The Cookie Lady : Short Answer Questions – ISC Prism
Question 1 : Why is Bernard teased by his friends ? Where does he go ?
Answer: Bernard is teased by his friend Ernie Mill because he frequently visits a strange old lady, Mrs. Drew. Ernie asks mockingly if Bernard is going to see his “lady friend” again. Bernard goes to Mrs. Drew’s house, which is located at the end of Elm Street.
Question 2 : Where was the old lady living ? What kind of house was it?
Answer: The old lady was living in an old, dilapidated house in Elm Street. It was a neglected and unpainted, “a little grey box” like house. The porch steps were sagging and front of the house was overgrown with weeds. There was an “old weather -beaten” rocking chair on the porch with a torn piece of cloth hanging over it.
Question 3 : What tempts Bubber to the cookie lady?
Answer: Bubber is tempted by cookies. The wonderful “warm” smell of freshly baked cookies makes his mouth “water”. Mrs. Drew bakes Bubber fresh warm cookies with “nuts and raisins” in them. She serves them with cold milk as Bubber likes. These cookies charms him to cookie lady, Mrs. Drew.
Question 4 : What do you know about Bubber’s parents ?
Answer : The author does not provide any details about Bubber’s family and his parents, except that his father’s name is Ralf Surle and mother’s name is May Surle. They could feel that “something strange” about that old lady and don’t want their son Bubber to hang around that crazy old lady, Mrs. Drew. So they forbid him to visit Mrs. Drew.
Question 5 : How long has Bubber been visiting the old lady ? How would she feel in his presence ?
Answer : Bubber has been visiting the old lady for over a month. As the old lady lived alone an isolated life, she would enjoy Bubber company and asks him to stay longer and “talk” to her and “read” books to her. Bubber’s youthful presence makes her “feel so young again”. She would feel a kind of physical transformation taking place in her.
Question 6 : What did the boy feel in her company and after he left her ?
Answer: Bubber is drawn towards Mrs. Drew is due to only his craving for cookies. As she bakes delicious cookies for him and serve them with cold milk, he enjoyed them and felt content and satisfied. But as soon as he left her house to return home, he felt exhausted, extremely tired and drained out.
Question 7 : What reactiin did Bubber’s parents give when he returned from Mrs. Drew’s house ?
Answer: Bubber’s parents expressed their dislike when Bubber came back home after visiting Mrs. Drew’s house. They are concerned about his health as he always return home tired and exhausted after he visits Mrs. Drew. They don’t want their son to hang around that “crazy old lady anymore”. So they forbade him to visit the old lady.
Question 8 : What wrong do you find in Bubber visiting Mrs. Drew ?
Answer: In this short story Bubber repeatedly visits Mrs. Drew’s house out of his craving for delicious cookies. He is not interested in either talk to her or read her books. Bubber does not go there because of his longing for companionship, friendship or an affection with the old lady but for his greed for cookies. This seems wrong.
Question 9 : How did the lady feel the change in herself when Bubber visited her on his last visit ?
Answer: In Bubber’s last visit, Mrs. Drew undergoes a shocking transformation. When she touched his arm, “pulsating vibrating youngness” flowing between her fingers, through her arm. The feel of life made her “dizzy” and “unsteady”. A feel of new life rejuvenated her. She closed her eyes to feel the warm rising feeling. She was “blooming again”, “filling with life”, swelling into richness as she had been long ago.
Question 10 : Do you approve of the lady feeling happy over her transformation when she ignored what had happened to the boy ?
Answer: No, it is quite selfish and cruel that Mrs. Drew, steals away the youth and vitality of the young boy and recaptures her lost youth and beauty. She tries to drain out his youth and vitality again and again, every time he visits her, without any concern for his well being. She selfishly drains out his life force not even thinking that it is taking a toll of his youth and life. We can not approve this kind of selfish and cruel behaviour of the old lady.
Question 11 : What fate is meted out to Bubber ?
Answer: The end of the story reveals that Bubber never made it home from his final visit to Mrs. Drew. His face becomes “dull” and “a dead white”. On his way to home, he felt extremely tired, his head ached and he stopped every few minutes. The cold wind “hammering” at him, “pushing and plucking” at him. After a moment he just reduced to a mere bundle of trash and weeds, blown away in wind.
Question 12 : What kind of boy is Bubber depicted ?
Answer In the story “The Cookie Lady”, Bubber or Bernard Surle is depicted as a young teenage overweight “plump” boy who has the irresistible craving for cookies. The smell of freshly baked cookies make his mouth water. The abnormal craving of cookies blinds him to realise its harm and make him vulnerable to being exploited by the old lady. It is because of his craving for cookies that he falls into the trap of Mrs. Drew, and pays a heavy price by being exploited and reduced to nothingness.