Very Short Questions and Answers

  1. What was against the law of nature?

Ans. Bears climbing trees was against the law of nature.

  1. Why could the bear not resist the temptation to climb the trees?

Ans. The bear was badly tempted to eat apples from the apple orchard. In his desire to have apples the bear was unable to resist the temptation to climb the trees.

  1. When does a bear get ill-tempered?

Ans. A bear, like a dog, gets ill-tempered when kept in chains for a long time.

  1. Where did the lady’s sister live?

Ans. The mistress’s sister lived in a solitary house on the other side of the mountain-lake. It was an hour’s walk from the dense forest.

  1. Whom all was the bear friendly with?

Ans. The bear was friendly with the dogs and horses that lived in his mistress’s house. He also loved to play with the children and amicably looked at the cattle grazing in the fields.

Short Answer Type Questions

  1. Why was the bear put on chain on Sundays?

Ans. The bear was put on chain on Sundays for his own good. It was not good for him to wander in the forest.

It was difficult for his mistress to take him to her sister’s house, whom she visited every

  1. Whom is this pet bear constantly compared to?

Ans. This pet bear is constantly compared to a dog. He ate the same food as the dogs ate.

He resigned himself to the orders of his mistress, like a good dog usually does. On being chained for a long time, like a dog, the bear gets ill-tempered.

  1. What reward did the bear get on being good in the absence of his mistress?

Ans. The bear had now got used to being a chained on Sundays. So, he accepted it without any protest.

His mistress tapped on his head and promised him an apple as a reward if on her return she found him to have behaved well.

Long Questions and Answers

  1. Was the lady mistaken in identifying the bear she met in the forest?

Ans. From the story, it appears that the lady was mistaken in identifying the bear she met in the forest. She, herself, as always had chained her pet bear.

The bear the lady met in the forest looked at the lady with cunning eyes. The mistress’s pet bear looked at everyone in an amicable way.

Also, the lady got furious because she thought that her pet bear had lost his new collar. In reality, the lady was mistaken in understanding that this was not her pet bear.

  1. Why did the old cook defend the bear?

Ans. On hearing her mistress shout at the bear, the old cook becomes angry with the mistress and comes to the bear’s rescue.

Also, she knew that the bear had not moved from his place the entire day and had behaved really well in his mistress’s absence.

The bear had been longing to play with her mistress and therefore, he kept looking toward the gate for his mistress to return.