Available Answers

1. 1.

   I speak to you as one whose clan/ has served and therefore studies man − says the elephant and it goes on to list a series of different qualities found in man.

   What strikes you about that list? Are the reasons consistent or contradictory? Give two examples. What, according to the elephant, is in the middle of all such contradictions? Do you agree with this opinion of human nature? 

2. 2.

   He sees the planet as his fief... What does this point of view lead humans to do? What is the consequence for the rest of the planet?

3. 3.

   When the road comes, the forest goes. Explain what this means in its context. (Why are roads made into a forest?)
4. 4.

   A reservoir is being built by destroying a lot of bamboo, which is eaten by the elephant and the tragopan− the trout thinks happily that the reservoir will provide it with 'endless space'. How does the elephant corecct the trout's notion? Which line in that stanza means 'we will all die together'?

5. 5.

   You will all be homeless, like us all.−Who is saying this to whom? What will make the listeners homeless?

6. 6.

   1. Can we call this poem a fable? Find out and say why or why not.
   2. Does the discussion of the animals relate to us, the readers, in any way? If so, how?