Is the narrator as rich as Tricki’s mistress?
Though it is not clearly started but there are several instances in the story which suggest that the narrator is not as rich as Mrs Pumphrey, tricki’s mistress. While the narrator provides tricki with a warm loose box as a bed instead of having multiple beds like tricki had a day bed, night bed, cushions, toys, rubber rings, a breakfast bowl in Mrs. Pumphrey’s house. When he arrives to take the dog with him, Mrs. Pumphrey called her entire staff at her disposal to transfer all of tricki’s belongings to the doctor’s car. By hearing from the doctor about tricki’s slow and gradual recovery, Mrs Pumphrey send two dozen eggs at a time along with wine bottles and brandy in order to help in his speedy recovery.
Do you think this is a real-life episode, or mere fiction? Or is it a mixture of both?
What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of commonsense?
How does he treat the dog?
Do you think Tricki was happy to go home? What do you think will happen now?
Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is “a triumph of surgery”?
Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?
How is Ausable different from other secret agents?
What does Horace Danby like to collect?
How did the invisible man first become visible?
How did a book become a turning point in Richard Ebright’s life?
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Why is the lawyer sent to New Mullion? What does he first think about the place?
Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
Why is Bholi’s father worried about her?
Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’?
What experiments and projects does he then undertake?
How has Max got in?
Why did Bholi at first agree to an unequal match? Why did she later reject the marriage? What does this tell us about her?
What kind of a person is Mme Loisel — why is she always unhappy?
Who is Fowler and what is his first authentic thrill of the day?
What fresh problem now disturbs Mme Loisel?
Bholi’s story must have moved you. Do you think girl children are not treated at par with boys? You are aware that the government has introduced a scheme to save the girl child as the sex ratio is declining. The scheme is called Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Save the Girl Child. Read about the scheme and design a poster in groups of four and display on the school notice board.
“Ausable did not fit any description of a secret agent Fowler had ever read.” What do secret agents in books and films look like, in your opinion? Discuss in groups or in class some stories or movies featuring spies, detectives and secret agents, and compare their appearance with that of Ausable in this story. (You may mention characters from fiction in languages other than English. In English fiction you may have come across Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, or Miss Marple. Have you watched any movies featuring James Bond?)