The Nose-Jewel — Class 8 English (Samacheer Kalvi)
TN State Board (Samacheer Kalvi) Class 8 English, Prose 1, by C. Rajagopalachari. A simple tale with a sharp moral about greed.
1. About the lesson
The Nose-Jewel is a short story by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji), the first Indian Governor-General. Through a pair of sparrows and a human family, it teaches a moral about greed and honesty.
2. Summary
A pair of sparrows build their nest on the roof of Ramayya's house. One day the male sparrow finds a shining diamond nose-jewel in a muck-heap and proudly brings it to the nest. The female sparrow scolds him — the jewel cannot feed their hungry chicks — and tells him to fetch food instead. The male bird drops the jewel on the floor and flies off to find worms.
Ramayya's wife finds the jewel, wears it with delight, and later hides it away in her box. When the missing jewel is talked about, suspicion falls on the maid-servant Kuppayi, who is wrongly blamed for stealing. Meenakshi Ammal, the neighbour, advises her little girl to keep searching and not to tell her father, who would fly into a rage. The story shows how a small act of greed brings worry and injustice.
3. Characters
- The male sparrow — finds the jewel; values it until told it is useless.
- The female sparrow — practical; cares about feeding the young ones.
- Ramayya and his wife — the family on whose roof the sparrows nest.
- Kuppayi — the maid-servant, wrongly suspected of theft.
- Meenakshi Ammal — the neighbour.
4. Theme and moral
- Theme: the contrast between what is truly useful (food, honesty) and what is merely valuable to look at (the jewel).
- Moral: never be greedy for what belongs to others — greed causes pain and wrongs the innocent.
5. Glossary
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| muck-heap | a pile of dirt and waste |
| stud | a small jewel/ornament |
| rage | violent anger |
| suspect | to think someone is guilty |
| console | to comfort |
6. Book-back questions (Samacheer Kalvi)
A. Read and answer
- Where did the sparrows build their nest? — On the roof of Ramayya's house.
- What did the male sparrow find in the muck-heap? — A diamond nose-jewel (stud).
- Why did the female sparrow refuse the jewel? — Because it could not feed their hungry young ones.
- What did the male bird do with the jewel? — He dropped it on the floor and went to find worms.
- Who was wrongly suspected of stealing the jewel? — The maid-servant Kuppayi.
B. Think and answer 6. Why did Ramayya's wife hide the jewel in her box? — To keep it secretly, as talk about the missing jewel had started. 7. What is the moral of the story? — We should never be greedy for what belongs to others.
7. Common mistakes
- Mistake: Saying the female sparrow valued the jewel. Fix: She found it useless — it could not feed the chicks.
- Mistake: Naming the wrong author. Fix: The story is by C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji).
- Mistake: Missing the moral. Fix: The lesson is against greed for others' things.
8. Quick revision
- Prose 1 · The Nose-Jewel by C. Rajagopalachari.
- A male sparrow finds a diamond nose-jewel; the female says it is useless and he drops it.
- Ramayya's wife finds and hides it; the maid Kuppayi is wrongly suspected.
- Moral: never be greedy for what belongs to others — greed causes pain.
