Here’s a summary of “The Adventures of Toto” and the answers to your questions, explained with ease and emojis!
Summary of “The Adventures of Toto” 🐒🛀🚂#
The chapter “The Adventures of Toto” introduces Toto, a mischievous little red monkey purchased by the Grandfather from a tonga-driver for five rupees. Grandfather wanted to add Toto to his private zoo.
Initially, Toto’s presence is kept a secret from Grandmother, who tends to fuss about new animals. Grandfather and the narrator place Toto in a closet in the narrator’s bedroom, securing him to a peg. However, Toto soon causes damage: the walls are stripped of ornamental paper, the peg is wrenched out, and the narrator’s school blazer is shredded. Grandfather is pleased, noting Toto’s cleverness.
Toto is then moved to a big cage in the servants’ quarters, where he lives with other pets like a tortoise, rabbits, and a tame squirrel. However, Toto’s mischievous nature prevents his companions from sleeping. When Grandfather has to travel to Saharanpur to collect his pension, he decides to take Toto along. Toto is transported in a big black canvas kit-bag, from which he tries to escape, causing the bag to roll and jump, attracting onlookers.
Upon reaching Saharanpur, Toto suddenly pokes his head out of the bag at the railway turnstile and grins at the ticket-collector. The ticket-collector, despite Grandfather’s protests that Toto is a monkey, insists on classifying Toto as a dog and charges three rupees for his fare. Grandfather, in turn, takes out his pet tortoise, but the ticket-collector deems no charge for it as “It is not a dog”.
Once Grandmother accepts Toto, he is given a home in the stable with the family donkey, Nana. Toto and Nana do not become friends, as Toto fastens onto Nana’s long ears with his sharp teeth.
Toto develops a peculiar habit of taking baths in warm water, cunningly testing the temperature with his hand and then gradually stepping in, mimicking the narrator. He would use soap and run to the kitchen-fire to dry himself once the water turned cold. One day, Toto almost boils himself alive by getting into a kettle of water left on the fire for tea.
Toto’s mischievousness is a constant issue; he frequently tears things to pieces, including dresses. During lunch one day, he stuffs himself with pullao, throws a plate at Grandmother when she screams, and a glass of water at an aunt. He then escapes with the dish of pullao into a jackfruit tree, determined to finish every grain, and spitefully throws the dish down, breaking it into pieces.
Due to the frequent loss of dishes, clothes, curtains, and wallpaper, and the family’s inability to afford such losses, Grandfather finally sells Toto back to the tonga-driver for three rupees.
Answers to the Questions 🤔#
How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo? 🐒🏠 Grandfather bought Toto from a tonga-driver for the sum of five rupees. The tonga-driver used to keep the small red monkey tied to a feeding-trough, and Grandfather decided that Toto looked so out of place there that he would add him to his private zoo.
“Toto was a pretty monkey.” In what sense is Toto pretty? ✨🐵 Toto was considered a pretty monkey in the sense of his physical appearance, such as his bright eyes sparkling with mischief beneath deep-set eyebrows, and his pearly white teeth which were often displayed in a smile. Additionally, Grandfather believed his tail added to his good looks, and it also served as a useful “third hand” for scooping up delicacies or hanging from branches.
Why does grandfather take Toto to Saharanpur and how? Why does the ticket collector insist on calling Toto a dog? 🚂🐶
- Grandfather takes Toto to Saharanpur because Toto would not allow any of his companions (other pets in the servants’ quarters) to sleep at night. Grandfather had to leave Dehra Dun the next day to collect his pension in Saharanpur, so he decided to take Toto along.
- Toto was transported in a big black canvas kit-bag with straw at the bottom, which became his new abode. He could not escape from the closed bag, and his efforts to get out caused the bag to roll and jump, attracting a curious crowd on the railway platform.
- The ticket-collector insists on calling Toto a dog because Toto suddenly poked his head out of the bag and gave the ticket-collector a wide grin when Grandfather was producing his ticket. Despite Grandfather’s attempts to prove that a monkey does not qualify as a dog or even a quadruped, the ticket-collector classified Toto as a dog and charged a fare of three rupees.
How does Toto take a bath? Where has he learnt to do this? How does Toto almost boil himself alive? 🛀🔥
- Toto takes a bath in a large bowl of warm water given to him by Grandmother. He would cunningly test the temperature with his hand, then gradually step into the bath, first one foot, then the other, until he was in the water up to his neck. Once comfortable, he would take the soap in his hands or feet and rub himself all over. When the water became cold, he would get out and run quickly to the kitchen-fire to dry himself.
- He had learnt to take a bath by seeing the narrator doing it.
- Toto almost boiled himself alive one day when he found a large kitchen kettle left on the fire to boil for tea. He removed the lid, found the water warm enough, and got in with his head sticking out. This was fine for a while, until the water began to boil. He tried to get out but found it cold outside, so he sat down again and continued hopping up and down until Grandmother arrived and hauled him, “half-boiled,” out of the kettle.
Why does the author say, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long”? 💔🏡 The author says, “Toto was not the sort of pet we could keep for long” because Toto’s mischievous nature led to constant destruction and financial loss. He was “always tearing things to pieces”, damaging clothes, dishes, curtains, and wallpaper. The family was “not well-to-do, and could not afford the frequent loss of dishes, clothes, curtains and wallpaper”. Even Grandfather, who initially seemed pleased with Toto’s cleverness, eventually realised that they could not keep him for long. Consequently, Toto was sold back to the tonga-driver for three rupees.