The author’s grandfather was a great lover of animals. He had made a zoo at home in which he would keep animals and gave them a lot of care. In his zoo, one could see a tortoise, a pair of rabbits, a tame squirrel and pet goats. One day he saw a pretty monkey. The monkey was a pet animal of a tonga driver. The tonga driver used to keep the red monkey tied with the feeding trough but it looked extremely tragic there. When the grandfather saw the monkey, he was so fascinated that he purchased the monkey from the tonga driver for a total of five rupees.
However, Toto’ a presence was not revealed at home because the grandmother disliked the new arrival of animals at home. Toto was extremely insidious and destructive. When the writer and his grandfather concealed Toto in a pantry and fixing him to a peg, he broke the peg, tore wallpapers and author’s blazer and caused ruin in the room. The following day, when he was kept in the servant’s room with different other animals, he didn’t give them a chance to rest throughout the night. In this way, he never let other animals live in harmony with the other pets. He proved to be an expensive deal.
One day the grandfather had to go to Saharanpur for work, he chose to take the monkey along with him. He conveyed Toto in a solid sack made of canvas and shut the zip pleasantly so that Toto couldn’t get away. Toto made unsuccessful attempts to escape the sack, which made the sack back bounce and roll. This excited the interest of individual travellers at the railway station. At the Saharanpur railway station when grandfather was getting his ticket checked, Toto looked out of the sack and grinned at the ticket collector. As the ticket collector proclaimed that it was a dog, grandfather needed to purchase a fare ticket for 3 rupees for him.
When at last grandmother came to know about Toto and also acknowledged him, it was given a place in the stable along with the donkey Nana. Toto did not coexist with Nana too. The night Toto passed with Nana was full of disturbance. When Grandfather visited the stable he found Toto fastened on to Nana’s long ears with his sharp little teeth. They could never become friends.
The Adventures of Toto | Questions And Answers
Question No.1 How did Toto come to grandfathers private zoo?
Answer:- Toto was a pet animal of a tonga driver who used to tie the monkey to a feeding trough. When the grandfather saw the monkey, he thought that the monkey would be a good thing for his private zoo. Thus, he bought Toto from the tongawallah for five rupees.
Question No. 2 Toto was a pretty monkey In what sense is Toto pretty?
Answer:- Toto was a pretty beast in the sense that it had pearly white teeth and bright mischievous eyes. His tail, besides helping him scooping up things, also added to his good looks.
Question No. 3 Why does Grandfather take Toto to Saranpur and how?
Answer:- Toto was a menace for everyone in the household. He would not let the other pets sleep at night. So, in order to provide some relief to other animals in the zoo Grandfather thought of carrying Toto to Saharanpur with himself. He fetched a canvas kit bag, put Toto in it and carried him to Saharanpur.
Question No.4 Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
Answer: The ticket collector was following his rulebooks. As there seems to be no rule for fixing a monkey’s fare, so he equated Toto with a dog for the monkey was a quadruped. Ticket collector’s insight categorised all pets of a certain size and form as dogs.
Question No.5 How does Toto take a bath? Where has be learnt to do this?
Answer:- Toto firstly tests the temperature of the water with his hand. Then he steps into the bath until he is neck-deep into the water. After that, he starts rubbing himself with a cake of soap. As monkeys are good at aping others, Toto has also learnt all these steps of bathing while watching the narrator doing the same.
Question No.6 How does Toto almost boil himself alive?
Answer: A large kettle full of water has been left on the fire to boil for the tea. Finding the water warm enough, Toto tumbles into it. He is on tenterhooks when the water starts boiling. It seems Toto is not intelligent enough to understand the danger of hot water so he pops his head up and down in the kettle. Fortunately, Grandmother sees and hauls him half boiled out of the kettle. OR
Toto was an adventurous and mischievous monkey. He enjoyed upsetting everything. He enjoyed a bath.
Once a large kettle containing water had been left on the fire to prepare tea. Toto removed the lid and got into
the kettle. Soon the water began to boil. Grandmother happened to come into the kitchen. She saw that Toto stood in the kettle. She hauled him out of the kettle.
Actually grandmother saved his life, otherwise, Toto would have burnt himself alive.
Question No.7 Which activity of Toto annoyed grandmother?
Answer: Grandmother had arranged a large dish of pullao on the dining table for lunch. Finding the food on the table, Toto picked up the dish of pullao and escaped out through a window. He stayed in the branches of the jackfruit and stuffed with all the grains of rice. After that, he threw the dish down from the tree. When the dish broke into pieces, he chattered with merriment. Nobody would like such kind of behaviour, and grandmother was no exception.
Question No. 8 Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?
Answer:- Toto had adopted a habit of ruining things, tearing clothes and breaking dishes. The author was not in the position to afford the repeated loss of things because he was not well-to-do. So, he says, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”.
The Adventures of Toto | Extra Short Answer Type Questions
Ans. Toto was kept in a canvas kit-bag. The canvas was too strong for him to bite. Toto wanted to escape. While making efforts to get out, he occasionally rolled about or jumped into the air. As he was inside the bag, the onlookers could not see him. In this way, the onlookers on the Dehradun platform got attracted.
Q. Give one instance showing Toto was a mischievous beast.
Ans. No doubt, Toto was mischievous. He kept creating problems not only for animals but for the members of the family also. The night Toto passed with Nana was full of disturbance. When Grandfather visited the stable he found Toto fastened on to Nana’s long ears with his sharp little teeth. They could never become friends.
Q. Why did the grandfather decide to buy Toto?
Ans. Toto seemed out of place with the tonga-drive. He looked pretty also. Grandfather wanted to include him in his zoo. So, he decided to buy him.
Q. Toto’s tail acts as a third hand for him. How?
Ans. In addition to adding its good looks, Toto’s tail works like a third hand for it. He can hang on to the branches of trees with its help. Moreover, with it, he can reach up to a thing which is out of his hand’s reach.
Q. Toto arrival at home was not revealed by grandfather? Why?
Ans. Grandmother did not like the arrival of any new animal or bird in the house. Grandfather wanted to avoid the fuss. He waited for a favourable time to tell her. So, he hid him.
They put Toto in the closet. They came back after a few hours and found that Toto had pulled the peg out of the wall. He had also cleared off the wallpaper, which grandfather had decorated with.
The Adventures of Toto | Value-Based Long Answer Questions
Q. Monkeys are naughty like a kid. Discuss.
Ans. Monkeys are naughty like a kid. They love to destroy things. They feel pleasure in tearing things. They are habitual of turning everything into rags. They want to live freely on their will. So if someone tries to check them, they get annoyed. In general sense, monkeys are not faithful animals. As in the story ‘The Adventure of Toto’, Toto not only creates chaos in the house but also annoys grandmother in different manners. He breaks things and feels delighted in teasing grandmother. Overall, he does not like to live in the limitation. So he creates various troubles for the family members.
Q. Do you have a pet? If yes, is it mischievous like Toto?
Ans. Yes, I have a pet. It is a dog. It is also very mischievous but not as mischievous as Toto. Its name is Puffy. It was only a month old when I brought it home. In the beginning, it caused a lot of problems for us but gradually it improved. We provided him with training also. It does not damage the objects around him. He plays with his toys only. He is very friendly with our guests also. He can differentiate between known and strangers. When Puffy is there, no intruder can dare to enter the house. He is very powerful. He is nowhere similar to Toto. Thus it is true that a dog is a faithful animal.
Q. Do you think it is good to restrict the freedom of animals?
Ans. Animals and men are the creations of God. They like to live a free life in nature. Freedom is loved by all. But these days many animals are kept in cages.
Although they are kept as pets, they lead the life of slaves. People keep them as pets for entertainment but their freedom is restricted. The life of these animals is confined to the cages when they like to walk, run and move freely in nature. God has created
natural habitats for them. Forests provide them shelter and the running streams give them water to drink. But when these animals are caged and given not sufficient food to eat, sadness develops in their life. Their hearts weep for freedom. Therefore, it is not reasonable to keep animals in cages and restrict their freedom.
Q. Was grandfather right in keeping Toto in his private zoo? OR Why did grandfather sold back Toto to The tonga driver?
Ans. Grandfather had immense love for animals. He had created a private Zoo in the house. In his zoo, one could see a tortoise, a pair of rabbits, a tame squirrel and pet goats. He took the special care when grandmother had an aversion for pets. When Toto was brought home, his arrival was kept a secret. Toto was a naughty monkey.
All the time he kept creating problems in the family. Since the very day Toto entered the house, he started damaging the household things. He pulled out the peg, tore wallpapers and the author’s blazer. Moreover, he never let other animals live in harmony with the other pets. He proved to be an expensive deal. So, grandfather was not right in keeping Toto in his private zoo. Grandfather should also have kept in mind the likes and dislikes of grandmother.
Q. Grandfather was a great lover of animals. Discuss.
Ans. Grandfather was a kind-hearted person. He was an animal lover by choice. He had his own private zoo
in his house. He kept bringing home new animals that he liked. He was a fully determined person. He had a lot of patience and took all things positively. When he brought Toto, he felt satisfied. He wanted to keep Toto with other animals. But Toto kept disturbing other animals. Yet Grandfather transferred him frequently from one place to another in order to make Toto adjust with the other animals. He was a man of strong mind and body. His taste made him a naturalist. He enjoyed his life in the lap of nature. He treated his pet animals as his family members.
The Adventures of Toto | Language Work:
I) Use the following phrases in your own sentences.
1. Out of place: She seems out of place in our class.
2. Out of reach: I tried to call him, but he was out of reach.
Provide for: All the facilities were provided for the same.
In vain: He tried to convince his brother, but all in vain.
Taken aback: He was not taken aback by the warning.
Well-to-do: Her dresses say she might be well-to-do at home.
Make an exit: Whenever I enter his room, he makes a quick exit.
Get hold: She aggressively gets hold of his collar.
Scoop up: He tried to scoop up the book on the shelf but could not reach it.
II) Use ‘too’ in the following sentences and make modifications wherever necessary:
The question was so difficult that he could not solve.
~The question was too difficult for him to solve.
She is so weak that she cannot stand.
~She is too weak to stand.
He is so clever that he cannot be cheated.
~He is too clever to be cheated.
It was so hot that he could not stand in sun.
~It was too hot for him to stand in the sun.
It was so dark that he could not see anything.
~It was too dark for him to see anything.
