NCERT Solutions For Class 9 English Moments Chapter 2 The Adventures of Toto

NCERT Textbook Questions

Think about it
(Page 11)

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. Some day 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 at 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.

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.

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

Question 1:
Why did the author’s grandfather decide to buy Toto ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-016)
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? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-019)
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?
(Board Term 1,2012; ELI-020)
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 ?
(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-020)
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 ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-023)
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”. (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-027)
Answer:
Tito’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’slove for taking bathe almost led to his being half – boiled ?
(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-030)
Answer:
Toto used to love taking bathe 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 aw^y Toto, the monkey ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-031)
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 wall papers. 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?
(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-035)
Answer:
Grandmother was not very fond of animals. When he used to bring a new artftnal 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 Dehra Dun ?
(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-042)
Answer:
Grandfather decided to take Toto along with him to Dehra Dim 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 ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-045)
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.

Long Answer Type Questions (4 marks each)
(About 80-100 words)

Question 1:
Write your views in the form of short paragraph on the topic “Should animals be kept as a pet”. (SA-1,2014-15)
OR
While keeping pets at home, what all things should be kept in mind ?
(Board Tenn, Sept 1,2013 K2G41GH)
Answer:
Before bringing a pet in the house, we should remember that these animals can neither speak nor express as humans. As a pet owner we should know that there are a number of dangers that lurk in our households for these little creatures. We should always keep pesticides and medicines at a bay from the animals and children as they are a potential threat to them. The areas where pets might start fire inadverently such as kitchen or fire places or plugs should be covered, we should never have pets unattended around the open flames. Small electrical couds are also harmful for them hence they would be wounded and kept at distance. All the pots and oil bottles should be properly closed.

Question 2:
How can you say that Toto was a mischievous pet ? (Board Term 1,2012, EL1-Q13)
Answer:
Toto was indeed a very mischievous pet. He tore the wall papers of the rooms, and also tore the school blazer. He troubled other fellow animals. He even managed to get himself into trouble by nearly half boiling himself in a kettle. He made holes in dresses and curtains. Once he even scared the ticket checker. He even broke dishes in the houses. He proved to be a big troublemaker for everyone. Thus, we can say that Toto was a mischievous pet.

Question 3:
Describe the incident at Dehradun railway station after reading the story, The Adventures of Toto’. (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-014)
Answer:
Grandfather had to go to Saharanpur. So, he decided to put Toto in a big black canvas bag for the train journey. When they reached the station Toto started jumping on the platform and everyone was surprised to see a bag jumping and moving about. When the ticket collector came then Toto poked his head out of the bag. The ticket collector wanted grandfather to buy a ticket for him and grandfather did not want to. Finally the ticket collector had his way.

Question 4:
“Toto was not good enough to be kept at home.” Do you agree to this state-ment. Why/why not.(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-017)
Answer:
Yes, Toto was not good enough to be kept at home. He was upto some kind of mischief all the time. He tore the wall papers of the rooms, and also tore the school blazer. He troubled other fellow animals. He even managed to get himself into trouble by nearly boiling himself in a kettle. He made holes in dresses and curtains. Once he even scared the ticket checker also. He even broke dishes in the houses. Thus, it was not easy to keep him at home. ‘

Question 5:
“Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long.” Explain giving examples from the text.(Board Term 1,2012, ELI-027)
Answer:
“Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long.” because he was very mischievous. He scratched the plaster of the walls, tore the school blazer and qpnt’s dresses. He threw plates at grandmother and glasses of water at one of the aunt’s face. He used to break the dishes of pulav into pieces. And they could not afford the frequent loss of dishes, clothes, curtains and wallpaper.

Question 6:
Grandfather was a great lover of animals. Describe. (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-039)
Answer:
Narrator’s grandfather had a great liking for animal. He had tortoise, a pair of rabbits, a tame squirrel, a goat but no monkey. With the coming of Toto his mini ZQQ was transformed into a real zoo. He had a variety of pet animals in that zoo. He frequently bough^tnany varieties of animals to keep them in his zoo. Due to this, he even faced tra anger of his wife at times and when he brought Toto he was very happy with his cleverness.

Question 7:
How does Toto take a bathe ? Where has he learnt to do this ? (Board Term 1,2012, ELI-041)
Answer:
Toto takes bathe in a tub’ of warm water. It puts its legs in the water one by one and applies soap as well. As monkeys are good at aping others, so Toto has learnt proper steps of bathing while watching the narrator doing the same. He wanted to take a bath and in order to do it, he sat in the boiling water of kettle also.