The Bond of Love Class 9 English, Beehive – Summary, Explanation, Word Meanings

Two years ago, the narrator and his companions were going through the Sugarcane fields near Mysore. Some people were shooting at the wild pigs to get them away from their fields. Suddenly, a black sloth bear came out of the fields. The narrator did not want to shoot the bear but one of his companions shot it and it was killed. When the narrator and his companions came near the dead bear, they saw a sloth bear cub which had been riding on its mother’s back. The cub cried seeing its mother’s dead body. As the narrator went to catch the cub, it ran away in the fields. The narrator followed it and caught it. He put the bear cub into a gunny bag and took it to his home in Bangalore.

The narrator came back to Bangalore and gifted the bear cub to his wife. She was very happy to recieve a male cub. She immediately tied a ribbon around his neck and named him Bruno. Bruno easily became a part of the family. Initially, he only drank milk from bottle, but soon he ate everything including porridge made from anything, chocolates, eggs, bread, etc. He also drank tea, coffee, beer, buttermilk, etc. Bruno was also attached with the two Alsatian dogs of the narrator and all the children of the tenants living in the narrator’s Bungalow. As a young cub, he spent his time by playing, running in the kitchen and sleeping on the narrator’s bed.

One day, the narrator had kept poison (Barium Carbonate) in his library to kill the rats. Bruno entered in the library and ate some poison. As a result, he suffered from a paralysis attack. Bruno was weakening, vomiting and breathing heavily. He was immediately taken to a veterinary doctor. Initially, the doctor gave 10 cc of the antidote through an injection to Bruno, but his condition did not improve. Then doctor gave another 10 cc injection to Bruno and within half an hour Bruno became alright. Once, Bruno had also drank a gallon engine oil but it did not have any ill-effects on him.

Gradually, Bruno grew up and came to be known as Baba. He became equal to more than two dogs in height. But he was still playful, sweet and mischievous. At the command of the narrator’s wife Baba had also learnt to do some tricks. He could wrestle or box. He could hold a stick like a gun and a piece of wood like a baby. Baba had to be kept chained most of the time because of the small children of the tenants in the house. So, after the advice of narrator’s friends and family, it was decided that Baba would be sent to the zoo at Mysore. Baba was sent to the Mysore zoo in a cage. Baba was missed by everyone in the house. The narrator’s wife was very upset in absence of Baba. For the first few days, she had refused to eat anything and wrote many letters to the care taker of the zoo to know about Baba’s well-being. At the z0o, Baba also felt miserable and refused to eat.

The narrator controlled his wife from meeting Baba for three months. Finally, the narrator and his wife went to meet him in the zoo. Everyone had told them, that Baba would not recognise the narrator’s wife. But as soon as Baba saw her, he cried with happiness. The narrator’s wife patted Baba through the bars and for three hours, she did not leave the cage. She gave him tea, cakes, lemonade, etc. The narrator’s wife requested the zoo’s curator to send Baba back to his home. The curator told her that Baba was now a Government property and he could only send Baba if his senior, the Superintendent in Bangalore agreed.