Class-7, English (An Alien Hand) , Chapter - 8 (The Bear Story) Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

 English

(An Alien Hand)

Class -7, Chapter - 8

(The Bear Story)

Summary, Word Meanings, NCERT Solutions & Frequently Asked Questions

-- Summary --

⭐ Summary In English:- 

Once there lived a lady on the border of a big forest. She found a bear cub in the forest. It was starving. It was quite helpless. The lady had to bring it up on the bottle. The cook helped her.

After many years it grew up to a big and strong bear. However, he was a most amiable bear. He harmed neither men nor beasts. There were three mountain ponies in the stable. Even these ponies did not feel frightened when he walked into the stable. He also looked amicably at the cattle. The children used to ride on his back. They had also been found asleep in his kennel between his two paws. The three Lapland dogs loved to play with him. They pulled his ears and teased him in every way. He did not mind it at all.

The bear ate the same food as the dogs. He ate bread, porridge, potatoes, cabbages and turnips. He had a good appetite. He used to see with wistful eyes at the apples in the orchard. He was not allowed to climb the tree and eat them. He had also been taught not to touch the beehive. He was once put on the chain for two days when he had touched the beehives. Otherwise he was chained only at night. Like a dog, a bear also does not like to be chained.

The lady visited her sister every Sunday. This sister lived on the other side of the mountain lake. It was not safe to go with the bear through the forest. So on the Sundays the bear was on chain the whole afternoon.

One Sunday while walking through the dense forest, she found the bear following her. The lady was very angry. There was no time to take him back home. She did not even want him to come with her. She told him in her hardest tone to go back. She threatened him with her parasol. The bear did not seem to want to obey her. Then the lady saw that the bear had even lost his new collar. She hit the bear with her parasol so hard that it broke into two. The bear stopped and opened his mouth several times as if wanting to say something. Then he turned round and went back. However, he stopped now and then to look back at the lady. At last she lost sight of him.

The lady came back home in the evening. She found the bear looking very sorry for himself. It was so because he had been sitting there the whole day. Sitting in the same position he had been waiting for the lady. The lady was still very angry. She began to scold the bear. She said that he would be chained for two more days as punishment.

The old cook heard the lady and rushed out from the kitchen. She loved the bear as her own son. She asked the lady to bless him instead of scolding him. The bear, she said, had been sitting there all day as meck as an angel.

It was then that the lady realised she had met another bear in the forest.

⭐ Summary In Hindi:- 

एक बार एक महिला एक बड़े जंगल के किनारे रहती थी। उसे जंगल में रीछ का एक बच्चा मिल गया। वह भूख से मर रहा था। वह बिलकुल लाचार था। उस महिला को उसे बोतल से भोजन देकर पालना पड़ा। रसोइन ने उसकी मदद की।

कई वर्षों बाद यह बड़ा और शक्तिशाली रीछ बन गया। फिर भी यह बड़ा मैत्रीपूर्ण रीछ था। वह न तो मनुष्यों को और न ही पशुओं को कोई हानि पहुँचाता था। अस्तबल में तीन पहाड़ी घोड़े थे। ये घोड़े भी उसके अस्तबल में आने पर डरते नहीं थे। चौपायों की तरफ भी वह मैत्री भाव से देखता था। बच्चे उसकी पीठ पर सवारी करते थे। उसके बसेरे में बच्चों को उसके दो पंजों के बीच में सोता पाया गया था। तीन लैपलैंड कुत्ते उसके साथ खेला करते थे। वे उसके कान खींचते और तरह-तरह से उसे छेड़ते थे। पर उसे वह सब बिलकुल बुरा नहीं लगता था।

रीछ कुत्तों वाला खाना ही खाता था। वह रोटी, दलिया, आलू, बन्द गोभी और शलगम खाता था। उसकी भूख अच्छी थी। बगीचे के सेबों को वह ललचाई आँखों से देखता रहता था। उसे पेड़ पर चढ़कर उन्हें खाने की इजाजत नहीं थी। उसे मधुमक्खियों के छत्तों को न छूना भी सिखाया गया था। एक बार इस छत्ते को छूने पर उसे दो दिन जंजीर से बांधकर रखा गया था। वरना उसे सिर्फ रात में ही बाँधा जाता था। कुत्ते की तरह रीछ भी बाँधा जाना पसंद नहीं करते हैं।

महिला हर रविवार अपनी बहन से मिलने जाती थी। यह बहन पहाड़ी झील के दूसरे किनारे पर रहती थी। रीछ के साथ जंगल से गुजरना सुरक्षित नहीं था। इसलिए रविवार को तीसरे पहर रीछ चेन से बँधा रहता था।

एक रविवार को जब वह घने जंगल से गुजर रही थी तो उसने रीछ को अपने पीछे आता पाया। महिला बड़ी क्रुद्ध हुई। इतना समय न था कि उसे वापस घर लेकर जाये। वह यह भी नहीं चाहती थी कि वह उसके साथ जाये। उसने अपने कठोरतम स्वर में उससे वापस जाने को कहा। उसने अपनी छतरी से उसे धमकाया। लगा कि जैसे रीछ उसकी आज्ञा मानना नहीं चाहता था। तब उस महिला ने देखा कि रीछ के गले में उसका नया पट्टा भी नहीं था। उसने अपनी छतरी रीछ को इतनी जोर से मारी कि वह टूटकर दो टुकड़े हो गई। रीछ रुका और उसने अपना मुँह कई बार खोला मानो कुछ कहना चाहता हो। फिर वह वापस मुड़कर चला गया। फिर भी वह रुक-रुक कर महिला की तरफ देख लेता था। अंतत: वह महिला की आँख से ओझल हो गया।

महिला शाम को घर वापस आयी। उसने रीछ को अपने ऊपर तरस खाता सा बैठे देखा। ऐसा इसलिए था कि वह सारे दिन वहाँ बैठा रहा था। उसी स्थिति में बैठा हुआ वह महिला की प्रतीक्षा कर रहा था। वह महिला अभी भी बड़ी क्रुद्ध थी। उसने रीछ को डाँटना प्रारंभ कर दिया। उसने कहा कि दंड के रूप में उसे दो दिन और बाँधकर रखा जाएगा।

बूढी रसोइन ने महिला की बात सुनी और वह तेजी से रसोई से बाहर निकलकर आई। वह रीछ से अपने बेटे जैसा प्यार करती थी। उसने महिला से कहा कि रीछ को डाँटने की बजाय उसे उसको आशीर्वाद देना चाहिए। उसने बताया कि सारा दिन रीछ एक देवदूत की भांति शांति से वहीं पर बैठा रहा था।

तब जाकर महिला को अहसास हुआ कि जंगल में वह किसी अन्य रीछ से मिली थी।

-- Word Meanings --

• Amiable :- मिलनसार

• Amicably :- दोस्ताना और शांतिपूर्वक

• Clumsy :- चीजों को संभालने में अजीब

• Cracking :- दरार पड़ना

• Cunning :- चतुर, बुद्धिमान

• Fond :- शौक़ीन, लगाव 

• Gust :- झोंका, झटका

• Horrified :- भय से भरा हुआ

• ill-tempered :- गुस्सैल, क्रोधी

• Kennel :- स्थान जहाँ पालतू जानवर रखे जाते हैं

• Manor :- मुख्य आवासीय स्थान

• Orchard :- सेब का बगीचा 

• Panting :- हांफना

• Parasol :- छाता

• Sailor :- नाविक 

• Severest :- गंभीर

• Shaggy :- गन्दा दिखने वाला

• Slain :- मारा गया

• Sniffing :- सूँघना, महकना

• Solitary :- एकान्त, अकेला 

• Stable :- स्थान जहाँ घोड़े रखे जाते हैं

• Stump :- छोटा और मोटा

• Temptation :- मोह, इच्छा

• Trotting :- चलने की तुलना में तेज गति से आगे बढ़ने या आगे बढ़ने का कारण बनता है

• Wander :- घूमना-फिरना

• Winding :- घुमावदार

• Wistfully :- इच्छा और उदासी से भरा हुआ

-- NCERT Solutions -- 

Exercise

Answer the following questions:-

Question 1:- Where did the lady find the bear cub? How did she bring it up?

Answer:- The lady found the bear cub in the forest near her house. She fed him with bottle milk. Her cook helped her in this task.

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

Answer:- The friendly bear was harmless. He watched amicably at the cattle grazing in the field. The children used to ride his back safely. The three dogs loved to play all sorts of games with him, pull his ears and his stump of a tail and tease him in every way.

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

Answer:- The bear ate the same food as the dogs. He was given bread, porridge, potatoes, cabbages and turnips. He was a vegetarian. He liked the apple most.

He was not allowed to pluck apples from the tree and attack the beehive.

Question 4:- When was the bear tied up with a chain? Why?

Answer:- The bear was usually tied up with a chain only at night and on Sundays when the lady visited her sister for lunch.

Question 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?

Answer:- One Sunday while the lady was on way to her sister’s house, she heard the cracking of the branches behind her. She saw the bear following her. She punished him by hitting him on his nose with her umbrella. The bear turned round and went back.

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

Answer:- The bear looked sad when the lady came back home in the evening. The poor creature had been in chains all day. He was kept waiting for the mistress to come and set him free.

The mistress scolded the bear for following her in the forest. The cook got angry. She told her mistress that the bear had been sitting gently all day and he didn’t to be treated harshly any more.

Discuss the following topics in groups.

Question 1:- Most people keep dogs and cats as pets. Can you think of some unusual pets that people keep?

Answer:- The unusual pets that people often keep are wolves, bears and tigers, snakes and even crocodiles.

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

Answer:- The lady while crossing found a raw bear. It seemed he was taken aback to see the self-confidence of the lady. Her fearless behaviour frightened him.

-- Frequently Asked Questions --

Question 1:- In what ways did the bear become the lady’s pet animals?

Answer:- The lady gave milk to the half-dead bear and brought him up. The bear was friendly towards the dogs, children and other cattle grazing in the field. In this way he became the lady’s pet animal.

Question 2:- How did the bear grow up a vegetarian ?

Answer:- The bear cub was brought up on milk bottle. He was kept on bread, vegetables and fruit. He never tasted meat. So, he grew up a vegetarian.

Question 3:- Why did the bear climb up a tree and ate the apples ?

Answer:- The bear was fond of apples. He saw the apple trees in the orchard. He could not resist the temptation and climbed up the tree and ate the apples.

Question 4:- How was the bear punished when he attacked a beehive ?

Answer:- 

i) The bear was hit on the nose, which bled.

ii) He was put in chains for two days.

Question 5:- Why did the lady chain the bear on Sundays?

Answer:- The lady used to go to her sister’s house on Sundays. She chained the bear lest he should wander in the forest in her absence. She also feared that he would turn into a wild bear.

Question 6:- The cook loved the bear like her own son. Justify.

Answer:- The cook had brought up the baby bear on bittle milk. The lady wanted to punish the bear by chaining him for two days. The cook told the lady that the bear had not gone anywhere. She saved the bear from punishment. It shows that the cook loved the bear like her own son.

Question 7:- Give the character sketch of the bear in The Bear Story’.

Answer:- The baby bear was brought up on milk. He ate only vegetarian food. He never tasted meat. He liked apples and honey. He never attacked the animals. He entered the stables of mountain ponies in a friendly manner. The dogs played with him and pulled his ears and tails. The children enjoyed a ride on his back. He was quite friendly with children and other animals. He was a gentle animal. He was the favourite of both the lady and the cook.

Question 8:- Give the character sketch of the lady in The Bear Story’.

Answer:- The lady is very kind. Once she finds a bear cub in the forest. She tames the baby bear. She brings him up like her own son. She feeds him on milk bottle.

She gives him an apple to eat everyday. She gives him vegetarian diet. Sometimes she punishes the bear for his bad behaviour. She pets him before chaining.

The lady is very bold. She crosses the forest alone fearlessly. She hits the wild bear hard when he chases her in the forest. She does not tolerate disobedience even on the part of her pet bear. She is fond of taming animals.

-- Durgesh Pandey

(Eklavya Coaching Institute)