion, or pain.Lencho went outside to feel pleasure of rain falling on his body. When he returned and spoke with a lot of happiness. He referred to the raindrops drops coins. He said that the big drops are ten cent coins and small drops are five cent coins. [He says so because these raindrops would ensure a good crop which would eventually get them a lot of money.]
With a satisfied expression he regarded the field of ripe corn with its flowers, draped in a curtain of rain. But suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall. These truly did resemble new silver coins. The boys, exposing themselves to the rain, ran out to collect the frozen pearls.
Regarded = Consider Or Think Of In A Specified Way Draped = Adorn, Cover, Or Wrap (Someone Or Something) Hailstones = A Pellet Of Hail Resemble = Have A Similar Appearance To Or Qualities In Common With (Someone Or Something); Look Or Seem Like. Exposing = make (something) visible by uncovering it.; revealLencho was very much satisfied to look at his field of ripe corn and flowers. These were covered by rain falling on the field. Suddenly speed of the wind increased . And along with rains, hailstones started falling. These were of white color and were shining like new silver coins. The boys went outside into the rain to collect hailstones. The hailstones looked like pearls .
‘‘It’s really getting bad now,’’ exclaimed the man. “I hope it passes quickly.” It did not pass quickly. For an hour the hail rained on the house, the garden, the hillside, the cornfield, on the whole valley. The field was white, as if covered with salt.
Lencho spoke with sadness that the rains with hailstone is bad for the crop. He wished that it stopped very soon . But it did not stop quickly. It rained hailstones for one hour. It rained everywhere. The field had become white as if salt had been spread on the field.
Not a leaf remained on the trees. The corn was totally destroyed. The flowers were gone from the plants. Lencho’s soul was filled with sadness.
Every leaf from trees had fallen on ground. All the corn was completely destroyed. All the flowers had fallen on the ground. Lencho was now full of sadness.
When the storm had passed, he stood in the middle of the field and said to his sons, “A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn.’’
When the storm had stopped, Lencho went out of the house. He stood in the field and looked around. He told his sons that even a group of insects ( locusts ) would not have damaged our crop so much . Because of hailstorm everything has been destroyed . This year there will not be any corn for us.
That night was a sorrowful one. “All our work, for nothing.” ‘‘There’s no one who can help us.” “We’ll all go hungry this year.”
That night was full of sadness for them. Lencho said all our work has become a wastage. Nobody can help us now. We will be hungry this year.
But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.
Everybody lived in that only house of the valley had one hope. They hoped that God would surely help them.
“Don’t be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.” “That’s what they say: no one dies of hunger.”
His wife told Lencho not to be so worried although the crop was completely destroyed . She told him to remember that no one dies because of hunger. Lencho replied that people say that nobody dies because of hunger.
All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.
Whole that night Lencho thought about the help of God. It was his only hope. He had been told that God can see everything. God can also see what is in the mind and heart of everyone.
Lencho was an ox of a man, working like an animal in the fields, but still he knew how to write. The following Sunday, at daybreak, he began to write a letter which he himself would carry to town and place in the mail.
Lencho was a very strong man. He used to work very hard in fields. He knew how to write. Next Sunday morning, he started writing a letter. He thought that he would himself carry that letter to the town and send it by post.
It was nothing less than a letter to God. “God,” he wrote, “if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm....”
It was letter to God. In his letter he requested God to help him and his family, otherwise we will remain hungry this year. I need one hundred pesos to put new seeds in my field. And to live until the new crop comes. Because the hailstorm .....
He wrote ‘To God’ on the envelope, put the letter inside and, still troubled, went to town. At the post office, he placed a stamp on the letter and dropped it into the mailbox.
He put that letter into an envelope and sealed it. He wrote ' To God ' on the envelope . He was still worried but went to the town. He pasted a stamp on the envelope and dropped it into the letterbox.
One of the employees, who was a postman and also helped at the post office, went to his boss laughing heartily and showed him the letter to God. Never in his career as a postman had he known that address.
One of the employees at the post office was a postman. He used to also do other works of post office. He went to his boss the postmaster. He was laughing a lot. He showed the letter to his boss. In his career as a postman, he did not know the address written on that envelope.
The postmaster — a fat, amiable fellow — also broke out laughing, but almost immediately he turned serious and, tapping the letter on his desk, commented, “What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting up a correspondence with God!”
The post master was fat and a friendly person. He also started laughing. But immediately he became serious. He started tapping the letter on his desk. He wondered at the faith of the person who had written that letter. He wished he also had such faith. He was surprised that the man was sending a letter to God.
So, in order not to shake the writer’s faith in God, the postmaster came up with an idea: answer the letter. But when he opened it, it was evident that to answer it he needed something more than goodwill, ink and paper.
In order to keep the faith of the person in God, the postmaster thought of an idea. His wanted to write a reply to the letter. But when he read the letter it became clear to him he would need something in addition to paper, ink and kindness.
But he stuck to his resolution: he asked for money from his employees, he himself gave part of his salary, and several friends of his were obliged to give something ‘for an act of charity’.
But he accepted his decision. He asked money from his colleagues. He also gave a portion of his salary. Many of his friends agreed to donate money to help the farmer.
It was impossible for him to gather together the hundred pesos, so he was able to send the farmer only a little more than half. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho and with it a letter containing only a single word as a signature: God.
It was not possible for the postmaster to collect a hundred pesos. He could collect slightly more than half of 100 pesos. He put that money in an envelope. He wrote the address of Lencho on the envelope. He also put a letter in the envelope. This letter had one single word ' God ' written on it. This word was written as a signature.
The following Sunday Lencho came a bit earlier than usual to ask if there was a letter for him. It was the postman himself who handed the letter to him while the postmaster, experiencing the contentment of a man who has performed a good deed, looked on from his office.
Next Sunday, Lencho came slightly early to the post office. He asked if there was any letter for him. The postman himself gave the letter to Lencho. The postmaster was looking at Lencho from his office. The postmaster had the satisfaction of a person who had done some good work.
Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence — but he became angry when he counted the money. God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested.
Lencho was not at all surprised to see money in the envelope. Because he had a confidence in God. But he became angry after counting money. He thought that God cannot make any mistake. And God cannot refuse what Lencho had requested.
Immediately, Lencho went up to the window to ask for paper and ink. On the public writing-table, he started to write, with much wrinkling of his brow, caused by the effort he had to make to express his ideas.
Immediately Launch went to window of the post office and asked for a paper and a pen. There was a table in the post office where anybody could write. He went to that table and started writing. He was making a lot of effort in writing his thoughts on that paper. His eyebrows had folds because of the effort.
When he finished, he went to the window to buy a stamp which he licked and then affixed to the envelope with a blow of his fist. The moment the letter fell into the mailbox the postmaster went to open it.
When Lencho had completed writing letter, he went to the window to buy a stamp. He licked the stamp. He put the stamp on the envelope and applied blows of his fist to paste it. He put the envelope into the letterbox. Immediately the postmaster took the letter out and opened it.
It said: “God: Of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much. But don’t send it to me through the mail because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho.”
Following were written on the letter. God, from the money I had asked, I have received only 70 pesos. Please send me the remaining money because I need it very much. But please do not send through the post because people of post office are dishonest. The letter was signed by Lencho.
Question & Answers of the lesson
Ans. Lencho’s crop needed a downpour or at least a shower. He hoped that there would be good shower for his crop.
Q. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?Ans. Lencho’s crop needed a downpour or at least a shower. He hoped that the raindrops would give him a good crop. He would sell that crop and get a big amount of money. That was why he called the raindrops ‘new coins’.
Q. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?Ans. As Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall. Lencho was very happy. But soon the rain changed into a hailstorm. It destroyed his crop completely.
Q. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
Ans. The hailstorm destroyed Lencho’s crops completely. When it stopped, his soul was filed with sadness. He stood in the middle of the field and told his sons that a plague of locusts would have left more than that. He also said that all of them would go hungry as they would have no corn that year.
Q. What do you know about Lencho’s family?
Ans. Lencho is the head of the family. He has a happy family. He has a loving and devoted wife. She looks after the family very well. She prepares dinner, supper etc. There are old boys who work in the field. There are smaller boys who play near the house. In evening, the mother calls all of them for dinner.
Q. What did Lencho write in his first letter to God?
Ans. In his first letter to God, Lencho wrote that the hailstorm had totally destroyed the corn in the field. He needed a hundred pesos in order to sow his field again and to live until the crop came. If He did not help him at that moment, his family would go hungry that year. Such a request was made to God.
Q. What are the raindrops compared to and why?
Ans. The raindrops are compared to new coins. Lencho calls them cents. The big drops are ten cents and the small drops are five cent coins. Lencho hopes that these raindrops will give him a good crop. So he calls them ‘new coins’.
Q. Where was Lencho’s house situated? What could one see from there?
Ans. Lencho’s hopuse was situated in a valley. It was the only one in the entire valley. It was on the crest of a low hill. From that height, one could see the river and the field of ripe corn.
Q.Why did Lencho keep looking at the sky?
Ans. Lencho’s crop needed a downpour or at least a shower. It was because of this reason he had been looking at the sky since mornig.
Q. When did it start raining? How did Lencho’s family welcome it? What become troublesome soon?
Ans. During the supper, it started raining. Big drops of rain began to fall. Lencho went out to feel the raindrops on his body. He called them as ne coins. But soo it became troublesome when it changed into hailstones.
Q. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Ans. Lencho had faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes saw everything. When his crop was destroyed by hailstorm, he wrote a letter to God.
Q. Who read the letter?
Ans. The postman and the postmaster read the letter.
Q. What did the postmaster do then?
Ans. At first the postmaster laughed on seeing the letter addressed to God. But soon he became serious. He decided to help Lencho. He collected 70 psos and sent the amount to him.
Q. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
Ans. No, Lencho was not surprised to find a letter for him with money in it. It was because he had full faith in God. He believed that God’s eyes see everything even in one’s conscience.
Q. What made him angry?
Ans. Lencho had asked God to send him a hundred pesos. But when he received the money and counted I, he found only seventy pesos. Thus he got angry.
Q. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Ans. Lencho had complete faith in God. The following sentence tells us this:
“All through the night, Lencho thought only of his hope: the hope of God, whose eyes…see everything, even what is deep in one’s conscience.”
Q. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
Ans. The postmaster does not shatter Lencho’s faith in God . He is impressed by his faith in God. He signs the letter ‘God’ again because he wants to make him believe that the money has been sent to him by God.
Q. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?
Ans. Lencho had firm faith in God. So when he received the money, he did not try to find out who had sent it to him. He was certain that the money had been sent to him by God.
Q. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)
Ans. Lencho thinks that the rest of the money has been taken by the post office employees. The irony in the situation is that it is the post office employees who has sent Lencho the money, but on the other hand he thinks that they have stolen the money. He also calls them ‘a bunch of crooks’.
Q. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?
Ans. There is conflict between human and nature. Lencho and his family work hard for a good harvest but the nature ion the form of hailstones destroys their crop completely.
There is conflict between humans themselves. The postmaster collects some money to help Lencho. But the same Lencho calls them ‘a bunch of crooks’.
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