NCERT Solutions for Class 5 English Chapter 8 the Decision of the Panchayat (PDF) – 2027

The story in short: A hard-working farmer buys a well from his cunning neighbour. The next day the neighbour says he sold only the well, not the water. The Panchayat agrees that only the well was sold — so the neighbour must take his water out of the farmer’s well at once, or it becomes the farmer’s. The neighbour is fined and has to apologise.

The farmer bought the well because he needed a source of water for his fields. He had just bought a third field, and the well was next to it.

The farmer became upset because his neighbour would not let him take water from the well he had bought. The neighbour said, “I sold only the well to you, not the water. The water still belongs to me.”

The Panchayat met under the banyan tree and heard both the farmer and the neighbour. It agreed that only the well had been sold. But it said the neighbour could not keep his water in the farmer’s well: he must remove it or use it all up at once, or the water would belong to the owner of the well. So the farmer got his water.

The Panchayat agreed that only the well was sold. But if the water was the neighbour’s, he had no business keeping it in the farmer’s well. He must remove the water or use it all up immediately; if not, the water would belong to the owner of the well. The neighbour also had to pay a fine and apologise to the farmer.

Yes, I think the decision of the Panchayat was correct. It heard both men before deciding. It agreed that only the well was sold, but showed that the neighbour’s own words went against him: his water could not stay in another man’s well. A well is bought for its water, so the farmer got it. The fine and the apology were fair, because the neighbour had tried to cheat.

I would first stop the quarrel and ask Radha and Sita, one by one, why each of them needs the box. Then I would keep the box between them so that they can share the colours. If both need it at the same time, they can use it turn by turn. I would explain my reason, so that neither feels I am taking sides.

The cunning neighbour said this to the farmer, at the well, the day after he sold it.

The village chief said this to the cunning neighbour, while giving the Panchayat’s judgment.

The farmer said this to the village chief, when he went to her with his problem.

1 → f. to grow wealthy. The story says, “When he prospered, he bought another field.”

2 → a. clever in a tricky way. The neighbour was cunning: “He thought of a plan to cheat the farmer.”

3 → e. very upset. “The worried farmer didn’t know what to do.”

4 → c. to order someone come to a particular place. “Both the farmer and his neighbour were summoned.”

5 → b. refusing to change one’s mind. The villagers “tried to reason with him, but he was adamant”.

6 → d. a decision made by a group. The Panchayat members discussed the matter and “stood up to give the judgment”.

Here is the whole exercise, matched.

Answers: 1. to · 2. by · 3. with · 4. after · 5. in · 6. before · 7. under · 8. for · 9. to · 10. at · 11. after

The farmer went to the village chief to explain his problem.

The neighbour was standing by the well, blocking the way.

At the well is also correct.

The villagers tried to reason with the cunning man.

The decision was made after careful consideration of both sides.

There lived a farmer in the small village.

The Panchayat members listen to both the sides before coming to decision.

The villagers gathered the Panchayat under the banyan tree.

The neighbour was punished for his dishonesty.

The chief listened carefully to both the farmer and the neighbour.

The villagers agreed to meet at a later time to discuss the issue.

The farmer decided to buy a well after buying his third field.

The correct order is: 3 → 4 → 1 → 5 → 2.

So write these numbers in the little brackets beside each sentence:

A boy is spinning his top in his yard while his neighbours dry chillies and hang clothes. Suddenly a coconut falls from the tall palm and lands beside him. He falls back in fright. Then he picks up the coconut happily, but the neighbour comes towards him. At last the boy runs into his house with the coconut, and the neighbour follows him.

We think the uncle will say the coconut is his, because it grew on his tree. The boy will say it fell in his yard and nearly hit him. The boy’s mother will listen to both. The uncle will see the danger, say sorry and promise to pick the ripe coconuts in time. He will let the boy keep this one, and the two families will stay friends.

The suffix -less means “without”.

useless

It means of no use — you cannot do anything with it. Think of the well in our story. Without water, that well was useless to the farmer.

Sentence of your own: A pen without ink is useless.

careless

It means without care — doing something in a hurry, without paying attention.

Sentence of your own: I lost two marks because of a careless mistake in my sums.

hopeless

It means without hope — when there seems to be no chance left at all.

Sentence of your own: When the rain did not come for two months, the farmers felt hopeless.

fearless

It means without fear — brave. It is a word of praise.

Sentence of your own: Rani of Jhansi was a fearless queen.

colourless

It means without any colour. Clean water is colourless — you can see straight through it.

Sentence of your own: Pure water is colourless, but this pond water looks brown.

Sample answer — five sentences:

1. My old torch is useless now, because its bulb has fused.
2. It was careless of me to leave my water bottle in the school bus.
3. The team did not feel hopeless even after losing two matches.
4. The fearless boy jumped into the pond to save the puppy.
5. Air is colourless, so we cannot see it.

Answers: 1 – b · 2 – b · 3 – b · 4 – c · 5 – d

Your teacher reads the passage aloud. Listen carefully, then tick the right option for each question.

b. A small village in West Bengal. The passage begins, “in a small village of West Bengal, there lived a kind and wise man…”

b. Swami Vivekananda (Naren). “A curious young boy named Naren came to meet him… Naren later grew up to become the famous Swami Vivekananda.”

b. A simple and loving life. He wore plain clothes and ate very little, and his smile and loving words made everyone feel special.

c. Rivers flowing to the ocean. He taught that all religions are like rivers — they take different paths but lead to the same ocean.

d. To find peace. “He taught Naren about courage, kindness, and how to find peace within.”

The five uses of neem in the passage: neem juice to drink when ill · neem twigs as a toothbrush · burnt dry leaves to drive away mosquitoes · dry leaves among stored clothes to keep insects out · dry leaves in the rice bin to keep pests away.

Neem trees can be found near our houses, near the school and beside the road.

The neem is called a magic tree because almost every part of it is used for medicine. Its juice, twigs and dry leaves all have uses.

When dry neem leaves are burnt inside the house, the mosquitoes go away. The smoke drives them out.

People put dry neem leaves between stored clothes to keep insects away, and in the rice bin to keep pests away.

Neem twigs are used as a toothbrush to clean the teeth.

b. Vanish — to disappear means to go out of sight.

c. Twig — a short, thin stick that grows out of a branch.

Here are the eleven differences (first picture → second picture):