Supplementary Chapter 6: I Want Something in a Cage – Class 7 English

Story Summary: What Happens in the Chapter

The story is narrated by a young boy who watches his acquaintance, a bird-trapper, at work. This trapper follows in his father's footsteps — his father used to catch wild birds and sell them in cages as pets, and now the son continues the same cruel trade. He smears a sticky substance called 'birdlime' on twigs near a haystack where birds like to perch. When a bird lands on a limed twig, its feet stick fast, and it cannot fly away — the trapper simply walks up and picks it off.

The narrator feels uneasy watching this happen, sensing that trapping free birds for cages is unfair and cruel, even though the trapper sees it only as a way to earn money. One day, something unexpected happens: instead of a small songbird, a much larger bird of prey — a hawk — gets caught in the very same trap. The hawk had swooped down and was found eating the smaller birds already stuck on the limed twigs. Nature's own predator has been caught doing what predators do. Yet instead of feeling sorry or changing his ways, the trapper is thrilled — a hawk is a rarer, more valuable catch, and he wants to cage it too. The story ends by showing that his greed remains unchanged, no matter what he witnesses.

Difficult Words and Their Meanings

Birdlime

A sticky substance smeared on twigs or branches to trap birds — once a bird's feet touch it, they get stuck.

Trapper

A person whose work or hobby is catching wild animals or birds, usually to sell or keep them.

Haystack

A large, tightly packed pile of dried hay or grass stored in a field, often visited by birds looking for seeds or insects.

Hawk

A strong bird of prey with sharp claws (talons) and a hooked beak that hunts smaller birds and animals.

Prey

An animal that is hunted and killed by another animal for food.

Cruelty

Behaviour that causes pain or suffering to another living being, often without concern for its feelings.

Instinct

A natural, automatic behaviour that an animal is born with, not something it is taught — like a hawk's instinct to hunt.

How to Answer Extract-Based and Theme Questions from This Chapter

1. Step 1: Read the extract or question carefully — Identify whether the question asks about an event (what happened), a character's feeling, or the moral/theme of the story. Underline key words like 'why', 'how', or 'what does it show'.
2. Step 2: Recall the exact sequence of events — Remember the order: father's habit of trapping birds → son continues it using birdlime → narrator's discomfort → hawk gets trapped while eating caught birds → trapper still wants to cage the hawk.
3. Step 3: Connect the event to the theme — Always link small details to the bigger idea — human greed and lack of empathy for nature, and how such habits are passed down without questioning if they are right or wrong.
4. Step 4: Write in complete sentences with reasons — Do not just state 'he was cruel' — explain why: 'The trapper was insensitive because he saw living birds only as a source of money, ignoring their right to be free.'
5. Step 5: Conclude with the moral where asked — End long-answers with the story's message: exploiting nature for profit, without reflecting on right and wrong, shows a lack of compassion — a lesson the story wants readers to notice, even if the character himself does not.

Themes, Moral, and Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Main theme: human greed and cruelty towards birds/animals, continued unquestioningly across generations.
• The hawk catching and eating the trapped birds is symbolic — nature's food chain plays out even inside a man-made trap.
• Do not confuse the 'narrator' with the 'trapper' — the narrator only watches and feels uneasy; he does not trap birds himself.
• A common mistake is writing that the trapper 'realises his mistake' at the end — he does NOT change; he wants to cage the hawk too, showing his greed is unchanged.
• When asked for the moral, always mention empathy for living creatures and questioning traditions/habits that cause harm, rather than blindly continuing them.
• Use quotation-style referencing sparingly and in your own words for CBSE descriptive answers — examiners reward original expression over copied lines.

Exam Tip: Scoring Well on This Chapter

In CBSE exams, questions from supplementary chapters often ask 'What lesson does the story teach?' or 'Why did the narrator feel uneasy?'. Always answer in 3–5 complete sentences, mention the specific event (birdlime trap, hawk getting caught) as evidence, and end with the broader message about respecting nature. Avoid one-word or one-line answers — examiners award marks for reasoning, not just the correct fact. Also revise the difficult words, as vocabulary-based questions are common in this chapter.

Practice Questions with Solutions

• Q: Who is the trapper in the story, and how did he learn his trade? A: Step 1: Identify the character — the trapper is a young man who catches wild birds to sell as caged pets. Step 2: Recall his background — he learned this from his father, who used to do the same work before him. Final answer: The trapper learned bird-trapping from his father, continuing it as a family trade without questioning whether it was right or wrong.
• Q: How does the trapper catch the birds? Describe the method. A: Step 1: Recall the tool used — a sticky substance called birdlime. Step 2: Explain the process — he smears birdlime on twigs near a haystack where birds usually perch. Step 3: State the result — when a bird lands on the twig, its feet get stuck, and it cannot fly away, so the trapper simply picks it up. Final answer: The trapper spreads sticky birdlime on twigs near a haystack; when birds land and get stuck, he easily catches them by hand.
• Q: What unexpected event takes place near the end of the story? A: Step 1: Recall the twist — instead of a small songbird, a hawk gets trapped in the birdlime. Step 2: Note what the hawk was doing — it had swooped down to eat the smaller birds already caught in the trap. Final answer: A hawk, a bird of prey, gets caught in the same birdlime trap while eating the smaller trapped birds — an unexpected and ironic twist.
• Q: What does the trapper's reaction to catching the hawk reveal about his character? A: Step 1: Recall his reaction — instead of feeling guilty or sympathetic, he is excited because a hawk is a rare and valuable catch. Step 2: Analyse this — it shows his greed and lack of empathy remain unchanged even after witnessing nature's own predator suffer the same fate as its prey. Final answer: The trapper's excitement shows that he is driven purely by profit and has no real concern for the suffering of any creature, whether small bird or hawk.
• Q: What is the central theme or moral of the story 'I Want Something in a Cage'? A: Step 1: Identify the recurring idea — trapping free birds for money, passed down from father to son. Step 2: Connect to the hawk incident — it symbolically shows nature's cycle but does not change the trapper's greedy attitude. Step 3: State the message — the story urges readers to question cruel traditions and develop empathy towards all living creatures. Final answer: The story's moral is that human greed can make people insensitive to the suffering of animals, and such harmful habits should be questioned rather than blindly continued across generations.
• Q: How did the narrator feel while watching the trapper at work, and why? A: Step 1: Recall the narrator's emotion — he feels uneasy and uncomfortable. Step 2: Give the reason — he senses that catching free wild birds and caging them is unfair, even though he does not stop the trapper. Final answer: The narrator feels uneasy because, unlike the trapper, he is sensitive to the idea that wild birds deserve freedom, not a cage.

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