Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.
One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.
The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.
The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.
One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.
The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.
The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions given below it. Certain words/ phrases have been given in bold to help you locate them while answering some of the questions.

Once a Persian trader arrived in Vijayanagar with some very good-quality cats. The cats were so special that he wanted to give them to King Krishna Dev Rai as a gift. He brought his cats to the palace and met the King. The Queen and the King both liked the cats very much. Though the trader said that he wanted to give the cats to the royal couple as a gift, the Queen insisted that he should be given one thousand gold coins; not as a price but as a reward. Later the Queen gave one cat each to her maids along with a cow to feed the cats with milk in order to keep them healthy.

One cat was given to Tenali Ramakrishna also along with a cow. The Queen instructed everyone that since the cats are of a very special breed, they must be taken full care of.

After a gap of one month King Krishna Dev Rai wanted to know how the cats had grown. All the maids brought their cats to the palace. Tenali Ramakrishna also brought his cat. All the cats looked very healthy, but Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was the healthiest of all.

The Queen and the King were utterly surprised to see that Tenali Ramakrishna's cat was in the best of her shape. The reason behind their surprise was that once the King had given a horse to Tenali Ramakrishna for rearing; but despite the financial support from the royal treasure for rearing the horse, he had almost starved it to death. And this time, despite no financial support from the royal treasure except a cow for feeding the cat with milk, his cat had outgrown the other cats.

The Queen and the King were very happy to see such beautiful and healthy cats purring and playing around.

A silver bowl each of milk was given to all cats to drink. All the cats drank milk from the bowls, but to the utter surprise of the Queen and the King, Tenali Ramakrishna's cat didn't even sniff at it. Instead the cat ran into the lap of Tenali Ramakrishna and began purring affectionately.

"Tenali Ramakrishna!" said King Krishna Dev Rai, "I have every genuine reason to be bewildered at the behaviour of this cat. Animals are guided by their natural instincts. No matter how thoroughly assuaged a cat may be, but it will drink milk at the first available opportunity; whereas your cat has acted much against its natural instinct. Could you please explain to me the reason behind it?"

"I agree, My Lord," said Tenali Ramakrishna, "but the cat is not to be blamed. In fact there is a well-known saying that the cats close their eyes while drinking milk; and I wanted to rid this cat from this bad habit. On the very first day when I took the cat home, I put boiling hot milk in bowl and placed it before this cat. As is natural with the cats, this cat also put its mouth in the bowl with its eyes closed and burnt itself. It is since then that she has not touched milk.

Hearing this the Queen and the King burst into laughter. "But your cat is in a very good state of health. How is it? It has not been drinking milk either," said King Krishna Dev Rai.

"My Lord! I had a lot of mice in my house. They had been causing damage to our clothes and other household things. I made use of this cat. Everyone of us knows that cats love eating mice. My Lord! There is a saying — 'A burnt child dreads the fire.' I only took advantage of the situation. It couldn't drink milk because it had burnt its mouth, but it had to eat something in order to assuage its hunger, and mice are the best alternative for any cat on earth. Thus, I managed to save cow's milk for my children, and also didn't let the cat starve. You can yourself see, My Lord, that the cat is in the best of its health.

The Queen and the King had a hearty laugh and decided to keep the cat in the palace. They also allowed Tenali Ramakrishna to retain the cow with himself as a gift from the royal couple.

Read the poem carefully and answer the given questions.

Sometimes a late autumnal thought
Has crossed my mind in green July,
And to its early freshness brought
Late ripened fruits and an autumnal sky.
The evening of the year draws on,
The fields a letter aspect wear;
Since summer's garishness is gone,
Some grains of night tincture the noontide air.