Summary: The Legend of the Bluebonnet
The Comanche were singing to the Great Spirit because they were desperate. The
winter had ended but no rains had arrived. There was famine across the land and
their people were dying. So for three days, the dancers danced to the sound of the
drums and for three days, the Comanche watched and waited.
She-Who-Is-Alone is a little girl who belongs to this tribe. The People called the
Comanche had given She-Who-Is-Alone her name. She-Who-Is-Alone had once had a
grandfather and grandmother, a mother and a father. But the famine came to the
land and everywhere the People suffered and began to die. She-Who-Is-Alone lost
her family during this terrible time. Her tribe then named her and cared for her.
She-Who-Is-Alone has a warrior doll that she loved very much. The doll was made
from buckskin. The eyes, nose and mouth were painted on with the juice of berries.
It wore beaded leggings and a belt of polished bone. On its head were brilliant blue
feathers from the bird who cries Jay-jay-jay. She-Who-Is-Alone loved her doll very
much because her mother had made it for her.
One day, the shaman came to the village. He told them that the Great Spirit was
displeased. The Great Spirit had told him that the People must sacrifice. They must
make a burnt offering of their most valued possessions and the ashes of this offering
would be scattered to the four points of the Earth.
But no one wanted to make such a sacrifice. But She-Who-Is-Alone knew that she
could sacrifice her beloved doll. She loved her family very much and she
remembered their suffering during the famine. She did not want to her tribe to
suffer this way anymore.
So, She-Who-Is-Alone crept away in the night. She ran to the place on the hill where
the Great Spirit had spoken to the shaman. “Oh Great Spirit,” She-Who-Is-Alone said,
“here is my warrior doll. It is the only thing I have from my family who died from the
famine. It is my most valued possession. Please accept it.” Then gathering twigs, she
started a fire with the glowing firestick. Then, very quickly, she threw the doll into
the fire.
When She-Who-Is-Alone woke up the next day, she looked out over the hill.
Stretching out from all sides where the ashes had fallen, the ground was covered
with flowers—beautiful flowers, as blue as the feathers in the hair of the doll, as blue
as the feathers of the bird who cries Jay-jay-jay. The People came out of their tipis
and they could hardly believe their eyes. They gathered on the hill with She-Who-IsAlone to look at the miraculous sight. There was no doubt about it—the flowers were
a sign of forgiveness from the Great Spirit. The People sang and danced their thanks
to the Great Spirit and soon a warm rain began to fall and the land began to live
again. From that day on, the little girl was known by another name—One-WhoDearly-Loved-Her-People.
UNIT 11 THE LEGEND OF THE BLUEBONNET
Warm Up
Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).
There is a Native American legend about this turtle. This is the legend:
Long before the world was created, there was an island floating in the sky. The Sky People lived here
quietly and happily. Then one day, a Sky Women and her husband had a big fight. Her husband was so
angry that he pulled up the tree which gave light to the entire island—the sun hadn’t been created
yet. There was now a huge hole in the middle of the island. The Sky Woman was very curious so she
went to look at the hole but she fell! She fell through the hole, tumbling towards the waters below.
Two birds saw the Sky Woman fall. Just before she reached the waters, they caught her on their backs
and brought her to the sea animals. The sea animals wanted to help the woman. So they dove into
the water to get mud from the bottom of the sea. One after another the animals tried and failed.
Finally, Little Toad tried and when he reappeared, his mouth was full of mud. The other animals took it
and spread it on the back of Big Turtle. The mud began to grow and grow until it became the size of
North America.
Embedded Questions 1
● There had been no rain after the winter and the People were facing drought and famine.
● She had lost her family during the famine and this was the name that her tribe had given her.
● Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer). She and her doll are probably going to play a big part
in the story and help in solving the problem of the famine.
Embedded Questions 2
● “I’m sure it is not my new boat that the Great Spirit wants,” a warrior said. “Or my special blanket,”
a woman added, as everyone went to their tipis to talk and think over what the Great Spirit had
asked.
● Everyone, that is, except She-Who-Is-Alone. She held her doll tightly to her heart. “You,” she said,
looking at the doll. “You are my most valued possession. It is you the Great Spirit wants.”
Embedded Questions 3
● Yes, she does.
● Yes, it did.
● They gave her a new name: One-Who-Dearly-Loved-Her-People.
Comprehension
A. 1. But the healing rains did not come.
2. He told them that the Great Spirit was displeased. The Great Spirit had told him that the People
must sacrifice. They must make a burnt offering of their most valued possessions and the ashes of
this offering would be scattered to the four points of the Earth.
3. She gathered twigs and started a fire. Then she threw her precious warrior doll into the fire.
4. When she woke up, it was morning. The ground was covered with flowers—beautiful flowers,
as blue as the feathers in the hair of the doll, as blue as the feathers of the bird who cries Jayjay-jay.
5. They gathered on the hill with She-Who-Is-Alone to look at the miraculous sight.
6. The Great Spirit fills the hills and valleys of the land, now called Texas, with the beautiful flowers.
Even to this very day.
B. 1. a. She loved her family very much and she remembered their suffering during the famine. She did
not want to her tribe to suffer this way anymore.
b. She loved the doll—it was a doll that her family had given her. So it was difficult for her. We
know because she throws the doll into the fire quickly. She knows that if she thought about it
anymore, she would not be able to do it.
c. This tells us that She-Who-Is-Alone loves her tribe very much.
2. a. The Great Spirit had not sent the People rain because he was angry. But now the hills were
covered in blue flowers. This meant that the spring had arrived and that rain was not far
behind.
b. They are blue because they represent the sacrifice of She-Who-Is-Alone. There had been
brilliant blue feathers on the head of the warrior doll and so the flowers were blue too.
C. 1. The Comanche were singing to the Great Spirit because they were desperate. The winter had
ended but no rains had arrived. There was famine across the land and their people were dying. So
for three days, the dancers danced to the sound of the drums and for three days, the Comanche
watched and waited.
2. The doll was a warrior doll and it was made from buckskin. The eyes, nose and mouth were painted
on with the juice of berries. It wore beaded leggings and a belt of polished bone. On its head were
brilliant blue feathers from the bird who cries Jay-jay-jay. She-Who-Is-Alone loved her doll very
much.
3. The People called the Comanche had given She-Who-Is-Alone her name. She-Who-Is-Alone had
once had a grandfather and grandmother, a mother and a father. But the famine came to the land
and everywhere the People suffered and began to die. She-Who-Is-Alone lost her family during
this terrible time. Her tribe then named her and cared for her.
4. She-Who-Is-Alone decide to sacrifice her beloved doll to the Great Spirit. As the fires died out and
the tipi flaps began to close, the small girl waited in her tipi. Soon everyone in the tipi was asleep,
except She-Who-Is-Alone. Under the ashes of the tipi fire, one stick still glowed. She took it and
quietly crept out into the night. She ran to the place on the hill where the Great Spirit had spoken
to the shaman. “Oh Great Spirit,” She-Who-Is-Alone said, “here is my warrior doll. It is the only thing
I have from my family who died from the famine. It is my most valued possession. Please accept it.”
Then gathering twigs, she started a fire with the glowing firestick. Then, very quickly, she threw the
doll into the fire.
5. She-Who-Is-Alone woke up and looked out over the hill and stretching out from all sides
where the ashes had fallen, the ground was covered with flowers—beautiful flowers, as blue
as the feathers in the hair of the doll, as blue as the feathers of the bird who cries Jay-jay-jay.
The People came out of their tipis and they could hardly believe their eyes. They gathered
on the hill with She-Who-Is-Alone to look at the miraculous sight. There was no doubt about
it—the flowers were a sign of forgiveness from the Great Spirit. The People sang and danced
their thanks to the Great Spirit and soon a warm rain began to fall and the land began to live
again. From that day on, the little girl was known by another name—One-Who-Dearly-LovedHer-People.
D. She-Who-Is-Alone is a very young girl who does not have a family. Her tribe looks after her but she
knows that she does not have her family with her. The name She-Who-Is-Alone probably made her
feel all alone—it would have served as a reminder about what had happened to her. It might have
also made her feel as though she was not loved.
E. Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).
1. Respects the environment and does what they can to protect it.
2. Respects government property and does not damage it—extend the same respect to their
fellow citizens.
Grammar
A. 2. indirect object 3. direct object 4. direct object 5. indirect object
6. direct object
B. 2. Piya spilled the milk .
3. The kitten was rescued by my father.
4. The sunshine melted the ice .
5. The speaker was applauded by the students.
6. The cake was made by Rahim.
C. 2. PV 3. PV 4. PV 5. AV 6. PV
Vocabulary
1. to be good at noticing one particular type of thing
2. agree on something
3. a way of saying that you are very pleased to see someone
4. very quickly
5. to fool someone
6. to know everything that is happening around you
Writing
Free Response
Listening
Listening Text
1. She sells sea shells by the sea shore
2. Which witch wished which wicked wish?
3. Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry
4. Seth sells thick socks.
5. Fox in a sock
Answer:
1. sh, s 2. w, ch, sh 3. r, y, l 4. s, th 5. x, s
Dictionary Work
1. dejected: formal sad: informal
2. lost: informal misplaced: formal
3. verify: formal check: informal
4. tired: informal exhausted: formal
5. disclose: formal tell: informal
6. enough: informal sufficient: formal
Life Skills
Suggested answer (Accept any logical answer).
2. talk to your group of friends and convince them that you should invite the new student to spend
time with the group.
3. Arrange a get-together where you can all get to know the new student.
THE LEGEND OF THE BLUEBONNET
A. Answer in brief.
1. What did She-Who-Is-Alone tell her doll about shaman?
Ans: She-Who-Is-Alone who had lost her family had only the doll as her companion. She said
shaman who could speak to the Great Spirit would go to the top of the hill and listen to the words
of the Great Spirit and then they would know what to do so that rains would come and Earth
would be green and alive.
2. What was each one’s valued possession? Were they ready to part with it?
Ans: The Great Spirit wanted the sacrifice of the most valued possession among the people. On
hearing this a warrior said the Great Spirit would not want his new boat; a woman added that
the spirit would not want her blanket. These things appeared to be very valuable to them and
they did not want to part with them as did everyone else with their valuables, except She-WhoIs-Alone.
B. Answer in detail.
1. Who was the Great Spirit? Why was he unhappy with the people of the land?
Ans: The Great Spirit, also called Wakan Tanka, was the main spirit that the Native Americans
prayed to. When the land was affected by draught and famine, the people prayed to the Great
Spirit and wanted Him to tell them what they had done to anger Him. The shaman returned after
he heard the words of the Great Spirit. He brought the news that the Great Spirit was unhappy
with the people as they had been very selfish. They had plundered Earth and did not give
anything in return for Earth to survive. Hence Earth was facing draught and famine. The Great
Spirit wanted people to sacrifice to get back their own fertile Earth.
2. Why did She-Who-Is-Alone decide to part with her possession? What did she do?
Ans: While everyone was discussing in their tipis, about which most valued possession the spirit
would want, She-Who-Is-Alone, sat with her doll which was the only thing she had as a memory
of her parents and grandparents. She held on to that doll tightly and concluded that that was her
most valued possession and the Great Spirit wanted only that. She wanted famine and draught to
end and save people. So she decided to part with her possession. She took her dear doll to the hill
where the Great Spirit had spoken to shaman and thrust the doll into the fire asking the spirit to
save her people.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. “It is the most valued possession. Please accept it.”
a. What was She-Who-Is-Alone’s possession?
b. Why was it most valued?
c. Who is she offering the possession to?
Ans: a. The warrior doll was the possession which She-Who-Is-Alone cherished a lot.
b. It was the most valued because that was the only thing she had from her family who had
died due to famine.
c. She was offering it to the Great Spirit who had asked the people to sacrifice to restore
Earth.
2. From that day on, the little girl was known by another name – One-Who-Dearly-Loved-HerPeople.
a. What brought in the change in the name for She-Who-Is-Alone?
b. Who gave her the new name?
c. How did the Great Spirit remember her forever?
Ans: a. She got the new name because she had sacrificed her prized possession to save the land
from famine and draught.
b. The people of the land who were benefitted by her sacrifice gave her the new name.
c. Every spring, the Great Spirit remembered the sacrifice of the girl and filled the hills and
valleys of the land with the beautiful flowers.
D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)
1. How do you know that She-Who-Is-Alone loved her people a lot?
Ans: She-Who-Is-Alone had a prized possession and that was a doll which was made by her
mother who had died in the famine. But when she learnt what the Great Spirit wanted to save
Earth, she did not hesitate to give her doll for sacrifice. That showed that she was prepared to do
anything for her people.
2. Why do you think the Great Spirit asked for sacrifice to teach a lesson to the people of the land?
[Free response] Suggested answer: The Great Spirit probably wanted the people to know how
being selfish can harm the whole Earth. Earth had lost all its beauty because of the selfishness of
people. So the spirit wanted the people to part with their valued possession and experience how
it is to lose something so dear so that they would never repeat the mistake.
E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)
Do you agree that though She-Who-Is-Alone brought happiness to the people of her land, she would
have been be sad from within? Give reasons.
[Free response] Suggested answer: Yes; She-Who-Is-Alone must be very sad from within. She has
after all sacrificed the only possession she had for the sake of the people. Though a little girl, she was
not selfish and wanted to help the people of her land. Perhaps she did not want the people of her
land also to perish like her family and wanted to save them. That was the reason she thrust the doll
into the fire before she could change her mind. She would have missed the doll and felt very sad after
that act. Probably after seeing the valley covered with beautiful flowers the next day she may have
recovered from the loss.
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