Summary
Unit 2 of NCERT Class 6 English (Poorvi), "Friendship", brings together three texts — the story "The Unlikely Best Friends" (an elephant and a dog who form a cross-species bond), the poem "A Friend's Prayer" by Jill Wolf (a heartfelt prayer for cherishing and supporting one's friends), and the story "The Chair" (in which a boy named Mario uses an invisible magic chair to discover who his true friends really are). Together they explore what genuine friendship means: care, loyalty, and acceptance.
Unit 2 of the NCERT Class 6 Poorvi English textbook is centred on the theme of friendship. The first text, "The Unlikely Best Friends", is a story (traced to the Jataka tales) about Gajaraj the elephant and a stray dog named Buntee who build a deep bond despite their differences, and how both refuse to eat when separated. The second text, "A Friend's Prayer" by Jill Wolf, is a poem in which the speaker prays to value friendship above all, to fulfil friends' wishes, and to accept friends without judgement. The third text, "The Chair", tells of Mario, a boy who boasts of many friends, and how his grandfather's invisible magic chair reveals that only three classmates — Guneet, Asma, and Deepa — are truly by his side.
Key points & formulas
- 01The unit contains three texts: the prose story "The Unlikely Best Friends", the poem "A Friend's Prayer" by Jill Wolf, and the prose story "The Chair".
- 02"The Unlikely Best Friends" is rooted in the Jataka tales — ancient Buddhist stories of life values told across generations for over two thousand years.
- 03Gajaraj the elephant and Buntee the stray dog form a cross-species friendship; when separated, both refuse to eat until they are reunited at the royal stable.
- 04The poem "A Friend's Prayer" expresses the wish to treat friendship as the most important thing in life, to help friends' wishes come true, and to love friends as they are without judgement.
- 05In "The Chair", Mario's grandfather gives him an invisible magic chair as a test; only Guneet, Asma, and Deepa hold Mario up when he falls, proving they are his real friends.
- 06The mahout and the farmer also form their own friendship by the end of "The Unlikely Best Friends", showing that genuine bonds can form between humans too.
- 07The unit builds language skills through antonym puzzles, tense practice (simple past, past progressive, past perfect), use of conjunctions 'neither/nor' and 'either/or', and adjective–noun combinations.
Frequently asked questions
01What texts are included in Unit 2 'Friendship' of NCERT Class 6 Poorvi?
Unit 2 contains three texts: the story "The Unlikely Best Friends" (about an elephant and a dog), the poem "A Friend's Prayer" by Jill Wolf, and the story "The Chair" (about a boy named Mario and an invisible magic chair).
02What is the story 'The Unlikely Best Friends' about?
It is about Gajaraj, an elephant living in royal stables, who is lonely despite royal comforts. A stray dog wanders in, and the two become inseparable friends. When the dog's owner (a farmer) takes him home, both Gajaraj and Buntee stop eating out of grief. The farmer releases Buntee, who runs back to the stable, and the two friends are reunited. By the end, the mahout and the farmer also become friends.
03Where does the story 'The Unlikely Best Friends' come from?
The story is from the Jataka tales — ancient Buddhist stories of life values and wisdom that have been told from one generation to the next for over two thousand years.
04Who are the main characters in 'The Unlikely Best Friends'?
The main characters are Gajaraj the elephant, Buntee the stray dog, the mahout (elephant trainer/caretaker), and the farmer who owns Buntee.
05What is the poem 'A Friend's Prayer' about?
Written by Jill Wolf, the poem is a prayer in which the speaker wishes to treat friendship as the most important thing in life. She prays to give her best to friends, to make their wishes come true, to use her heart (not judgement) to understand what friends can be, and to love friends as they are.
06What is the message of 'A Friend's Prayer'?
The poem conveys that true friendship means giving your best, caring deeply, making friends' wishes come true, and accepting friends without passing judgement on them.
07What is the story 'The Chair' about?
Mario is a boy who boasts about having many friends at school. His grandfather bets him a fruit chaat that many are only companions, not real friends. The grandfather gives Mario an invisible magic chair to take to school. When Mario tries to sit on it and keeps falling, only three classmates — Guneet, Asma, and Deepa — hold him up. The others laugh at his falls. Mario realises these three are his true friends.
08What lesson does Mario learn from 'The Chair'?
Mario learns that true friends are those who care for you and support you when things go wrong. A real friend would not take joy in your bad luck or laugh at your failures.
09Why did Gajaraj stop eating in 'The Unlikely Best Friends'?
Gajaraj stopped eating because Buntee, his dog friend, was taken away by the farmer. Both animals refused their food while separated, showing how deep their bond was.
10What does 'unlikely' mean in the context of the unit's theme?
An 'unlikely' friendship is one between individuals who seem very different or would not normally be expected to be friends — such as an elephant and a dog, or a leopard and a cow (mentioned in the listening activity from Vadodara, Gujarat).
11How does the unit connect friendship across its three texts?
All three texts explore different aspects of genuine friendship: the story of Gajaraj and Buntee shows cross-species loyalty; the poem by Jill Wolf celebrates devotion and acceptance; and 'The Chair' distinguishes real friends (who support you) from mere acquaintances (who mock you). Together they build a rounded picture of what true friendship means.
12Is the NCERT Class 6 English Poorvi Unit 2 PDF free to download?
Yes. You can read or download the NCERT Class 6 Poorvi English PDF for free on CBSE PrepMaster — no sign-up or payment required.
More chapters in Poorvi
This is the complete Poorvi Chapter 2 as published by NCERT — every diagram, solved example, and exercise included, free. Browse all NCERT Class 6 textbooks.
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