How to Tell Wild Animals
Class 10 English · First Flight – Poems · Chapter 4
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The story in short
Carolyn Wells’s poem is a humorous and witty piece that pretends to teach readers how to identify various wild animals — but in a comically dangerous way. With light, playful rhyme, the speaker describes how you can recognise an Asian Lion if it roars at you while it eats you, a Bengal Tiger by the black stripes on its yellow body as it pounces, a leopard by its spots as it keeps leaping on you, and a bear by the way it hugs you very tightly. The poem also jokes about telling a crocodile from a hyena by whether it weeps while eating, and a chameleon by its ability to change colour and seem to vanish. The humour lies in the absurd idea that one would be identifying these creatures while being attacked. The poem entertains while showing the poet’s clever use of wit, rhyme and exaggeration.
The story in 5 beats
- 1The poet jokes that an Asian Lion is known when it roars while killing and eating you.
- 2She says a Bengal Tiger is easy to know by its yellow body with black stripes as it attacks.
- 3A leopard is recognised by its spotted body and repeated leaps after you if you cry for help.
- 4A bear is known when it gives a crushing hug, and a hyena and a crocodile are compared humorously.
- 5At the end, the poet describes the chameleon as a small creature that changes colour and seems to disappear.
Humour and witIdentifying wild animals comicallyRhyme and wordplayExaggerationLight verse
Characters & key ideas
HumourThe light, comic tone that runs through the poem.
Asian LionIdentified, comically, by its roar as it eats you.
Bengal TigerRecognised by black stripes on a yellow body as it pounces.
ChameleonA lizard that changes colour and seems to vanish.
Wit and rhymeThe clever wordplay and rhyme that create the comedy.
Carolyn WellsThe poet who wrote this humorous poem.
Word meanings · शब्दार्थ
roaming
moving around freely
noble
grand and majestic
discern
recognise or notice clearly
tawny
yellowish-brown in colour
lep and lep again
jumped again and again
lep
old form of leapt
nonplus
confuse greatly
caress
loving touch or embrace
novice
a beginner
reptile
cold-blooded crawling animal
chameleon
lizard that changes colour
Extra questions & answers (board-style)
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What is the tone of “How to Tell Wild Animals”?