Why does he break down in tears after the fire?
The feeling of suffering a major loss broke him down into the tears. He realized very soon that his cat was not to be seen anywhere. Then, he had flashback of everything at once – the new school, the fire, and his cat. That was the time when he broke down and cried.
What is the meaning of “My cat was back and so was I”? Had the author gone anywhere? Why does he say that he is also back?
What does the author notice one Sunday afternoon? What is his mother’s reaction? What does she do?
What actions of the schoolmates change the author’s understanding of life and people, and comfort him emotionally? How does his loneliness vanish and how does he start participating in life?
Why is the author deeply embarrassed the next day in school? Which words show his fear and insecurity?
The cat and the author are very fond of each other. How has this been shown in the story? Where was the cat after the fire? Who brings it back and how?
What are the things the child sees on his way to the fair? Why does he lag behind?
How does Toto come to grandfather’s private zoo?
In what way is Iswaran an asset to Mahendra?
What are the two strange things the guru and his disciple find in the Kingdom of Fools?
Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?
What havoc has the super cyclone wreaked in the life of the people of Orissa?
What is Johnsy’s illness? What can cure her, the medicine or the willingness to live?
Bill Bryson says, “I am, in short, easily confused.” What examples has he given to justify this?
Has Lushkoff become a beggar by circumstance or by choice?
In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?
How does Iswaran describe the uprooted tree on the highway? What effect does he want to create in his listeners?
What havoc has the super cyclone wreaked in the life of the people of Orissa?
Can you think of some other ending for the story?
What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?
Why does the author say that Iswaran seemed to more than make up for the absence of a TV in Mahendra’s living quarters?
In the fair he wants many things. What are they? Why does he move on without waiting for an answer?
What is the significance of the title?
Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?
Bill Bryson “ached to be suave”. Is he successful in his mis- sion? List his ‘unsuave’ ways.
Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house?