Chapter 1: Papa's Spectacles

Papa is searching for his spectacles (glasses) — his only pair.

Papa looks inside his pockets, under his chair, and near the window — the spectacles could have been in any of these places, or simply on his own head, which he had forgotten about.

Papa finds his spectacles resting right on his own head, where they had been all along.

1. Handkerchief, Towel, Sari, Bedsheet
2. Cherry, Strawberry, Apple, Watermelon
3. Fourteen, Twenty-nine, Forty-seven, Ninety-one
4. Sparrow, Crow, Hen, Eagle
5. Squirrel, Rabbit, Ox, Elephant

(Two more examples, students may write their own — e.g., Marble, Ball, Football, Beach-ball or Kitten, Cat, Dog, Elephant.)

Examples: a pair of shoes, a pair of socks, a pair of gloves, a pair of scissors, a pair of earrings, a pair of spectacles, a pair of jeans. (Any seven sensible items that naturally come in twos are correct.)

My father has a habit of keeping his spectacles in random places. Last week, he could not find his spectacles and looked around the house. We checked the big box that reached above our waists. My father looked for the spectacles among the newspapers kept on the table. He continued searching for two hours before finally giving up. He sat down on the bed after giving one final look to the room and said with a sigh, 'Looks like it is time to get a new pair.'

Across: 2. near   6. clean   8. outside   9. dark
Down: 1. yes   3. big   4. happy   5. fast   6. cold   7. free
(Fill these words into the crossword grid in your textbook, matching the numbered boxes.)

The pairs that sound different: pair–peer, knot–note, dare–dear, bed–bad, fair–fear, cold–could, where–were, fill–feel.
The pairs that sound the same (homophones): fair–fare, sun–son, ate–eight, hair–hare, deer–dear, wood–would, knot–not, heal–heel.

This is a hands-on puzzle — arrange matchsticks (or similar sticks) on a table and try moving exactly 3 of them so that the shape forms 3 separate squares instead of the original pattern. Try different combinations by trial and error.

This is a fun optical illusion activity: after staring at the bright flame/star for a while and then looking away at a plain surface, you may briefly 'see' a glowing afterimage — this happens because your eyes need a moment to adjust after staring at something bright.

This is a visual attention puzzle. Scan the grid of 'b' letters carefully, row by row — there is exactly one 'd' hidden among them, distinguished by its mirrored shape.

Answer: An onion — you bring it home from the market, and it makes your eyes water (cry) when you cut it!