Q1. What innocent belief made Dick decide to go to London?

Ans: Dick overheard someone say that the streets of London were paved with gold and he decided to pick up his fortune in gold pieces from the streets. This innocent belief made him decide to go to London.

Q2. What hardships did he face on arriving in London?

Ans: Dick arrived in London just before nightfall. He had no place to sleep, and he finally slept in the corner of a narrow lane. The following morning. Dick woke up feeling cold, miserable, and hungry. He begged for food, but people shouted at him and hit him angrily on the head. He finally collapsed and lay there, too weak to look further for food.

Q3. How did Mr Fitzwarren favour Dick?

Ans: Mr Fitzwarren favoured Dick by feeding him and finding some work for him in his kitchen. 

Q4. What difficulties did Dick have to face at Mr Fitzwarrens house?

Ans: Dick had two difficulties to face at Mr. Fitzwarren. The first was that the attic he slept in was overrun by rats and mice. At night, they scampered all over him and kept him awake. The other difficulty, which was not so easy to overcome, was the cook’s bad temper. She shouted and screamed all day and would scold Dick and hit him with a wooden spoon, even when he was working as hard as he could.

Q5. How did the cat prove to be very useful?

Ans: The cat chased away all the rats and mice, so Dick was able to sleep peacefully. This way the cat proved very useful to Dick.

Q6. What inspired Dick to return back to Mr Fitzwarren’s home?

Ans: When Dick sat down on a stone to rest, he heard the church bells ringing. As he listened, it seemed that they were ringing a message for him, telling him that he should go back home, and calling him the Mayor of London.

Q7. Why was the Captain of the ship so overjoyed?

Ans: The captain of the ship was overjoyed, as the cat was an excellent mouser, and so he had no trouble with rats and mice on his voyage.

Q8. What happened when food was brought in, at the palace? 

Ans: When the food was brought in, almost immediately rats and mice ran up and ate all the food. So, the captain sent a message asking for Dick’s cat to be brought to the palace. More food was laid out, and the rats and mice appeared as before. The cat immediately pounced, killing at least a dozen before they scattered.

Q9. Why was the queen afraid of the cat? 

Ans: The queen was afraid of the cat because she had seen how fiercely it had attacked the rats and the mice.

Q10. How much did the king pay for the cat?

Ans: The king paid ten times the sum for the cat that he had paid for the whole cargo from Mr. Fitzwarren’s ship.

Q11. What changes had the cat brought to Dick’s life?

Ans: In the beginning, the cat helped Dick sleep peacefully at night by chasing away all the rats and mice that ran about in the attic. Later, as it was a good mouser, it was bought by the king of Barbary for a very large sum of money, which was given to Dick. He thus became a rich man and later became a successful merchant.