The author gets a baby bear by chance
‘The Bond of Love’ is the story of love and friendship between a pet bear cub and the author’s wife. He got the bear cub for her by accident. Two years ago, they were passing through the sugarcane fields near Mysore. People were driving away the wild pigs from their fields. Some were shot dead and others escaped. Suddenly a sloth-bear came out of the f fields. She was panting in the hot sun.
The author dfdn’t want to shoot at her. One of his companions shot the bear on the spot. They came near the fallen animal. They saw a baby-bear riding on his mother’s back. The little bear ran around the dead body of his mother. He was making a pitiful noise. Then ‘ he ran away into a sugarcane field.
At last, the author was able to catch him The little bear struggled to free himself. He tried to scratch him with his long, hooked claws. They put him in a gunny-bag. They brought him to Bangalore. The author presented the little creature to his wife. She was really delighted. The cub was a male. She named it Bruno.
The author’s wife looked after the baby-bear like her own child. Bruno soon took to drinking milk from a bottle. He started eating and drinking a lot of things. He ate porridge, vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, rice, eggs etc. He drank tea, milk, coffee and even beer and liquor.
They had two Alsatian dogs. The baby bear became friendly with the dogs and all the children. He enjoyed himself freely. He spent his time in playing and running into the kitchen. He also slept in their beds.
One day an accident befell him. The author had put down barium carbonate in the library. It was a poison. It was put down there to kill rats. Bruno entered the library and ate some of the poison. He suffered from a stroke of paralysis. But he dragged himself slowly to the author’s wife. He was weakening rapidly. He was vomiting and breathing heavily.
He was taken to a veterinary surgeon. 10 c.c. of anti-dote was given to him. His condition remained unchanged. Another 10 c.c. was injected. Brupo got up and enjoyed a good meal. Another time the little bear drank a gallon of old engine oil. But it had no ill-effects whatever on him.
Months rolled on. Bruno had grown in size. He had equalled the two dogs in height. He even looked bigger than them. At times, he was playful and mischievous. He was very fond of them all. Above all, he loved the author’s wife. She loved him too. She had changed his name from Bruno to Baba. The baby-bear could also do a few tricks. At her command, Baba could Nvrestle’ or “box’. He would hold a stick like a ‘gun’. But because of the tenants’ children, he had to be chained most of the time.
The author, his son and friends advised her to give Baba to the Zoo at Mysore. He had become very big. He couldn’t be kept at home. At last, she consented. A letter was written to the curator of the zoo. The zoo sent a cage from Mysore in a lorry. Baba was packed off.
But all of them missed Bruno greatly. His wife wept and was inconsolable. For a few days she would not eat anything. She wrote a number of letters to the curator of the Zoo. Even Baba was inconsolable there. He refused food too. He was well but looked thin and sad. The author stopped his wife from visiting Mysore for 3 months. She was adamant. At last, he took his wife to Bruno or Baba.
Friends had guessed that the bear would not recognise her. But the moment Baba saw her he recognised her. He cried with happiness. She ran up to him. She patted him through the bars. He stood in delight. She would not leave the cage for 3 hours. She gave him tea, cakes, ice-cream etc. At last, the ‘closing time’ came. They had to leave now.
The author’s wife wept bitterly. Baba also cried bitterly. Fven the hard curator was sad and moved. She requested him to send Baba back. He showed his helplessness. Baba was now the government property. Then, they went to the superintendent. She pleaded with tears in her eyes. The superintendent was a kind- hearted man. He consented. He also lent them a cage for transporting Baba back to Bangalore. Baba was driven into a small cage. He was hoisted on the top of the car.
At home, an island was made for Baba. It was twenty feet long and fifteen feet wide. It was surrounded by a moat. It was six feet wide and seven feet deep. A wooden box was kept for Baba to sleep in at night. Straw was placed inside to keep him warm. In a few days Baba was released in the island: He was delighted. The author’s wife spent hours sitting there. Baba sat on her lap. Baba was fifteen months old and quite heavy now.
It is the story of man’s love and friendship with a baby-bear. The baby-bear has many human qualities. He has sense of love, affection and loyalty.Thinking about the text.
II. Answer the following questions.
Question 1.
“I got him for her by accident.”
Who says this?
Who do ‘him’ and ‘her’ refer to?
What is the incident referred to here?
Answer:
The author says this.
‘Him’ refers to the baby bear and ‘her’ refers to the author’s wife.
The incident refers to the catching of the baby bear.
Question 2.
“He stood on his head in delight.”
Who does ‘he’ refer to?
Why was he delighted?
Answer:
‘He’ refers to the baby bear.
‘He’ was delighted to see the author’s wife after a long time.
Question 3.
“We all missed him greatly: but in a sense we were relieved.”
Who does ‘we all’ stand for?
Who did they miss?
Why did they nevertheless feel relieved?
Answer:
The author, his wife and son.
They missed the baby bear.
They felt relieved because it was getting difficult to keep the baby bear at home.
III. Answer the following questions in 30 to 40 words each.
Question 1.
On two occasions Bruno ate/drank something that should not be eaten/ drunk. What happened to him on these occasions?
Answer:
Bruno ate Barium Carbonate which was put to kill the rats and mice. Paralysis set in to the extent that he could not stand on his feet. Once he drank one gallon of old engine oil. But it had no ill effects whatever.
Question 2.
Was Bruno a loving and playful pet? Why, then, did he have to be sent away?
Answer:
Yes, Bruno was a loving and playful pet. But he was mischievous also. The bear became very attached to the narrator’s two Alsatian dogs and the children of the tenants. Bruno had grown many times the size he was when he came. Now her name was changed to Baba. Now he was getting too big to be kept at home. So he was sent to a zoo.
Question 3.
How was the problem of what to do with Bruno finally solved?
Answer:
Bruno was not feeling happy after getting separated from the narrator’s family. He was getting weak everyday. The narrator’s wife went to Mysore to meet Bruno. Bruno. After seeing his pitiful condition she decided to get Bruno back home. The narrator and his wife made special arrangement for Bumo and created all facility for him. At last Bruno was got back home in a small cage.
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