NCERT Solutions for Class 9 English Moments Chapter 2 the Adventures of Toto

Class 9 English Moments  Chapter 2 The Adventures of Toto

1. How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?
See AnswerThe author’s grandfather was fond of collecting animals and made a zoo at home. Toto was in the control of a tonga owner. The grandfather felt sympathetic with the monkey and thinks that his private zoo would be a better place for Toto. So he purchased Toto from the tonga wallah for five rupees.

2. “Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
See AnswerToto was a pretty monkey. He had bright shining eyes glowing with mischief beneath the eyebrows and his teeth were a pearly white. But his hands looked dried-up as if they had been pickled in the sun for many years. Yet his fingers were quick and wicked. His tail served as a third hand. He could use it to hang from a branch and it was capable of latching onto any delicacy that might be out of reach of his hands.

3. Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
See Answer Toto was a really mischievous monkey and nuisance for every living soul in the household. Other animals in grandfather’s zoo were at Toto’s mercy even during night. So, grandfather decided to provide some relief to other animals in the zoo and thought of taking Toto to Shaharanpur. The ticket collector was performing his duty. As there seems to be no rule for fixing a monkey’s fare so he equated Toto with dog and charged a similar.

4. How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive?
See AnswerToto takes bath 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 replicating others, so Toto has learnt proper steps of bathing by watching the narrator doing same. Toto is fond of bathing with warm water and checks the temperature. Being an animal he is not intelligent enough to understand the risk boiling water so he keeps popping his head up and down in the kettle. Toto kept on doing this until the grandmother spotted him and pulled him out in time.

5. Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”?
See AnswerThough Toto was pretty and clever, he was very mischievous and damaged the house by breaking dishes, tearing clothes and curtains. He also scared away the visitors by tearing their dresses. Furthermore, he didn’t get along well with other animals in the house too. One day he crossed the line by picking up a dish of Pulao and climbing a branch to eat it. When scolded he threw off the plate and broke it. That’s when grandfather decided that Toto was not the sort of pet to keep for long and he had had enough of the losses.

The story is about a monkey named Toto Narrator’s Grandfather bought him from a Tonga driver for 5 rupees. Grandfather was quite impressed by Toto’s characteristics of a monkey describing. By the narrator that the monkey has sparkly eyes and a set of deep eyebrows. And his hands were dried and rough like dried in sun yet these hands and wicked fingers were quick. He could use the long tails as a third hand to hang himself with a tree branch. White teeth and a frightening smile can scare the woman for sure. Grandfather wanted to keep him secret from Grandmother as she doesn’t like to bring more animals into the house.

Grandfather decided to keep him in the wardrobe that opens in the narrators’ room where he is been tied securely. The next time when he saw Toto, he unscrewed the nail and shredded the blazer. The narrator got upset seeing this, but grandfather was impressed by judging the intelligence that little creatures possess. Saying he would’ve made the rope with the shreds to escape out of the window.

Soon the monkey got older and then grandfather took the Toto to a bigger cage near to servant’s quarters where his other animals of the zoo stayed sociably. He’s got a tortoise, a tame squirrel, a pair of rabbits too, and for some times’ narrator’s goat. Monkey doesn’t let any of the animals sleep at night, so grandfather took him along with him to Dehradun.

For some reason, the narrator didn’t join the grandfather on the trip. However, He told him about the incidents. Grandfather took him in the big canvas bag closed It and gave him a straw. He tried to escape and made the bag roll and jump made entertainment for onlookers. On the train, the ticket checker considered the monkey as a dog and asked to take a ticket for it. Grandfather took him out of the bag and then show it to the collector, but he asked to take the ticket then. Grandfather took out the tortoise from his pocket and present it to the collector saying sarcastically that he might want to take the ticket for it also as he took a ticket for it. The pleased collector said smiling “No Charge” that it is not a dog.

When they came back after some time Toto has been accepted by his grandmother, and then he’s been offered a new home in the stable with a family donkey Nana. On his first night grandfather visited to see if everything is alright. The best thing Toto liked is to take a warm water bath during winter. He cleverly tested the water with his hands and then step into the water till submerged itself till neck. Once he is comfortable, he uses soap himself. If the water got cold he run into the kitchen to dry himself and if anyone laughs at him, it hurts his feeling. One day he almost boiled himself alive. It was cold times when Toto found the kettle on fire with water and went inside and when water started boil he came out and then found it cold outside he went inside again before the matter got worse grandmother came and hauled him out of the kettle. The narrator says if there is only part of the brain that is dedicated to mischief.

One day he’s been found in the centre of the dining table rating Pulao from the dish and when aunty screamed at him, he threw water on her face and escaped out of the window holding the dish of pulao he had every grain of pulao while sitting on the branch of Jack fruit tree and had all the pulao. Despite grandmother was screaming at him, he threw the dish and broke it.

Toto’s journey with the narrator’s family is about to end as the family could not afford the broken dishes and torn curtains and wallpapers. So, grandfather had to let him go. He found the Tonga driver again and sold the Toto back to the Tonga driver.