THE ADVENTURES OF TOTO

By - Ruskin Bond

Ruskin Bond is an award winning Indian author of British descent, much renowned for his role in
promoting children’s literature in India. A prolific writer, he has written over 500 short stories, essays and
novels. His popular novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ was made into a Hindi film. The film was awarded the
National Film Award for Best Children's Film, in 2007. He is also the author of more than 50 books for
children and two volumes of autobiography. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 and Padma Bhushan
in 2014.
Introduction to the lesson
This is a humorous and adventurous story of a naughty monkey named ‘Toto’. The writer’s
grandfather bought the monkey from a tonga driver. The pranks played by Toto have been
narrated in an interesting way and make the story a must read for us.

Theme - The story deals with the outcome of the interaction between humans and animals. It shows
that not all animals can adapt themselves to the human lifestyle. It requires a great deal of
patience to train animals to acquire non-destructive behaviour.

Detailed Explanation

 The Adventures of Toto by Ruskin Bond is an amusing story highlighting the antics ofa
mischievous monkey.
 The narrator’s grandfather bought Toto, a little red monkey from a tonga driver to add to his
collection of animals in his private zoo.
 Toto was an attractive monkey with sparkling eyes. He would take special delight in scaring
elderly Anglo-Indian ladies. Since grandmother was always averse to grandfather’s
collection of animals, he decided to keep the news about Toto hidden from her until she was
in a better mood.
 Toto was temporarily kept in a closet that opened into the narrator’s bedroom. After a few
hours of keeping Toto in the closet, when the narrator and the grandfather came to see Toto,
they were in for a shock. Toto had torn the wallpaper; the peg with which Toto had been
bound, had been wrenched off the wall. The narrator’s school blazer had been torn into
pieces.
 The grandfather was quite happy at the monkey’s adventures. He felt that Toto was very
clever. He said that if they would have given him more time, he would have tied the thin
pieces of the writer’s torn blazer into a rope and would have escaped out of the window.

 After this it was decided that Toto would be transferred to the cage where other animals
such as a tortoise, a pair of rabbits, a squirrel and, narrator’s pet goat lived amiably.
Unfortunately, Toto would create trouble for all of them.
 The grandfather had to go to Saharanpur to collect his pension. He decided to take Toto
along in a big canvas bag. Since there was no opening in the bag to allow his hands or face to
come out, he would often jump inside the bag, making the bag look like as if there was a
spirit in it.
 As soon as the train reached Saharanpur, Toto scared the ticket-collector by popping his head
out of the bag and grinning at him. The ticket-collector was annoyed at the discovery and
asserted that the grandfather would have to pay for Toto’s fare. The ticket-collector
classified Toto as a dog and would not listen to the grandfather’s argument that it was not a
dog.
 Once the grandmother accepted Toto, he was shifted to the stable where, Nana, the family
 donkey lived. Toto could not get along with Nana as well.

 One day, he almost boiled himself when he jumped into a kettle of boiling water.
 One afternoon, Toto ate the family meal and threw the empty dish from the tree and broke it
into several pieces.
 Toto’s mischiefs grew day by day and Grandfather realised that they could not keep him
at home.
 Finally, he sold Toto to the same tonga driver for a sum of three rupees.

Value Points

 The writer’s grandfather liked to collect animals and had a zoo at home.
 Once he bought a monkey named Toto from a tonga driver for a sum of five rupees.
 Toto was kept secretly as the grandmother disliked animals.
 Toto was very mischievous. When the writer and his grandfather hid Toto in a cupboard, and tied
him to a hook, he broke the hook and caused havoc in the room.
 The next day, when he was kept in the servant’s room along with other animals, he did not let
them sleep all night.
 As grandfather had to go to Saharanpur for work, he decided to take the monkey along with him.
 He carried Toto in a strong bag made of canvas and closed the zip nicely so that Toto could not
escape.
 Toto made unsuccessful attempts to get out of the bag, which made the back jump and roll.
 This aroused the curiosity of fellow passengers at the railway station. At the Saharanpur railway
station, when grandfather was getting his ticket checked, Toto peeked out of the bag and smiled at
the ticket collector.
 As the ticket collector declared that it was a dog, grandfather had to buy a ticket for 3 rupees, much
to his annoyance.
 Toto enjoyed taking bath in warm water during the winter season.
 One day, he almost boiled himself.
 Toto’s mischiefs grew day by day and grandfather realised that they could not keep him at home.
 Finally, he found the same tonga -driver and sold Toto back to him for a sum of three rupees.

Characters

Toto

Toto was a baby monkey who was bought from a tonga-driver by the narrator’s Grandfather.
He was pretty to look at. He had bright eyes that sparkled with mischief beneath deep-set eye brows.
His pearly white teeth frightened the Anglo-Indian ladies when he smiled. His hands looked dried-up
as though they had been pickled in the sun for many years.
He was quick with his fingers and lifted things in a wicked manner. His tail added to his beauty and
acted as his third hand.
He was playful but restless - To keep Toto’s presence as a secret from Grandmother, he was put in a
little closet and was tied securely. A few hours later when the narrator and grandfather returned, they
found that the wall which had been covered with some ornamental paper was now uncovered.
He was destructive too- The peg in the wall had been wrenched from its socket. He had torn
the narrator’s school blazer.
He was a total misfit with other animals .
He was a keen observer. He imitated the narrator’s manner of taking bath.
He was curious by nature and many times landed in trouble because of this.
He caused a lot of damage by destroying things. Finally, he was sent away and sold back to the same
tonga-driver.

Grand Father

Grandfather was an animal lover. He had his own private zoo. He did not mind spending money in
order to get animals and birds.
He was sensitive towards the feelings of his wife – Toto’s presence was kept as a secret, till she was in
good mood.
When Toto was finally accepted by Grandmother he was given a comfortable home in the stable,
where he had Nana- the family donkey, as a companion.
He did not mind Toto’s mischiefs. Instead, he found him to be quite clever.
Grandfather was witty and sarcastic. His experience with the ticket collector and the arguments he
gave to prove himself were quite amusing.
He took a wise decision by selling back Toto as it had become impossible to keep such a mischievous
pet.