Chapter 8 The Bear Story
Exercise (Page 57)
Answer the following questions:
Question 1:
Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?
Answer:
The lady found the bear cub in the forest near her house. She fed him with bottle milk. Her cook helped her in this task.
Question 2:
The bear grew up but “he was a most amiable bear”. Give three examples to prove this.
Answer:
The friendly bear was harmless. He watched amicably at the cattle grazing in the field. The children used to ride his back safely. The three dogs loved to play all sorts of games with him, pull his ears and his stump of a tail and tease him in every way.
Question 3:
What did the bear eat? There were two things he was not allowed to do. What were they?
Answer:
The bear ate the same food as the dogs. He was given bread, porridge, potatoes, cabbages and turnips. He was a vegetarian. He liked the apple most.
He was not allowed to pluck apples from the tree and attack the beehive.
Question 4:
When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?
Answer:
The bear was usually tied up with a chain only at night and on Sundays when the lady visited her sister for lunch.
Question 5:
What happened one Sunday when the lady was going to her sister’s house? What did the lady do? What was the bear’s reaction?
Answer:
One Sunday while the lady was on way to her sister’s house, she heard the cracking of the branches behind her. She saw the bear following her. She punished him by hitting him on his nose with her umbrella. The bear turned round and went back.
Question 6:
Why was the bear looking sorry for himself in the evening? Why did the cook get angry with her mistress?
Answer:
The bear looked sad when the lady came back home in the evening. The poor creature had been in chains all day. He was kept waiting for the mistress to come and set him free.
The mistress scolded the bear for following her in the forest. The cook got angry. She told her mistress that the bear had been sitting gently all day and he didn’t to be treated harshly any more.
Discuss the following topics in groups.
Question 1:
Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Can you think of some unusual pets that people keep?
Question 2:
The second bear did not attack the lady because he was afraid of her. Do you agree?
Answers
1. The unusual pets that people often keep are wolves, bears and tigers, snakes and even crocodiles.
2. The lady while crossing found a raw bear. It seemed he was taken aback to see the self-confidence of the lady. Her fearless behaviour frightened him.
MORE QUESTIONS SOLVED
I. SHORT ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
In what ways did the bear become the lady’s pet animals?
Answer:
The lady gave milk to the half-dead bear and brought him up. The bear was friendly towards the dogs, children and other cattle grazing in the field. In this way he became the lady’s pet animal.
Question 2:
How did the bear grow up a vegetarian ?
Answer:
The bear cub was brought up on milk bottle. He was kept on bread, vegetables and fruit. He never tasted meat. So, he grew up a vegetarian.
Question 3:
Why did the bear climb up a tree and ate the apples ?
Answer:
The bear was fond of apples. He saw the apple trees in the orchard. He could not resist the temptation and climbed up the tree and ate the apples.
Question 4:
How was the bear punished when he attacked a beehive ?
Answer:
(i) The bear was hit on the nose, which bled.
(ii) He was put in chains for two days.
Question 5:
Why did the lady chain the bear on Sundays?
Answer:
The lady used to go to her sister’s house on Sundays. She chained the bear lest he should wander in the forest in her absence. She also feared that he would turn into a wild bear.
Question 6:
The cook loved the bear like her own son. Justify.
Answer:
The cook had brought up the baby bear on bittle milk. The lady wanted to punish the bear by chaining him for two days. The cook told the lady that the bear had not gone anywhere. She saved the bear from punishment. It shows that the cook loved the bear like her own son.
II. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Question 1:
Give the character sketch of the bear in The Bear Story’.
Answer:
The baby bear was brought up on milk. He ate only vegetarian food. He never tasted meat. He liked apples and honey. He never attacked the animals. He entered the stables of mountain ponies in a friendly manner. The dogs played with him and pulled his ears and tails. The children enjoyed a ride on his back. He was quite friendly with children and other animals. He was a gentle animal. He was the favourite of both the lady and the cook.
Question 2:
Give the character sketch of the lady in The Bear Story’.
Answer:
The lady is very kind. Once she finds a bear cub in the forest. She tames the baby bear. She brings him up like her own son. She feeds him on milk bottle.
She gives him an apple to eat everyday. She gives him vegetarian diet. Sometimes she punishes the bear for his bad behaviour. She pets him before chaining.
The lady is very bold. She crosses the forest alone fearlessly. She hits the wild bear hard when he chases her in the forest. She does not tolerate disobedience even on the part of her pet bear. She is fond of taming animals.