JAC • Class X • English • Ch 13

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How to Tell Wild Animals

'How to Tell Wild Animals' by American author and humorist Carolyn Wells is a delightfully witty, whimsical, and satirical didactic poem that offers humorous 'guidebook rules' for identifying dangerous beasts of prey in their natural habitats. Structured into six neat six-line stanzas (sestets) following a regular ababcc rhyme scheme, the poem playfully subverts traditional zoological identification manuals. Instead of clinical descriptions, Wells uses absurd, lethal criteria: the Asian Lion is identified because he roars at you as you are dying; the noble Bengal Tiger is recognized when he eats you; the Leopard's identity is confirmed by his relentless leaps; the Bear by his suffocating bone-crushing 'hug'; while hyenas are distinguished by their mocking smiles and crocodiles by their deceitful tears. Featuring clever poetic license, humorous irony, and playful language, the poem serves as a masterclass in light verse while introducing students to genuine animal characteristics.

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How to Identify an Apex Predator... Right Before It Swallows You Whole!

Most wildlife survival guides teach you how to stay away from dangerous animals. Carolyn Wells does the exact opposite: she gives you foolproof methods to identify them—at the exact moment they are mauling you! If a large tawny beast roars at you while you are in your death throes, congratulations: you have correctly spotted an Asian Lion! If a creature hugs you so tight your ribs shatter, rest assured it is a friendly Bear. Discover the most hilarious, tongue-in-cheek safari in world poetry, where zoology meets stand-up comedy!

Why This Chapter Matters

In JAC and CBSE Class 10 English Examinations, 'How to Tell Wild Animals' is an essential poem tested for poetic license (deliberate spelling alterations like 'lept' and 'dyin''), humorous irony, stanza-wise identification questions, and rhyme scheme analysis. It provides students with an engaging entry point into light verse and parody, demonstrating how tone, rhythm, and diction can transform a genuinely terrifying subject (lethal wild beasts) into pure comedic entertainment.

Before You Begin (Prerequisites)

Knowledge of poetic forms: six-line stanzas (sestets) and rhyme scheme identification (ababcc).
Understanding of literary devices: poetic license, humorous irony, hyperbole, paradox, and alliteration.
Basic zoological familiarity with carnivores and reptiles: lion, tiger, leopard, bear, hyena, crocodile, and chameleon.
Ability to analyze comedic tone and parody of scientific guidebooks.

What You Will Learn (Core Objectives)

Deconstruct the structure and rhyme scheme (ababcc) of all six stanzas of the poem.
Identify the distinctive characteristics and humorous identification methods used for each of the seven wild creatures.
Analyze instances of poetic license and explain why poets break grammatical or orthographical rules for rhythm and rhyme.
Contrast the folkloric distinctions between hyenas (smiling) and crocodiles (weeping false tears).
Formulate precise 5-mark board examination answers citing textual evidence, comedic irony, and stylistic analysis.

Chapter Roadmap & Progression

1 1. Text of the Poem, Form, and Pros...

2 2. Stanzas 4 to 6 (The Bear, River...

3 3. The Catalogue of Wild Beasts: Fe...

4 4. Poetic License and Linguistic Pl...

5 5. Literary Devices and Comedic Iro...

Complete Concept Guide (100% Curriculum Coverage)

1. Text of the Poem, Form, and Prosodic Architecture

Carolyn Wells organizes the poem into six meticulously crafted six-line stanzas (sestets), each following an ababcc rhyme scheme.

1.1 Stanzas 1 to 3 (The Big Cats):

The Asian Lion:
If ever you should go by chance
To jungles in the east;
And if there should to you advance
A large and tawny beast,
If he roars at you as you're dyin'
You'll know it is the Asian Lion.

The Bengal Tiger:
Or if some time when roaming round,
A noble wild beast greets you,
With black stripes on a yellow ground,
Just notice if he eats you.
This simple rule may help you learn
The Bengal Tiger to discern.

The Leopard:
If strolling forth, a beast you view,
Whose hide with spots is peppered,
As soon as he has lept on you,
You'll know it is the Leopard.
'Twill do no good to roar with pain,
He'll only lep and lep again.

2. Stanzas 4 to 6 (The Bear, River Predators, and the Chameleon)

The second half of the poem shifts to non-feline creatures, continuing the humorous fatalistic guide.

The Bear:
If when you're walking round your yard
You meet a creature there,
Who hugs you very, very hard,
Be sure it is a Bear.
If you have any doubts, I guess
He'll give you just one more caress.

The Crocodile & Hyena:
Though to distinguish beasts of prey
A novice might nonplus,
The Crocodile you always may
Tell from the Hyena thus:
Hyenas come with merry smiles;
But if they weep they're Crocodiles.

The Chameleon:
The true Chameleon is small,
A lizard sort of thing;
He hasn't any ears at all,
And not a single wing.
If there is nothing on the tree,
'Tis the chameleon you see.

3. The Catalogue of Wild Beasts: Features and Humorous Criteria

Wells cleverly blends real biological traits with absurd, post-mortem identification criteria.

Animal	Physical Characteristics	Humorous / Lethal Identification Rule
Asian Lion	Large, massive body; brownish-yellow ('tawny') coat; roars thunderously.	He roars so terrifyingly that you die of fright; your death confirms his identity.
Bengal Tiger	'Noble' wild beast; vivid black stripes across a bright yellow background.	You discern him at the exact moment he attacks and eats you for dinner.
Leopard	Skin ('hide') peppered with dark rosette spots; agile leaper.	He leaps repeatedly ('lep and lep again'); roaring with pain will not save you.
Bear	Heavy, muscular mammal that wanders into rural yards.	Hugs you tightly in a lethal, bone-crushing embrace; gives another 'caress' if in doubt.
Hyena	Carnivorous scavenger; peculiar vocalization mimicking laughter.	Always approaches with a grinning, 'merry smile' before devouring its prey.
Crocodile	Aquatic reptile with tear glands that lubricate eyes while feeding.	Weeps hypocritical tears ('crocodile tears') while swallowing its victims.
Chameleon	Small, wingless, earless lizard possessing camouflage ability.	If the tree branch looks completely empty, the chameleon is invisible right before you!

4. Poetic License and Linguistic Play

A defining hallmark of Carolyn Wells's craft is her bold and playful use of poetic license.

4.1 What is Poetic License?:

Poetic license is the liberty taken by an author or poet to alter grammatical rules, spelling, or pronunciation to maintain meter, rhythm, or end-rhyme harmony.

4.2 Specific Instances in the Poem:

'dyin'' instead of 'dying': Shortened with an apostrophe in Stanza 1 to rhyme perfectly with 'Lion'.
'lept' and 'lep' instead of 'leaped' / 'leapt': Deliberately misspelled in Stanza 3 ('As soon as he has lept on you... He'll only lep and lep again') to match the sound of 'Leopard'.
'A novice might nonplus' instead of 'might be nonplussed': Altered grammatical passive voice in Stanza 5 to create a rhyme with 'thus'.

Pedagogical Significance: These deviations are not spelling mistakes; they are deliberate, masterly artistic choices that inject humor, energy, and musical precision into light verse.

5. Literary Devices and Comedic Irony

The humor of the poem relies fundamentally on situational and dramatic irony.

5.1 Irony of Practicality:

A guide is written to help someone survive or avoid danger. In Wells's poem, every single identification rule is useful only after the reader has already been killed and eaten! The advice is entirely accurate, yet completely useless for survival.

5.2 Literary Devices Summary:

Device	Textual Example	Artistic Purpose
Irony / Sarcasm	'A noble wild beast greets you... Just notice if he eats you.'	Treats a fatal predator attack as a polite social greeting.
Alliteration	'roaming round' / 'lep and lep again' / 'novice might nonplus'	Creates lively acoustic playfulness and rhythmic speed.
Inversion	''Tis the chameleon you see'	Inverts standard sentence order to preserve meter and rhyme.
Paradox / Euphemism	Calling a bear's lethal crush a 'hug' and 'caress'	Masks deadly violence in terms of warm, domestic affection.

Key Grammatical Rules, Literary Devices & Core Principles

Carolyn Wells Stanza Model

6 Sestets + ababcc Rhyme Scheme + Iambic Rhythm = Playful, rhythmic light verse.

Asian Lion Identification Rule

Jungles in the East + Large & Tawny + Roars at you as you're dying = Asian Lion.

Bengal Tiger Identification Rule

Noble beast + Black stripes on yellow ground + Eats you for dinner = Bengal Tiger.

Leopard Identification Rule

Hide peppered with spots + 'Lept and lep again' + Unmoved by pain = Leopard.

Bear Paradox Equation

Bone-crushing lethal embrace euphemized as a 'tight hug' and tender 'caress'.

Crocodile vs. Hyena Maxim

Merry grinning smiles = Hyena; False hypocritical weeping = Crocodile.

Camouflage Invisibility Law

"If there is nothing on the tree, / 'Tis the chameleon you see" (Total color adaptation).

Poetic License Triplets

'dyin'' (for Lion) + 'lept/lep' (for Leopard) + 'nonplus' (for thus) = Intentional metric alteration.

The Lethal Guidebook Irony

Identification is 100% accurate, but only verified posthumously after being eaten.

Thematic Comic Function

Diffuses primal human fear of wild predators through absurd, humorous linguistic play.

Conceptual Solved Examples & Case Studies

Example 1

Question 1: How does the poet suggest we can identify the Asian Lion and the Bengal Tiger? What is the humorous irony in both methods?

Step-by-Step Solution:

Answer:
1. Asian Lion: Found in the eastern jungles, he is a massive, brownish-yellow ('tawny') beast. The humorous method to identify him is that he roars so deafeningly at you that you die of sheer terror on the spot.
2. Bengal Tiger: Described with mock reverence as a 'noble wild beast' with distinct black stripes across a yellow background. The simple identification rule is to notice if he attacks and eats you.
3. The Humorous Irony: The irony lies in the fact that in both cases, the identification rule is completely fatal and useless for self-preservation. By the time you successfully verify which predator you are facing, you are already dead or inside its belly!

Example 2

Question 2: What is 'poetic license'? Cite two clear examples of poetic license from 'How to Tell Wild Animals'.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Answer:
1. Definition: Poetic license is the artistic freedom taken by a poet to deviate from conventional grammar, standard spelling, or factual literalism to maintain a poem's rhyme scheme, meter, or comedic effect.
2. Example 1 ('dyin''): In the first stanza, Wells writes: 'If he roars at you as you're dyin'', dropping the final 'g' and using an apostrophe to create a perfect, flawless rhyme with 'Lion'.
3. Example 2 ('lept' and 'lep'): In the third stanza, the poet invents the spellings: 'As soon as he has lept on you... He'll only lep and lep again', intentionally distorting 'leaped/leapt' to echo the phonetic sound of 'Leopard'.

Example 3

Question 3: How does the poet distinguish between the Hyena and the Crocodile? Explain the popular idioms behind both.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Answer:
Wells distinguishes these two dangerous carnivores based on popular folkloric expressions and behavioral peculiarities:
1. The Hyena: A hyena always approaches its prey with what appears to be a cheerful, wide grin or 'merry smile'. This refers to the animal's bizarre vocalization, commonly known as the 'laughing hyena', which sounds eerily like human laughter.
2. The Crocodile: If the creature is weeping tears, it is a crocodile. This draws upon the universal idiom of 'crocodile tears'—insincere, hypocritical weeping. Biologically, crocodiles secrete liquid from their tear glands to lubricate their eyes while eating, creating the false illusion that they are crying out of pity for their victims.

Example 4

Question 4: What humorous description does the poet give of the Bear's behavior towards humans?

Step-by-Step Solution:

Answer:
1. The Bear's Hug: The poet warns that if you encounter a creature walking in your yard who wraps its arms around you and 'hugs you very, very hard', you can be certain it is a bear.
2. Comedic Euphemism: A bear's 'hug' is a well-known lethal physical attack where it crushes the ribs and spine of its victim with immense muscular strength. However, Wells humorously euphemizes this deadly mauling as an affectionate human embrace.
3. The Second Caress: She wittily adds that if you have any lingering doubts about its identity, the bear will generously give you 'just one more caress', finishing you off with lethal affection.

Example 5

Question 5: How does Carolyn Wells describe the chameleon, and what is the punchline of the final stanza?

Step-by-Step Solution:

Answer:
1. Physical Description: Wells describes the true chameleon as a small, lizard-like reptile. It has no external ears and lacks wings.
2. Camouflage Trait: Chameleons possess the biological ability to change their skin color to match their environment (foliage, tree bark, leaves) for concealment from predators and prey.
3. The Punchline: Wells writes with brilliant comic logic: 'If there is nothing on the tree, / 'Tis the chameleon you see.' The punchline is that if the tree appears completely bare and empty to your eyes, the chameleon is doing its camouflage job so perfectly that you are looking right at it without knowing it!

Common Misconceptions & Examiner Traps

Common Misconception

Believing 'lept' and 'dyin'' are accidental typographical spelling errors.

Scientific Reality & Correction

They are deliberate examples of poetic license used intentionally by the poet to fit the rhyme and meter.

Common Misconception

Thinking a bear's 'hug' is a friendly act of affection.

Scientific Reality & Correction

A bear hug is a fatal, bone-crushing predatory attack; the poet describes it as a 'caress' with humorous irony.

Common Misconception

Confusing the physical appearance of the Tiger and the Leopard.

Scientific Reality & Correction

The Bengal Tiger has black stripes on a yellow ground; the Leopard has a hide peppered with dark spots.

Common Misconception

Thinking the poem provides real, practical safety tips for jungle survival.

Scientific Reality & Correction

The poem is a humorous parody of identification guides; all methods are lethal and satirically impractical.

Common Misconception

Believing hyenas actually smile out of happiness and crocodiles cry out of sadness.

Scientific Reality & Correction

Both are zoological and folkloric phenomena: hyenas make barking sounds resembling laughter, and crocodiles have tear ducts that discharge fluid while feeding.

How to Tell Wild Animals: Carolyn Wells's Humorous Zoological Guide

Chapter Summary & 10 Key Takeaways

Takeaway 1

Carolyn Wells's 'How to Tell Wild Animals' is a six-stanza humorous poem offering satirical rules to identify dangerous beasts.

Takeaway 2

The Asian Lion is a large, tawny beast in eastern jungles that roars so terrifyingly that you die of fright.

Takeaway 3

The Bengal Tiger is an elegant beast with black stripes on yellow fur, recognized the moment he attacks and eats you.

Takeaway 4

The Leopard's hide is peppered with spots; he leaps continuously on his prey ('lept and lep'), and roaring with pain will not stop him.

Takeaway 5

The Bear meets you in your yard and hugs you tightly—a comic euphemism for a bone-crushing, lethal attack.

Takeaway 6

The poem distinguishes hyenas by their laughing, smiling faces, and crocodiles by their deceitful tears while swallowing prey.

Takeaway 7

The chameleon is a small, wingless, earless lizard whose perfect camouflage makes it invisible on a tree branch.

Takeaway 8

Wells uses deliberate poetic license (e.g., 'dyin'' for Lion, 'lept' and 'lep' for Leopard) to maintain rhyme and rhythm.

Takeaway 9

The poem follows a consistent ababcc rhyme scheme in lively, musical iambic meter.

Takeaway 10

The central irony is that the identification advice is completely lethal and only verified after the victim has been devoured.

Check Your Understanding (Diagnostic Practice Questions)

Diagnostic questions testing core conceptual clarity. Answers are hidden initially — solve each problem first, then click to reveal the step-by-step verified solution.

What is the humorous rule given to identify the Bengal Tiger?

Reveal Answer & Explanation

Answer: The rule is simply to notice if the 'noble wild beast' with black stripes on a yellow ground eats you for dinner.

What examples of 'poetic license' appear in the poem?

Reveal Answer & Explanation

Answer: The shortened spelling 'dyin'' to rhyme with 'Lion', the invented words 'lept' and 'lep' to match 'Leopard', and the inverted grammar 'a novice might nonplus'.

How does the poet distinguish between a hyena and a crocodile?

Reveal Answer & Explanation

Answer: A hyena approaches with a cheerful, merry smile (alluding to its laughing call), whereas a crocodile sheds hypocritical tears while devouring its prey.

What is meant by the bear's 'hug' and 'caress'?

Reveal Answer & Explanation

Answer: It is a humorous euphemism for the bear's lethal, crushing embrace that breaks the bones of its prey.

What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza in 'How to Tell Wild Animals'?

Reveal Answer & Explanation

Answer: Each six-line stanza follows an ababcc rhyme scheme.

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