Madhu's Wish – Class 3 English Chapter 9 Notes & NCERT PDF

Class 3EnglishChapter 9NCERT book: Santoor - English Class 3

Notes and a simple summary of Chapter 9 of the NCERT Class 3 English book, with the official chapter PDF, flashcards, an MCQ quiz and an AI tutor for your doubts.

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Chapter 9: Madhu's Wish

Introduction

Madhu's Wish is a story by Sudha Murty about a boy who loved food. When a magic tree grants him any wish, he asks for "different types of food. Nothing else." Soon he learns an important lesson about water. It ends Unit 3: Good Food.

What's in this Chapter

The story

Madhu loved food and was never tired of eating. Every day at noon he ate lunch under a banyan tree.

One day an old man came. Madhu felt sorry for him and shared his food. The happy old man said, "My child, you have been so kind. In return, you can wish for anything from this tree and it will be granted."

Madhu closed his eyes: "Oh tree, let me have different types of food. Nothing else." A voice from the tree asked, "You don't want anything else? Think it over." Without thinking, Madhu said, "Nothing else."

First, a basket of laddoos appeared. He got bored. Then baskets of fruits — grapes, mangoes, apples, bananas, jackfruit, melons, guavas, oranges. He got bored again. Then savouries — matri, samosas, kachori, potato chips and vada.

Suddenly he got hiccups. He wanted water, but there was food everywhere and no water. The tree said, "You wanted only food not water."

Madhu had sharbat, kheer and badam milk, but his hiccups grew louder. He was now desperate for water.

He prayed, "May all this food disappear, and let me have water instead." "Are you sure?" "Yes … Now I know the importance of water. No other drink can replace water."

A jug of water appeared. Madhu drank, his hiccups stopped, and he was no longer thirsty.

New words: forever, immediately, appeared, savouries, hiccups, disappear, instead, replace, thirsty.

Key Ideas

Kindness is rewarded — Madhu shared his lunch with the old man.

Think before you wish or decide ("Think it over").

Too much of one thing is not good; water is precious and nothing can replace it.

Describing people: kind, greedy, generous, brave, polite, selfish, lazy.

Joining sentences with and (same idea) and but (different or opposite idea): "Aman has a pen, a pencil and an eraser." "Sam works in the afternoon but Pratham works at night."

because tells a reason: "Madhu asked for water because he had hiccups."

Activities from the Book

Sort Madhu's food into Fruits (banana, melon, guava, jackfruit), Sweets (kheer, laddoo) and Salty snacks (kachori, potato chips, vada, samosa).

Choose a describing word: Pramod doesn't share — selfish; the woman saved the boy — brave; lying in bed doing nothing — lazy; wishes everyone good morning — polite.

Rewrite sentences with and/but.

Listen to parts of the story and tell what happened next.

Fun with Words: same first letters — "Chandu Cut Carrots", "Anu Ate Apples".

Complete sentences using because.

Make a table mat by tearing and sticking coloured paper on fruit drawings.

Words to Learn

banyan tree – a big shady tree (बरगद का पेड़)

shared – gave part of his own (बाँटा)

granted – given, made to come true (पूरा किया)

immediately – at once (तुरंत)

appeared – came into sight (प्रकट हुआ)

savouries – salty snacks (नमकीन)

hiccups – sudden 'hic' sounds from the throat (हिचकी)

desperate – needing something very badly (बेचैन)

replace – take the place of (जगह लेना)

thirsty – needing water (प्यासा)

Tips for Parents & Teachers

Stop at "What do you think will happen now?" and let children guess.

Talk about home remedies elders suggest for hiccups (teacher note).

Discuss saving water at home and school.

Play a "describe me" game using kind, polite, brave and generous.

Common Mistakes

Thinking the old man gave Madhu food — he gave him a wish from the tree.

Forgetting that Madhu tried sharbat, kheer and badam milk before water — none worked.

Using 'and' when ideas are different ("I like cartoons but my sister likes movies").

Mixing up greedy (wants everything) and generous (gives freely).

💡 Key Learning Points

✓Retell 'Madhu's Wish' and explain what Madhu learned about water.
✓Value kindness, thinking before wishing, and not wasting water.
✓Use describing words for people such as kind, greedy, generous, brave and polite.
✓Join sentences with 'and' and 'but', and give reasons with 'because'.
✓Sort foods into fruits, sweets and salty snacks.

👨‍🏫 Teaching Tips

→Read with pauses for prediction at each 'What do you think will happen now?'.
→Ask children what their elders suggest for hiccups, as the teacher note advises.
→Discuss why 'Think it over' was good advice.
→Help children notice 'because' links a reason to an action.
→Use pictures of foods for the sorting activity.
→Link the story to saving water in daily life.
→Make the table mat as a follow-up craft about fruits and vegetables.

📋 Assessment Questions

Can the child explain why the old man offered Madhu a wish?
Can the child list the foods that appeared in order: laddoos, fruits, savouries?
Can the child say why Madhu asked for the food to disappear?
Can the child choose the right describing word for a person?
Can the child join two sentences using 'and' or 'but'?

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