THINK ABOUT IT

Page 11

Q1. How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?
Answer: Grandfather buys Toto from a tonga-driver for the sum of five rupees. The tonga-driver used to keep the monkey tied to a feeding-trough, and Grandfather, feeling the monkey was out of place there, decided to add the little fellow to his private zoo.

Q2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
Answer: Toto was a pretty monkey with bright, mischievous eyes and pearly white teeth that often frightened elderly Anglo-Indian ladies. His hands looked dried up, but his fingers were quick and wicked. His tail added to his good looks and also served as a third hand, which he used to hang from branches and scoop up delicacies.

Q3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
Answer: Grandfather takes Toto to Saharanpur because Toto would not let any of the other pets in the private zoo sleep at night. He puts Toto in a big black canvas kit-bag with some straw at the bottom and takes him on the train. The ticket collector insists on calling Toto a dog because, from the outside of the bag, Toto’s rolling and jumping movements made it impossible to identify him as anything else. Also, the ticket collector wanted to charge Grandfather a fare for carrying an animal.

Q4. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive?
Answer: Toto takes a bath in a large bowl of warm water during cold winter evenings. He cunningly tests the water temperature with his hand and then gradually steps into the bath. He has learned this by watching the narrator. One day, Toto nearly boils himself alive by getting into a kitchen kettle that was on the fire to boil for tea. He continued hopping up and down as the water heated up until Grandmother arrived and hauled him out.

Q5. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?
Answer: The author says this because Toto was extremely mischievous and destructive. He was always tearing things to pieces, including clothes, curtains, and wallpaper. The family was not well-to-do and could not afford the frequent financial losses caused by Toto’s antics. Grandfather finally realized this and sold Toto back to the tonga-driver.