THE ADVENTURES OF TOTO (MOMENTS).pdf

WELL EXPLAINED

1. By -Ruskin Bond

2. Born 19 May 1934(age87)
Kasauli,Punjab States Agency,
British India
Occupation Author, poet
Almamater Bishop Cotton School
Period 1951 –present
Notable works The Room on the Roof
Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra
A Flight of Pigeons
The Blue Umbrella
Aprolificwriter,hehaswrittenover500shortstories,
essaysandnovels.Hispopularnovel‘TheBlue
Umbrella’wasmadeintoaHindifilm.
HewasawardedthePadmaShriin1999andPadma
Bhushanin2014.
Ruskin Bond
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

3. SomeworksofRuskinBond-
*WithLoveFromTheHills
*TheRoomontheRoof
*VagrantsintheValley
*ScenesfromaWriter'sLife
*RustyRunsAway
*AFlightofPigeon
Children'sfiction
*The Cherry Tree
*Ranji'sWonderful Bat
Non-fiction
*A Golf Story: Celebrating 125 Years of the Bangalore Golf
Club

4. Why do people keep pets?

5. Companionship
Pets can enhance your mood
A source of exercise
An antidote for loneliness
Safety

6. Have you ever thought of
keeping a monkey as a
pet???

7. Monkeys are very mischievous and
also destructive by nature. We
cannot keep them as pets. But one
should not harm any animal in this
world.

8. Introduction
This is a humorous and adventurous story of a naughty
monkey named ‘Toto’. The writer’s grandfather bought the
monkey from a tongadriver. The pranks played by Toto
have been narrated in an interesting way.
Theme
Thestorydealswiththeoutcomeoftheinteractionbetween
humansandanimals.Itshowsthatnotallanimalscanadapt
themselvestothehumanlifestyle.Itrequiresagreatdealof
patiencetotrainanimalstoacquirenon-destructivebehaviour.

9. •TheAdventuresofTotobyRuskinBondisanamusingstoryhighlightingthe
antics(foolishbehaviour)ofamischievousmonkey.
•Thenarrator’sgrandfatherboughtToto,alittleredmonkeyfromatongadriver
toaddtohiscollectionofanimalsinhisprivatezoo.
•Totowasanattractivemonkeywithsparklingeyes.Hewouldtakespecialdelight
inscaringelderlyAnglo-Indianladies.Sincegrandmotherwasalwaysaverse
(havingastrongdislike)tograndfather’scollectionofanimals,hedecidedto
keepthenewsaboutTotohiddenfromheruntilshewasinabettermood.

10. •Totowastemporarilykeptinaclosetthatopenedintothenarrator’s
bedroom.AfterafewhoursofkeepingTotointhecloset,whenthe
narratorandthegrandfathercametoseeToto,theywereinfora
shock.Totohadtornthewallpaper;thepegwithwhichTotohadbeen
bound,hadbeenwrenchedoffthewall.Thenarrator’sschoolblazer
hadbeentornintopieces.
•Thegrandfatherwasquitehappyatthemonkey’sadventures.He
feltthatTotowasveryclever.Hesaidthatiftheywouldhavegiven
himmoretime,hewouldhavetiedthethinpiecesofthewriter’s
tornblazerintoaropeandwouldhaveescapedoutofthewindow.

11. •AfterthisitwasdecidedthatTotowouldbetransferredto
thecagewhereotheranimalssuchasatortoise,apairof
rabbits,asquirreland,narrator’spetgoatlivedamiably.
Unfortunately,Totowouldcreatetroubleforallofthem.
•ThegrandfatherhadtogotoSaharanpurtocollecthis
pension.HedecidedtotakeTotoalonginabigcanvas
bag.Sincetherewasnoopeninginthebagtoallowhis
handsorfacetocomeout,hewouldoftenjumpinsidethe
bag,makingthebaglooklikeasiftherewasaspiritinit.

12. •Oneday,healmostboiledhimselfwhenhejumpedintoakettleofboilingwater.
Oneafternoon,Totoatethefamilymealandthrewtheemptydishfromthetree
andbrokeitintoseveralpieces.
•Toto’smischiefsgrewdaybydayandGrandfatherrealisedthattheycouldnot
keephimathome.Finally,hesoldTototothesametongadriverforasumof
threerupees.
•AssoonasthetrainreachedSaharanpur,Totoscaredtheticket-collectorby
poppinghisheadoutofthebagandgrinningathim.Theticket-collectorwas
annoyedatthediscoveryandassertedthatthegrandfatherwouldhaveto
payforToto’sfare.Theticket-collectorclassifiedTotoasadogandwould
notlistentothegrandfather’sargumentthatitwasnotadog.
•OncethegrandmotheracceptedToto,hewasshiftedtothestablewhere,
Nana,thedonkeylived.TotocouldnotgetalongwithNanaaswell.

13. Synopsis ofthestory
Toto-ababymonkeywasboughtbythenarrator’sgrandfather
forfiverupeesfromatongadriverandbroughtintothehouse.
*ThestoryrevolvesaroundthemischiefsofTotoandtheamountof
troublehecausesforthefamily.
*ThestoryendswithTotobeingreturnedtothesametongadriver
fromwhomthenarrator’sgrandfatherhadboughthim.
*Thestorydwellsonthefactthatsomeanimalsaredifficulttobe
keptaspets.

14. MCQ Questions-
1.What did the ticket-collector classify Toto as?
(a) As a dog.
(b) As a monkey.
(c) As a quadruped.
(d) As a reptile.
2.Where was Toto tied?
(a) to a window
(b) to the authors bedroom
(c) to a peg in the wall
(d) to the door
3.Name the things Toto destroyed at the writer’s home?
(a) wallpapers and clothes
(b) curtains
(c) dishes
(d) all
4.Where was Toto kept?
(a) in a cupboard
(b) in the zoo
(c) in the field
(d) in the garden

15. Answers:
1.(a) As a dog.
2.(c) to a peg in the wall
3.(d) all
4.(a) in a cupboard

16. I. Reference to Context questions.
1.Toto suddenly poked his head out of the bag and gave the ticket-collector a wide
grin…. he said, “Sir, you have a dog with you. You’ll have to pay for it accordingly.”
a)Who said this to whom?
The ticket -collector said this to the Grandfather.
b) Why did the Grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur?
Toto disturbed the other pets of the Grandfather. He wouldn’t allow them to sleep at night.
So, Grandfather decided to take Toto to Saharanpur.
c) Where was Toto kept?
Toto was kept in a big black canvas kit-bag.
d) How did Toto attract the crowd?
He tried hard to escape but was in vain. It only had the effect of making the bag roll about
on the floor or occasionally jump into the air which attracted the crowd.

17. Answer the following questions.
1.How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?
Thewriter’sgrandfatherlikedtocollectanimalsandhadmadeazooathome.
Onedayhesawared-colouredmonkeytiedtoafeeding-trough,hesawthis
attractivemonkeywithatonga-driver.Grandfatherhadgreatlikingfor
animals.SohedecidedtobuyTotofromthetonga-driverandboughtitforfive
rupees.
2.“Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
Totohadbrighteyessparklingwithmischief,pearlywhiteteeth,quickand
wickedfingersandagracioustailwhichservedasathirdhand.Thesmileof
TotowascuteandfrightenedelderlyAnglo-Indianladies.Altogetherthese
qualitiesmadehimpretty.

18. 3.Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why
does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
Totowasamischievousmonkey.Hekeptdisturbingallotheranimalsin
grandfather’sprivatezoo.Thus,grandfatherdecidedtotakehimto
Saharanpur.Abigblackcanvasbagwithsomestrawatthebottom
wasarrangedforTotototravel.
TheticketcollectorclassifiedTotoasadogbecausetherewasno
mentionoffareinhisrulebookforamonkeytotravelintherailways.

19. Portfolio Assignment
1.‘Ifthereisapartofthebrainespeciallydevoted
tomischief,thatpartwaslargelydevelopedinToto.’
Justifythestatement.Whydidevengrandfather
realisethatTotowasnotthesortofpettheycould
keepforlong?