NCERT Solutions Class 7 English (Honeysuckle)
The NCERT Solutions in English Language for Class 7 English (Poetry) (Honeysuckle) Poem – 7 Dad and the Cat and the Tree has been provided here to help the students in solving the questions from this exercise.
Poem – 7 (Dad and the Cat and the Tree)
This morning a cat got
Stuck in our tree.
Dad said, “Right, just
Leave it to me.”
The tree was wobbly,
The tree was tall.
Mum said, “For goodness’
Sake don’t fall!”
“Fall?” scoffed Dad,
“A climber like me?
Child’s play, this is!
You wait and see.”
He got out the ladder
From the garden shed.
It slipped. He landed
In the flower bed.
“Never mind,” said Dad,
Brushing the dirt
Off his hair and his face
And his trousers and his shirt,
“We’ll try Plan B. Stand
Out of the way!”
Mum said, “Don’t fall
Again, O.K.?”
“Fall again?” said Dad.
“Funny joke!”
Then he swung himself up
On a branch. It broke.
Dad landed wallop
Back on the deck.
Mum said, “Stop it,
You’ll break your neck!”
“Rubbish!” said Dad.
“Now we’ll try Plan C.
Easy as winking
To a climber like me!
Then he climbed up high
On the garden wall.
Guess what?
He didn’t fall!
He gave a great leap
And he landed flat
In the crook of the tree-trunk —
Right on the cat!
The cat gave a yell
And sprang to the ground,
Pleased as Punch to be
Safe and sound.
So it’s smiling and smirking,
Smug as can be,
But poor old Dad’s
Still
Stuck
Up
The
Tree!
– KIT WRIGHT
Working with the Poem
1. Why was Dad sure he wouldn’t fall?
Answer – Dad was sure that he wouldn’t fall because he thought that he was a great climber.
2. Which phrase in the poem expresses Dad’s self-confidence best?
Answer – The phrase “A climber like me” expresses his self-confidence best.
3. Describe Plan A and its consequences.
Answer – Plan A was to climb the tree with the help of a ladder. Although the ladder slipped and Dad fell on the ground.
4. Plan C was a success. What went wrong then?
Answer – Dad got stuck in the crook of the tree trunk in the place of the cat.
5. The cat was very happy to be on the ground. Pick out the phrase used to express this idea.
Answer – The phrase that expresses the idea that ‘the cat was very happy to be on the ground’ is “Smiling and smirking”.
6. Describe the Cat and Dad situation in the beginning and at the end of the poem.
Answer – In the beginning, the cat was stuck on the tree and Dad was looking at it from the ground. At the end, Dad got stuck on the tree and the cat was free on the ground.
7. Why and when did Dad say each of the following?
(i) Fall?
(ii) Never mind
(iii) Funny joke
(iv) Rubbish
Answer –
(i) Fall?: When Mum warned him out not to fall.
(ii) Never mind: When he slipped from the ladder and landed in the flower bed.
(iii) Funny joke: When mother again warned him.
(iv) Rubbish: When mother strongly told him to stop his efforts to climb the tree.
8. Do you find the poem humorous? Read aloud lines which make you laugh.
Answer – Yes, the poem is humorous. Lines that made me laugh are:
“Then he swung himself up
On a branch. It broke.”
“The cat gave a yell
And sprang to the ground,”
