2. Born 19 May 1934 (age 87)
Kasauli, Punjab States Agency,
British India
Occupation Author, poet
Alma mater 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
A prolific writer, he has written over 500 short stories,
essays and novels. His popular novel ‘The Blue
Umbrella’ was made into a Hindi film.
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma
Bhushan in 2014.
Ruskin Bond
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
3. Some works of Ruskin Bond-
*With Love From The Hills
*The Room on the Roof
*Vagrants in the Valley
*Scenes from a Writer's Life
*Rusty Runs Away
*A Flight of Pigeon
Children's fiction
*The Cherry Tree
*Ranji's Wonderful Bat
Non-fiction
*A Golf Story: Celebrating 125 Years of the Bangalore Golf
Club
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 tonga driver. The pranks played by Toto
have been narrated in an interesting way.
Theme
The story deals with the outcome of the interaction between
humans and animals. It shows that not all animals can adapt
themselves to the human lifestyle. It requires a great deal of
patience to train animals to acquire non-destructive behaviour.
9. • The Adventures of Toto by Ruskin Bond is an amusing story highlighting the
antics(foolish behaviour) of a mischievous monkey.
• The narrator’s grandfather bought Toto, a little red monkey from a tonga driver
to add to his collection of animals in his private zoo.
• Toto was an attractive monkey with sparkling eyes. He would take special delight
in scaring elderly Anglo-Indian ladies. Since grandmother was always averse
(having a strong dislike) to grandfather’s collection of animals, he decided to
keep the news about Toto hidden from her until she was in a better mood.
10. • Toto was temporarily kept in a closet that opened into the narrator’s
bedroom. After a few hours of keeping Toto in the closet, when the
narrator and the grandfather came to see Toto, they were in for a
shock. Toto had torn the wallpaper; the peg with which Toto had been
bound, had been wrenched off the wall. The narrator’s school blazer
had been torn into pieces.
• The grandfather was quite happy at the monkey’s adventures. He
felt that Toto was very clever. He said that if they would have given
him more time, he would have tied the thin pieces of the writer’s
torn blazer into a rope and would have escaped out of the window.
11. • After this it was decided that Toto would be transferred to
the cage where other animals such as a tortoise, a pair of
rabbits, a squirrel and, narrator’s pet goat lived amiably.
Unfortunately, Toto would create trouble for all of them.
• The grandfather had to go to Saharanpur to collect his
pension. He decided to take Toto along in a big canvas
bag. Since there was no opening in the bag to allow his
hands or face to come out, he would often jump inside the
bag, making the bag look like as if there was a spirit in it.
12. • One day, he almost boiled himself when he jumped into a kettle of boiling water.
One afternoon, Toto ate the family meal and threw the empty dish from the tree
and broke it into several pieces.
• Toto’s mischiefs grew day by day and Grandfather realised that they could not
keep him at home. Finally, he sold Toto to the same tonga driver for a sum of
three rupees.
• As soon as the train reached Saharanpur, Toto scared the ticket-collector by
popping his head out of the bag and grinning at him. The ticket-collector was
annoyed at the discovery and asserted that the grandfather would have to
pay for Toto’s fare. The ticket-collector classified Toto as a dog and would
not listen to the grandfather’s argument that it was not a dog.
• Once the grandmother accepted Toto, he was shifted to the stable where,
Nana, the donkey lived. Toto could not get along with Nana as well.
13. Synopsis of the story
Toto - a baby monkey was bought by the narrator’s grandfather
for five rupees from a tonga driver and brought into the house.
*The story revolves around the mischiefs of Toto and the amount of
trouble he causes for the family.
*The story ends with Toto being returned to the same tonga driver
from whom the narrator’s grandfather had bought him.
*The story dwells on the fact that some animals are difficult to be
kept as pets.
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?
The writer’s grandfather liked to collect animals and had made a zoo at home.
One day he saw a red-coloured monkey tied to a feeding-trough ,he saw this
attractive monkey with a tonga- driver. Grandfather had great liking for
animals. So he decided to buy Toto from the tonga- driver and bought it for five
rupees.
2.“Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty?
Toto had bright eyes sparkling with mischief, pearly white teeth, quick and
wicked fingers and a gracious tail which served as a third hand. The smile of
Toto was cute and frightened elderly Anglo-Indian ladies. Altogether these
qualities made him pretty.
18. 3.Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why
does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog?
Toto was a mischievous monkey. He kept disturbing all other animals in
grandfather’s private zoo. Thus, grandfather decided to take him to
Saharanpur. A big black canvas bag with some straw at the bottom
was arranged for Toto to travel.
The ticket collector classified Toto as a dog because there was no
mention of fare in his rulebook for a monkey to travel in the railways.
19. Portfolio Assignment
1. ‘If there is a part of the brain especially devoted
to mischief, that part was largely developed in Toto.’
Justify the statement. Why did even grandfather
realise that Toto was not the sort of pet they could
keep for long?
