The Bear Story

AP / NCERT Solutions for Grade 7 English Supplementary Reader An Alien Hand
Chapter  5 The Bear Story

Answer the following questions.

1. Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?

The lady found the bear cub in the forest, half dead of hunger. It was very small. The lady had to bring it up on a bottle with the help of the cook.

2. The bear grew up, but “he was a most amiable bear”. Give three examples to prove this.

The three examples are:

• He used to watch the cattle grazing in a friendly way.
• The three dogs used to play with him, pull his ears and tease him.
• Children used to ride his back.

3. What did the bear eat? There were two things he was not allowed to do. What were they?

The bear ate the food the same as the dogs – porridge, bread, cabbage, potato, and turnip. He liked fruits.

He was not allowed to pluck apples from the apple tree and harm the beehives on the tree.

4. When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?

The bear was tied up on Sundays because his mistress used to go for a visit to her sister.

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?

On a Sunday, the lady heard branches cracking behind her while going to her sister's house. She saw the bear and became angry as he had left the room. She hit him with her parasol, and the bear turned around and walked away.

6. Why was the bear looking sorry for himself in the evening? Why did the cook get angry with her mistress?

The bear was looking very sorry for himself in the evening because he did not like to stay locked in the room. He wanted to join his mistress on the walk.

The cook got angry with her mistress because the mistress was scolding the bear for following her to the forest. The cook told her that he did not leave the room anytime and had been sitting there gently all day long.

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?

Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Some unusual pets that people keep are snakes such as python, bears, tigers and wolves.

2. The second bear did not attack the lady because he was afraid of her. Do you agree?

Yes, I agree that the second bear did not attack the lady because he was afraid of her. Usually, people get scared when they see a bear around. But the bear saw that the lady was confident and was even scolding him. This frightened the bear.