Important Question and Answers
Q. Where was the tiger cub found?
Ans. Grandfather had found the tiger cub hiding among the intricate roots of a banyan tree in the Terai jungle near Dehra.
Q. What was the tiger cub fed?
Ans. Initially the tiger cub was given milk but it could not digest that. Then it was given raw mutton and cod liver oil. Gradually he was also given pigeons and rabbits.
Q. How did Toto entertain Timothy?
Ans. Toto entertained Timothy by pulling his tail.
Q. What did Toto do when Timothy lost his temper?
Ans. When Timothy lost his temper, Toto would climb up the curtains.
Q. Why does the Narrator feel that he was one of the tiger’s favourite?
Ans. The narrator feels that he was one of the tiger’s favourite companions because Timothy would come close to him, roll over on his feet and pretend to bite his ankles.
Q. Where did Timothy enjoy spending the day and night time?
Ans. During day Timothy enjoyed being on the long sofa in the drawing room and at night he slept in the cook’s quarters.
Q. Why did Grandfather decided to transfer Timothy to the zoo?
Ans. Timothy grew less friendly and more dangerous by the time he was six months old. He started chasing cats and eating hens. Infact he started following hens with evil intentions. Thus grandfather decided to transfer him to the zoo.
Q. Why did Grandfather want the tiger to be shifted to another cage?
Ans. The leopard in the next cage was rushing at and frightening the tiger every now and then. So he wanted it to be shifted.
Q. What shocked Grandfather in the end?
Ans. Grandfather had been patting and playing with the tiger in the cage thinking that it was Timothy. He was shocked to learn that Timothy had died two months ago and the tiger in the cage had been brought last month and was very dangerous.
Q. What did Grandmother prophecise about the cook? Did it come true?
Ans. Grandmother prophecised that one day Timothy would kill the cook. This prophecy never came true.
Q. What kind of changes were observed in Timothy when he was growing up?
Ans. When Timothy was about six months old, he became quite unfriendly and somewhat dangerous. He had grown into a predator as he would try to eat away somebody’s pet while on for a walk. He would eat up poultry birds during night due to temptation from the sounds of poultry. He also started stalking the cook.
Q. Why was the tiger in Timothy’s cage enjoying grandfather’s visit?
Ans. The tiger in Timothy’s cage was a ferocious, bad tempered tiger. When grandfather was stroking the tiger, the tiger started licking it so that it could prey upon him and would be able to feed on fresh flesh.
Q. What was the diet that was given to Timothy, the tiger?
Ans. When the grandfather brought Timothy to his house, he was brought up entirely on milk. He was given milk in a feeding bottle by the cook as he was unable to have milk by himself. But at, he was put on a diet of raw mutton and cod-liver oil. Thereafter when he grew older, he was put on a more tempting diet of pigeons and rabbits which Timothy liked very much.
Q. Timothy would play with the narrator and draw his attention? How?
Ans. Timothy had a crafty look, with his glittering eyes and his body crouching he would creep closer and closer to the narrator. He was very affectionate. He would roll on narrator’s back, lick him with delight and sometimes also pretend to bite his ankles. Thus, Timothy always tried to draw the narrator’s attention.
Q. Why were the people at the zoo surprised to see the reunion? Why?
Ans. The people at the zoo were surprised to see the reunion because the grandfather went so close to the tiger and caressed him so fondly that made the people in the zoo viewed them with amazement. It was a surprise for the viewers to see a man and a tiger getting so close. A keeper pushed his way through the crowd, as the tiger was a dangerous animal. He did so for the safety of the grandfather.
Q. The second zoo keeper made some revelations. What were they?
Ans. Grandfather loved his tiger very much. That’s why he was caressing the tiger in the cage, so affectionately. The second zoo keeper was not only shocked at but was also afraid of this. When the grandfather told him, it was his tiger he could not believe and confirmed him that it was not. The zoo keeper told him that his tiger died two months ago and the one he was stroking so lovingly had been trapped from the hills. He warned him that it was a very dangerous tiger and could do any harm to him. Grandfather was surprised but could not believe this because his hand was still being licked by the tiger. The tiger was still very affectionate towards him.
Q. How can you say that Timothy had become a dangerous tiger?
Ans. Timothy had become a dangerous tiger as whenever he went for a walk, he would steal away to get a cat or a pet dog. During the night, loud sound could be heard from the poultry house and in the morning feathers could be seen scattered here and there over the verandah. So it was decided that he should be kept in chains and finally he began to stalk Mahmood, the cook. It became amply clear that Timothy had grown to become a dangerous tiger and it was extremely dangerous to keep Timothy as a pet tiger.
Q. How can you say that there was a reunion between Grandfather and Timothy?
Ans. When grandfather wanted to visit the zoo, he headed directly to the particular cage where Timothy was kept in the cage. Grandfather put his arms through the cage and the tiger approached the bars and allowed grandfather to put both his hands around his head. It was a strange scene. Grandfather patted his head tickled his ears and smacked his mouth as he always used to do. The tiger, too, licked grandfather’s hand affectionately in this way, there had been a reunion between grandfather and Timothy. However, as it turns out the tiger was not Timothy, but another tiger who had been captured from the hills.
