CBSE Class 10 English Mijbil The Otter Worksheet

About the Author:
Gavin Maxwell lives in a cottage in Camusfearna, in the West Highlands in Scotland. When his dog Jonnie died, Maxwell was too sad to think of keeping a dog again. But life without a pet was lonely. Introduction: In this lesson, the author tells us how his life changed after he decided to domesticate an otter after he lost his pet dog. He takes us through his journey of adjusting, playing and travelling with Mijbil (or Mij) the otter, from Iraq to London and how during this journey, he developed an inseparable bond with him.

GIST:
The story begins with the author travelling to Basra along with his friend. During their journey, the author expresses his desire to domesticate an otter because he has lost his pet dog. His life had become lonely without a pet. His friend suggested that he should get one from the Marshes along river Tigris in Iraq. When they reached the destination, they found that only the friend’s mail had arrived. After a few days, the friend left while the narrator was still waiting to receive his mail. Upon receiving it, he went to his room only to find an otter (brought to him in a sack), accompanied by two Arabs with a note. It was a gift from his friend. He named the otter Mijbil or shortly, Mij. It took some time for Mij to open up and get acquainted with his surroundings. He was covered in mud to an extent that it took almost a month of cleaning and washing to reveal his actual colour. Mij loved playing with water so much so that he even learned to open the tap on his own. He believed that each drop of water should be squished and splashed till the bowl had been emptied. Everything was going smoothly in Basra, but now it was time to fly back to London. British airlines did not allow animals, so he had to book another flight that allowed Mij with a condition that he had to be carried in a box. The narrator put him in a box an hour before the flight so that Mij could get accustomed to it and then left for a quick meal. When he returned, he found that the box was still and Mij had created a mess by destroying the inner lining. As a result, blood was dripping out of the holes. He was scared so he hurried. They were far away from the airport and there were only ten minutes left for the flight to take off. He cleaned it all, hurried in a cab and managed to reach just in time. He explained the series of events to a very kind and generous air hostess who advised him to keep the box on his lap. Gavin developed extreme admiration for the air hostess as she was very kind to him. As soon as he opened the box, the otter leaped out and disappeared creating a chaos. Passengers were frightened. A lady climbed up her chair and, in an attempt, to get a hold of Mij, the author got himself covered in curry. The air hostess offered help and brought him back to Gavin and finally, they reached London.

Mij was fond of playing with ping-pong balls and marbles. He even developed a game with the author’s damaged suitcase. It could keep him engrossed for a long period of time. Narrator took him for walks while taking the lead and played with him. People of London, being unfamiliar with otters, had wild guesses about what Mij was. Some thought it to be a baby seal, squirrel or even a hippo. The most shocking reaction came when a labourer digging the hole asked the author, “What is that supposed to be?” In this way the story demonstrates an adventurous experience of an animal lover who undergoes several challenges and wonderful experience in the pursual of his aim of keeping an otter as a pet.

 

 

Gavin Maxwell lived in a cottage in Camusfearna, in the West Highlands in Scotland. When Maxwell‟s dog Jonnie died, he became very sad. Life without a pet was quite lonely. When he Southern Iraq in 1959, he saw some Arab people having otters as pets. He also thought of having an otter. He named the otter, Mijbil. In the beginning, Mijbi was indifferent but he became quite intimate with the narrator. He faced a problem to transport the otter from Basra to England. Mijbil was packed in a box. Mijbil disappeared in the aeroplane when the box was opened. The air hostess helped him to find out Mijbil. In London, Mijbil remained a mystery for most of the people. They couldn‟t recognise an otter. Some called Mijbil „a seal‟ and some called him „a squirrel‟. Others called him „a beaver‟ and „a bear cub‟. But the best question came from a labourer, “What is that supposed to be?” he asked.

 

Short Answer Type Questions

Question. How was the physical appearance of Mijbil, the otter?
Answer. Mijbil was an awesome creature brought to Maxwell by two Arabs in the sack. He resembled like a very small imaginary dragon of the middle Ages as its body was coated with pointed scales. Between them a soft velvet fur was visible. It was like a chocolate brown mole. Anyone who would look at him for the first would be afraid and couldn’t make out what it was. It was healthy and intelligent otter. It soon learnt how to cop up with his new master and surroundings.

Question. Maxwell says that the airhostess was “the very queen of her kind” . What makes him to say so?
Answer. Maxwell was bothered about Mij's comfort because it was exhausted and wounded. When he boarded the flight, he took the air hostess into confidence by explaining her about the latest incidents. Being understanding, friendly and kind, she advised him to keep the box on his lap. She listened and helped him. This kind and sympathetic nature of the air hostess led him to an admiration calling her “the very queen of her kind”.

Question. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt when he did this?
Answer. Maxwell removed every bit of the shredded inner lining so that Mij wouldn’t hurt himself. He then kept the otter back in the box as they had to board the flight on time. He must have felt pity and worried about Mij as he was a great animal lover. He wouldn’t stand to see him in trouble because he had already lost his pet dog.

Question. Why did Maxwell want an otter and how did he get it?
Answer. Maxwell wanted to keep an otter because he had recently lost his pet dog. He felt lonely and depressed without a pet. He decided to keep an otter as a pet instead of dog. He expressed his this wish before his friend who managed to get an otter and sent it to Maxwell through two Arabs. This is how he got his tamed otter. He was very pleased to have a pet once again.

Question. Maxwell was very pleased to have an otter but taking it to England was a challenge. How did he take Mijbil to England by air?
Answer. There was no limit of Maxwell’s excitement when got the otter but taking it to England was another challenge as there were only a few airlines which allowed to travel by air with pets. When he found an airline which would allow him to travel with an otter. He kept Mijbil into a box. Mijbil tore off the box and wounded himself. Then Mijbil disappeared down the aircraft, terrorizing the other passengers. After that, he settled on Maxwell’s knee and gave no further inconvenience to others. This is how adventurous journey of bringing Mijbil to England was completed.

Question. Mijbil was an intelligent animal. Explain in brief how?
Answer. There is no doubt that Mijbil was an intelligent creature. He didn’t believe the author at once and took his time to understand him and his surrounding. Later on, the author explains that one day Mijbil escaped from his room and went to the bathroom. When the author reached there he found that the otter had turned the tap in less than a minute and he had managed to get full flow of water for a bath.

Question. Why does author go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Answer. The author goes the Basra to the Consulate—General to collect and answer his mail from Europe. His mail did not arrive in time. He cabled to England, and when, three days later, nothing had happened, he tried to telephone. The call had to be booked twenty-four hours in advance. On the first day the line was out of order; on the second day, exchange was closed for a religious holiday. On the third day there was another breakdown. His mail arrived five days later. He had to wait there for five days.

Question. What did Mij do to the box when he was kept in it by the author?
Answer. Mij was not accustomed to be kept in a box. The author put Mij into the box an hour before he started for the airport so that Mij would become accustomed to it and left for a meal. When he came back he found complete silence in the box. He saw blood stains around the air holes. Mij had torn off the lining of the box to shreds. He had got himself hurt. This made author to feel pity for Mij and he removed all the lining of the box.

Question. What happened when the author opened the box in plane?
Answer. Mij was very uncomfortable in the box so the airhostess suggested the author that he could keep the pet on his knee. The author opened the box and Mij was out of the box in a flash. He disappeared at high speed down the aircraft. There was chaos all around in the plane as for the people in the aeroplane otter was an unfamiliar animal. The odd situation was easily handled by the kind air hostess. She picked up the otter and gave it to the author and asked him to keep it in his lap. After it, everything was normal.

Question. Suppose you were in place of the airhostess and same incidents had happened with you in the flight, how would you handle the situation Describe your experience?
Answer. If I were in place of the airhostess and if the same incidents had happened with me in the flight, my experience might have been the same as of the airhostess but I would like to say something in this matter. As an airhostess, I would never permit to open the box of the otter (animal). I would be punctual for my duties. I know that kindness has a unique importance in our life. But duty is above all. I would think about the bad impacts of a free otter in the plane. It might be a great risk for all the people sitting there. In that condition, my reaction might be different. When the author would ask me to let him open the box, I would make him understand about the risk and tell him not to do it.

 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question. How was the relationship between the otter and Maxwell? Describe it in your own words.
Answer. Maxwell and the otter Mijbil shared a lovely relationship. Maxwell treated Mij like his own son. He took very good care of him. He gave him many toys including marbles, rubber bans, rubber fruits and a terrapin shell to play with. He took him to the bathtub to play in the water knowing the fascination of otters with water. He noticed his habits and traits. Mijbil hesitated on the first day but then became very friendly. Maxwell encouraged Mijbil to do whatever he liked to do. He took him out or exercise every day in spite of people’s strange comments about the otter. When the author saw blood on the box in which Mij was packed, he was horrified. When Mij came out of the box he jumped all over but then came and sat on Maxwell’s knees quietly a good child. They had a relation beyond of pet and owner. As the author loved and cared the needs and emotions of
Mij, in the same way Mij too cared at its own level like a good pet. It is clearly understood when Mij easily comes and sits on the author's lap in spite of being wounded and exhausted.

Question. Mij is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love. How do you come to know it?
Answer. There is no doubt that Mij was an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal. When the author received it, for the first twenty- four hours it remained aloof and indifferent but later on he took interest in his surroundings. He became friendly to the author. He enjoyed his bath. One day he disappeared from the bedroom and entered the bathroom where he tried to open the tap. His intelligence is further revealed when he invented a game of his own of ping- pong ball. Mij discovered that if the ball was placed on the high end of the suitcase, it would rather run down the length of the suitcase. He enjoyed playing with ball and marbles. Mij had developed certain compulsive habits like school children. He used to gallop at full speed on the thirty yards wall of a primary school. It was a quick learner as he easily learns to turn on the tap for a bath. He is fond of having fun and doesn’t miss a chance for anything which could give joy.

Question. Why did Maxwell decide to have an otter as a pet? How did he get it?
Answer. When Maxwell lost his do jonnie then he felt alone without a pet. This time he decided to change his pet. He decided to own an otter as his pet. His place, Camusfearna was ringed by water. It would be a suitable place for this new experiment. Seeing his interest in an otter, one of his friends suggested that he could get an otter in the Tigris marshes. He said him that otters were as common in the Tigris marshes as were mosquitoes. They were often tamed by the Arabs as pets. Maxwell got his mail after five days. He carried it to his bedroom to read. To his great his great surprise when there he found two Arabs squatting on the floor. A sack laid beside them. There was something moving and twisting in it. The Arabs handed him a note from his friend. It read, “Here is your otter …” The author was glad to have an otter. He opened the sack and there emerged a Unique creature from the sack with a mud covering on its body. Later on, this otter was named Mijbil by the author. After it, they both enjoyed a lot.

 

 

 

 

1. Early in the New Year of 1956, I travelled to Southern Iraq. By then it had crossed my mind that I should like to keep an otter instead of a dog and that Camusfearna, ringed by water a stone‟s throw from its door, would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment. When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he as casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes and were often by the Arabs.

(a) Where did the writer go?

(b) What did he want as a pet?

(c) What „experiment‟ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?

(d) Why did the author think of keeping an otter in place of a dog as a pet?

 

 

(a) Which creature is being talked about here?

(b) What did it resemble?

(c) Why was he covered with mud?

(d) What does „mud armour‟ imply here?

 

 

1. Give an example from the text to show that Mijbil is an intelligent animal.

2. What happened when Maxwell opened the box on the plane?

3. How did Maxwell learn of Mijbil‟s love for water?

4. Describe the havoc created by Mijbil on the aeroplane when it came out of the box.

5. What were the guesses made by the Londoners about Mijbil?

 

 

1. Why did Maxwell want to have an otter for a pet? How did he get one?

2. How was Mijbil transported from Basra to London? What scenes did the otter create in the aircraft