The Squirrel
By Mildred Bowers Armstrong
Page No: 17
You may
have seen a squirrel sitting on the ground eating a nut. What did it look like?
Answer– The squirrel is a rodent. His colour is grey
with brown stripes on its body. It looks like a baby rabbit as it is very small
in size with fur on its body. He generally lives in trees and is very quick.
Squirrel likes to eat nuts. It has a very bushy tail. It is a cute and naughty
animal.
Working with the Poem
1. Why does the poet say the squirrel “wore a question mark for tail”? Draw a squirrel, or find a picture of a squirrel sitting on the ground. How would you describe its tail?
Answer-
The poet said the squirrel “wore a question mark for tail” because the shape of the tail of squirrel sitting on the ground looks very similar to the question mark.
I would describe it as the fur of clothes clutched together or bushy shaped.
2. Do we usually say that an animal ‘wears’ a tail? What do we say? (Think: Does an animal wear a coat? Consult a dictionary if you like, and find out how ‘wear’ is used in different ways.)
Answer– No, we do not usually say that an animal ‘wears’ a tail. We usually say that animal ‘has’ a tail.
3. “He liked to tease and play”. Who is teasing whom? How?
Answer– The squirrel is teasing the poet and his
friends. When poet and his friends ran around the tree on which the squirrel is
sitting, it went the other way teasing and playing with them.