Lesson 9- A Tiger in the House

 

A Tiger in the House

Ruskin Bond

Comprehension Check (Page No: 60)

1.
“He had the distinction of being the only member of the party to have
bagged any game…

The
phrase in italics means
(i) Grandfather was the most distinguished member of the party.
(ii) Grandfather was the only sportsperson in the party.
(iii) Grandfather was the only successful member of the hunting party.

Answer– (iii)
Grandfather was the only successful member of the hunting party.

2.
Complete the following sentences.

(i)
Toto climbed up the curtains when ————————

(ii)———————————————
,I became one of the tiger’s favourites.

(iii)
Timothy had clean habits, ———————————————————

Answer

(i) Toto climbed up
the curtains when Timothy lost his temper.
(ii) One of Timothy’s favourite amusements was to stalk anyone who would
play with him, and so, when I came to live with Grandfather
, I became one
of the tiger’s favourites.

(iii) Timothy had
clean habits, and would scrub his face with his paws exactly like a cat.

Comprehension Check (Page No:
64)

1.
Grandmother’s prophecy was that the tiger

(i) would prefer Mahmoud’s bed to
sleep in.
(ii) and the cook would disappear together from the house.
(iii) would one day make a meal of Mahmoud.

Answer– (iii) would one day make a meal of Mahmoud.

2.
When Timothy was about six months old, a change came over him.

The
phrase in italics means that

(i) Timothy had grown to his full
size.

(ii) Timothy grew more friendly.

(iii) Timothy grew less friendly, in
fact more dangerous

Answer– (iii) Timothy grew less friendly, in fact more dangerous.

3.
Write ‘True’ or ‘False’ against each of the following statements.

(i) Timothy and Grandfather went to
Lucknow in a special compartment.          False

(ii) The compartment in which
Grandfather and Timothy travelled had no other passenger.                                                                                                 True
(iii) Timothy and Grandfather travelled in a first class compartment.                 True
(iv) All passengers in the compartment thought that Timothy was a well-fed and civilized
tiger.                                                                                                 False

4.
Grandfather suggested that Timothy should be put in another cage. The reason
was that

(i) the tiger had become very bad
tempered.

(ii) a leopard in the next cage
would constantly rush at Timothy.

(iii) the cage was too small for a
full grown tiger.

Answer– (ii) a leopard in
the next cage would constantly rush at Timothy.

5.
The tiger was still licking his arm, with increasing relish. The phrase
in italics suggests that Timothy

(i) was good natured.

(ii) recognised an old friend.

(iii) smelt fresh food.

Answer– (iii) smelt fresh food.

 


Answer the following questions. (Page No: 65)

 

  • Where was the tiger cub hiding when Grandfather found him?
    Answer
    – Grandfather found the tiger cub was
    hiding among the intricate roots of a banyan tree.
    2.
    (i) What did Toto do to entertain Timothy?
    Answer- Toto teased
    and pull Timothy by the tail to entertain him.   

(ii) What did he do when Timothy
lost his temper?
Answer-
Toto climbed up the curtains when Timothy lost
his temper.

 

3.
“I became one of the tiger’s favourites”. Who is ‘I’ in the
statement? Why did he think so?

Answer– In the statement ‘I’ refers to the narrator
of the story, Ruskin Bond. He think so because the tiger with a crafty look in
his glittering eyes and crouching his body creep closer and closer to the
author. Suddenly making a dash for his feet, rolling over on his back and
kicking with delight, and pretending to bite his ankles.

4.
Where was Timothy most comfortable during the day? Where was he during the
night?

Answer– Timothy was most comfortable on the long
sofa in the drawing room during the day which was his favourite place in the
house. He slept at night in the cook’s quarters.

5.
What was Grandmother’s prophecy about the cook? Did it come true?

Answer– Grandmother’s prophecy about the cook was
that one day Timothy sitting on cook’s bed would make a meal of cook with his
clothes and shoes left behind. However it didn’t come true because the tiger
had begun to stalk Mahmoud about the house with a villainous intent.


6. What made Grandfather decide to transfer
Timothy to the zoo?
Answer
– When Timothy was about six months old, he grew less
friendly. When out for a walk with the author, he would try to steal away to
stalk a cat or someone’s pet dog. Sometimes at night they heard frenzied
cackling from the poultry house, and in the morning, feathers were lying all
over the verandah. And finally, when he began to stalk Mahmoud about the house
with what looked like villainous intent, Grandfather decide to transfer Timothy
to the zoo.

7. Why did Grandfather want Timothy to
be put in another enclosure?
Answer
– A leopard in the next cage snarled at Timothy. Every
time, the leopard would rush at the bars and Timothy had to slink back to his
corner. So, Grandfather wanted Timothy to be put in another enclosure.

8.
What shocked Grandfather in the end?

Answer– Grandfather visited the zoo after six months
to see Timothy and went to the cage where he was put in straightly. When
Grandfather asked the keeper to transfer Timothy to another cage, he said that
the tiger in the cage was not Timothy. He was informed by the zoo keeper that
his tiger Timothy had died two months ago, which shocked him in the end. 

Discuss the following topics in
groups.

1.
Shoot animals with a camera, not with a gun.

2.
Keeping pets helps us become more loving and tolerant. It also helps us respect
life in any form. Do you agree?

3.
Have you heard of the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA)? What
do they do?

Answer- To be done by the students themselves