Here is a new blog post in Class 7th English. “Dad and the Cat and the Tree” is Poem 7 taken from the newly introduced textbook Melody English for students of Class 7th of JKBOSE and Honeycomb English for NCERT students. A British author of popular children’s and adult literature Kit Wright wrote it. This post concerns Dad and the Cat and the Tree Summary and Question Answers. In my previous post, you read about The Invention of Vita Wonk Summary and Question Answers with you. So, let’s not waste any more time and get started with today’s post.
Dad and the Cat and the Tree Summary and Question Answers
Introduction
Dad and the Cat and the Tree is a humorous poem about a cat which got stuck in a tree. The poet’s father thought it was “child’s play” to free the cat from the tree. He tried but failed many times. At last, he was able to climb on the tree but landed flat on the cat. The cat jumped on the ground but the poet’s father was now stuck on the tree.
Dad and the Cat and the Tree Poem Text
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!
Dad and the Cat and the Tree Summary in English
One morning, a cat got stuck in a tree. The poet saw it and told his dad to help get it down. Dad said it was easy, and he’d handle it. Even though Mom warned him about the danger of falling, he didn’t listen. He tried using a ladder, slipped, and fell.
Despite the first fall, he didn’t give up. Ignoring Mom’s warnings again, he tried another way, swinging from a tree branch. Unfortunately, the branch broke, and he fell once more. Mom got mad and told him not to climb, but he ignored her because he was too confident.
He decided to climb the tree again, ignoring Mom’s advice. But when he jumped on the tree, the cat jumped down and was safe. Unfortunately, the poor dad got stuck in the tree. Despite Mom’s warnings, he kept trying different methods like using a ladder or climbing the garden wall to rescue the cat.
Dad and the Cat and the Tree Word Meanings
Word | English Meaning | Hindi Meaning | Urdu Meaning |
---|---|---|---|
Stuck | Entrapped | अटक गया | پھنس گیا |
Wobbly | Unsteady | अस्थिर | غیر مستحکم |
Leave it to me | Shouldering responsibility | इसे मेरे ऊपर छोड़ दो | یہ مجھ پر چھوڑدو |
Scoffed | Made fun of, laughed mockingly | मजाक उड़ाया | طنز کیا |
Child s play | Very easy to do | बच्चों का खेल | بچوں کا کھیل |
Flower bed | A garden plot in which flowers are grown | फुलवारी | باغ |
Landed wallop | Fell heavily | जोर से गिरे | زور سے گیرا |
Deck | Ground | जमीन | زمین |
Winking | To bat the lid of the eye | पलक झपकाना | آنکھ مارنا |
Leap | To jump high, | छलांग | چھلانگ لگانا |
Flat | In or to a horizontal position | क्षैतिज स्थिति में या उसमें | افقی پوزیشن میں |
Yell | Shout | चिल्लाना | چیخنا |
Sprang | Jumped | कुदा | کودا |
Pleased as punch | Very pleased | बहुत खुश | بہت خوش |
Safe and sound | Unhurt | सही - सलामत | صحیح - سلامت |
Smirking | Laughing mockingly | ठठाकर हँसना | طنزیہ انداز میں ہنسنا |
Smug | Having or showing excessive pride in oneself or one’s achievements | आत्मसंतुष्ट | خودساختہ/ |
Dad and the Cat and the Tree Poem Explanation
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet in this stanza describes the tree and the narrator’s mother’s concern for her husband.
Explanation: The tree was tall and unstable and it was risky for a middle-aged man like the poet’s father to climb it. The narrator’s mother was full of doubts as to how her husband to climb the tree. She also warned him that he might fall.
Stanza 3
“Fall?’ scoffed Dad, “
A climber like me?
Child’s play, this is!
You wait and see.”
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet in this stanza describes how the narrator’s father reacted to his wife’s warnings.
Explanation: When he listened to his wife’s warnings, the narrator’s father laughed. He told her that a climber like him would never fall off a wobbly tree. He dismissed away these warnings by saying that he was a good climber and climbing the tree was as easy as a child’s play.
Stanza 4
He got out the ladder
From the garden shed.
It slipped. He landed
In the flower bed.
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet highlights how the narrator’s mother’s fears proved to be true and how his father failed in his first attempt to climb the tree.
Explanation: The narrator’s father brought out a ladder from the garden shed. He placed it and started climbing but the ladder slipped from its position because of improper placement and the narrator’s father fell on the ground landing in the flowerbed of the garden.
Stanza 5
“Never mind,” said Dad, Brushing the dirt
Off his hair and his face
And his trousers and his shirt,
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet describes how his father gathered himself up for another attempt.
Explanation: The narrator’s father was back again on his feet. He brushed off the dirt from his hair and clothes, cleaned his face and began to think about another plan to rescue the cat from the tree.
Stanza 6
“We’ll try Plan B. Stand
Out of the way!”
Mum said, “Don’t fall;
Again, O.K.?”
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet shows how the mother seemed to be dissatisfied with Plan B as well.
Explanation: The narrator’s father decided to try Plan B. His wife, however, again warned him, that he might fall again. The mother, who became more anxious due to the fall, pleaded with him to not fall again.
Stanza 7
“Fall again said Dad..;
“Funny joke!”
Then he swung himself up;
On a branch. It broke.
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet describes how the narrator’s father again dismissed his wife’s warning.
Explanation: The narrator’s father mused away his wife’s warning still laughing, Dad replied that his falling again was a joke, meaning that it would be impossible. He swung himself up on a branch, but the branch broke due to his weight and he again fell on the ground.
Stanza 8
Dad landed wallop
Back on the deck.
Mum said, “Stop it,
You’ll break your neck!”
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. In this stanza poet now highlights that his mother was now worried about his father and warned him not to attempt again.
Explanation: The narrator’s father again landed heavily on the ground. The narrator’s mother begged him to stop as he might break his neck from falling. She was now more worried about his husband’s safety.
Stanza 9
“Rubbish!” said Dad.
“Now we’ll try Plan C.
Easy as winking
To a climber like me!”
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet highlights how the narrator’s father refused to give up. The father didn’t pay much attention to his wife.
Explanation: The narrator’s father was adamant about completing the rescue mission and decided to try Plan C. He was still confident that being a great climber he would succeed. He said that she was saying rubbish things and that climbing a tree was as easy as winking to a great climber like him.
Stanza 10
Then he climbed up high
On the garden wall.
Guess what?
He didn’t fall
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet shows the father trying his plan C to rescue the cat from the tree.
Explanation: The narrator’s father climbed up the high garden wall and this time he did not fall. He succeeded after several attempts but finally, he succeeded in his plan.
Stanza 11
He gave a great leap
And he landed flat
In the crook of the tree-trunk-
Right on the cat!
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet describes that finally, the narrator’s father in landing on the tree.
Explanation: The father, with a great leap towards the tree. Finally, he landed on the tree trunk, horizontally on the place where the cat was sitting. He landed on the top of the cat he wanted to rescue.
Stanza 12
The cat gave a yell
And sprang to the ground,
Pleased as Punch to be
Safe and sound.
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet humorously ends the poem.
Explanation: The moment the father landed on the cat, the cat screamed with fear and jumped to the ground. It landed safely and smoothly on the ground. It was happy at its safe landing on the ground.
Stanza 13
So it’s smiling and smirking,
Smug as can be;
But poor old Dad’s
Still
Stuck
Up
The
Tree!
Reference to Context: The above lines have been taken from Kit Wright’s poem, ‘Dad and the Cat and the Tree’. The poet describes the father’s poor state as he is stuck on the tree now.
Explanation: The narrator describes that having safely landed on the ground, the cat was smiling arrogantly, while his father got stuck on the tree. The cat is laughing at the father while being on the ground, whereas the father is now in trouble because he is the one who is stuck up the tree.
Textual Exercises
Working with the Poem Page No. 110
1. Why was Dad sure he wouldn’t fall?
Ans. Dad thought of himself as a great climber. He was confident of his climbing skills. That is why he was sure that he would not fall because he felt that climbing a tree was child’s play for him.
2. Which phrase in the poem expresses Dad’s self-confidence best?
Ans. There are three phrases which show the poet’s Dad’s self-confidence best. These are
“A climber like me?”
“Child’s play, this is!”
“Easy as winking”
3. Describe plan A and its consequences.
Ans. In Plan A poet’s father tried to climb the tree with the help of a ladder. He could not successfully climb the tree because the ladder slipped from its place and he fell. Then he landed on the flower bed.
4. Plan C was a success. What went wrong then?
Ans. Plan C was a success as he was able to climb on the garden wall and from there, he leapt onto the tree successfully. But he landed upon the cat. As a result of it, he was stuck up on the tree.
5. The cat was very happy to be on the ground. Pick out the phrase used to express this idea.
Ans. The phrase is: “Pleased as Punch to be/safe and sound.”
6. Describe the Cat and Dad situation at the beginning and at the end of the poem.
Ans. At the beginning of the poem, the cat is stuck up on the tree. But Dad is proudly standing safe and sound on the ground. At the end of the poem, Dad is stuck up on the tree and the cat is smiling and smirking on the ground.
7. Why and when did Dad say each of the following?
(i) Fall?
(ii) Never mind
(iii) Funny joke
(iv) Rubbish
Ans. (i) This word is uttered by Dad when the mother shows fear about the falling of Dad. Father is very confident about his climbing skills. That is why he is scoffing at his mother.
(ii) Dad uttered ‘Never mind’ to hide the embarrassment of his failure at the first attempt. He said so when he fell on the flower bed from the ladder.
(iii) Mother said to Dad, “Don’t fall again.” He replied what a funny joke it was. It shows he was very confident about himself.
(iv) Dad said this when the mother had given him a third warning. Dad got angry when Mother asked him to be careful. She was afraid that he might break his neck. So, Dad said “Rubbish’ in an angry mood.
8. Do you find the poem humorous? Read aloud lines which make you laugh.
Ans. I liked the poem very much because it is so humorous. These lines made me laugh.
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!
That’s it about Dad and the Cat and the Tree Summary and Question Answers. Hope it has helped. Do share your views about this post in the comment section below.
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