A Letter to God Question Answer – Class 10 English

Before You Read

They say faith can move mountains. But what should we put our faith in?

We should put our faith in God, but also in goodness, in hard work and in the kindness of other people. Blind faith that expects a miracle without question can lead to misunderstanding, as this story shows. True faith should go hand in hand with good sense.

Does Lencho's letter reach God? Does God send him the money? Think what your answers to these questions would be, and guess how the story continues, before you begin to read it.

A letter addressed "To God" cannot reach God in the ordinary way. My guess was that the letter would land in the hands of the post office staff, who might laugh at it or perhaps feel sorry for the farmer and try to help him. The money, if it came at all, would come from kind human beings and not from heaven. This guess turns out to be largely right: the postmaster answers the letter and sends money in God's name.

Activity

1. (As you read the instructions, discuss with your teacher in class the meanings of these words: counter, counter clerk, appropriate, acknowledgement, counterfoil, record. Consult a dictionary if necessary. Are there words corresponding to these English words in your languages?)

Yes. In Assamese, for example: counter — কাউণ্টাৰ (the English word itself is used); counter clerk — কেৰাণী; appropriate — উপযুক্ত; acknowledgement — প্ৰাপ্তি-স্বীকাৰ; record — নথি. Words like "counterfoil" are usually used in English itself. Students may give similar words from Hindi, Bengali, Bodo or their own language.

2. Fill out the Money Order form given below using the clues that follow the form.

A sample of how the sender fills in the form:

• Pay Rupees: Five hundred only (Rs. 500)
• To: Rahul Bora, House No. 12, Ward No. 4, Haiborgaon, Nagaon, Assam, PIN 782002
• Date: 5 November 2026
• Sender's Signature: Priya Das
• M.O. Acknowledgement — Sender's Name and Address: Priya Das, Panigaon Road, Nagaon, Assam, PIN 782001
• Space for Communication: "Dear Rahul, here is the money for your new school books. Happy birthday! — Priya"

The part marked "For Official Use Only" is left blank; it is filled in by the post office staff and the payee.

What would you write in the 'Space for Communication'?

I would write a short personal message for the receiver, such as the reason for sending the money, a greeting or good wishes, because the receiver gets no other letter with the money order.

Now complete the following statements.

(i) In addition to the sender, the form has to be signed by the receiver (the payee), and also by the post office officials (the assistant, the postmaster and the paying official).

(ii) The 'Acknowledgement' section of the form is sent back by the post office to the sender after the receiver (payee) signs it.

(iii) The 'Space for Communication' section is used for writing a short message to the receiver.

(iv) The form has six sections. The sender needs to fill out three sections (the money order part, the sender's name and address on the acknowledgement, and the space for communication) and the receiver two (the "Received Rupees" part with the payee's signature and the signature on the acknowledgement).

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 5)

1. What did Lencho hope for?

Lencho hoped for rain. His field of ripe corn needed "a downpour or at least a shower" for a good harvest, so he spent the whole morning watching the sky towards the north-east.

2. Why did Lencho say the raindrops were like 'new coins'?

Lencho compared the raindrops to new coins because the rain meant money for him. It would give him a rich harvest, which he could sell. He said the big drops were "ten cent pieces" and the little ones were "fives".

3. How did the rain change? What happened to Lencho's fields?

A strong wind began to blow, and the rain changed into a heavy hailstorm with very large hailstones. For an hour the hail fell on the whole valley. Lencho's corn was totally destroyed, the flowers were gone and not a leaf remained on the trees. The field looked white, "as if covered with salt".

4. What were Lencho's feelings when the hail stopped?

Lencho's soul was filled with sadness. He felt that the hail had left nothing, not even what a plague of locusts would have left. He was worried that his family would have no corn that year and would go hungry.

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 6)

1. Who or what did Lencho have faith in? What did he do?

Lencho had complete faith in God, whose eyes, he believed, see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience. He wrote a letter to God asking for a hundred pesos to sow his field again and to live until the next crop. He wrote "To God" on the envelope and posted it in town.

2. Who read the letter?

The postmaster read the letter. A postman who also helped at the post office first noticed the strange address "To God" and, laughing heartily, showed it to his boss. The postmaster, "a fat, amiable fellow", also laughed at first, but soon turned serious and admired the writer's faith: "What faith!"

3. What did the postmaster do then?

The postmaster decided to answer the letter so that the writer's faith in God would not be shaken. He collected money from his employees, gave part of his own salary and asked his friends to contribute. He could collect only a little more than half of the hundred pesos. He put the money in an envelope addressed to Lencho with a letter signed "God".

Oral Comprehension Check (Page 7)

1. Was Lencho surprised to find a letter for him with money in it?

No, Lencho was not at all surprised. He "showed not the slightest surprise" because he was fully confident that God would answer his prayer and send the money.

2. What made him angry?

Lencho became angry when he counted the money and found only seventy pesos instead of the hundred he had asked for. He believed God could not make a mistake or refuse him, so he concluded that the post office employees had stolen the rest.

Thinking about the Text

1. Who does Lencho have complete faith in? Which sentences in the story tell you this?

Lencho has complete faith in God. Several sentences show this:

• "But in the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God."
• "All through the night, Lencho thought only of his one hope: the help of God, whose eyes, as he had been instructed, see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience."
• "Lencho showed not the slightest surprise on seeing the money; such was his confidence."
• "God could not have made a mistake, nor could he have denied Lencho what he had requested."

His act of writing a letter "To God" and posting it is itself the strongest proof of his faith.

2. Why does the postmaster send money to Lencho? Why does he sign the letter 'God'?

The postmaster is deeply moved by Lencho's simple faith. He says, "What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter." He sends the money "in order not to shake the writer's faith in God". He wants Lencho to believe that God has really answered him. That is why he signs the letter "God". If he had signed his own name, Lencho would have known that the money came from a human being, and his trust in God might have been broken. By signing as God, the postmaster keeps both his good deed and his own identity hidden.

3. Did Lencho try to find out who had sent the money to him? Why/Why not?

No, Lencho did not try to find out who had sent the money. He was completely sure that God had sent it in reply to his letter. His faith was so firm and unquestioning that he never doubted it for a moment. He "showed not the slightest surprise" on seeing the money. Since he believed the sender was God, there was nothing for him to find out. He only wondered why the full amount had not reached him, and he blamed the post office staff for it.

4. Who does Lencho think has taken the rest of the money? What is the irony in the situation? (Remember that the irony of a situation is an unexpected aspect of it. An ironic situation is strange or amusing because it is the opposite of what is expected.)

Lencho thinks that the post office employees have taken the rest of the money. In his second letter he calls them "a bunch of crooks" and asks God not to send the money through the mail.

The irony is that these very employees are the people who helped him. The postmaster and his staff gave money from their own salaries and collected the seventy pesos out of pure kindness. Instead of thanks, they are accused of theft by the man they helped. Lencho trusts an unseen God completely but distrusts the real human beings who actually answered his prayer. The postmaster, who wanted to keep Lencho's faith alive, ends up being called a crook.

5. Are there people like Lencho in the real world? What kind of a person would you say he is? You may select appropriate words from the box to answer the question.

Yes, there are people like Lencho in the real world. Many simple, hard-working people, especially in villages, believe that God will solve all their problems and accept whatever happens as God's will.

Lencho is a hard-working farmer, "an ox of a man", who loves his land and his family. From the box, he can best be described as naive and unquestioning. He is naive because he believes that a letter addressed "To God" will be delivered and answered, and he cannot imagine that human beings sent the money. His faith is unquestioning because he never asks who sent the money. He also appears ungrateful, though not on purpose, since he insults the very people who helped him. His behaviour at the end is a little comical as well. However, he is not greedy, stupid or selfish; he asks only for what his family needs to survive.

6. There are two kinds of conflict in the story: between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. How are these conflicts illustrated?

The conflict between humans and nature is shown through the hailstorm. Lencho needs rain for his ripe corn, and at first the rain comes as a blessing. But soon a strong wind and large hailstones destroy the entire crop. Not a leaf remains on the trees. Nature, which promised a good harvest, takes away all that the farmer has worked for, and he is helpless against it.

The conflict between humans themselves is shown at the end of the story. The postmaster and his employees help Lencho by sending seventy pesos. Lencho, however, believes they have stolen thirty pesos and calls them "a bunch of crooks". This conflict exists only in Lencho's mind, but it shows how distrust and misunderstanding can arise between people even when one side has acted out of kindness.

Thinking about Language

I. There are different names in different parts of the world for storms, depending on their nature. Can you match the names in the box with their descriptions below, and fill in the blanks? You may use a dictionary to help you.

Box: gale, whirlwind, cyclone, hurricane, tornado, typhoon

1. A violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle: _ _ c _ _ _ _

cyclone

2. An extremely strong wind: _ a _ _

gale

3. A violent tropical storm with very strong winds: _ _ p _ _ _ _

typhoon

4. A violent storm whose centre is a cloud in the shape of a funnel: _ _ _ n _ _ _

tornado

5. A violent storm with very strong winds, especially in the western Atlantic Ocean: _ _ r _ _ _ _ _ _

hurricane

6. A very strong wind that moves very fast in a spinning movement and causes a lot of damage: _ _ _ _ l _ _ _ _

whirlwind

II. Match the sentences in Column A with the meanings of 'hope' in Column B.

III. Relative Clauses — Join the sentences given below using who, whom, whose, which, as suggested.

1. I often go to Mumbai. Mumbai is the commercial capital of India. (which)

I often go to Mumbai, which is the commercial capital of India.

2. My mother is going to host a TV show on cooking. She cooks very well. (who)

My mother, who cooks very well, is going to host a TV show on cooking.

3. These sportspersons are going to meet the President. Their performance has been excellent. (whose)

These sportspersons, whose performance has been excellent, are going to meet the President.

4. Lencho prayed to God. His eyes see into our minds. (whose)

Lencho prayed to God, whose eyes see into our minds.

5. This man cheated me. I trusted him. (whom)

This man, whom I trusted, cheated me.

IV. Using Negatives for Emphasis — Find sentences in the story with negative words, which express the following ideas emphatically.

1. The trees lost all their leaves.

"Not a leaf remained on the trees."

2. The letter was addressed to God himself.

"It was nothing less than a letter to God."

3. The postman saw this address for the first time in his career.

"Never in his career as a postman had he known that address."

V. Metaphors — In pairs, find metaphors from the story to complete the table below. Try to say what qualities are being compared. One has been done for you.

Speaking

Have you ever been in great difficulty, and felt that only a miracle could help you? How was your problem solved? Speak about this in class with your teacher.

A model talk:

"Good morning, everyone. Last year, two days before my Class IX final examination, I lost my admit card while travelling on a crowded bus from Nagaon town. I searched everywhere but could not find it. I felt that only a miracle could save me. That evening, a stranger knocked at our door. He was the bus conductor. He had found my admit card under a seat and had travelled to our locality to return it, using the address written on it. I could not thank him enough. That day I learnt that miracles often come through kind and honest people. Like the postmaster in 'A Letter to God', he helped someone he did not even know. Thank you."

You may also speak about an illness in the family, a flood, or a time when a teacher or friend helped you unexpectedly.

Listening

Listen to the letter (given under 'In This Lesson') read out by your teacher/on the audio tape. As you listen fill in the table given below.

Listen carefully for names, dates, places and reasons, and note them in a word or two as you hear them. The completed table, based on Jaya's letter to Arti: