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Class 9, The Adventure of Toto Introduction to the lesson, This is a humorous and adventurous story of a naughty monkey named ‘Toto’. The writer’s, grandfather bought the monkey from a tonga driver. The pranks played by Toto have been narrated in, an interesting way and make the story a must read for us., Summary, The writer’s grandfather liked to collect animals and had a zoo at home. Once he bought a, monkey named Toto from a tonga driver for a sum of five rupees., Toto was kept secretly as the grandmother disliked animals. Toto was very mischievous. When, the writer and his grandfather hid Toto in a cupboard, and tied him to a hook, he broke the, hook and caused havoc in the room. The next day, when he was kept in the servants room, along with other animals, he did not let them sleep all night., As grandfather had to go to Saharanpur for work, he decided to take the monkey along with, him. He carried Toto in a strong bag made of canvas and closed the zip nicely so that Toto could, not escape. Toto made unsuccessful attempts to get out of the bag, which made the back jump, and roll. This aroused the curiosity of fellow passengers at the railway station. At the, Saharanpur railway station, when grandfather was getting his ticket checked, Toto peeked out, of the bag and smiled at the ticket collector. As the ticket collector declared that it was a dog,, grandfather had to buy a ticket for 3 rupees, much to his annoyance., When toto was accepted by grandmother, it was given a place in the stable along with the, donkey- Nana. Toto did not get along with nana as well., Toto enjoyed taking bath in warm water during the winter season. One day, he almost boiled, himself when he jumped into a kettle of boiling water., One afternoon, Toto ate the family meal of pulao. He threw the empty dish from the tree and it, broke it into several pieces., Toto’s mischiefs grew by the day and grandfather realized that they could not keep him at, home. Finally, he found the same tonga driver and sold Toto back to him for a sum of three, rupees., , Vocabulary words, Anglo-lndian: a person relating to both britain and india, Scooping up: lifting, Peg: a hook, Naked: uncovered, Wrenched: broke
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Shreds: cut into thin slices, Abode: home, Vain: an unsuccessful attempt, Quadruped: an animal which has 4 feet, Prodded: pushed, Hauled him: pulled him out, Chattered: the sound made by the monkey, Question and Answers, 1. How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?, A. The writer‘s grandfather liked to collect animals and had made a zoo at home. One, day, he saw a red-coloured monkey tied to a trough with a tonga driver. He liked the, monkey and wanted to add it to his collection. He bought Toto from the tonga driver for, a sum of five rupees., 2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?, A. The writer says that Toto was pretty. He had bright, shining eyes which were full of, mischief. His teeth were like pearls. He had a long tail which was like a third hand for, him. The writer’s grandfather felt that a tail added to the beauty of an animal. So, Toto, was thought to be a pretty animal., 3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why does the ticket collector insist on, calling Toto a dog?, A. Grandfather took Toto along with himself to Saharanpur because as he was, mischievous, it was not safe to leave him alone at home. A bag made of strong canvas, material was arranged. Some straw was placed in it. Toto was placed inside the bag and, the bag was sealed with the zipper., The ticket collector did not accept grandfather‘s claim that Toto was not a dog. He called it a dog and, charged a ticket fee for it because only dogs were allowed to travel on trains. If Toto had to travel by, train, then, he would have to be termed a dog., 4. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself, alive?, A. Toto would check the temperature of the water by inserting his hand in it. Then he, would step into the tub, one foot at a time. Finally, he would sit in it, with his face out., Then he would rub soap on his body. When the water became cold, he would jump out, and run to the stove in the kitchen to dry himself. He had learnt this way of bathing, from the writer.
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On day, Toto jumped into a kettle of water kept on the stove for boiling as he found it warm enough for, a bath. As the water grew hotter, he thought of ascending but the cold weather made him go back into, the kettle. Toto kept on doing this for a while till he was spotted by the grandmother. She pulled him out, of the kettle in time or else he would have boiled himself that day., 5. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?, A. The author says that Toto was not the kind of pet that they could keep for long because, he was extremely mischievous. He destroyed many things – he tore the wallpapers,, clothes and curtains. He broke dishes too. The family could not afford all this and so,, decided to get rid of Toto., Talk about it, (Page 11), Question 1., Do you have a pet? Is your pet mis-chievous? Tell the class about it., Answer:, Yes, I have a pet dog named Moti. My father had brought him from my maternal uncle’s house when he, was very small. Moti is like a member of my family. I have special attachment to him. He is very active, and vigilant. He is an epitome of loyalty. He keeps sitting beside the main gate at night. Whenever there, is any unknown sound inside my house, he starts barking. All the members of my family love Moti very, much. Moti proves to be really a gem many a time. He keeps us safe all the time. Our Moti is not, mischievous. He is very sensible and sensitive as well. We feel secure in his presence. I pray to God to, keep him healthy.