The Bond of Love class 9 English beehive chapter 9 Extra Questions and Answers are available here. All these questions are divided into short type questions answers, long type question answers and extract based questions. These Class 9 extra questions are prepared by our expert teachers. Learning these questions will help you to score excellent marks in the board exams.

Extra Questions for Class 9 English Beehive Chapter 9 The Bond of Love

Very Short Answer Questions

1. Who was Bruno?
Answer: Bruno was the author’s wife’s pet sloth bear.

2. Where did the author find the bear cub?
Answer: The author found the bear cub when he was passing through the sugarcane fields near Mysore.

3. Who did the author present the bear cub to?
Answer: The author presented the bear cub to his wife.

4. What was Bruno brought upon?
Answer: Bruno was brought up on buttermilk, fruit, rice and potatoes.

5. What did the bear become very attached to?
Answer: The bear became very attached to the author’s two Alsatian dogs.

6. Why did the author put barium carbonate poison in a home?
Answer: He put this poison in a home to kill rats and mice.

7. what ‘was the effect of the poison on Bruno?
Answer: Bruno suffered a paralysis attack and he could not stand on his feet.

8. What new name did the author’s wife give to Bruno?
Answer: She gave him a new name ‘Baba’.

9. Where did the author send ‘Baba’ to?
Answer: The author sent ‘Baba’ to Mysore zoo.

10. What request did the author’s wife make to the superintendent to the zoo?
Answer: She requested the superintendent of the zoo to return ‘Baba’ to her.

11. Why was a squad of coolies engaged?
Answer: A squad of coolies was engaged to take down ‘Baba’s box from the top of the car.

Short Answer Type Questions

1. How did the author get the baby sloth bear?

Answer: The author got the baby sloth bear in a freak accident. Once the author and his friends were passing through the sugarcane fields near Mysore, Bruno’s mother was wantonly shot dead by one of his companions. The cub was found moving on the body of his mother. It was in great shock and tried to flee but the author managed to capture it, and bring it home.

2. Why did the author not kill the sloth bear when she appeared suddenly?

Answer: Being kind-hearted, the author did not kill any animals without any motive or provocation. As the sloth bear had not provoked or attacked him, he did not kill it. That is why he describes his companions shooting of her a wanton act.

3. Why did one of the author’s companions kill the bear?

Answer: One of the author’s companions killed the bear wantonly, in a moment of impulsive rush of blood. He may have though the bear would attack them and he may have shot it as an impulsive act born of self-preservation.

4. How did the author capture the bear cub?

Answer: When the bear cub’s mother was shot, it ran around its prostrate parent making a pitiful noise. The author ran up to it to attempt a capture. It scooted into the sugarcane field. Following it with his companions, the author was at last able to grab it by the scruff of its neck and put it in a gunny bag.

5. How did the author’s wife receive the baby sloth bear?

Answer: The author’s wife was extremely happy to get the baby sloth bear as a pet. She put a coloured ribbon around his neck and named him Bruno.

6. How was Bruno, the baby bear, fed initially? What followed within a few days?

Answer: Initially, the little Bruno was given milk from a bottle. But soon he started eating all kinds of food and drank all kinds of drinks. He ate a variety of dishes like porridge, vegetables, nuts, fruits, meat, eggs, chocolates etc., and drank milk, tea, coffee, lime-juice, buttermilk, even beer and alcoholic liquor.

7. “One day an accident befell him”. What accident befell Bruno?

Answer: One day Bruno ate the rat poison (barium carbonate) kept in the library to kill rats. The poison affected his nervous and muscular system and left him paralysed. He rapidly became weak, panted heavily, vomited, and was unable to move.

8. How was Bruno cured of paralysis?

Answer: Bruno had mistakenly consumed poison and had got paralysed. However, he managed to crawl to the author’s wife on his stumps. He was taken to the veterinary doctor who and injected 10 cc of the antidote into him. The first dose had no effect. Then another dose was injected which cured Bruno absolutely. After ten minutes of the dose, his breathing became normal and he could move his arms and legs.

9. Why did Bruno drink the engine oil? What was the result?

Answer: Once the narrator had drained the old engine oil from the sump of his car and kept it to treat termites. Bruno, who would drink anything that came his way, drank about one gallon of this oil too. However, it did not have any effect on him.

10. What used to be Bruno’s activities at the author’s home?

Answer: In the beginning, Bruno was left free. He spent his time in playing, running into the kitchen and going to sleep in our beds. As he grew older, he became more mischievous and playful. He learnt to do a few tricks, too. At the command, ‘Baba, wrestle’, or ‘Baba, box,’ he vigorously tackled anyone who came forward for a rough and tumble. If someone said ‘Baba, hold gun’, he would point the stick at the person. If he was asked, ‘Baba, where’s baby?’ he immediately produced and cradled affectionately a stump of wood which he had carefully concealed in his straw bed.

11. How did Bruno become attached to the family of the author?

Answer: Bruno got lot of love in the family of the author and he grew very fond of them. It slowly got attached even to the two Alsatian dogs and to all the children of the tenants. But, above all, he loved the author’s wife and she loved him dearly too.

12. How did Bruno come to be called ‘Baba’?

Answer: Bruno came to be called ‘Baba’ which in Hindustani means a ‘young boy’ after the narrator’s wife developed a special bond of affection for him. She loved him as she loved her son and started calling him ‘Baba’.

13. What kind of tricks did Bruno, the pet bear, do?

Answer: Bruno was mischievous and played a lot of tricks. When he was called to wrestle, he would vigorously tackle anyone who came forward. When asked to hold the gun, he pointed a stick at the person. On being asked where the baby was, he brought out a stump of wood and cradled it as if it were a baby.

14. Why had Bruno to be kept in chains most of the time?

Answer: Bruno had grown up very fast. Therefore, it was felt that it could be dangerous to let him move about freely around the children of the tenants. Therefore, it was decided to keep Bruno in chains.

15. Who advised the author’s wife to send Bruno to a zoo and why? What was her reaction?

Answer: The narrator, his son and even some friends advised the author’s wife to send Bruno to a zoo because he was now too big to be kept at home. They felt he may become a danger to children. But she loved the pet bear so deeply that she could not accept the proposal readily. It took her three weeks to make up her mind and give her consent.

16. Bruno was a loving and playful pet. Why, then, did he have to be sent away?

Answer: Bruno was certainly a loving and playful pet. He had developed affection for everyone around him and was particularly attached to the author’s wife. However, he had to be sent away to the zoo because he had grown too big to be kept at home. He could be a threat to the people in the neighbourhood, especially children.

17. How was the problem of what to do with Bruno solved?

Answer: As he grew up and became larger in size, the author, his son and some friends felt that Bruno could no longer be kept at home. The problem of what to do with Bruno was solved when the narrator’s wife, though reluctantly, gave her consent to send Bruno to the zoo in Mysore. A letter was written to the curator of the zoo who replied in the positive. Bruno was put in a cage and sent away in a lorry that had been sent by the zoo authorities.

18. How did the narrator’s wife react when Baba was sent to Mysore zoo?

Answer: When Baba was sent to Mysore zoo, the narrator’s wife felt so miserable that she could not be consoled. She wept and kept worrying about the bear. She refused to eat anything for some days. She wrote letters to the curator of the zoo to inquire about Baba’s well being.

19. What did the letters from the curator and the friends who visited the zoo report about Baba?

Answer: The letters from the curator of the zoo reported that though Baba was well, he was sad and upset, and refused to eat. The friends who visited the zoo gave similar reports telling that he had grown very thin and kept fretting all the time.

20. When did the author take his wife to the Mysore zoo? Why?

Answer: The author’s wife was deeply disturbed to hear reports of her dear Bruno was sad and refused to eat. She wanted to go to mysore and see him for herself. Though the author had managed to prevent her from going to the Mysore zoo for three months, one day she put her foot down and told him that if he was not ready to take her to the zoo by car, she would go by bus or train. So, the narrator took her to the zoo by car to see her Baba.

21. What had the author thought would happen when he took his wife to see Bruno?

Answer: The author and his friends had conjectured that the bear would not recognise his wife to see him as three months had elapsed since Bruno had been sent to the zoo. However, contrary to their expectations, Bruno had not forgotten her. He was delighted to see her.

22. How did Baba behave when he saw the narrator’s wife in the zoo?

Answer: Baba was overjoyed to see the narrator’s wife. He recognised her from a distance of some yards and howled with happiness. To express his pleasure at meeting her again, he stood on his head.

23. How did the author’s wife do when she met her ‘Baba’ at the zoo?

Answer: At the zoo, the author’s wife rushed to the cage where Baba was been kept. She showed her love by stroking him affectionately through the bars and sat near the cage for three hours. She fed him tea, lemonade, cakes, ice-cream and what not.

24. Describe the scene at the time of the closing of the zoo when Bruno and the narrator’s wife had to separate again.

Answer: As the closing time at the zoo drew near, the author’s wife was desolate. She cried bitterly at the thought of being parted from her Baba. He, too, cried bitterly. This touching scene saddened the curator and the keepers of the zoo.

25. What request did the narrator’s wife make to the curator? Did the curator grant the request?

Answer: The narrator’s wife requested the curator of the zoo to allow her to take her pet sloth bear, Baba, back home. He refused initially, saying that Baba was a government property and he could not be given away. But afterwards, seeing how unhappy both she and Bruno were at being parted, he suggested that they should contact the Superintendent in Bangalore for permission to take Baba home.

26. How did Baba reach back home?

Answer: At the request of the narrator’s wife, the Superintendent of the zoo agreed to permit her to have Baba back home. He wrote a letter to the curator and asked him to lend a cage so that the bear could be brought home safely. The cage was carefully put on the top of the car and Baba travelled back to his home in Bangalore.

27. What kind of a place was prepared for Baba at the narrator’s home and why?

Answer: To prevent Baba from ever becoming a threat to the children of the tenants, an island measuring twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide was created in the compound by digging a six feet wide and seven feet deep moat around it. This island became Baba’s home.

28. Describe the house on the island in which Baba would sleep at night.

Answer: A wooden box that was once used to keep the fowls was put on the island for Baba to sleep at night. Straw was placed inside to keep it warm and Bruno’s toys—his ‘baby’, the gnarled stump, and his ‘gun’, the piece of bamboo—were also placed there for him to play with.

29. How would the narrator’s wife reach the island where Baba was kept?

Answer: The narrator had tied a rope to the overhanging branch of a mango tree with a loop at its end. To reach the island, his wife would put one foot in the loop and kick off with the other to cross the six-foot wide pit around the island. She would then spend hours sitting on a chair with Baba in her lap.

30. How does the story illustrate that animals love human beings just as humans love them?

Answer: Bruno’s is a story of emotional bonding between a woman and a bear. The author’s wife loved her pet bear, Bruno deeply. In turn, Bruno performed many playful tricks which amused the lady. They enjoyed each other’s company. When Bruno was sent to a zoo, the parting was as painful for the author’s wife as it was for Bruno. Seeing their plight, Bruno was brought home again. The entire episode shows the mutual love between the two.

Long Answer Type Questions

1. How was Bruno brought to the author’s home? How did he become it member of the family?

Answer: The baby bear was brought to the author’s home by chance. Once, when the author and his companions, were going to Mysore, they were passing through the sugarcane fields when they saw people driving away the wild pigs from the fields by shooting at them. Some of the animals were shot and some escaped. When the author thought that everything was over, suddenly a black sloth bear came out panting in the hot sun, and one of the author’s companions wantonly killed the bear.

The cub who was riding the back of his mother ran around its prostrate parent making a pitiful noise. Filled with pity, the author chased him and captured him. He brought the baby bear home and gifted it to his wife as a pet. The author’s wife accepted him with love and named him Bruno to mark that he was no longer a homeless, wild animal. Soon there developed a bond of love between Bruno and the author’s wife and Bruno came to be called ‘Baba’ which means a ‘small boy’. He had now become a true family member who enjoyed complete freedom and deep affection.

2. On two occasions Bruno ate/drank something that should not be eaten or drunk. What happened to him on these occasions?

Answer: Bruno, the bear cub, was an inquisitive and playful one. Moreover, he enjoyed a variety of dishes and drinks in the author’s home. On the one hand, he was curious about things around him and on the other he had become very fond of eating and drinking. Once the narrator had kept some barium carbonate for killing rats in the library.

Bruno went there as he usually did and, seeing the poison that had been kept there, he consumed it. The poison had an immediate effect on him and, as paralysis set in, he could not stand on his feet. However, he managed to drag himself on his stumps to reach the author’s wife who at once called him.

Bruno began weakening rapidly, he was vomiting and breathing heavily, as his flanks heaved and mouth gaped. The author rushed to the veterinary doctor who, after consulting his book, gave Bruno an injection of 10 cc of the antidote for barium chloride. Since the first injection did not improve his condition, another injection of the same potency was given. After ten minutes, Bruno’s heavy breathing became normal.

After thirty minutes, he stood on his feet and ate a good meal. On another occasion, Bruno drank engine oil. It so happened that the author had emptied the sump of his car and about one gallon of the engine oil had been collected. The author had kept it to kill the termites. Bruno drank the whole of it. However, the engine oil did not have any effect on him.

3. Why was Bruno sent to the Mysore zoo and why was he ultimately brought back home?

Answer: As months passed, Bruno, the cub bear, grew big in size. The author and his son felt it was not advisable to keep a fully grown wild animal at home, especially with the children of the tenants around. So, they felt Bruno should be sent to the zoo in Mysore. Their friends, too, offered the same advice. Although the author’s wife opposed the proposal for some time, she ultimately gave her consent after three weeks.

After her approval, they wrote a letter to the curator of the zoo asking if he wanted a tame bear for his collection. Once they received a positive response from the curator of the zoo, Baba was sent to the Mysore zoo. However, the separation was unbearable both for the author’s wife and Baba.

Both were inconsolable and would not eat properly. Bruno, especially, grew very weak and fretted. After three months of separation, the narrator’s wife put her foot down and had to be taken to the zoo in a car. On seeing each other after so long, both the narrator’s wife and Baba expressed their joy and pleasure. He recognized her from a distance, howled with .delight and stood on his head in happiness.

She patted him through the bars of his cage and fed him a variety of food and drinks that she had brought. When it was closing time at the zoo both the narrator’s wife and Baba cried so bitterly that even the curator was moved. She requested the curator to send Baba back and he suggested to seek the Superintendent’s permission. The Superintendent, who was a kind fellow, agreed and at his recommendation, the curator had the bear sent back home to Bangalore.

4. How was Bruno transported back to Bangalore from the Mysore zoo? What special arrangements were made to keep him at home?

Answer: Bruno, the pet bear, was transported back to Bangalore in a cage lent by the Mysore zoo authorities. The cage containing Bruno was hoisted on top of the car and tied securely. The vehicle was driven slowly and carefully, lest he was hurt. At the writer’s home in Bangalore, special arrangements were made to keep Bruno at a safe distance from the tenants’ children.

An island was made for Baba that was twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide, and was surrounded by a dry pit, or moat, six feet wide and seven feet deep. A wooden box that once housed fowls was brought and put on the island for Baba to sleep in at night. Straw was placed inside to keep him warm, his toys – the gnarled stump, his ‘baby’, and the piece of bamboo, which was his ‘gun’ – both of which had been sentimentally preserved by the author’s wife were put back for him to play with. After that the coolies hoisted the cage on to the island and Baba was released.

5. The author ends the story “The Bond of Love” with the rhetorical question: “But who can say now that a sloth bear has no sense of affection, no memory and no individual characteristics?” Discuss this statement in the light of Bruno’s character.

Answer: The Bond of Love revolves around the mutual, sincere and selfless love of the narrator’s wife and her pet bear, Bruno. The young bear loved and brought up like a child by the author’s wife, proves that he richly deserves this love because he himself is capable of showing equally deep and faithful love.

He is treated like a member of the family and he himself proves that he is as much bound by loyal love to the members of the family as they are to him. The deep emotions of Bruno come to the fore when he is sent to the Mysore zoo. He is so pained by the separation from his mistress that he frets terribly and refuses to eat anything. He grows very lean and thin.

Even three months is not long enough a period for him to reconcile himself to the separation from the author’s wife. When she goes to see him, he recognizes her at once, even from a distance of some yards, and expresses his delight by howling and standing on his head. At the closing time of the zoo he cries bitterly at the thought of parting again from his mistress. His emotions move the hearts of the zoo curator and the keepers who agree to give Bruno back to the author’s family. This proves that animals too feel love and affection.