Oral Comprehension Check:

1. What did Lencho hope for? 

Ans : Lencho hoped for a good downpour or at least a shower for his ripe corn fields, as it was the only thing the earth needed for a successful harvest.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like 'new coins'? 

Ans :Lencho compared the raindrops to new coins because the rain promised a good harvest, which would bring him money. He called the big drops "ten cent pieces" and the little ones "fives".

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields? 

Ans :The rain suddenly changed into a strong wind, and very large hailstones began to fall along with it. As a result, the corn was totally destroyed, and the field looked white as if covered with salt.

4. What were Lencho's feelings when the hail stopped? 

Ans :Lencho’s soul was filled with deep sadness. He felt that they would go hungry that year because the hail had left nothing and all their hard work had gone for nothing.

Oral Comprehension Check:

1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do? 

Ans :Lencho had deep faith in God. He believed God’s eyes see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience. Because of this faith, he wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and support his family.

2. Who read the letter? 

Ans :The letter was first seen by a postman, who showed it to his boss, the postmaster.

3. What did the postmaster do then? 

Ans :After initially laughing, the postmaster became serious and was moved by Lencho’s faith. To keep that faith alive, he decided to answer the letter by collecting money from his employees and friends as an "act of charity". He managed to collect a little more than half the requested amount and sent it to Lencho signed simply "God".

Oral Comprehension Check :

1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it? 

Ans :No, Lencho showed not the slightest surprise when he saw the money. His confidence in God was so strong that he fully expected a reply.

2. What made him angry? 

Ans :Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had asked for. He believed that God could not have made a mistake and concluded that the post office employees must have stolen the rest.

Thinking about the Text

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this? 

Ans : Lencho has complete faith in God. The sentences that illustrate this are:

• "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."

  
  

• "God," he wrote, "if you don't help me, my family and I will go hungry this year."

  
  

• "God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested."

  
  

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter 'God'? 

Ans :The postmaster is moved by the deep, unshakable faith Lencho shows in his letter. He sends the money because he does not want to "shake the writer's faith in God". He signs the letter 'God' to ensure Lencho believes the response came directly from the Almighty, thereby preserving his innocence and belief.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

Ans : No, Lencho did not try to find out who sent the money. This is because he had absolute confidence that God would answer his request. To him, receiving the money was a natural result of his prayer, not a surprise that required investigation.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? 

Ans : Lencho believes the post office employees took the remaining thirty pesos.

` ​The irony lies in the fact that the post office employees, whom Lencho calls a "bunch of crooks," are actually the ones who took an "act of charity" to collect the money and help him. While they were his anonymous benefactors, he perceived them as thieves.

5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

Ans : While rare, people with such extreme, literal faith can exist. Based on the box provided, Lencho can be described as naive, unquestioning, and perhaps a bit comical in his literal interpretation of God's role. He is naive because he doesn't realize humans sent the money, and unquestioning because his faith never wavers even when the result isn't perfect.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature and between humans themselves. How are these illustrated?

Ans : 

• Conflict between Humans and Nature: This is shown when the "downpour" Lencho hoped for turns into a violent hailstorm. Nature, which was supposed to provide a harvest, instead totally destroys his crops, leaving him helpless.

  
  

• Conflict between Humans themselves: This is illustrated at the end of the story. Despite the postmaster's act of kindness, Lencho distrusts the employees. His lack of trust in fellow humans creates a conflict where a good deed is met with an accusation of theft.

Thinking about Language :

1. Look at the following sentence from the story.

Suddenly a strong wind began to blow and along with the rain very large hailstones began to fall.

'Hailstones' are small balls of ice that fall like rain. A storm in which hailstones fall is a 'hailstorm'. You know that a storm is bad weather with strong winds, rain, thunder and lightning. 

There are different names in different parts of the world for storms depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks?You may use a dictionary to help you.

Ans : 

1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle:  Cyclone
2. An extremely strong wind: a  Gale
3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: Typhoon
4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: Tornado
5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane
6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: Whirlwind

II.Notice how the word 'hope' is used in these sentences from the story: 

(a) I hope it (the hailstorm) passes quickly. 

(b) There was a single hope: help from God.

In the first example, 'hope' is a verb which means you wish for something to happen. In the second example it is a noun meaning a chance for something to happen.

Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of 'hope' in Column B.

Ans :