English - Lesson 27: "The parrot who wouldn't talk" written by Ruskin Bond (PUBLIC EXAMINATION)

 First, let's read the lesson (Meanings of Vocabulary are given in brackets)

The Parrot who wouldn't talk

‘You are no beauty! Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’

With these words Aunt Ruby would taunt the unfortunate (unfortunate: unlucky or unhappy) parakeet, who glared morosely (morosely: gloomily) at everyone from his ornamental (ornamental: decorative) cage at one end of the long veranda of Granny’s bungalow in north India.

In those distant days, almost everyone – Indian or European – kept a pet parrot or parakeet, or ‘lovebird’ as some of the smaller ones were called. 

Sometimes these birds became great talkers, or rather mimics, (mimic: one who imitates) and would learn to recite entire mantras (religious chants) or admonitions (admonition: advice, warning) to the children of the house, such as ‘Padho, beta, padho!’ (‘Study child study!’) or for the benefit of boys like me, ‘Don’t be greedy, don’t be greedy!’

These expressions were, of course, picked by the parrot over a period of time, after many repetitions by some member of the household who had taken on the task of teaching the bird to talk.

But our parrot refused to talk.

He’d been bought by Aunt Ruby from a bird-catcher who’d visited all the houses on our road, selling caged birds ranging from colourful budgerigars to chirpy little munnias and even common sparrows that had been dabbed (dabbed: applied paint or some other substance with quick, light strokes) with paint and passed off as some exotic species. 

Neither Granny nor Grandfather were keen on keeping caged birds as pets, but Aunt Ruby threatened to throw a tantrum (tantrum: outburst of bad temper) if she did not get her way–and Aunt Ruby’s tantrums were dreadful to behold! (to behold: to watch someone or something of remarkable nature)

Anyway, she insisted on keeping the parrot and teaching it to talk. But the bird took an instant dislike to my aunt and resisted all her blandishments. (Blandishments: flattering statements or actions used to persuade someone to do something)

‘Kiss, kiss!’ Aunt Ruby would coo, putting her face close to the bars of the cage. 

But the parrot would back away, its beady little eyes getting even smaller with anger at the prospect (prospect: expectation or what one expects) of being kissed by Aunt Ruby. 

And on one occasion it lunged (lunged forward: sudden forward movement) forward without warning and knocked my aunt’s spectacles off her nose.

After that Aunt Ruby gave up her endearments (endearments: words) spoken lovingly and became quite hostile (hostile: unfriendly) towards the poor bird, making faces (making faces: producing an expression on one’s face that shows dislike or some other negative emotion) at it and calling out ‘can’t talk, can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’ and other nasty comments.

It fell upon (fell upon: to bear or carry out someone) else’s duty me, then ten years old, to feed the parrot, and it seemed quite happy to receive green chillies and ripe tomatoes from my hands, these delicacies (delicacy: choice or expensive food) being supplemented (to supplement: to add) by slices of mango, for it was then the mango season. 

This also gave me an opportunity to consume a couple of mangoes while feeding the parrot!

One afternoon, while everyone was indoors enjoying a siesta, (siesta: a rest or nap taken in the early) afternoon I gave the parrot its lunch and then deliberately left the cage door open. Seconds later, the bird was winging (winging its way: flying away quickly) its way to the freedom of the mango orchard.

At the same time Grandfather came to the veranda and remarked, ‘I see your aunt’s parrot has escaped!’

‘The door was quite loose,’ I said with a shrug (shrug: to draw up and drop shoulders) abruptly. ‘Well, I don’t suppose we’ll see it again.’

Aunt Ruby was upset at first and threatened to buy another bird. 

We put her off by promising to buy her a bowl of goldfish.

‘But goldfish don’t talk!’ she protested.

‘Well, neither did your bird,’ said Grandfather. ‘So, we’ll get you a gramophone. (gramophone: record player, a device used for reproducing the sounds stored in a record)

You can listen to Clara Cluck all day. They say she sings like a nightingale.’

I thought we’d never see the parrot again, but it probably missed its green chillies, because a few days later I found the bird sitting on the veranda railing, looking expectantly (expectantly: waiting eagerly or hopefully) at me with its head cocked to one side. Unselfishly I gave the parrot half of my mango.

While the bird was enjoying the mango, Aunt Ruby emerged from her room and, with a cry of surprise, called out, ‘Look, it’s my parrot come back! 

He must have missed me!’

With a loud squawk, the parrot flew out of her reach and perching on the nearest rose bush, glared at her and shrieked in my aunt’s familiar tones: 

‘You’re no beauty! Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’

Aunt Ruby went ruby-red and dashed indoors.

But that wasn’t the end of the affair. 

The parrot became a frequent visitor to the garden and veranda, and whenever it saw Aunt Ruby it would call out, 

‘You’re no beauty, you’re no beauty! Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’

The parrot had learnt to talk after all!

– Ruskin Bond

Terminal Questions

1. Name all the birds that are mentioned in the story.

The birds mentioned in the story are parrot, parakeet, lovebird, budgerigar, munnia, sparrow and nightingale.

2. Can you think of another title for this story? Give reasons for your choice in 30 - 40 words.

3. In the story, sometimes the author calls the bird parakeet and sometimes parrot. Is that a mistake?

No, it’s not a mistake. The bird that Aunt Ruby had bought was a parakeet. But a parakeet is a type of parrot. So, it can be called either a parrot or a parakeet.

4. Do you think Aunt Ruby’s method of teaching the parrot to talk was correct? If you were Aunt Ruby, how would you have taught the parrot?

I don’t think Aunt Ruby’s method was correct. If I were Aunt Ruby, I would develop a bond (friendly relationship) with the parakeet and then try to teach it to talk. I would always speak to it gently and make sure it was comfortable in its surroundings. I would choose simple and short words to start with. I would repeat them clearly and with enthusiasm. I would be very patient and never get angry with my pet. I would not scold it if it didn’t learn well. I would praise it, give it a gentle pat or something special to eat if it learnt well.

5. Find phrases in the text that tell you that the parrot was not happy in the cage.

From phrases such as ‘unfortunate parakeet’, ‘glared morosely at everyone’ and ‘eyes getting smaller with anger’, we know that the parrot was not happy to be in the cage.

6. Suppose you were a parrot, and somebody caged you and kept you as a pet. How would you feel? Give two reasons to support your answer.

I would not like it at all. We usually see parrots in groups. If I were put into a cage, I would be lonely and would miss my friends, the other parrots. I would not be able to fly like other birds.

7. Do you think Aunt Ruby’s nephew (the author) made the right decision when he left the cage door open? What decision would you make if you were Aunt Ruby’s nephew? Give at least two reasons for your answer.

Yes, I think Aunt Ruby’s nephew made the right decision. I would also set the bird free because the bird was unhappy, Aunt Ruby was saying unkind things to it, she was not feeding it, she was unfriendly to it.

8. ‘You’re no beauty! Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’ The story begins with these words. But when they are repeated at the end of the story, it adds humour to it and makes us laugh. Why?

At the beginning of the story, Aunt Ruby tries to teach the parakeet to talk. When it doesn’t learn to talk, she makes fun of it. The bird is locked up in a cage and forced to listen to her unkind words. At the end, the parakeet is free but comes back to the garden one day. On seeing Aunt Ruby, it repeats the very same words which she used to say to it. The parakeet learns to talk, but what it says does not make Aunt Ruby happy. It makes her uncomfortable. It appears as if the parakeet says unkind words to her because she was unkind to it when it was in the cage. It seems as if the parakeet makes fun of her to teach her a lesson. The same words said in contrasting situations make the story humorous.

Exercise 1

Given below is a summary of the story you have just read but some words are missing. Fill in the blanks and then read it aloud to a friend.

The Parrot Who Wouldn’t Talk is a humorous (a) ________by the well-known author, Ruskin Bond. It is set in the pre-independence era when most people kept a parrot as a (b)______. Ruby, the author’s aunt, buys a parrot and keeps it in a (c)______. She tries to teach the parrot to (d)_____. Once, the parrot knocks her (e)__________off. Aunt Ruby is annoyed and says nasty things to the (f) _______. From then on, the author (who was a young boy at that time) feeds the parrot. One day, he purposely leaves the cage door (g) ______ and the parrot flies away. A few days later, it comes (h)____. When it sees Aunt Ruby, it says the same nasty things that she had said to it. (i)________Ruby feels embarrassed.

Exercise 2

Write a summary of a story you have read recently.

Answer the following questions.

1. ‘You’re no beauty! Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!’

a. Who is saying these words and to whom?

b. Which word is being repeated here? Why?

2. Where was the parakeet’s cage kept?

3. Where did Aunt Ruby get the parakeet from?

4. Why do you think neither Granny nor Grandfather were keen on keeping caged birds as pets? Tick the correct option.

a. Caged birds were very noisy.

b. They preferred to keep caged rabbits.

c. Birdcages were very expensive, and Aunt Ruby wanted only ornate ones.

d. Caged birds were deprived of their freedom.

5. Tick the correct option.

The parrot backed away from Aunt Ruby because:

a. the sunlight was falling directly on it and it couldn’t see properly.

b. Aunt Ruby had poked it with a chilli.

c. it did not want to be kissed by Aunt Ruby.

d. Aunt Ruby’s nephew (the author) threw a ball at it.

6. Why did Aunt Ruby become hostile towards the parakeet?

INTEXT QUESTIONS 27.2

Answer the following questions.

1. What all did Aunt Ruby’s nephew (the author) give the parrot to eat?

2. Tick the correct option.

He fed the parrot because:

a. Aunt Ruby had become hostile towards her pet and someone had to feed it.

b. Aunt Ruby had gone out of town and had asked him to look after the parrot.

c. it gave him an opportunity to eat mango on the pretext that he was feeding the bird.

d. ‘a’ and ‘c’

3. How did the parrot escape from the cage?

4. Aunt Ruby didn’t want the goldfish because:

a. It couldn’t fly.

b. It couldn’t talk.

c. It couldn’t eat chillies.

d. All the above

5. The author thinks that the parrot came back because it missed the green chillies. Why do you think the parrot came back?

6. Why did Aunt Ruby run inside when she heard the parrot talking?