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The Raven and the Fox

NCERT Class 6 · English Based on NCERT Class 6 English textbook · Free CBSE study kit

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Chapter Notes

Overview
This chapter is a fable in verse form by Jean de La Fontaine, retelling the classic story of a clever fox who flatters a vain raven to steal his food. It exists in the syllabus to teach students about the dangers of pride and flattery, and the importance of being wise and not easily fooled by sweet words. The one big idea a student must walk away with is that pride makes you foolish and vulnerable to deception, and you should always think before acting on praise.
Key Concepts (12)
Fable
A short story, often with animals as characters, that teaches a moral lesson.
e.g. The story of the Raven and the Fox is a fable because it uses a raven and a fox to teach us not to be proud or trust flattery.
Moral
The lesson or teaching that a story, especially a fable, is meant to convey.
e.g. The moral of this fable is that pride is unwise and we should ignore sweet words that make us feel too good about ourselves.
Flattery
Excessive and insincere praise, given to please or manipulate someone.
e.g. The fox used flattery by calling the raven a handsome bird and saying he would be king of the birds, just to make him sing and drop the food.
Pride
A feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, qualities, or possessions; in this context, excessive self-importance leading to foolishness.
e.g. The raven's pride in his feathers made him forget that his voice was just a croak, so he opened his beak to sing and lost his food.
Croak
A deep, harsh sound made by a frog or a raven.
e.g. The raven forgot that his voice was just a croak, not a beautiful song like a nightingale's.
Perched
To alight, settle, or rest on something, such as a branch.
e.g. Mr Raven was perched upon a limb of a tree, holding his food.
Morsel
A small piece or amount of food; a bite-sized piece.
e.g. The raven held a morsel of food in his beak that the fox wanted very much.
Limb
A branch of a tree.
e.g. The raven sat on a limb of the tree, looking down at the fox.
Woods
A smaller area of forest with similar kinds of trees.
e.g. The raven and the fox lived in the woods, where the fox said the birds would call the raven king.
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words in a line or phrase.
e.g. In the line 'For the Raven held in his great big beak', the words 'big' and 'beak' both start with the /b/ sound, so it is alliteration.
Rhyming words
Words that have the same ending sound, often used at the end of lines in a poem.
e.g. In stanza 1, 'limb' rhymes with 'him', and 'beak' rhymes with 'seek'.
Reynard
The name given to the fox in this fable, a traditional name for a fox in European folklore.
e.g. The fox in the poem is called Reynard the Fox.
How It Works
How the fox tricks the raven into dropping the food
  1. Step 1: The raven is perched on a tree branch, holding a morsel of food in his beak.
  2. Step 2: The fox (Reynard) sees the food and wants it, so he decides to flatter the raven.
  3. Step 3: The fox speaks in admiring tones, calling the raven a handsome bird with beautiful feathers.
  4. Step 4: The fox suggests that if the raven would sing, the birds of the woods would call him King.
  5. Step 5: The raven, feeling proud and foolish, forgets that his voice is just a croak.
  6. Step 6: The raven opens his beak to sing, and the morsel of food falls down.
  7. Step 7: The fox catches the food, laughs, and tells the raven that pride is unwise.
💡 Students often think the raven actually sang. He only opened his beak to sing, but no sound came out because the food fell immediately. The poem says 'He opened his beak, in his foolish pride– And down fell the morsel'.
Identifying alliteration in the poem
  1. Step 1: Look for two or more words in a line that begin with the same consonant sound.
  2. Step 2: Check the first letter and the sound it makes (e.g., 'b' in 'big' and 'beak' both make the /b/ sound).
  3. Step 3: Find an example from the poem. In Stanza 2, 'Sir Raven, you are a handsome bird' has 'Sir' and 'Raven'? No, 'Sir' and 'Raven' start with different sounds. The correct example from Stanza 2 is 'Such feathers! If you would only sing' — 'Such' and 'sing'? No, 'Such' starts with /s/ and 'sing' starts with /s/ as well, but they are not in the same line? Actually, the poem says 'Such feathers! If you would only sing' — 'Such' and 'sing' are in the same line? No, 'Such' is in the first part, 'sing' at the end. A better example: 'The birds of these woods would call you King' — 'woods' and 'would' both start with /w/ sound. But the textbook gives the example from Stanza 1: 'great big beak' — 'big' and 'beak' both start with /b/.
💡 Alliteration is about the sound, not just the letter. For example, 'circle' and 'silly' do not alliterate because 'c' in 'circle' sounds like /s/ and 's' in 'silly' sounds like /s/ — actually they do alliterate if the sound is the same. But in the poem, focus on consonant sounds at the start of words.
Finding rhyming words in the poem
  1. Step 1: Read each stanza and look at the last word of each line.
  2. Step 2: Identify pairs of lines that end with the same sound.
  3. Step 3: For stanza 1: 'limb' and 'him' rhyme; 'beak' and 'seek' rhyme.
  4. Step 4: For stanza 2: 'word' and 'bird'? No, 'word' rhymes with 'bird'? Actually, 'word' ends with /ɜːrd/ and 'bird' ends with /ɜːrd/ — yes, they rhyme. The second pair: 'sing' and 'King' rhyme.
  5. Step 5: For stanza 3: 'joke' and 'croak' rhyme; 'pride' and 'eyed' rhyme.
  6. Step 6: For stanza 4: 'know' and 'glow' rhyme; 'unwise' and 'surprise' rhyme.
💡 Students often miss that 'word' and 'bird' rhyme in standard English pronunciation, but in some accents they may not. In the poem, they are intended to rhyme.
Exam Traps — Don't Make These Mistakes
⚠ Confusing the raven with a crow
✗ The crow was sitting on a tree with cheese in its beak.
→ The chapter is specifically about a raven, not a crow. While both are similar birds, the NCERT text uses 'Raven' throughout. Using 'crow' changes the character and may lose marks for not using the exact term from the text.
✓ Mr Raven was perched upon a limb, holding a morsel in his beak.
⚠ Thinking the raven actually sang
✗ The raven sang a song and the food fell down.
→ The poem says 'He opened his beak, in his foolish pride– And down fell the morsel.' The raven only opened his beak to sing; he did not actually produce any sound because the food fell immediately. Writing that he sang implies he completed the action, which is not what happened.
✓ The raven opened his beak to sing, and the morsel fell down.
⚠ Misidentifying the moral as 'don't trust anyone'
✗ The moral of the story is that we should not trust anyone.
→ The poem explicitly says 'Ignore sweet words that make you glow. Pride, my friend, is rather unwise.' The lesson is about not being fooled by flattery and not being proud, not about distrusting everyone. The fox's words were sweet but false.
✓ The moral is that we should beware of flattery and not let pride make us foolish.
⚠ Confusing 'limb' with 'leaf' or 'tree'
✗ The raven was perched on a tree.
→ While 'tree' is not entirely wrong, the poem uses the exact word 'limb' which means a branch. In vocabulary questions, students are asked to match 'limb' with its meaning, and writing 'tree' instead of 'branch' would be incorrect.
✓ The raven was perched upon a limb (branch) of a tree.
⚠ Thinking the fox was kind or admiring
✗ The fox genuinely admired the raven's feathers and wanted him to be king.
→ The fox's words were flattery — insincere praise meant to trick the raven. The fox says 'in admiring tones' but the poem makes it clear he was being cunning. The fox laughs after getting the food and says 'Ignore sweet words that make you glow.'
✓ The fox pretended to admire the raven to trick him into dropping the food.
Compare & Contrast
Character trait in the fable
Raven
Fox
The raven is vain and foolish, easily tricked by flattery, while the fox is cunning and clever, using sweet words to achieve his goal.
Intention behind the words
Flattery
Genuine praise
Flattery is insincere praise given to manipulate or gain something, as the fox did to get the food, whereas genuine praise is honest and given without any selfish motive.
Exam Focus
Marks pattern: This chapter typically appears with 2-3 MCQs (1 mark each), 1-2 very short answer questions (1-2 marks), 1 short answer question (3 marks) on moral or character analysis, and 1 long answer question (5 marks) asking to narrate the story or write a conversation.
Most asked: Moral of the story · Character traits of the fox and the raven · Vocabulary: meanings of words like 'perched', 'morsel', 'limb', 'woods', 'pride' · Rhyming words from the poem · Alliteration examples from the poem · Sequence of events in the story
Don't skip: Explain the moral of the fable with reference to the poem.; Describe how the fox tricked the raven into dropping the food.; Write a conversation between the fox and the raven based on the poem.; Identify and explain the use of alliteration in the poem.
One-Line Revision (read aloud before the exam)
  1. The raven was perched on a limb holding a morsel of food.
  2. The fox's name in the poem is Reynard.
  3. The fox flattered the raven by calling him handsome and saying he would be king of the birds.
  4. The raven forgot that his voice was just a croak.
  5. The raven opened his beak to sing and the food fell down.
  6. The fox laughed and said pride is unwise.
  7. The moral is to ignore sweet words that make you glow and not be proud.
  8. Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
  9. An example of alliteration from the poem is 'great big beak' (big and beak).
  10. Rhyming words in stanza 1: limb-him, beak-seek.
  11. Rhyming words in stanza 2: word-bird, sing-King.
  12. Rhyming words in stanza 3: joke-croak, pride-eyed.
  13. Rhyming words in stanza 4: know-glow, unwise-surprise.
  14. The opposite of 'pride' is 'humility'.
  15. The opposite of 'foolish' is 'wise'.
  16. The opposite of 'forgot' is 'remembered'.
  17. The opposite of 'laughed' is 'cried'.
  18. The opposite of 'ignore' is 'notice'.
  19. The fox is cunning and clever; the raven is vain and foolish.
  20. The fable teaches that flattery can be used to deceive the proud.

MCQs — 10 Questions with Answers

Q1. What was Reynard in the poem?

  • A. A bird
  • B. A fox ✓
  • C. A frog
  • D. A bear

Answer: B — Reynard is the name of the clever fox in the poem who tricks the Raven.

Q2. What did the Raven hold in his beak?

  • A. A bunch of leaves
  • B. A morsel of food ✓
  • C. A piece of wood
  • D. A flower

Answer: B — The poem clearly states the Raven held a morsel (small piece of food) that the Fox wanted.

Q3. Which word in the line 'great big beak' shows alliteration?

  • A. great and big
  • B. big and beak ✓
  • C. great and beak
  • D. All of them

Answer: B — Big and beak both start with the /b/ sound, which is alliteration — repetition of the same sound.

Q4. What does 'perched' mean in the first line of the poem?

  • A. Flying high in the sky
  • B. Sitting on a branch ✓
  • C. Running on the ground
  • D. Sleeping in a nest

Answer: B — Perched means to sit on something, like a bird sitting on a tree branch.

Q5. Why did the Fox want the Raven to sing?

  • A. Because he loved music
  • B. To make the Raven drop the food ✓
  • C. Because the Raven asked him to
  • D. To call other birds

Answer: B — The Fox was cunning and wanted the Raven to open his beak so the food would fall down.

Q6. What happened when the Raven opened his beak to sing?

  • A. He sang beautifully
  • B. He made a croaking sound
  • C. The morsel fell down ✓
  • D. The Fox ran away

Answer: C — When the Raven opened his beak, the morsel (food) he was holding fell to the ground.

Q7. Fill in the blank: The Fox's plan succeeded because the Raven was too __________ to remember his real voice.

  • A. lazy
  • B. proud ✓
  • C. tired
  • D. hungry

Answer: B — The poem says the Raven forgot his voice was just a croak due to his foolish pride.

Q8. What lesson does the Fox teach the Raven at the end?

  • A. How to sing better
  • B. How to find food easily
  • C. That pride is not wise and flattery can be dangerous ✓
  • D. That all birds should live together

Answer: C — The Fox tells the Raven that pride is unwise and one should not believe sweet words of flattery.

Q9. Which animal is shown to be cunning in the poem 'The Raven and the Fox'?

  • A. The Raven
  • B. The Fox ✓
  • C. Both equally
  • D. Neither

Answer: B — The Fox uses flattery and tricks to get the food from the Raven, showing he is cunning.

Q10. What type of story is 'The Raven and the Fox'?

  • A. A fairy tale with magic
  • B. A fable that teaches a moral lesson ✓
  • C. A true story that really happened
  • D. A funny joke story

Answer: B — It is a fable — a short story with animals that teaches an important lesson about life.

Flashcards

What was in the Raven's beak at the start of the poem?

A morsel (small piece of food) that the Fox wanted.

Name the fox in the poem.

Reynard the Fox.

What does the Fox tell the Raven to do?

The Fox asks the Raven to sing.

Why did the Raven open his beak?

He wanted to sing because his pride made him foolish.

What is alliteration?

Alliteration is when two or more words begin with the same sound (like big beak).

What lesson does the Raven learn?

Pride is not wise and sweet words from others should not make you act foolishly.

Why does the Fox call the Raven 'Sir'?

The Fox uses 'Sir' to flatter the Raven and make him feel important.

What is the Raven's voice like?

The Raven's voice is just a croak, not beautiful.

Who got the food in the end?

The Fox got the food when it fell from the Raven's beak.

What type of story is 'The Raven and the Fox'?

It is a fable — a short story that teaches a moral lesson.

Important Board Questions

What did Mr Raven hold in his beak? [1 mark]

Look at the first stanza of the poem. The answer is a small piece of something the Fox wanted very much.

Match the words with their meanings: (i) morsel — (a) a small piece of food, (b) a bird's song (ii) perched — (a) flew high, (b) sat on a branch [2 marks]

Check the vocabulary section. Morsel is related to food. Perched is about where the Raven was sitting at the beginning.

Explain in 3-4 sentences: How did the Fox trick the Raven? Give an example from your daily life where someone may try to flatter you. [3 marks]

The Fox flattered the Raven about his looks and singing ability. Think of situations at school or home where someone praises you to get something from you (like a shop seller or a friend wanting to borrow something).

Write a short paragraph (5-6 sentences) explaining the moral of the poem 'The Raven and the Fox'. Why is pride dangerous? How can we protect ourselves from people who flatter us too much? Support your answer with one example from the poem and one from your own life. [5 marks]

The moral is about pride being foolish and the danger of believing false flattery. Show how the Raven forgot his real ability (croaking) due to pride. Then give a real-life example of how you stay humble — perhaps in sports, studies, or with friends.

True or False with reason: (i) The Raven had a beautiful singing voice. (ii) The Fox was honest with the Raven. [2 marks]

Read the third stanza carefully. The poem says the Raven's voice was just a croak. For the second part, think about what the Fox's real intention was — to trick or to help.

Assertion-Reason Questions for The Raven and the Fox

Q1. Assertion (A):

The Raven opened his beak because he wanted to sing.

Reason (R):

The Fox had praised the Raven's looks and suggested he would be king if he sang.

Answer: A — Both A and R are true, and R is the correct explanation of A — Both statements are true. The Fox's flattery made the Raven proud enough to want to sing, which is why he opened his beak. The reason correctly explains why the Raven wanted to sing.

Q2. Assertion (A):

The Fox was clever in tricking the Raven.

Reason (R):

The Fox used loud noises to scare the Raven into dropping the food.

Answer: C — A is true but R is false — The assertion is true—the Fox was clever. But the reason is false because the Fox didn't use loud noises; he used flattery and praise to trick the Raven into opening his beak.

Q3. Assertion (A):

Pride is not a wise quality according to the poem.

Reason (R):

The Raven forgot his voice was a croak because of his pride.

Answer: B — Both A and R are true, but R is NOT the correct explanation of A — Both statements are true. The Fox says 'Pride, my friend, is rather unwise,' and the Raven did forget about his croaking voice due to pride. However, the reason does not explain why pride is unwise—it just gives an example of the Raven being proud.

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Case-Based Questions (CBQ) for The Raven and the Fox

Case Study:

Raj was playing cricket in the school ground. His friend Aarav kept saying 'You are such a great batsman! You never miss a ball! You could hit any bowler!' Raj felt very proud hearing this. In the next match, Aarav asked Raj to lend him his lucky cricket bat. Raj immediately agreed without thinking. Later, Raj realized Aarav just wanted his bat and was using flattery to get it.

Q1. Why did Raj agree to lend his bat to Aarav?

  • A. Because Aarav had praised him too much and made him proud ✓
  • B. Because they were best friends
  • C. Because Aarav promised to return it quickly
  • D. Because Raj didn't like his bat

Answer: A

Q2. What lesson from 'The Raven and the Fox' does this story teach Raj?

  • A. To always help his friends
  • B. To be careful of sweet words and flattery that might hide someone's real purpose ✓
  • C. To never lend his things to anyone
  • D. To play cricket better

Answer: B

Q3. How is Aarav similar to the Fox in the poem?

  • A. Both of them played cricket
  • B. Both used flattering words to trick someone into giving them something they wanted ✓
  • C. Both of them were honest and kind
  • D. Both of them lived in forests

Answer: B

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