The Adventure of Toto (Moment)

The Adventure of Toto By Ruskin Bond - (Moments)

Lesson : 2 (Page: 7-11)

Video Summary in Hindi is available here

Question 1. How does Toto come to grand-father’s private zoo?
Answer: Grandfather loved animals. One day he saw this attractive monkey with a tonga- driver. The monkey was tied to a feeding- trough and seemed out of place there. Grandfather had great liking for animals. So he decided to buy Toto from the tonga- driver and bought it for five rupees.

Question 2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
Answer: Toto had bright eyes sparkling with mischief, pearly white teeth, quick and wicked fingers and a gracious tail which served as a third hand. The smile of Toto was cute and frightened elderly Anglo- Indian ladies. Altogether all these qualities made him pretty.

Question 3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
Answer: Toto was a mischievous monkey. He kept disturbing all other animals in grandfather’s private zoo. It seemed that only grandfather could manage him properly. So, he took Toto to Saharanpur in a bag. The ticket collector called Toto a dog as the monkey did not qualify the category of human beings.

Question 4. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive?
Answer: Toto cunningly tested the temperature with his hand then gradually stepped into the bath. He stepped first one foot, then the other, until he was into the water up to his neck. He rubbed himself all over with the soap. He learned it all from the author. Someday Toto got in a large kitchen kettle which was on fire to boil. He enjoyed the warm water but when the water turned out to be hot he jumped up and down. Suddenly the grandmother arrived and pulled him out in half-boiled condition.

Question 5. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?
Answer: Author’s statement about Toto proves itself if we take Toto’s misdeeds into consideration. Nobody could afford the frequent losses. He disturbed all other animals too. Obviously Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long.

Short Answer Questions (2 marks each)
(About 30-40 words each)

Question 1: Why did the author’s grandfather decide to buy Toto?
Answer: Grandfather was an animal lover and took pity on Toto as it was kept tied to a feeding trough. Toto looked out of place and grandfather decided to bring it to his private zoo. He was much impressed by Toto.

Question 2: Why could not Toto and Nana become friends?
Answer: Toto was very naughty and wicked and could not stay still for a long time. Nana was a well behaved and docile animal. When they were together Toto bit on the long ears of Nana and Nana got annoyed with Toto. Thus, Nana and Toto could not become friends.

Question 3: How does Toto become a problem to grandfather while going to Saharanpur?
Answer: While going to Saharanpur, Toto behaved well. When grandfather was producing his ticket, Toto suddenly poked his head out of the bag. He gave the ticket collector a wide grin. The ticket collector insisted that grandfather must buy the ticket for the pet. And proved to be a big problem for grandfather.

Question 4: Where was Toto kept immediately after grandfather got him ? Why?
Answer: Toto was kept in a closet. He was tied securely to a peg because his presence was to be kept a secret from the writer’s grandmother as she abhorred animals.

Question 5: Who was Nana ? How did Toto tease Nana?
Answer: Nana was the family donkey. Toto was kept in the stable with Nana, where Toto U9ed to tease Nana by fastbiting on to her long ears with his sharp little teeth. Even Nana got fed up with Toto.

Question 6: In what sense was Toto “a pretty monkey”.
Answer: Toto’s bright eyes sparkled with mischief beneath deep-set eye brows. His pearly white teeth often displayed a smile that had the innocence of a child yet there was an underlined tinge of naughtiness and mischievousness.

Question 7: How did Toto's Love for taking bathe almost led to his being half – boiled?
Answer: Toto used to love taking bath in hot water. Once when a kettle was kept on fire with water to boil for tea, Toto sat in it. When the water began to boil, Toto tried getting up but found outside cold. So he again sat down. He kept on hopping outside and then again inside and after sometime he started enjoying this game.

Question 8: Why did the grandfather give away Toto, the monkey?
Answer: Toto was very naughty and he troubled everyone. The other pets were not happy with him and he broke a lot of dishes, tore clothes, curtains and wallpapers. He had become very difficult to handle and so grandfather gave Toto away.

Question 9: Why did the grandfather hide Toto for some time when he brought him home?
Answer: Grandmother was not very fond of animals. When he used to bring a new arsenal or bird, she used to make a lot of fuss. To avoid this, grandfather hid Toto for some time and announced his arrival to her when she wps in a good mood.

Question 10: Why did grandfather decide to take Toto along with him to Dehradun?
Answer: Grandfather decided to take Toto along with him to Dehradun as there were many other pets also / that lived there. But Toto would not allow any of his companions to sleep at night. So, he made this decision.

Question 11: Give-the names of Grandfather’s pets. Where did they live?
Answer: The names of the Grandfather’s pets were Nana the donkey and Toto the monkey a tortoise, a pair of rabbits, a tame squirrel and a goat. They lived in a big cage in the servant’s quarters.