NCERT Solutions Class 7, English, The Alian Hand (Supplementary Reader), Chapter- 5, The Bear Story.
Exercises
Answer the following questions.
1. Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?
Solution:
The lady found the bear cub in the forest. It was brought up on the bottle because it was half dead of hunger and was so small and helpless.
2. The bear grew up but “he was a most amiable bear”. Give three examples to prove this.
Solution:
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.
3. What did the bear eat? There were two things he was not allowed to do. What were they?
Solution:
He ate the same food as the dogs and often out of the same plate like bread, porridge, potato, cabbage, turnip. He likes fruit the best. Two things he was not allowed to do were to climb trees and touch the beehives.
4. When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?
Solution:
The bear was usually tied up with a chain only at night and on Sundays when the lady visited her sister for lunch.
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?
Solution:
One Sunday when the lady was going to her sister’s house, a bear was coming to her in the forest at full speed. Thinking that it was her bear, she scolded him and told him to go back as she didn't want him to came with her. She became very angry when she saw that bear lost his new collar and hit him on his nose with her parasol. The bear opened his mouth several times as if he wanted to say something and looked at her with his cunning eyes. After that, it turned around and went on its way.
6. Why was the bear looking sorry for himself in the evening? Why did the cook get angry with her mistress?
Solution:
The bear was looking sorry for himself in the evening because he had been chained all day and he could not do his usual activities. When his mistress returned, she scolded him, thinking that it was him she saw in the forest. She said that as punishment, he would have to remain chained for two more days. The cook loved the bear as her child and could not bear to see the bear being scolded like that. This was why she got angry. She told the mistress that the bear had been very good the whole day, and had been sitting outside his kennel, looking at the gate and waiting for her to come back.
Discuss the following topics in groups.
1. Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Can you think of some unusual pets that people keep?
Solution:
The unusual pets that people often keep are wolves, bears and tigers, snakes and even crocodiles.
2. The second bear did not attack the lady because he was afraid of her. Do you agree?
Solution:
The lady while crossing found a raw bear. It seemed he was taken aback to see the self-confidence of the lady. Her fearless behavior frightened him.
