Raintree 3 The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk

 Summary: The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk

The Parrot Who Wouldn't Talk is a very popular short story written by

Ruskin Bond. This charming story is about the speaker’s aunt, Ruby, who wants

to buy a pet parrot. Aunt Ruby’s parents do not like having caged birds as pets,

but she insists on having one. Once she gets the parrot, Aunt Ruby tries to teach

it to talk, but the parrot refuses to talk. Aunt Ruby soon starts being rude and

mean to the parrot. She gets angry and yells at it. The speaker, who begins to

feed the parrot, feels sorry for it and one day, leaves the door of the cage open,

so that it could escape. The parrot comes back to their house after a few days.

Once the parrot sees Aunt Ruby, it says all the rude things that Aunt Ruby had

earlier said. To her shock Aunt Ruby realises that the parrot has finally learnt to

talk.

UNIT 5: THE PARROT WHO WOULDN’T TALK

Embedded Questions

● When a word or sentence was repeated several times by the family in which the birds lived

● From a bird-catcher

● Because Aunt Ruby starts disliking the parrot and loses interest in taking care of the parrot

● The speaker leaves the door of the cage open

● They live in a town.

Comprehension

A. 1. d 2. e 3. b 4. a 5. c

B. 1. Aunt Ruby tried very hard to teach the parrot some words, but the bird just looked away. It did not

learn to speak. Once it also knocked off her spectacles off her nose. Aunt Ruby stopped liking the

parrot after that.

2. Aunt Ruby was mean to the parrot. She always forced it to learn to talk. And when the parrot did

not talk, she was very upset. She was unfriendly to the parrot. She made faces at it and called out,

“Can’t sing, can’t dance!”

3. The speaker is the boy’s grandfather. They are talking about the parrot. The parrot has flown out of

the cage. The grandfather says that the bird might not come back.

4. Aunt Ruby blushed and ran inside the house when the parrot repeated the same mean things that

she always told the parrot.

C. 1. The boy’s grandparents did not want to buy the parrot because they did not like to keep caged

birds as pets. Maybe they thought birds should be free and thought it was not a nice thing to keep

them in cages.

2. The speaker opened the cage maybe because he wanted to set the bird free. He knew the parrot

would escape. Its owner, Aunt Ruby was mean to it and he thought the bird would be sad. Also, like

his grandparents, he also did not like to keep caged birds as pets.

3. The parrot liked the speaker more. He was kind and gentle to the parrot. He fed it well. He knew

what the bird liked to eat. He never forced the bird to talk.

D. Suggested answers (Accept any logical answer)

When someone is good to me: cheerful, confident, feel good about myself

When someone is mean to me: sad, helpless, down and dull, angry

Grammar

A. 2. narrowest 3. easier; easiest 4. pretty 5. better

B. 2. bigger 3. more hardworking 4. younger 5. funniest 6. most interesting

Spelling

2. thief 3. friend 4. quiet

Vocabulary

2. unkind – b 3. unhappy – d 4. disappear – e 5. disobedient – a

Listening

Listening text:

1. Be kind to the neighbours. 2. The parrot flew out of the cage. 3. Have a nap after lunch.

4. Share half the mango. 5. Learn to talk.

Writing

56, Lake View Road

(Next to Post-office)

Mussourie

Uttaranchal 248179

Dear Boman,

 I hope you have started going to school after the holidays. As you know, I now live with my

grandparents in Mussourie. My aunt Ruby recently bought a parrot. It has green feathers and bright

red beak. It has shiny, round eyes. It likes to eat mangoes and chillies. Aunt Ruby is trying to make it

talk. It is very funny. She tries very hard, but the bird does not speak. I will let you know when the bird

talks.

I have given my address at the beginning of this letter. Please write to me whenever you can.

With love,

Rusty

THE PARROT WHO WOULDN’T TALK

A. Answer in brief.

1. Why do you think Aunt Ruby wanted a caged parrot as a pet?

 Ans: The reason Aunt Ruby wanted a caged parrot as a pet was because many of her neighbours

kept a pet parrot or parakeet and taught them to talk. She also wanted to teach her parrot to talk

and to hear it talk back.

2. Why did the parrot not learn what Aunt Ruby taught it to say?

 Ans: The parrot refused to learn what Aunt Ruby taught it because the parrot did not like her

at all.

3. What are the first two words that Aunt Ruby tried to teach the parrot?

 Ans: The two words that Aunt Ruby tried to teach the parrot were ‘Kiss, Kiss.’

B. Answer in detail.

1. What are the exact words that the parrot spoke to Aunt Ruby? Why did it do so?

 Ans: The exact words the parrot spoke to Aunt Ruby are the words she used in anger when

the parrot refused to talk. They were, You’re useless. Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance! The parrot

repeated these words to Aunt Ruby because it knew that she was scolding it or was angry with it.

2. Who is the main character in the story? Aunt Ruby or the parrot?

 Ans: The main character in the story is the parrot. The title of the story itself tells us this. Moreover,

it is the parrot who takes the story forward. It decides the turning point when it escapes, it decides

what to learn and what not to learn. It also builds up humour when it repeats, at the end, the exact

words that Aunt Ruby used to scold him.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. “I see your aunt’s parrot has escaped.”

 a. Who is the speaker? Who is he speaking to?

 b. How did the parrot escape?

 c. Did the parrot come back?

 Ans: a. The speaker’s grandfather is the speaker. He is speaking to his grandson.

 b. The parrot escaped because the speaker had left its cage open by mistake after giving it

lunch.

 c. Yes, the parrot came back. One day, the speaker found it sitting on the verandah railing

looking at him.

2. “You’re useless. Can’t talk, can’t sing, can’t dance!”

 a. Who is the speaker? Who is it speaking to?

 b. What happened after the speaker said this?

 c. Who had said these words before?

 Ans: a. The speaker is the parrot which had been bought by Aunt Ruby from a birdcatcher. It is

speaking to Aunt Ruby.

 b. After the parrot said these words to Aunt Ruby, she turned ruby-red with embarrassment

and ran inside the house.

 c. Aunt Ruby said these words before to the parrot when he had refused to learn words

from her.