Chapter 7

                                                  The Mouse and the Pencil


1. What did the pencil see at the beginning of the story?

Answer: At the beginning of the story, the pencil saw a little mouse. The mouse was looking around because it was hungry and searching for something to eat.


2. Why was the mouse looking for something to eat?

Answer: The mouse was looking for something to eat because it was hungry. Like all living creatures, it needed food to satisfy its hunger.


3. What object did the mouse find while searching for food?

Answer: While searching for food, the mouse found a pencil. It thought that the pencil could be something to eat.


4. What did the mouse say to the pencil when it found it?

Answer: The mouse said to the pencil, “I am going to bite you,” because it believed the pencil might be food.


5. How did the mouse treat the pencil?

Answer: The mouse bit the pencil very hard. It did not think about hurting the pencil and acted only out of hunger.


6. How did the pencil feel when the mouse bit it?

Answer: The pencil felt pain when the mouse bit it. That is why the pencil said, “You are hurting me.”


7. What request did the pencil make to the mouse?

Answer: The pencil requested the mouse to allow it to draw one last picture before the mouse did whatever it wanted.


8. Why did the pencil want to draw a picture?

Answer: The pencil wanted to draw a picture to save itself. It hoped that the drawing would change the mouse’s mind.


9. Did the mouse agree to the pencil’s request?

Answer: Yes, the mouse agreed to the pencil’s request and allowed it to draw a picture.


10. What was the first thing the pencil drew?

Answer: The first thing the pencil drew was a big circle.


11. What did the mouse think the big circle was?

Answer: The mouse thought the big circle looked like cheese, which is one of its favourite foods.


12. How did the pencil respond when the mouse asked about the cheese?

Answer: The pencil replied politely and said that they could call it cheese.


13. What did the pencil draw next under the first circle?

Answer: The pencil drew a bigger circle under the first one.


14. What did the mouse think the second circle was?

Answer: The mouse thought the second circle looked like an apple.


15. Why was the mouse becoming excited?

Answer: The mouse was becoming excited because it thought the pencil was drawing delicious food items for it.


16. What did the pencil draw inside the first circle?

Answer: The pencil drew three little things inside the first circle.


17. What did the mouse think those little things were?

Answer: The mouse thought those little things were cucumbers.


18. How did the mouse react after seeing the cucumbers?

Answer: The mouse licked its lips and said it could not wait to bite into them, showing its greed and hunger.


19. What did the pencil draw near the second circle?

Answer: The pencil drew some funny curved things near the second circle.


20. What did the pencil draw on the top circle after that?

Answer: The pencil drew two little triangles on the top circle.


21. What did the mouse realize after seeing the triangles?

Answer: The mouse realized that the drawing was starting to look like a cat.


22. Why was the mouse afraid of the drawing now?

Answer: The mouse was afraid because cats are enemies of mice and can catch and eat them.


23. What did the mouse say when it noticed the drawing looked like a cat?

Answer: The mouse squeaked in fear and asked the pencil to stop drawing.


24. Did the pencil stop drawing when the mouse asked it to stop?

Answer: No, the pencil did not stop drawing and continued to complete the picture.


25. What did the pencil draw after the mouse asked it to stop?

Answer: The pencil drew long whiskers and a mouth on the top circle.


26. How did the final drawing look?

Answer: The final drawing looked like a cat with a face, whiskers, and mouth.


27. Why did the pencil draw a cat instead of food?

Answer: The pencil drew a cat to scare the mouse and protect itself from being bitten.


28. How did the drawing help the pencil?

Answer: The drawing frightened the mouse and saved the pencil from being eaten or bitten further.


29. What quality of the pencil is shown in the story?

Answer: The pencil shows intelligence and cleverness by using its skill to escape danger.


30. What quality of the mouse is shown at the beginning?

Answer: At the beginning, the mouse shows greed and carelessness by biting the pencil without thinking.


31. What change came in the mouse’s feelings during the story?

Answer: The mouse first felt hungry and greedy, but later became frightened when it saw the cat drawing.


32. What lesson does the story teach us?

Answer: The story teaches us that intelligence and presence of mind can help us overcome problems.


33. Why should we not harm others without reason?

Answer: We should not harm others without reason because it can lead to trouble and fear, just like the mouse faced.


34. How did the pencil use its talent wisely?

Answer: The pencil used its drawing talent wisely to protect itself from danger.


35. Why is the story interesting for children?

Answer: The story is interesting because it has talking objects, imagination, and a clever ending.


36. What might have happened if the mouse had not agreed to wait?

Answer: If the mouse had not agreed to wait, it might have destroyed the pencil without learning a lesson.


37. Do you think the mouse learned a lesson? Why?

Answer: Yes, the mouse learned a lesson because it became scared and stopped hurting the pencil.


38. What role does imagination play in this story?

Answer: Imagination makes the story lively by turning simple drawings into meaningful shapes.


39. How does the pencil prove that brains are better than strength?

Answer: The pencil proves this by escaping danger using clever thinking instead of physical power.


40. Why is the ending of the story important?

Answer: The ending is important because it shows how intelligence saves the weak and teaches a moral lesson.

Answer by Mrinmoee