Chapter- 1: A Triumph of Surgery

1. Character-sketch of Mrs. Pumphrey:

Rich lady, loved her pet, took extra care of Tricky by overfeeding him. All luxury given like- separate
wardrobe for daytime and night-time, fur coat, could not refuse feeding delicious and favourite food which
made Tricky overweight and inactive, even sent eggs and brandy when Tricky was with Dr Herriot, over
pampering turned Tricky hugely fat like a bloated sausage with legs, thought Tricky was malnourished and
fed him malt and cod-liver, caring but not practical and logical

2. Condition of Tricky: hugely fat, eyes were bloodshot and rheumy, tongue rolled from his jaw,
miserable condition- Herriot was worried. Victim of overindulgence & overfeeding

3. How did Herrriot help Tricky? Character sketch

Genius vet surgeon, good human being, good understanding of psychology, shocked with Tricky’s
appearance- quick to find the actual reason of Tricky’s health- lack of fitness, caring doctor, loved animals,
had many pets, also had a light side- consumed eggs and brandy sent for Tricky-this reason tempted him
to keep Tricky as a permanent guest, cured Tricky without any surgery
CURE- 3 days no food, only water, Tricky started feeling a little mobile
Starting playing with other dogs, fight for food- physical activity
Gradually Tricky became active and recovered
his progress was rapid. He had no medicinal treatment of any kind but all day he ran about with the dogs
scrimmage: rough or confused struggle, convalescing: recovering from an illness slithe: flexible
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Chapter- 2: The Thief’s Story
1. Hari Singh: Character Sketch
15-year old boy, experienced and successful thief, clever and intelligent, meticulous planner, chose
victims wisely, changed name to fool people, joined as cook, robbed 600 rupees of Anil, did not board the
Lucknow Express, heart changed, Anil’s faith and care changed his heart, could not break his trust, came
back
Hari Singh is a grey character- turned positive from negative
2. Anil Singh: young man of 25 years, easy going, kind and simple, writer, wrote books and for
magazine, extravagant man-spent money lavishly on friends, income not regular, cared for Hari,
educated him, did not throw him out after finding he could not cook, trusted Hari, did not discuss
about the theft- infact promised to pay 50 rupees regularly, trusting and trustworthy

3. Why couldn’t Hari Singh take the Lucknow Express? What brought him back?
- wanted to run but could not, struggled with dilemma, realization- the only person he knew was Anil,
his care, education for a better future, education could get him respect, could not break his trust
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Chapter- 3: The Midnight Visitor

Ausable: character
Expectation- to be smart and active, impressive personality, smart and active, to be dealing in gun or
pistol, getting messages by black-eyed beauties, making an appointment in room
Reality- Very fat sloppy, humorous, intelligent, lived in a small musty corridor of a gloomy hotel/
mannerism and appearance not fit to be a secret agent (Value points as per CBSE)
Max- rival secret agent, slender, a little less than tall, appears crafty and had a countenance (facial
expression) of a fox, nothing menacing except pistol in hand, enters Ausable’s room through a passkey to
take away very important papers concerning missiles
Fowler- young & romantic writer, wants to write a book on detectives, grand picture in mind, disappointed
with Ausable’s appearance and accommodation, his first authentic thrill of the day was when Ausable
switched off on the light, Max standing with small automatic pistol

Balcony story- How he got rid of Max- creative mind, cooked up the story that the balcony attached to the
room was a big nuisance letting someone in for the second time, manipulated him, confused and panicky
Max jumped out
Henry-the waiter- convinced Max that it was police to take important papers concerning missiles-Max
panicked and jumped
-important quotes which can be used in long ans que- presence of mind is very useful, appearance is
deceptive
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Chapter- 4: A Question of Trust
Horace Danby- 50 year old and unmarried, everyone thought he was a good and honest citizen, he was
otherwise but not completely honest, once a year theft, well-planned, to buy rare and expensive books,
lock and key business, well-off, had two servants, robbed only rich, not aggressive, did not want to go to
prison
Meticulous planner but faultered – detailed study of house at Shotover Grange using magazine article that
had described the house, all pictures in there even the fact that the painting was in the safe, studied
rooms, electric wires, path garden, had seen where the housekeeper hang the key on the kitchen door on
a hook outside, DID NOT FIND OUT ABOUT THE OWNER which was used to advantage by the lady
Things did to avoid getting caught-
1. pair of gloves to avoid fingerprints
2. tackle house dog-sherry- calling him right names to keep him quiet
3. cut the wire of the burglar bell
Lady in red- thief but smarter than Horace, entered with an air of authority and confidence, Sherry
didn’t bark at her, pulled out cigarette, touched up make up, ease and relaxed body language, cooked
up a story, threatened to call the police and made him open the safe, decamped(left the place) with
 jewels, exploited Horace’s fear of getting caught by police, opened the safe without gloves, left
fingerprints and got caught
Books over painting- Once Horace thought of taking the painting but dropped the idea as books were
more suitable for a small room
Honour among thieves- Thieves do not cheat each other, but lady in red broke this and this frustrated
Horace
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Chapter- 5: Footprints without Feet
Griffin- Brilliant scientist but a lawless man and ECCENTRIC (STRANGE)
All important episodes & lawless activities by him
1. His landlord disliked him and tried to eject him. In revenge Griffin set fire to the house. To get away
without being seen he had to remove his clothes.
2. It was mid-winter. The air was bitterly cold- he decided to slip into a big London store for warmth,
clothing and feeding himself without regard to expense. He broke open boxes and wrappers and
fitted himself out with warm clothes. Soon, with shoes, an overcoat and a wide-brimmed hat, he
became a fully dressed and visible person. In the kitchen of the restaurant he found cold meat and
coffee, and he followed up the meal with sweets and wine taken from the grocery store, staff
arrived in the morning, ran, removed clothes to go invisible again
3. tried the stock of a theatrical company- Drury Lane, the centre of the theatre world, came out a little
later wearing bandages round his forehead, dark glasses, false nose, big bushy side-whiskers, and
a large hat. To escape without being seen, he callously attacked the shopkeeper from behind, after
which he robbed him of all the money he could find
4. Iping- stolen money did not last long, pretended, that he was expecting a cheque to arrive at any
moment
5. Stole money from clergyman’s desk
6. Mrs Hall almost fell down the stairs in hysterics(panic)- attacked her
7. Knocked Mr Jaffers- the constable

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Chapter- 6:Making of a Scientist
1. HIS CHILDHOOD- An only child, Ebright grew up north of Reading, Pennsylvania. There wasn’t
much he could do therehe certainly couldn’t play football or baseball with a team of one. But there
was one thing he could do — collect things.” So he did, and did he ever! Beginning in kindergarten,
Ebright collected butterflies with the same determination that has marked all his activities. He also
collected rocks, fossils, and coins.
 2. ROLE OF MOTHER- From the first he had a driving curiosity along with a bright mind. He also had
a mother who encouraged his interest in learning. She took him on trips, bought him telescopes,
microscopes, cameras, mounting materials, and other equipment and helped him in many other
ways. She was his only companion until he started school. If he didn’t have things to do, she found
work for him — not physical work, but learning things. By the time he was in the second grade,
Ebright had collected all twentyfive species of butterflies found around his hometown, mother got
him a children’s book called The Travels of Monarch X. changed his life
Dr Urquhart- suggested tagging butterflies, Ebright flock of butterflies in basement for many years but it
was tedius and results were much so he lost interest.
IMPORTANT- seventh grade he got a hint of what real science is when he entered a county science fair
— and lost. He realised the winners had tried to do real experiments, not simply make a neat display like
him of frog tissues. So he wrote to Dr Urquhart for ideas, and back came a stack of suggestions for
experiments. Those kept Ebright busy all through high school and led to prize projects in county and
international science fairs.

For his eighth grade project, Ebright tried to find the cause of a viral disease that kills nearly all monarch
caterpillars every few years. Ebright thought the disease might be carried by a beetle. He tried raising
caterpillars in the presence of beetles. “I didn’t get any real results,” he said. “But I went ahead and
showed that I had tried the experiment. This time I won.”
The question he tried to answer was simple: What is the purpose of the twelve tiny gold spots on a
monarch pupa? “Everyone assumed the spots were just ornamental,” Ebright said. “But Dr Urquhart didn’t
believe it.” To find the answer, Ebright and another excellent science student first had to build a device
that showed that the spots were producing a hormone necessary for the butterfly’s full development.
In his senior year, he went a step further. He grew cells from a monarch’s wing in a culture and showed
that the cells would divide and develop into normal butterfly wing scales only if they were fed the hormone
from the gold spots. That project won first place for zoology at the International Fair.
during his junior year, Ebright got the idea for his new theory about cell life. It came while he was looking
at X-ray photos of the chemical structure of a hormone. When he saw those photos, Ebright didn’t shout,
‘Eureka!’ or even, ‘I’ve got it!’ But he believed that, along with his findings about insect hormones, the
photos gave him the answer to one of biology’s puzzles: how the cell can ‘read’ the blueprint of its DNA

ingredients in the making of a scientist. Start with a first-rate mind, add curiosity, and mix in the will to win
for the right reasons. Ebright has these qualities. From the time the book, The Travels of Monarch X,
opened the world of science to him, Richard Ebright has never lost his scientific curiosity.

Chapter- 7:Making of a Scientist

 Matilda Character sketch- pretty young lady, considered her life as ‘an error of destiny’, ungrateful,
unsatisfied, greedy, wanted luxurious life, just to show off borrowed necklace, vanity leads to fall
Chapter- 8:Bholi
Bholi- fourth daughter of Numberdar Ramlal, 10 months fell off cot- part of brain damaged, remained
backward named Bholi, the simpleton, stammered, pock marks- lacked confidence
-Why school- Tehsildar came to perform opening ceremony, asked Ramlal to set an example and send
daughter to school, no courage to disobey tehsildar
-scared- Cow once taken never came back so worried
-At school- met an encouraging teacher, cared for her, patted her shoulder, let her say her name, showed
concern, changed her life
Transformation- from simpleton to Sulekha, a confident and rational girl, flung garland in fire, refused to
marry greedy Bishambar Nath, masterpiece of her teacher, swore to take care of parents and be a
teacher, women empowerment, theme of dowry, need of a caring family and importance of education
Chapter- 9: The Book that Saved the Earth
Think tank- irony in name, foolish, commander in chief, shallow, believed in flattery,
Think-Tank was the ruler of the Martian planet. With a large egg-shaped head and a long robe adorned
with stars and circles, he had an unusual appearance that set him apart from humans. Despite being a
dumb leader, he thought of himself as intelligent and never accepted any of his errors.
Noodle: Noodle is the apprentice of Think-Tank.He is a smart and intelligent fellow. Though he is the one
to make the right decisions, he makes sure that his boss gets all the praise. This shows his modesty and
humility. He is good at handling tasks by himself. Suggested that book are neither sandwiches or hats but
for visual communication, gave suggestions without offending Think Tank, when became Martian ruler,
established good relation with Earth
- First thought book to be hats, then sandwiches
- Read about all the three poems and their understanding
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ALL THE BEST!