The Adventures of Toto Class 9 Worksheet English Moments Chapter 2

Multiple Choice Questions

Q1: Why was Toto sold by the narrator's grandfather?
(a) The grandfather detested it.
(b) The monkey was mischievous.
(c) The monkey was not keeping well.
(d) The monkey was trying to escape.
Ans: (b)
Sol: The monkey was difficult to handle. The narrator's middle-class family could not bear the frequent damages of utensils and other household items that Toto caused. 

Q2: How much fare was collected by the ticket collector for Toto's travel?
(a) Seven rupees
(b) One rupee
(c) Three rupees
(d) Ten rupees
Ans: (c)
Sol: Toto was classified as a dog by the ticket-collector and he charged three rupees from the narrator's grandfather.

Q3: Where did the writer’s Grandfather live?
(a) In Mumbai
(b) In Saharanapur
(c) In Dehradun
(d) In Delhi
Ans: (c)

Q4: Who was Toto?
(a) A dog
(b) A monkey
(c) A lamb
(d) A boy
Ans: (b)
Sol: Toto was a pretty monkey. Grandfather decided to add Toto to his private zoo.

Q5: Which other animal accompanied narrator's grandfather and Toto to Saharanpur?
(a) A cat
(b) A rabbit
(c) A tortoise
(d) A tame squirrel
Ans: (c)
Sol: The grandfather was carrying a small tortoise in his pocket while traveling to Saharanpur.

Q6: How was Toto taken to Saharanpur?
(a) In a canvas kit-bag
(b) In a little cage
(c) In a basket
(d) In a big black plastic bag
Ans: (d)

Q7: How did Toto prove to other animals?
(a) Careful
(b) Friendly
(c) Soothing
(d) Troublesome
Ans: (d)

Q8: What did Toto tear into shreds?
(a) The author’s school bag
(b) The author’s pant
(c) The author’s school blazer
(d) All of these
Ans: (c)

Q9: Who brought Toto to the narrator's house?
(a) Author's grandfather
(b) Author's grandmother
(c) Author's mother
(d) Author's father
Ans: (a)
Sol: Toto was purchased by the writer's grandfather as he decided to add the little animal to his private zoo.

Q10: What did Toto do with the writer’s school blazer?
(a) He tore it into shreds
(b) He threw it out of the window
(c) He made it into his bedding
(d) He wore it on his back
Ans:  (a)

Very Short Answer Questions

Q1: Who were the people in Kezia’s family?
Ans: There were four people in Kezia’s family – her father who was very strict, her mother who was stern and aloof, her soft-hearted and loving grandmother, and little Kezia herself.

Q2: What was Father’s and Kezia’s morning routine?
Ans: Before going to his office, Kezia’s father would come to Kezia’s room and give her a perfunctory kiss. She would respond with “Goodbye, Father”. Since she was afraid of him, she always felt relieved after his departure.

Q3: What was unusual about Kezia’s stuttering?
Ans: Kezia was able to speak without stuttering to everyone in the household but her father. In her father’s formidable presence, she could barely speak and she stuttered as she attempted to speak to him.

Q4: Kezia asks her grandmother, “What did God make fathers for?” What does she mean by this?
Ans: Kezia questioned why God made fathers because she was very hurt and traumatized by her father’s behavior and the punishment he meted out to her. She felt that he had been too harsh and unforgiving with her.

Q5: Why was Kezia left alone in the house with the cook Alice?
Ans: One day Kezia’s mother had suddenly taken ill and had to be hospitalized. Grannie, too, went along to look after her in the hospital. Kezia was left at home with Alice, their cook till her father returned from work.

Short Answer Questions

Q1: Why was Kezia scared of her father?
Ans: Kezia’s father was a busy man and had little time for the little girl. Being a very disciplined man, he was strict with Kezia as well and she would at times get harsh words of scolding and physical punishment from him. He never displated any soft feelings for his little daughter nor did he play with her like Mr Macdonald. All he did was giving her a perfunctory kiss rather than a loving one. Moreover, he was a large man, and his size, too, terrified the little girl. So scared was Kezia of him that she felt relieved when he was gone from home.

Q2: What was Kezia’s routine when Father returned from office?
Ans: When Father returned home from office, mother would tell Kezia to come downstairs and take off her father’s shoes. She would also be told to take the shoes outside. Father would ask her a couple of questions and she would stutter out her replies. He would order her to put his teacup back on the table and then she would make good her escape from his presence.

Q3: Why did Kezia stutter while speaking to Father?
Ans: Kezia’s father’s had a loud and domineering personality and he frequently frequent rebuked her for her behaviour and appearance. His constant criticism and scolding shook her self-confidence. Moreover, his large size frightened her. Though Kezia tried her best to please him, she found herself tongue-tied while talking to him. This made her stutter in his presence.

Q4: In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother encourage her to get to know her parents better?
Ans: Kezia’s grandmother wanted that the little girl to bond with her parents. Therefore, every Sunday afternoon she would encourage Kezia to go downstairs to the drawing-room, have a nice conversation with them, and get to know them better. She also suggested Kezia make a pin-cushion out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a gift for her father’s birthday.

Q5: What did Grandmother ask Kezia to make and why?
Ans: Grandmother wanted Kezia to bond with her father and to bring them both close to each other. She tried various ways to achieve this end. Once, she asked Kezia to make a pin-cushion out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk as a birthday present for Father. She wanted the little girl to present this pin-cushion as a surprise gift and make her father happy.

Long Answer Questions

Q1: Write a short note on the relationship between Kezia and her father
Ans: Initially, the relationship between Kezia and her father was formal and restrained. As a strict disciplinarian and the head of the family Father asserted his authority over everyone, including his little girl. Every morning, before going to office, he perfunctorily kissed her and she as formally said, “Goodbye, Father.”

She was made to take off his shoes and put them outside when he returned from office in the evening. He often scolded her for her sad looks and for stuttering. He even punished her when she unknowingly tore his important papers. He did not give her even one chance to explain herself and failed to see her loving intention behind the mistake. As a result, Kezia feared her father and stayed out of his way.

However, their relationship underwent a drastic change towards the end of the story. Father displayed his love and concern for his daughter when he and Kezia were alone and she was scared by her nightmare. He carried her in his arms to his room, tucked her comfortably in his bed, lay down close to her and provided to her the assurance and security that children seek from parents. This protective, caring and considerate side of her father helped her understand him. She realised that he had a big heart which was full of love for her.

Q2: Do you think the Kezia deserved the beating she got for her mistake? What light does this incident throw on her father’s character?
Ans: Kezia earned her father’s wrath for tearing his speech for the Port Authority to stuff a pin-cushion she was making for him as a birthday present. When Father discovered that Kezia was the culprit, he punished her by beating her little pink palms with a ruler to teach her not to touch what did not belong to her.

I think it was too harsh a punishment for an innocent mistake of a fond daughter who was making a gift for her father. Undoubtedly, the papers were extremely important for him and their loss must have caused him a lot of inconvenience but he should have heard out Kezia’s explanation, and understood and appreciated Kezia’s intentions. A firm but gentle reprimand would have sufficed to teach the sensitive Kezia not to touch things that did not belong to her. This incident shows that Father was a very insensitive and harsh man who demanded a very high standard of discipline from his daughter and did not tolerate any disobedience.

Q3: Briefly comment on Kezia’s relationship with her grandmother?
Ans: The little girl is extremely close to her loving and sympathetic grandmother. Failing to get any expression of affection from her parents, especially her father, Kezia turns to her grandmother for the emotional support and comfort that she needs. She turns to her to fulfill her need for love and protection.

Grandmother too showers love upon the little girl. She keeps trying to help the girl build her bridges with her parents. She advises Kezia to talk to her parents when they would be more relaxed as they sat in the drawing¬room on a Sunday afternoon. Again, she suggests to Kezia suggests that she should make a pin-cushion for her father as a present for his birthday. When Father beats Kezia, it is grandmother who tries first to reason with her son and then consoles and comforts Kezia by covering her with her shawl and allowing the child to cling to her soft body.

We also learn that, at night, when Kezia is scared by the dark or by her nightmares, it is for her grandmother that the little girl calls out, and it is grandmother who takes her into her own bed. Hence, her love and support make Kezia look upto her for everything.

Q4: What impression do you form of Kezia’s mother?
Ans: Kezia’s mother is very unapproachable, aloof figure, quite unlike a loving mother a young girl desires and needs. Perhaps her ill-health and her strict and domineering husbands demands leave her with very little room to pay the desired attention to her daughter. Her relationship with her daughter is distant. She treats the little girl in accordance with her husband’s expectations. She orders her to take off her father’s shoes and put them outside as this would indicate obedience. On Sunday afternoons, she spends her time engrossed in her reading, rather than talking to her daughter.

When Kezia innocently tears her father’s papers, she drags her downstairs to face Father’s wrath. She does not try to reason with Father when he reprimands and beats the little girl. She neither defends nor protects her in any way. She does not even go to assuage her traumatised daughter’s physical and emotional hurt. Little wonder then that Kezia turns to her grandmother to fulfill her need for motherly care and affection.

Q5: Kezia decides that there are “different kinds of fathers.” Comment on Kezia’s remark in the light of her relationship with her father and that of the Macdonald children with their father?
Ans: Kezia’s father was a busy man. He was so lost in his business that he had no time for his family. Being a very strict disciplinarian, he was strict with Kezia as well. He did not display any soft feelings for his little daughter through word or deed. All he did was give her a perfunctory kiss rather than a loving one as he left for work each morning. His presence at home frightened Kezia and she was relieved when he was gone. Kezia was unable to speak without stuttering in her father’s presence. Yet, despite all this, Kezia’s father had a loving heart as Kezia discovered when she had her nightmare and she was alone with him.

At once, Father came and took her to his room, made her lie with him and comforted her. He asked her to rub her feet against his legs for warmth. This showed the little girl her father truly loved her and it brought her close to her father. Mr Macdonald, Kezia’s next door neighbour, had five children and Kezia would often see them playing in their garden. One day, when Kezia looked through the gap in the fence she saw the Macdonalds playing ‘tag’.

It was evening, and Mr Macdonald had just returned from work but unlike her father, he looked happy to be playing with his children. He had baby Mao was on his shoulders, and the two girls were hanging on to his coat pockets. The party ran around the flower beds, shaking with laughter. Mr. Macdonald’s sons turned the hose on him and he tried to catch them laughing all the time.

This happy scene made Kezia conclude that there were different sorts of fathers. Mr Macdonald was so different from her own father. He was not at all strict, was always happy and thoroughly enjoyed the company of his children. In contrast, her own father was often in an angry mood and remained much too busy in his work. She dreaded him and avoided his company as much as she could. Whenever she was with him, she would stautter and look silly, like “a brown owl”. His strict discipline and his domineering nature made Kezia wonder what God made fathers for.