The Regimental Myna (question & answer)

A. Writing
1. The Regimental Myna is a story about an unusual friendship. Can you think of other
unusual friendships? What about man and octopus or man and crocodile? Would it be
fun to have such a pet? What could the difficulties of having such a pet be? Are there
any benefits?
Write a creative paragraph describing an unusual friendship. Use this map to organise
your thoughts.

An octopus is the most loving and fun friend a person can have. Each time they meet,
a person would have to shake the octopus’ hands eight times—how much love that
would build! The love will only increase thanks to all the fun things a person can do
with an octopus. An octopus would be a great creature to dance with—its hand
movements would be stunning! An octopus would also be a great addition to a cricket
team. It would make an amazing fielder, with one hand for every possible direction!
An octopus can also help a person multitask around the house. Of course, there is one
major problem in having an octopus for a friend. It is not good at dealing with fights—
it sprays a person with octopus ink whenever it gets angry! But the good news is that it
never stays angry for too long. Man and octopus share an unusual, yet heart-warming
friendship.

Grammar

A. Complete these sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in the brackets.

a. I have reminded her to bring the camera.

b. smiling pleasantly, she welcomed them into the house.
c. We saw a truly frightening film yesterday.
d. They have decided to take the train to Delhi.
e. I have taken down all my posters from the wall.
f. I am wearing cotton trousers today. The ones I had worn yesterday were woolen.

B. Combine these sentences using infinitives.

a. He is working hard. He will come first in his class.

He is working hard to come first in his class.

b. Nidhi went to the shop. She will buy bread and butter.
 Nidhi went to the shop to buy bread and butter.

c. I am going to Dispur tomorrow. I will attend my cousin’s wedding.

I am going to Dispur tomorrow to attend my cousin’s wedding.

d. He took out his lunch box. He will share his lunch with the little boy.
He took out his lunch box to share his lunch with the little boy.

e. She does not have any money. She could not buy a biscuit.
She does not have any money to buy a biscuit.

C. Underline the gerunds in these sentences. All sentences may not have gerunds.

f. Farhan is fond of playing football.

g. His mother was tired of waiting for him.
h. He was scolded by Mr Arjun for talking in the library.
i. They have planned to go on a long vacation.
j. Naina enjoys travelling to the hills every summer.
k. We will meet you at the venue tomorrow.

A. Complete the sentences.

2. The soldiers in the barracks at Meerut loved keeping pets because it was their only
source of enjoyment
3. Grandfather knew Dicky was hungry when he sat on Grandfather’s shoulders and
flapped his wings with his beak open.
4. Dicky was locked in a storeroom to keep him from attending the inspection but he
escaped and flew to the parade grounds when a mess orderly opened the storeroom to
take something.
5. When Grandfather asked forgiveness for Dicky, the Colonel agreed on the condition
that Dicky be made a serving member of the regiment.
6. Dicky wanted to go to Burma because his entire regiment, including Grandfather, was
going there on an expedition.
7. Dicky’s condition when he caught up with the expedition to Burma was not good. He
was dull, dejected and starving.
B. Read the lines and answer the questions.
1. “What the dickens!”
a. Who said these words?
The General said these words.
b. What incident inspired these words?
Dicky flew, sat atop General’s helmet and expelled his food onto the plumes.
 c. Why is the use of the word ‘dickens’ funny here?
The use of the word ‘dickens’ is funny here because it is both the name of the bird and
a way of expressing great surprise.

2. But Dicky had his own views on the subject.

a. What does ‘subject’ refer to?
The regiment was given orders to leave all their pets behind as they left for the Burma
expedition.
b. What were Dicky’s views on the subject?
Dicky did not want to stay back. He wanted to go to Burma with his regiment.
c. How did Dicky get what he wanted?
Dicky followed the regiment and caught up with them on the third day after flying
more than 300 kilometres.

C. Answer these questions in detail.

1. The relationship between Dicky and Grandfather was almost like that of a parent
and child. Do you agree? Give examples.

Yes, the relationship between Dicky and Grandfather was like that between a
parent and child. Grandfather tamed Dicky at a very young age and had to feed
Dicky from his own hands whenever he was hungry. Grandfather loved Dicky and
when the Colonel was upset with Dicky, Grandfather was worried that he might be
asked to get rid of Dicky, which he could not do. When Grandfather fell ill, Dicky
was upset till he located Grandfather at the hospital. He kept Grandfather company
in the hospital. Even when Grandfather went away to Burma, Dicky could not bear
to stay without him. They shared a very loving relationship, just like a parent and
child.

2. On the ship to England, Dicky started behaving unusually. What happened to him?

When the ship taking Grandfather back to England crossed Suez Canal, Dicky lost
all his energy. He did not come up on deck or sit on the sails or on the bridge with
the captain. This was very unlike Dicky. It got very cold after Suez Canal and this
weather was not good for Dicky. He died after they passed Gibraltar.

3. What do you think the title of The Regimental Myna means? Do you think it is a
suitable title? Why or why not? Give examples.

The title ‘Regimental Myna’ refers to Dicky, the myna that was a member of
Grandfather’s regiment just like the other soldiers. This is a suitable name for the
text as it expresses perfectly the relationship between Dicky and the regiment—
 they were like family. Dicky followed the regiment wherever they went—whether
it was to the parade grounds or to Burma on an expedition. Even the Colonel had
declared that Dicky be taken on as a serving member of the regiment. When Dicky
died, he was buried with some military honours, just like a soldier of the regiment
would have been.

C. Think and answer.

1. Answer in detail.
a. Grandfather created a chart of memories about Dicky. What made him such an
adorable pet? What were some of his greatest moments?

Imagine you are Grandfather and complete this chart with instances from the text.
Dicky was the most loyal pet I ever knew
i. He followed me and the regiment to Burma and stayed with us through the entire
expedition.
ii. He even followed me on the ship to England, though it would not be good for him
to leave India.
He was one of us, one of the regiment.
i. He attended all the parades and was with us on every occasion that brought us out of
the barracks.
ii. He excitedly flew to join us during the General’s inspection though he was not
supposed to.
iii. The Colonel took him on as a serving member of the regiment.
iv. He joined us on the expedition to Burma.
v. I played The Last Post when he died as I would have for any other member of the
regiment.
Everybody who knew Dicky loved him.
i. Dicky was not only my pet but that of my entire regiment.
ii. I could not bear the thought of losing him or locking him in a cage when the
Colonel ordered I take him away.
 iii. Even though the Colonel was mad at Dicky for disrupting the inspection, he was
fond of him and let him stay as a member of the regiment!
iv. I played The Last Post when Dicky died to honour him.
Dicky was a very funny bird to have around.
i. He would sit on my shoulders and flap his wings and open his beak to tell me he was
hungry.
ii. Once, he flew excitedly to the General’s inspection, sat on the General’s helmet and
expelled his food between the plumes!
iii. He was very cheerful, excited little bird.

D. Questions to test values inherent in the text.

1. We can be kind to animals in our everyday lives. Make a list of dos and don’ts on how
to treat animals.

DOs
1. Allow them to exercise their freedom.
2. Feed them in all the possible ways.
3. Take care of wounded and cast off birds &
animals.
4. Encourage or teach everyone to love and
care for the animals.
5. Be kind to animals
DON”Ts
1. Don’t throw stones at the animals
2. Don’t hunt them for your greed.
3. Don’t mistreat them even for fun.
4. Don’t cage them.
5. Don’t spoil the natural habitat of the
animals.