ADVENTURES IN A BANYAN TREE

SSLC QUESTIONS

1. Imagine that you meet the boy in the story ‘Adventures in a Banyan Tree’. You ask him
about the fight between the mongoose and the cobra. Prepare the likely
conversation.(2019)
I : Hello
Ruskin : Hello
I : You look very excited. What happened?
Ruskin : I saw a fight between a cobra and a mongoose. Really thrilling.
I : What? When? Where were you at that time?
Ruskin : I was sitting on my platform in our banyan tree. The cobra and mongoose came
just below me.
I :What happened then?

Ruskin : They fought fiercely with each other. The mongoose was very fast and clever, and
he killed the snake

I : Wow, that’s great! I am scared of snakes. Iam happy the mongoose won.

Ruskin : A myna and a crow also took part in the fight, and the crow got killed.

I : I feel pity for the crow

Ruskin : Me too… ok ,Iam a bit busy. See you later. Bye

I : Ok. Bye

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS

1. The boy was very much thrilled of his acquaintance with the squirrel, possession of the white
rat and in the arrival of the white baby squirrels. He wrote a letter to his friend telling him
about his new friends. Write the likely letter.

Ivy Cottage
3/11
RS Street
Dehradun

24.04. 2020

Dear Sravan,
How are you? Iam doing well. I have something to tell you. I will write about it in detail.
 I am enjoying my vacation at grandpa’s house. I got a new friend here. My friend is a little
squirrel, grey in colour!

In the beginning he was scared to come near me. But now, finding that I am not harmful, he
is very friendly with me. He even takes food from my hands. You know in our garden there is
a magnificent banyan tree, which is older than my grandpa. I often spend my free time in the
tree, and the squirrel will also be there with me. Sometimes he sits in my pocket.

A few days ago, my grandpa bought a white rat from the bazaar. I often take it with me to
the tree. Soon it made a friendship with one of the squirrels in the banyan tree. Meanwhile a
strange thing happened. The squirrel started building a nest in a hole in the tree. When we
checked it, we found three little white squirrels! My grandpa says that he has not seen white
squirrels before. And, he also says that the rat and squirrels are related. So he is sure that
the white rat is the father of the white baby squirrels.
Iam so thrilled to see the white squirrels. I invite you to come to our home one day. You can
see the white squirrels and we can play on the branches of the tree.
Convey my regards to your family. I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours lovingly,

Sd/
Ruskin

2. ‘And amongst the wool were the three baby squirrels – all of them white!’ The boy couldn’t
stop wondering about the white squirrels. If he scribbled down this unforgettable sight in his
diary, how would it be? (Important Question)

25.04.2020
Monday
10:00 pm

What a day! I can’t express how happy I’m…

Our white rat has become father of three white squirrel babies. I’ve never seen white
squirrels before. Even grandpa doesn’t know about white squirrels. He said the rats and
squirrels were related to each other. So he is sure that the father of the white baby squirrels
is my white rat. I’m proud of my white rat and the squirrel. The baby squirrels are so cute. I
will bring all my friends to see the white squirrel babies.
I will never forget this day in my life.
Good night.

3. The boy was thrilled with the fight between the cobra and the mongoose. You may also
have the same feeling. Narrate the fight scene in your own words. (Important Question)
 Battle of Champions

The boy was sitting on the platform halfway up the tree. He used to read books and enjoy
sights down in the garden sitting there. One April afternoon, when everyone was indoors
due to the warm breezes of the approaching summer, he was sitting up on his platform as
usual. Suddenly he saw a huge, black cobra gliding into the garden beneath him out from a
cactus clump. At the same time, a mongoose also emerged from the bushes nearby and
went straight for the cobra.

Both of them came face to face in a clearing beneath the tree in which the boy was sitting.
The cobra defiantly darted his forked tongue in and out and raised three of his six feet off
the ground. The mongoose bushed its tail, and the long hair on its spine stood up. They were
ready to fight each other.

Two other spectators- a myna and a jungle crow- also came to the scene. The cobra tried to
mesmerize his opponent into making a false move. But the mongoose knew the trick and did
not fall into the trap. The mongoose moving forward, made a feint to one side. The cobra
struck but missed the aim. Immediately the mongoose darted on the snake and bit on its
back. At the same moment, the myna and the crow also dived at the cobra but collided each
other. The cobra started getting weaker and weaker as the mongoose attacked him
vigorously and repeatedly. In the fight, the cobra whipped his head back and his snout
thudded forcefully against the crow’s body killing it. Then, the myna wisely refrained from
anymore interferences.

Finally, the mongoose with a lightning snap had the cobra by his snout. He writhed for a
while and gradually stopped struggling. The winning mongoose, gripping its enemy’s hood,
dragged it into the bushes. The myna, with a shrill cry of congratulation, flew away!

4. The boy in the story ‘ Adventures in a Banyan Tree’ witnessed a fierce fight between cobra
and mongoose. Imagine that he narrated the fight to his grandfather. Prepare the likely
narrative.
( Answer the same as above. Write “I” instead of he and write my instead of “his”)

5. Having witnessed the dreadful fight between the cobra and the mongoose, the boy rushed to
his grandpa and told everything to him. The grandpa was happy to hear that the mongoose
had won the fight and the cobra got killed. Prepare the likely conversation between the boy
and his grandpa.

The boy : Hello grandpa

Grandpa : Hello Ruskin
The boy : How are you?
Grandpa : I’m fine! You’re so excited, what happened?
The boy : I got to see a fight between a cobra and a mongoose. Really thrilling!
Grandpa : What? When? Where were you then?
 The boy : I was sitting on my platform in our banyan tree. The cobra and mongoose came
just below me
Grandpa : What happened then?
The boy : They fought fiercely with each other. The mongoose was very fast and clever, and
he killed the snake.
Grandpa : Wow, that’s great! The mongoose is a clever guy. I’ve seen him many times here.
He keeps snakes away from our garden and house.
The boy : A myna and a crow also took part in the fight, and the crow got killed.
Grandpa : Perhaps they also don’t like the cobra. Anyhow, be careful while you’re in the
garden.
The boy : Okay grandpa, I’ll be careful. Thank you, bye!

6. The boy was thrilled to see the fight between cobra and the mongoose. Late he jolted down
his thoughts in his diary. Prepare the likely diary.
25.04.2020
Monday
10pm

What a day! I can’t express how excited I’m...

Today I witnessed a fight between a cobra and mongoose. I was sitting on my platform in
the banyan tree as usual. I saw a cobra coming out and suddenly a mongoose came out and
went straight for the cobra. And what a fight it was. Both were excellent fighters. But the
mongoose was very cunning. So it won the fight. I feel pity for the poor crow. I think myna
was very clever to stay away from the fighting cobra and mongoose. Anyway grandfather is
very happy that the mongoose has won. He says mongoose guards our home and the
grounds from snakes. And I think he is right.
I will never forget this day in my life.
Good night.

7. The arrival of the white baby squirrels soon became a wonderful piece of news. Hearing this
news, visitors rushed to Grandfather’s house. The following day the newspapers reported
about this strange and rare gift of nature. Prepare the likely news report.
White Squirrels – A Feast for the Eyes!
Staff Reporter

Dehra, 24.04.2020: It has been reported that three white baby squirrels have been found in
a nest in a banyan tree here yesterday. The banyan tree is in the garden owned by a sixty-
five year old gentleman. People from different part of the town come to his house to have a
look at this wonderful gift of nature. No one in the town has seen white squirrels ever
before.
Ruskin, the grandson of the gentleman says grandfather had bought a white rat from the
bazar. The boy had made friendship with a squirrel and he used to spend his free time with
the squirrel and the white rat in the tree. Meanwhile the white rat made friendship with one
of the squirrels there.
Yesterday while they were searching for the grandma’s missing knitting, they came across
these white squirrel babies in a nest in the banyan tree. When the boy said that he used to
take the white rat to the tree, the grandfather realized the fact that the father of the white
baby squirrels must be the white rat. He said, “Rats and squirrels are related to each other,
and so it is quite possible for them to have offspring.”
8. Prepare the character sketch of grandfather in the story ‘The Adventures in a Banyan Tree’.
The grandfather in the story ‘The Adventures in a Banyan Tree’ is a 65 years old
man. He lives with his wife and grand son. He has an English model garden in his
house. In their garden there is a huge banyan tree which is older than him. He has
become old and weak so he cannot climb trees now. He is a lover or nature. He
keeps an English garden well. He sometimes complaints about the Indian marigolds
growing in his English garden. He is very happy when his grandson told him that the
mongoose has won the fight with the cobra. He wants the mongoose to be there in
his garden to keep the snakes away. He once bought a white rat from the bazaar. He
ssems to be a happy and content man living comfortably with his wife and grandson.

9. Prepare a character sketch of the boy in the story ‘The Adventures in a Banyan Tree’.
The boy is living with his grandparents in Dehra. His grandfather had set up an
English garden in the house and there is a magnificent banyan tree in it. The boy has
made the tree his domain and built a platform half way up the tree. He used to
spend his afternoons there reading books. Once when he is on his platform, he sees
a fight between a cobra and a mongoose. He has made friendship with a grey
squirrel living in the banyan tree. It is so friendly that it delves in his pocket and
takes food from him. He is also friends with a white rat which his grandfather had
bought from bazaar. He often takes the white rat to the tree and it becomes friends
with the squirrel. The squirrel gave birth to three white baby squirrels. The boy and
his grandfather are thrilled. The boy is proud of the white rat and the squirrel. The
boy is a lover of nature and likes to be in the company of various creatures in nature.

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