Class 10 Englsh Chapter - A letter to God

 

📘 Chapter: A Letter to God

Author: Gregorio López y Fuentes
Book: First Flight (NCERT Class 10 English)

"A Letter to God" by Gregorio López y Fuentes is a touching story about faith, hope, and irony. It revolves around Lencho, a poor farmer who depends entirely on his crops for survival. As his crops are ready to harvest, he eagerly waits for rain. One day, it finally rains, and Lencho feels overjoyed. However, his joy turns into despair when a hailstorm destroys the entire field, leaving no chance of a harvest. Faced with starvation, Lencho’s only hope lies in God.

He writes a letter to God, asking for 100 pesos to sow his field again and feed his family. He posts the letter, firmly believing that God will answer. At the post office, the postmaster and his colleagues are amused at first but then moved by Lencho’s unshakable faith. They decide to help and collect 70 pesos, which they send to Lencho in an envelope signed "God."

However, Lencho is not pleased. He believes that God sent all 100 pesos, but the post office employees stole 30 pesos. In his second letter, he asks God not to send the money through the post office, calling them “a bunch of crooks.” The story ends on a note of dramatic irony and gentle humor.

📘 NCERT Class 10 English Chapter 1 – A Letter to God

🟦 Section 1: Oral Comprehension Check (Page 5–6)

1. What did Lencho hope for?
Lencho hoped for a good rain that would help his crops grow and ripen properly. As a farmer, he knew that rain was essential for a good harvest, and without it, his cornfield would not yield any produce.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like ‘new coins’?
Lencho saw the raindrops as blessings. He believed that a good rainfall would ensure a rich harvest, which would bring him money. Therefore, he described the big raindrops as ten-cent coins and the small ones as five-cent coins, because to him, the rain was equal to wealth.

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho’s fields?
At first, the rain was gentle and pleasant, but soon it turned into a violent hailstorm. The hail fell for an hour and covered the entire valley in ice. As a result, all the crops in Lencho’s fields were destroyed, and there was nothing left to harvest.

4. What were Lencho’s feelings when the hail stopped?
After the hailstorm, Lencho was filled with sadness and despair. He realized that his entire harvest had been destroyed and that he and his family would face hunger. However, his faith in God remained strong.

5. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?
Lencho had deep and unshakable faith in God. He believed that God would help him in his time of need. Trusting in God completely, Lencho wrote a letter asking for 100 pesos to help him survive and to sow his field again.

6. Who read the letter?
The letter was read by a postman who found it amusing and took it to the postmaster. The postmaster, upon reading the letter, was surprised and touched by Lencho’s strong faith in God.

7. What did the postmaster do then?
The postmaster decided to help Lencho. He collected money from the post office employees and added some of his own. Although he couldn’t gather the full 100 pesos, he sent 70 pesos to Lencho in an envelope signed as “God.”

8. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?
No, Lencho was not surprised at all. He had absolute faith that God would respond to his request. So, when he received the envelope with money, he believed it had come directly from God, just as he had expected.

9. What made him angry?
Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only 70 pesos instead of the 100 he had asked for. He was sure that God had sent him the full amount, so he concluded that someone had stolen 30 pesos from the envelope.

🟩 Section 2: Thinking About the Text (Page 7–8)

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?
Lencho has complete faith in God. This is shown through several sentences in the story:

• “It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall.”
• “God: if you don’t help me, my family and I will go hungry this year.”|
• “It’s during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted…”

These lines reflect his strong belief that God would never let him down.

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter ‘God’?
The postmaster was deeply moved by Lencho’s unshakable faith in God. He didn’t want to disappoint Lencho or let his faith be broken. So, he decided to help by collecting money and sending it to Lencho. He signed the letter as “God” to make Lencho believe that it was truly a divine response.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money? Why/Why not?
No, Lencho didn’t try to find out who had sent the money because he was fully convinced that it was sent by God. His faith was so complete that he didn’t even consider the possibility of a human helping him.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation?
Lencho believed that the post office employees had stolen the missing 30 pesos.
The irony is that these same employees were the ones who had collected and donated the money out of kindness. Instead of being thankful, Lencho accused them of theft, which creates a powerful and humorous twist in the story.

🌧️ Plot Overview:

1. Need for Rain:

Lencho hopes for rain to nourish his crops. It begins to rain, which excites him, but soon the rain turns into a hailstorm that destroys his entire crop.

2. Faith in God:

Devastated but not hopeless, Lencho writes a letter to God, asking for 100 pesos to help him survive and sow seeds again.

3. Post Office Intervention:

The postmaster, amused but moved by Lencho’s faith, collects money from employees and donates part of his own salary. They manage to collect 70 pesos and send it to Lencho anonymously.

4. Lencho’s Reaction:

Lencho receives the money but is angry to find only 70 pesos. Believing God sent the full amount, he writes another letter — this time asking God not to send it through the post office, accusing the employees of stealing the rest.

🧠 Key Characters:

• Lencho: A poor but optimistic and faithful farmer.
• Postmaster: A kind-hearted man who is impressed by Lencho's faith.
• God: A symbol of ultimate hope and belief (not a literal character).

✨ Themes and Messages:

• Unshakable Faith: Lencho's belief in God is absolute.
• Irony: The story ends with situational irony — Lencho doubts the very people who helped him.
• Human Kindness: It highlights how strangers can show compassion.

💡 Moral of the Story:

Sometimes, blind faith may overlook human effort, and even good deeds may go unrecognized. But it also shows that faith can move people to act kindly.

Class 10 English – Chapter: A Letter to God
Worksheet

Section A: Comprehension Questions

   1. Who was Lencho? Where was his house situated?
  2. What did Lencho hope for? What happened instead?
  3. Why did Lencho write a letter to God?
  4. How did the postmaster react to Lencho’s letter?
  5. Why was Lencho angry when he received the money? What did he do then?

Section B: Vocabulary and Expressions

    1. Find words from the chapter that mean the following:
      a. A violent storm with ice – ________
      b. Complete trust – ________
      c. A person who delivers mail – ________
   2. Use the word 'faith' in your own sentence.
   3. Write a synonym and antonym for the word 'hope'.

Section C: Grammar Practice

  1. Convert the following sentence into indirect speech:
     Lencho said, “God: if you don’t help me, my family will go hungry.”
 2. Identify the tense used in this sentence:
     'It was during the meal that, as Lencho had predicted, big drops of rain began to fall.'
 3. Fill in the blank with the correct form of verb:
     If it _______ (rain) tomorrow, the crops will be saved.

Section D: Creative Writing

  1. Imagine you are the postmaster. Write a diary entry expressing your feelings after reading Lencho’s letter.

  2. Write a short letter to God from your side, expressing your hopes and wishes.