Skip to main content

Book Review: The Adventures of Toto by Ruskin Bond

Toto is a name of monkey. Grandfather finds it a pretty monkey which was getting bored in the custody of a tonga-driver. Toto was tied to a feeding-trough and there was something extra about it that it looked out of place to grandpa. He buys it from that tonga-driver at the price of five. Since we all know that grandma doesn’t like animals brought home by grandfather, thus this time he keeps the monkey in a closet attached to young Ruskin’s bedroom till grandma comes in a state of good mood. They tie Toto with a peg rigged in the wall.  After some hours when they return, they find the closest in mess, Toto has peeled off all the wallpapers and turned Ruskin’s blazer into shreds. Upon seeing this grandfather says that Toto is clever. Well, he is way clever beyond their anticipation.


Next, Toto is transferred to servants’ quarters in a big cage. There he screamed and made noise all night. As a result none of the other animals, which were living amiably till now, could sleep peacefully.

Grandfather has to go to Saharanpur immediately to collect his pension. He cannot think of leaving Toto behind because of grandma’s terror. She has yet to accept Toto. So, he carries it along with him in a canvas bag. Well, at the ticket counter Toto pops out of the bag and grandpa has to buy a ticket for him as well. That time it was mandatory to buy ticket for dog if found travelling with its owner. Though Toto is a monkey but is never a size less than a dog.

When grandmother accepts Toto, he is given a proper room in the stable, and there he is sharing space with Nana, the donkey. Since the very first day they behaved like strangers. They aren’t friends at all. In winter Toto is given a big bowl of hot water for bath. Before getting into it, he will check the temperature with a finger. After bath he will go straight to the kitchen fire place.

One day Toto jumps into the tea kettle placed over fire – when the temperature rises, he feels the heat, well on time grandmother pulls him out. Toto is good at breaking dishes, plates, and other costly items of house. And to guests, he is like a monster. He makes faces to guests.

One day family people find him eating pulao on the dining table. When grandma shouts at him, he throws plates at her. And then one of the Aunts rushes towards Toto, he throws water in her face. Soon, with the dish, he goes out through the window and sits on the tree in the garden. After having eaten the pulao, he throws the dish down to the verandah to tease grandma. Toto takes great pleasure in troubling and teasing humans, especially ladies. For trouble-making he has child-like affinity. He is way indecent to be kept as a pet, thus one day grandpa sells him back to the tonga-driver at a loss of two rupees.

Also read about the character sketch of Grandfather 

For CBSE class 9 syllabus, read all stories summary from your Moments textbook.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Book Review: The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

Among all Ruskin Bond books, The Blue Umbrella has, so far, gathered immense applaud from readers and critics alike.  This is a short novel, but the kind of moral lessons it teaches to us are simply overwhelming. This is a story of Binya, a poor little girl living with her mother and an elder brother, Bijju, in a small hilly village of Garhwal. One day while herding her two cows back home, she stumbles upon some city people enjoying the picnic in the valley. She is enthralled to see them well-groomed and rich. She craves to be one like them and among many other things of their, a blue frilly umbrella catches her attention. She begins craving for it. On the other hand, the city people get attracted by her innocent beauty and the pendant in her neck. The pendant consists of leopard’s claw – which is considered a mascot widely in the hills. Binya trades her pendant off with the blue umbrella. The blue umbrella is so much beautiful that soon it becomes a topic of conversatio...
65 comments
Read more

Poem Summary: Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore

Poem by Rabindranath Tagore: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Short Summary: This poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore during pre-independence days, when India was a colony of the British. The underlying theme of the poem is absolute freedom; the poet wants the citizens of his country to be living in a free state. According to the poem, we see that the poet is expressing his views there should be a country, like where people live without any sort of fear and with pure dignity…they should ...
68 comments
Read more

Character Sketch of Binya from ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond

The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a popular children’s story. It features Binya as the main character, though there are other important characters as well, but the story revolves around Binya and her little beautiful umbrella. The story is widely popular among children, thus it has also been included in the schools’ syllabus all across the country. Since it is often taught in the school, thus the character sketch of Binya is often demanded by students from year to year. Character Sketch of Binya from The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond Binya is the main character of the novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond. Her full name is Binyadevi. As in the hills or anywhere in India it is a kind of trend to call children with their short nicknames. Binya’s elder brother’s name is Bijju, whereas his real name is Vijay. Binya aged eleven is a hilly girl. She lives with her small family in the hills of Garhwal. Her father died when she was two years of age. For sustenance, the...
41 comments
Read more