Get summary, textbook solutions, questions, answers, notes, extras, MCQs, pdf of the chapter “The Bond of Love” by Kenneth Anderson for SEBA, (Assam Board) and TBSE (Tripura Board) Class 9 English (Beehive). However, the given notes/solutions should only be used for references and should be modified/changed according to needs.
Summary: “The Bond Of Love,” by Kenneth Anderson, portrays the profound bond of emotion that can exist between a man and a wild animal.
Anderson and his friends were once travelling through sugarcane fields near Mysore when they came across wild pigs being chased out of the fields. They brought out their guns and while some were killed by gunfire, others fled. They believed all was finished until a black sloth bear arrived out of nowhere and was fatally shot by one of the author’s companions. They eventually noticed that a baby bear had been riding on the back of the deceased mother bear. The distressed little cub made a sad cry as it went around its lifeless parent.
Anderson attempted to trap the cub, but it fled into the sugarcane fields, where it was pursued and eventually caught by the author. His wife was overjoyed when he presented her with the young bear. She immediately wrapped a colourful ribbon around its neck and named it Bruno after finding it was a boy cub. The young bear began by drinking milk from a bottle but quickly began to eat a variety of foods. Porridge, vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, curry, rice with or without spices, bread, eggs, chocolates, sweets, pudding, ice cream, and so on. Bruno drank a variety of beverages, including milk, tea, coffee, lime juice, aerated water, buttermilk, beer, and alcoholic beverages. Everything went down smoothly.
Bruno developed strong attachments to the family’s two Alsatian dogs as well as the tenant’s children. He had unlimited freedom, playing and moving around in every room of the author’s home, including the kitchen, and even sleeping in their beds.
Bruno was involved in an accident one day. He went into the library and ate some of the poison barium carbonate that the author had placed in the library to kill the rats. Bruno suffered a paralytic attack shortly after taking the toxin. He did, however, manage to contact the author’s wife, who immediately alerted her husband. Bruno was transported to a veterinary doctor right away, who gave him two antidote injections of 10 cc each. Bruno recovered quickly and resumed normal eating habits. Bruno drank old engine oil that the author had saved as a termite repellent at another time. He, however, was unaffected.
Bruno was well-cared for by the author’s family, and he grew quickly, becoming many times his original size. He’d turned mischievous and amusing. Bruno adored the author’s family, but above all, he adored the author’s wife, and she adored him! The author’s wife gave him the name Baba, which means “little boy.” He learned a few tricks as well, but he was still shackled due to the children of the tenants.
Bruno had grown too large to be maintained at home, and the author and his son, as well as their friends, decided that he should be given to a zoo. After great effort, the narrator’s wife, who had developed a strong attachment to Bruno, was persuaded. After receiving a good response from the curator, the bear was sent to the Mysore Zoo.
Even though the author and his family missed Bruno terribly, they were relieved in certain ways. His wife, on the other hand, was upset. She cried, worried, and refused to eat. Meanwhile, the curator and the narrator’s friends who visited the zoo reported that Bruno, while healthy, was unhappy and not eating. The author took his wife to the zoo after three months, at the request of his wife.
Bruno immediately recognised the author’s wife and expressed his joy by howling. The author’s wife asked the curator to return Bruno to her after spending three hours feeding and stroking him. He then advised her to speak with the superintendent. Bruno was finally allowed to return home with the Superintendent’s consent. An island with a dry pit or moat surrounding it was built specifically for him to keep him comfortable and safe. On the island, the author’s wife would spend a lot of time with Bruno in her lap. This demonstrated that sloth bears, like humans, have feelings, memories, and unique features.
Textual questions and answers
II. Answer the following questions.
1. “I got him for her by accident.”
(i) Who says this?
Answer: The narrator is the speaker of the above-quoted statement.
(ii) Who do ‘him’ and ‘her’ refer to?
Answer: In the above sentence, Bruno the sloth bear is referred to as “he,” while “her” refers to the narrator’s wife.
(iii) What is the incident referred to here?
Answer: The incident that is being discussed here is the story of how the narrator met Bruno. A friend of the narrator happened to shoot a black sloth bear while passing through sugarcane fields near Mysore, and as they watched the fallen animal, they discovered that beneath its thick fur was hidden a baby bear. After that, the narrator grabbed the baby bear and handed it to his wife as a pet.
2. “He stood on his head in delight.”
(i) Who does ‘he’ refer to?
Answer: ‘He’ refers to Bruno in the above statement.
(ii) Why was he delighted?
Answer: Bruno was delighted because the narrator’s wife had come to pay Bruno a visit at the zoo. For more than three months, he had been separated from her.
3. “We all missed him greatly: but in a sense we were relieved.”
(i) Who does ‘we all’ stand for?
Answer: Here, ‘We all’ in the preceding sentence refers to the narrator and his family.
(ii) Who did they miss?
Answer: Bruno, their sloth bear, was missed by everyone.
(iii) Why did they nevertheless feel relieved?
Answer: Bruno had gotten rather huge and had to be kept tied up most of the time since he presented a threat to the tenant’s children, so they were relieved when the zoo authorities took him away. As a result, Bruno’s transfer to the zoo provided him and the narrator’s family with freedom.
III. Answer the following questions in 30 to 40 words each.
1. On two occasions Bruno ate/drank something that should not be eaten/drunk. What happened to him on these occasions?
Answer: The first time Bruno ate barium carbonate meant to kill rats, he did so by accident. He became paralysed and had to be taken to the veterinarian right away. Due to his vomiting and heavy breathing, he suffered until the vet injected him with the antidote. On the second occasion, Bruno drank nearly a gallon of old engine oil, but fortunately, he did not suffer any ill effects from it.
3. How was the problem of what to do with Bruno finally solved?
Answer: Bruno, like her, was clearly unhappy at the zoo and missed the narrator’s wife. The narrator then took him home, built an island in the middle of the courtyard surrounded by a dry moat, and stacked all of Bruno’s necessities and toys on it.
Extra/additional questions and answers/solutions
1. Who in your opinion, had the strongest bond with Bruno? Give an example.
Answer: The narrator’s wife was Bruno’s closest friend. When Bruno was taken to the zoo, he refused to eat and was distraught. Bruno was eventually returned to the family home, and a private island was built for him at her request and initiative. She used to visit Bruno on his island by swinging across the moat on a rope. Bruno, on the other hand, was equally affectionate towards her and reciprocated her feelings for him.
2. Where was Bruno sent away and what was the reason behind it?
Answer: Bruno grew bigger and bigger over time, eventually outgrowing the family home. His presence also posed a threat to the tenant’s children. As a result, Bruno had to spend the majority of his time chained. As a result, it was unanimously decided that Bruno should be sent to the zoo where he would have his own space and would not have to spend his days chained up.
3. Why did Bruno return from the zoo?
Answer: When Bruno was sent to the zoo, the narrator’s wife, who adored him as if he were her own child, was heartbroken. She even refused food. Inquiries to the curator about Bruno revealed that he was in the same condition. When she finally paid him a visit at the zoo, she refused to leave and sobbed bitterly. Bruno appeared to be sad as well, and he cried as well. The zoo officials’ hearts melted as they witnessed this display of affection and emotion. Finally, after a few formalities, Bruno was returned to his family.
4. Describe the island that was made for Baba. Was it absolutely necessary?
Answer: Baba’s island was twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide, with a six-foot-wide and seven-foot-deep dry pit or moat surrounding it. It also included a straw-layered wooden box that served as Baba’s sleeping quarters. Two of his favourite toys, a stump and a bamboo stick, were also placed there.
He needed his own private island to be free from his shackles while also avoiding harming the tenants’ children.
5. How did Baba find barium carbonate? What was it supposed to be used for?
Answer: While looking for food in the library, Baba came across Barium carbonate. The barium carbonate was supposed to be rat poison.
16. Why had Bruno been chained most of the time?
Answer: Bruno had grown quickly. As a result, it was thought that allowing him to roam freely near the tenants’ children could be unsafe. As a result, it was decided that Bruno would be chained.
17. Why was the author’s wife urged to take Bruno to the zoo?
Answer: Because Bruno had grown too large to keep at home, the narrator, his son, and even some friends convinced the author’s wife to send him to the zoo. They were concerned that he would become a menace to children. But she was too attached to her pet bear to quickly accept the proposal. It took her three weeks to come to a decision and consent.
18. Bruno was fun and affectionate pet. So why did he have to be deported?
Answer: Bruno was an affectionate and playful pet. He had formed feelings for everyone around him, but especially for the author’s wife. He had to be sent to the zoo, though, because he had grown too large to be kept at home. He could be a danger to the people in the area, particularly children.
19. What was the solution to the Bruno problem?
Answer: Bruno could no longer be kept at home as he grew older and grew in size, according to the author, his son, and other acquaintances. The narrator’s wife reluctantly agreed to send Bruno to the Mysore Zoo, which addressed the problem of what to do with him. A letter was sent to the zoo’s curator, who responded positively. Bruno was confined and transported in a lorry dispatched by the zoo authorities.
20. When Baba was taken to the Mysore Zoo, how did the narrator’s wife react?
Answer: The narrator’s wife was so upset when Baba was taken to the Mysore zoo that she couldn’t be consoled. She cried and worried about the bear. For a few days, she refused to eat anything. She addressed letters to the zoo’s curator inquiring about Baba’s health.
21. What did the curator’s letters and visitors’ letters say about Baba?
Answer: Baba was well, but sad and agitated, according to letters from the zoo’s curator. He also refused to eat. Friends who visited the zoo reported that he had become quite skinny and was constantly worried.
22. When and why did the author and his wife visit the zoo in Mysore?
Answer: When the author’s wife heard that her beloved Bruno was melancholy and refused to eat, she was very upset. She wanted to see him for herself in Mysore. Though the author had managed to keep her from visiting the Mysore zoo for three months, she finally stood firm and told him that if he was not willing to drive her there, she would take the bus or train. As a result, the narrator drove her to the zoo to see her Baba.
23. When Baba saw the narrator’s wife in the zoo, how did he react?
Answer: When Baba saw the narrator’s wife, he was happy. He recognised her from a few yards away and howled with delight. He stood on his head to demonstrate his delight at seeing her again.
24. When the author’s wife encountered her ‘Baba’ at the zoo, how did she react?
Answer: The author’s wife rushed to the zoo’s cage where Baba was housed. She sat beside the cage for three hours, petting him tenderly through the bars to demonstrate her devotion. She served him everything from tea to lemonade to cakes to ice cream.
25. Describe the situation when Bruno and the narrator’s wife had to part again when the zoo closed.
Answer: The author’s wife was despondent as the zoo’s closing time approached. She sobbed uncontrollably at the prospect of being separated from her Baba. He, too, was in tears. The zoo’s curator and keepers were moved by this touching scene.
26. How would the wife of the narrator go to Baba’s island?
Answer: The narrator had tied a rope with a loop to an overhanging branch of a mango tree. His wife would span the six-foot-wide pit surrounding the island by putting one foot in the loop and kicking off with the other. She would then sit in a chair for hours with Baba in her lap.
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