VELAMMAL VIDYALAYA, PARUTHIPATTU

SUB: ENGLISH
CLASS: 9
COMMON NOTES
Adventure of Toto
- Ruskin Bond
● In the story " Adventure of Toto", Toto is a
monkey. The story is written by Ruskin Bond.
Ruskin Bond has described how his grandfather
was fond of animals. He bought a monkey from
a Tonga driver for £ 5. Initially, when
grandfather saw Toto tied up to a feeding-
trough, he found him looking very ill and ugly.
As grandfather had his own private zoo, he kept
the little monkey in it.
● Toto used his tail as a third hand. He used it to
hang from a branch and for scooping up any
delicacy that he could not reach with his hands.
Toto's presence was kept a secret from grand
mother as she didn't like animals. One day,
when grandfather was going out of station, he
decided to take Toto along with him. A big black
canvas kit bag was provided for Toto, so that he
could be concealed and would not be able to
escape.
 ● Gradually, grandmother accepted Toto in the
house.
● In winters, when Toto had to go for bath, he
would cunningly test the temperature of the
water with his hand. When the water became
cold, he would run to the kitchen fire to dry
himself. If anyone laughed at him, he felt hurt
and would refuse to continue with his bath.
● Toto's mischief was progressing from tolerable to
intolerable. He could not be tamed or
domesticated.
● Soon, grandfather realised that Toto was not the
type of pet to be kept in the house. He found the
Tonga-driver, and sold Toto back to him for £ 3
only.
The Little Girl - Katherine
Mansfield
Read the passage given below and answer the
questions that follow:
“But the child never forgot. Next time she saw him,
she quickly put both hands behind her back and a
red colour flew into her cheeks. The Macdonalds
lived next door. They had five children. Looking
through a gap in the fence the little girl saw them
playing ‘tag’ in the evening”.
a.What did the child never forget?
The child never forgot the punishment given
by her father.
b.What did she wish?
She wished her father to be like Macdonald.
c.What do you understand by the phrase, ‘a red
colour flew into her cheeks’?
It means when she saw her father next time,
she got panicked so much that she looked
gloomy.
d.What did Kezia infer after watching the
Macdonalds play together?
Kezia inferred that there were different kinds
of fathers when she saw the Macdonalds playing
together.
e.How would you describe the scene that the
little girl saw?
The scene is that the little girl witnessed was
a joyful one-filled with laughter and smiles.
Short answer
1. Why was Kezia afraid of her father?
Kezia was afraid of her father because he was
very strict. He never spoke to Kezia lovingly.
2. In what ways did Kezia’s grandmother
encourage her to get to know her father
better?
Kezia’s grandmother encouraged her to get to
know her father better by sending her to the
drawing-room to talk to her parents on Sunday
afternoon.
She also suggested that Kezia should make a
pin-cushion out of a beautiful piece of yellow silk
as a gift for her father’s birthday.
3. What was the nightmare that Kezia had?
Kezia always had a nightmare. It was a
butcher with a knife and a rope, who came
nearer and nearer. The butcher had a smile on
his face. Kezia could only stand still. She used to
cry out ‘Grandma! Grandma!’.

4. What orders were passed to Kezia in the

evening when father returned home from
office?
The orders passed to Kezia in the evening
when father returned home from office, were to
go down in the drawing room, take off her
father’s shoes and put them outside. She was
also ordered to put her father’s tea cup on the
tea table.

5. How did the father comfort the little girl,

Kezia, when she got scared in her sleep?
Her father comforted the little girl, Kezia,
when she got scared in her sleep, by taking
Kezia with him to his room. He lay down beside
her to give her comfort and asked her to rub her
feet against his legs to get warmth.
Long answer
1. How did Kezia’s efforts to please her
father resulted in displeasing him very
much? How did this happen?
 Kezia was very scared of her father and
stuttered while talking to him. This annoyed
him a lot. When she waited and stared at him
to have a nice long chat, he did not like it. She
unknowingly destroyed some of his important
papers while stuffing a cushion which she
wanted to present to him on his birthday, this
make him very angry and he beat her up
badly. Therefore, Kezia’s efforts to please her
father resulted in displeasing him very much.
2. Kezia decides that there are ‘different
kinds of fathers’. What kind of father was
Mr. Macdonald? How was he different from
Kezia’s father?
Or
How was Kezia’s father different from Mr.
Macdonald?
Mr. Macdonald was their next door
neighbour. Once Kezia saw her neighbours
playing ‘tag’ together in the evening. Mr.
Macdonald was with the baby Mao, on his
shoulders and the two little girls hanging on to
his coat pockets. They ran round and round
shaking with laughter. On the other hand.
Kezia’s father was very disciplined and strict.
He never played with her and neither
interacted much. He even beat her up for her
little mistakes.
RAIN ON THE ROOF - COATES KINNEY
Extract Based Questions:
 I. Read the following extracts carefully and
answer the questions that follow:
When the humid shadows hover
Over all the starry spheres
And the melancholy darkness
Gently weeps in rainy tears,
What a bliss to press the pillow
Of a cottage-chamber bed
And lie listening to the patter
Of the soft rain overhead!
(a) What does ‘humid shadow’ mean here?
Humid shadow means clouds full of moisture.
(b) How does the poet describe the falling of
rain?
The patter of the soft rain overhead.
(c) Explain ‘melancholy darkness’.
The feeling of sorrow as the darkness of the
cloud’s envelope the atmosphere.
d.Which line shows that the poet is happy
when it rains?
“What a bliss to press the pillow” shows his
happiness.
(e) Which poetic device is using “The
melancholy darkness gently weeps in rainy
tears”?
Transferred epithet or hypallage is used here
because the poet transfers his melancholic mood
from himself to the darkness of the night.

2. Now in memory comes my mother,

 As she used in years agone,
To regard the darling dreamers
Ere she left them till the down:
(a) Who comes alive in his memory?
The poet’s mother comes to live in his memory.
(b) What did he remember about his mother?
He remembered how his mother would come
and check on her children when they were small.
(c) Who are the ‘darling dreamers’ in the above
lines?
‘Darling dreamers’ refers to the poet and his
siblings who were in deep
sleep.
(d) What does the expression ‘till the dawn’
mean here?
“Till the dawn” means a point in time till early
morning.
Short Answer Questions:
1.When do the ‘thousand dreamy fancies’ begin
in the poet’s heart?
The thousand dreamy fancies begin in the heart
of the poet when the raindrops patter on the
shingles of the roof. The echo touches a chord in his
heart and he starts to reminisce about his childhood
days and his loving mother.
2.How does the poet express his sorrow and
happiness when he speaks about rain?
The humidity of the atmosphere is relatively high
as it lingers below the dark skies and the twinkling
shimmering light of the stars, forms into roundness
of visible sources of light. Though the darkness
mourns the melancholic spirit of indescribable
sadness, the soft rain sets in to compensate it with
the spirit of peace for the lonely night. The poet
suddenly realises how much joy and pleasure he can
attain, when he presses his head against his pillow,
as he tucks himself into the warmth of his bed. He
can sleep soundly like a little child in his cottage
bedroom and listen to the patter of the soft summer
showers overhead on the roof.
3.What do the following phrases mean to you?
Discuss in class.
(i) Humid shadows.
(ii) Starry spheres.
(iii) What a bliss
(iv) A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being
start.
(v) A thousand recollections weave their air-threads
into woof.

(i) Humid shadows: It refers to the dark clouds

that produce rain, characterised by a great deal of
water vapour, “humid air”, “humid weather”.
(ii) Starry spheres: Since it was believed that the
fixed stars did not change their positions relative to
one another, they must be on the surface of a single
starry sphere.
(iii) What a bliss: It refers to the immense happiness
that the poet feels of getting into his cottage and
enjoying the pitter patter of raindrops falling on the
roof.
(iv) A thousand dreamy fancies into busy being
start: This refers to the imaginary thoughts and
fantasies that are aroused in the poet’s mind.
(v) A thousand recollections wave their air-
threads into woof: The poet is stringing together all
his memories into one single unit by entwining it
with a single thread.

4. What is the single major memory that comes

to the poet? Who are the “darling dreamers” he
refers to?
The single major memory that comes to the poet
is that of his mother and her found look. The
‘darling dreamers’ are the poet and his brothers and
sisters, when they were lovingly put to sleep by their
mother in their childhood.

5. Is the poet now a child? Is his mother still

alive?
At this point, the poet is not a child. He is a
grown man. As he sees the clouds gather up in the
sky, he is taken back in time, and he is reflecting
about the wonderful memories associated with
“rain”. He is recalling his past in which his mother
is alive. But perhaps, he misses his mother too, as
she seems to be a vital part of his memory.
Long Answer questions:
1. Write a short paragraph on your analysis of
the poem, “Rain on the Roof”.
The poem, ‘Rain on the Roof’ written by Coates
Kinney, is very different from the popular genre of
poems that speak about rain. In this poem, the poet
is referring to the joys and happiness that this
natural phenomenon unfolds as it makes an
appearance upon the earth. It is with a lot of
apprehension that one welcomes the rain, afraid of
the havoc it may cause. People react differently to
the arrival of rain. The farmer is happy, while the
homeless tramp does not welcome it with joy. He
therefore enumerates both joy and sorrow in his
poem. Rain is universally loved by little children,
who are unmindful of the miseries of life. That is
why, even as he ages, rain quite naturally brings
with it sweet memories of his childhood in which his
mother played a prominent role. All sorrows are
forgotten as soon as his mother appears in his
thoughts and dreams. Reminiscing about his past,
he listens to the pitter patter of the rain and
transports himself into a world of bliss.