Important Questions for CBSE Class 7 English An Alien Hand Chapter 8 - The Bear Story

A. Very Short Answer Questions: (1 Marks)

1. Word – Meaning from the given chapter: 

(i) Manor House

Ans: A large country house that has lands

(ii) Amicably

Ans: In a friendly manner

(iii) Temptation

Ans: Desire

(iv) Menacing 

Ans: Threatening

2. Fill in the Blanks: 

(i) The lady in the manor-house had _____ (parrot as a pet/ a bear as a pet).

Ans: a bear as a pet

(ii) It was a most friendly bear who loved _____ (flesh of animals/ vegetables, apples, and honey).

Ans: vegetables, apples, and honey

(iii) He roamed freely during the day but was put on the ____ (chain at night/ inside the cage).

Ans: chain at night

(iv) Bears are _____ if they have a chance, and _____ is what they like best.

Ans: vegetarians, fruits

3. Where did the lady live? 

Ans: The lady lives in an old manor-house located at the end of a forest.

4. Where did she find her pet bear? 

Ans: The lady found her pet bear in the forest. 

5. In which condition did she find the bear? 

Ans: The lady found the bear in very disastrous conditions. He was small then, was half dead in starvation, and helpless.

B. Short Answer Questions: (2 Marks)

1. How big was the bear now? 

Ans: The bear was so big that it could kill a cow and if he wanted, he would carry it away between his two paws.

2. How was the bear, friendly or dangerous? 

Ans: The bear was friendly. He was, in fact, the most warm-hearted bear who couldn’t kill anybody, be it a man or a beast. Sitting in his kennel, he would even look at the grazing cattle innocently. 

3. Who knew the bear well?

Ans: The lady also had three shaggy mountain ponies as her pet. They knew the bear very well and were aware of how safe and innocent he was. They did not mind even when the bear would shuffle into their stable with the lady.

4. How was the bear with the children? 

Ans: The bear’s interaction or relationship with the children can be elaborated as follows—

• The bear was friendly with the children too. 

• He used to give the children rides on his back

• He made the children feel so comfortable that they would even fall asleep in his kennel between his two paws.

5. How did the dogs react to seeing the bear? 

Ans: Seeing the bear, the dogs would react in the following manner—

• The three dogs loved playing with the bear and would play all sorts of games with him.

• They would pull his ears, his stump of the tail. These ways they enjoyed a lot while teasing him. 

• They would also sometimes share their plate of food with the bear. 

C. Short Answer Questions: (3 Marks)

1. How are bears different when shown apples? 

Ans: Though bears are usually non-vegetarians, they are very much into eating fruits. When shown apples, they react differently in the following manner—

• The bears become very happy when they come across apples as they are very fond of these fruits. 

• The bear in the story used to stare at the apple tree and get tempted.

• He would often climb up the tree and pluck many apples for himself.

2. Why and how was the bear punished? 

Ans: The bear was being punished by his mistress for the following reasons— 

• He would climb the apple tree in the orchard whenever he could not control his temptation.

• He would pluck some apples too with anyone’s permission and this was unlawful. 

• The bear was punished by his mistress for this deed by getting tied up with the chain for two days. Adding to his punishment, his nose would bleed at those times. 

3. Why was the bear put on a chain on Sundays? 

Ans: The bear was put on a chain on Sundays because his mistress would go to her married sister who lived in a lone house on the other end of the mountain lake to spend the afternoon with her.

4. Why didn't the mistress take the bear to her sister’s house? 

Ans: The mistress used to visit her sister’s house every Sunday. But she didn’t take the bear to her there because of the following reasons—

• She wanted to keep him safe as going through the forest would tempt him.

• Moreover, the bear could not sail well. He once got so scared of the gust of wind that he unbalanced the boat and both of them had to swim to the shore.

5. How did the bear react when the mistress left her alone? 

Ans: Every Sunday, the mistress used to visit her sister’s house leaving behind the bear alone. The bear would react to it in the following manner—

• Firstly, he got accustomed to the routine. He knew what it meant when his mistress tied him up. However, he would still feel sad. 

• Knowing he did not have any choice, he would behave like a good dog with the hope of getting an apple from the lady as his present for his good behavior. 

• But one day, the bear couldn’t control himself. Once the lady left, he, somehow, untied himself and started following her. 

D. Long Answer Questions: (5 Marks)

1. What did the mistress see one Sunday? Who was following her? 

Ans: One Sunday, when the mistress left the bear tied and was on her way to her sister’s house what she saw and who was following her can be elaborated as follows—

• Firstly, she heard the sound of a tree cracking.

• In the next moment, the lady felt that a snaky footpath was following her. 

• She looked back and was shocked to see the bear running towards her. 

• And in a moment, she witnessed the bear join her panting and sniffing.

• Then the bear placed his body at her heels in a dog-fashion manner.

2. What did the lady do with the bear? 

Ans: When the lady was going to her sister’s house and the bear came on her way, she did the following things with him—

• Firstly, she expressed her anger that the bear had broken his chain, disobeyed her orders of behaving well and ran to her. 

• But as she was late for lunch and couldn’t take the bear back to the house, the next thing she did was order him to return home. 

• But as the bear kept sniffing at her, the lady noticed that he had lost his new collar. This made her even angrier. She scolded him and hit him with her umbrella.

• Lastly, getting all the beatings and scolding from her mistress, the bear gave in, stopped following her, and started going back home. 

3. What did the lady see when she returned from his sister’s house? 

Ans: When the lady returned in the evening from her sister’s house, what she saw is described in the following points—

• The bear was sitting where he usually sat outside his kennel.

• The bear looked as if he was feeling sorry for his behaviour. 

• However, these sights didn’t let the lady’s anger wash away. She was still mad and started scolding him in the most severe manner possible. She told him that he would be chained for two more days.

4. Who scolded the lady when she was scolding the bear? Why did the person do so? 

Ans: When the lady was scolding the bear, the old cook of hers scolded her. She asked him the reason for her scolding as the bear had been a very good boy the whole day. He had been sitting in his place in silence since the lady left, looking at the gate for her return. 

• The cook scolded the lady because of the following reasons—

• The cook loved the bear very dearly as her own child. 

• She felt bad and sorry for the bear when he was getting scolded.

• So, she started scolding the lady back.

5. If you had to pet an animal from the wild animals, what animal would you choose? How would you look after it?

Ans: If I had to pet an animal from the wild animals, I would choose an Elephant. I love elephants especially when they are babies. They are really cute and behave like children. I would look after it in the following manner—

• Firstly, I would try to take care of it as I would do in the case of a dog. 

• He would be given a bath daily in a river. 

• I would feed him the amount of food he would need daily.

• Then I would take him out for a walk in a nearby forest and play with him. I would also train him like other elephants are trained. 

• He would also let him roam freely and would chain him only at night.