UP Board Class 10 English Chapter 6 – Mijbil the otter (Prose)

The story ‘Mijbil the Otter’ by Gavin Maxwell ‘is about the author’s pet Mijbil who was an otter. The narrator remembers his journey to Southern Iraq in 1956. He had gone with the intention of getting an otter as a pet. He had learnt that otters are common in the Tigris marshes and can be tamed by the locals. One day he received an otter.

Mijbil looked like a muddy dragon at first. But when the narrator cleaned him up, he discovered that Mijbil was a species unknown to science. The zoologists named him Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli’ or Maxwell’s Otter. Initially Mijbil ignores the narrator. However, the otter quickly forms a bond with the narrator. The otter exhibits playful behaviour, particularly enjoying water activities like swimming and splashing.

As the narrator prepares to take Mijbil back to England, he faces challenges due to airline regulations. He knew that the British Airline would not allow him to carry an animal to London. So, he booked another flight to Paris and then, Paris to London. For the journey, he constructs a small box for Mijbil to travel in but the otter tries to escape from the box and gets injured. After finding Mijbil injured and covered in blood, the narrator removes the box’s lining to ensure that the box could not harm Mijbil further. With little time left before their flight, the narrator quickly put Mijbil into the box, and held the lid with his hand to prevent any further escapes.

Inside the aircraft, the narrator informs the air hostess about Mijbil’s presence and gives her a parcel of fish for him. However, soon after takeoff, Mijbil manages to escape from the box and runs down the aisle of the plane. As a result, there is chaos among the passengers. There are squawks and screams, with one passenger mistaking Mijbil for a rat. Eventually. Mijbil finds his way back to the narrator and settles on his knee. The narrator spends the remainder of the journey comforting Mijbil and ensuring his safety. Maxwell and Mijbil stayed in London for a month. There, Mijbil would spend his time playing with his toys, ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruits and a terrapin shell that Maxwell had bought from the marshes. Maxwell would also take Mijbil for exercise and walks. Just like the school children, he would run, play and walk in the streets. In London, many people had not seen an otter. When they saw Mijbil, they made guesses about it. They guessed that it could be a baby seal, a walrus, a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard, etc. All of these guesses made the narrator laugh.

गेविन मैक्सवेल द्वारा लिखित कहानी ‘Mijbil the Otter लेखक के पालतू जानवर के बारे में है, जो एक ऊदबिलाव था । कथावाचक वर्ष 1956 की अपनी दक्षिणी इराक की यात्रा को स्मरण करता है। वह पालतु जानवर के रूप में एक ऊदबिलाव लाने के इरादे से गया था। उसे ज्ञात हुआ था कि टिगरिस के दलदली क्षेत्रों मे ऊदबिलाव बहुत सामान्य है और उन्हें स्थानीय निवासियों द्वारा प्रशिक्षित किया जा सकता है। एक दिन उसे ऊदबिलाव प्राप्त हुआ।

प्रारम्भ में, मिजबिल कीचड़ से सने हुए ड्रेगन जैसा दिख रहा था। लेकिन जब कथावाचक ने उसे साफ किया, तो उसे पता चला कि मिजबिल की प्रजाति से विज्ञान भी अनजान था। जीव वैज्ञानिकों ने उस ल्यूट्रोगेल पर्सपिसिलटा या मैक्सवेल का ऊदबिलाव नाम दिया था। प्रारम्भ में, मिजबिल कथावाचक को अनदेखा करता है। हालाँकि, ऊदबिलाव बहुत शीघ्रं कथावाचक के साथ गहरा सम्बन्ध स्थापित कर लेता है। ऊदबिलाव चंचल स्वभाव को प्रदर्शित करता है, विशेषतया पानी के क्रियाकलापों में, जैसे – तैरना और पानी को इधर-उधर उछालना।

जैसे ही कथावाचक मिजबिल को इंग्लैण्ड ले जाने की तैयारी करता है, हवाईयात्रा के नियमों के कारण उसे चुनौतियों का सामना करना पड़ता है। वह जानता था कि ब्रिटिश सरकार हवाईयात्रा से उसे एक जानवर को लन्दन ले जाने की अनुमति नहीं देगी, इसलिए उसने पेरिस तक की हवाईयात्रा निर्धारित की और फिर पेरिस से लन्दन की। यात्रा के लिए, उसने मिजबिल के सफर हेतु वह एक छोटा बक्सा बनाया, लेकिन ऊदबिलाव उस बक्से से भागने का प्रयास करता है और घायल हो जाता है। मिजबिल को घायल और खून में लथपथ देखने के बाद, कथावाचक बक्से की परत को निकाल देता है, जिससे आगे से बक्सा मिजबिल को नुकसान ना पहुँचा सके। हवाईयात्रा से थोड़े समय पहले, कथावाचक जल्दी से मिजबिल को बक्से में रख देता है और ऊपरी भाग को अपने हाथ से ढक लेता है, जिससे वह फिर से ना निकल पाए ।

Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

(a) cat

(b) otter

(c) dog

(d) seal

Ans. (b) otter

(a) friendly

(b) indifferent

(c) anti-social animal

(d) not liked by the author

Ans. (a) friendly

(a) Bathroom

(b) Pool

(c) Garden

(d) Veranda

Ans. (a) Bathroom

(a) was fearful of carrying Mij to England.

(b) did not want to take Mij with him.

(c) wanted to carry Mij without box in the plane.

(d) did not want to board the flight.

Ans. (a) was fearful of carrying Mij to England.

(a) Uncomfortable

(b) Angry

(c) Sad

(d) Shocked

Ans. (a) Uncomfortable

(a) Less than seventeen inches

(b) Eighteen to twenty inches

(c) Not more than eighteen inches

(d) None of the above

Ans. (c) Not more than eighteen inches

(a) Moaned

(b) Shouted

(c) Bit

(d) Loud

Ans. (a) Moaned

(a) Flustered

(b) Angry

(c) Miserable

(d) Sad

Ans. (c) Miserable

(a) Anxious

(b) Terrified

(c) Guilty

(d) Both (a) and (c)

Ans. (d) Both (a) anc (c)

(a) Jennie

(b) Jonnie

(c) Jammie

(d) Jinnie

Ans. (b) Jonnie

(a) London

(b) Southern Iraq

(a) Small dog

(b) Small cat

(c) Small dragon

(d) Small rabbit

Ans. (c) Small dragon

(a) 2

(b) 4

(c) 5

(d) 7

Ans. (c) 5

(a) his friend

(b) two Arabs

(c) hotel staff

(a) Consulate General

(b) Two Arabs

(c) Air hostess

(d) His friend

Ans. (d) His friend

(a) Lutrogale Maxwelli

(b) Lutrogale Perspicillata

(c) Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli

(d) Maxwelli Perspicillata Lutrogale

Ans. (c) Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli

(a) friendly

(b) hostile

(c) aloof and indifferent

(d) sad

Ans. (c) aloof and indifferent

(a) Author was late for his flight

(b) Mijbil had hurt himself

(c) Someone was after the driver

(d) All of the above

Ans. (a) Author was late for his flight

(a) In a separate compartment

(b) In a box

(c) In his bag

(d) None of the above

Ans. (b) In a box

(a) helpful

(b) friendly

(c) opposed

(d) supportive

Ans. (b) friendly

Ans. Maxwell got the otter through his friend to whom he had expressed his desire to keep an otter as a pet. When the author got his mail after five days, he went to his room to read it. There, he found two Arabs waiting for him with an otter in a bag.

Yes, he likes the otter. The words that tell us this are “It is, in effect, a thraldom to otters, an otter fixation….”.

Ans. The author’s friend advised him that he could get a better otter in the Tigris marshes because they were as common there as mosquitoes. His friend also informed him that the others there were often tamed by the Arabs.

Ans. Maxwell got his mail after five days because he sent a message to England. For three days, there was no reply. He tried to telephone but due to some problems he was not able to get a reply. Hence, there was a delay in getting his mail.

Ans. Two Arabs were waiting for the author in the room and they were having a sack that squirmed from time to time. There was also a note from his friend.

Ans. The otter looked like a small dragon belonging to the middle ages. It was covered with symmetrical pointed scales of mud armour. One could see between the scales a soft velvet fur like that of a chocolate-brown mole.

Ans. When the author took the otter to the bathroom for half an hour, he went wild with joy in the water, plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub underwater and making enough slosh and splash for a hippo. All these activities show that the otter loved the water a lot.

Ans. When he returned in his room, there was an appalling spectacle. There was complete silence from the box but from its airholes and chinks around the lid, blood had trickled and dried.

Ans. Maxwell thought that Camusfearna would be suitable for the ‘experiment’ of keeping an otter as a pet. As Camusfearna was surrounded by water nearby, it would be a suitable spot for this experiment.

Ans. Maxwell goes to Basra to visit the Consulate-General. He needs to collect and answer his mail from Europe. However, upon his arrival to the Consulate-General, he found that his mail had yet to arrive. Hence, Maxwell waited there for five days to get his mail.

Ans. The otter was named ‘Maxwell’s otter’ because it was of a species previously unknown to science. So, it was later on named by zoologists as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter.

Ans. For transporting Mij to England, the narrator booked a flight to Paris and then from Paris to London. As insisted by the airline, Mij was put in an eighteen inch square box that was supposed to be placed on the floor near his feet.

Ans. Maxwell says that the air hostess was ‘the queen of her kind’ because she was very kind and helpful. She understood the feelings of both the otter, Mijbil and the narrator and suggested him to keep the pet on his knees.

Ans. Mij had invented a game of his own with the ping-pong ball. Mij found that if he placed the ball on the high end of a broken suitcase, it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would run around to the other end to catch it, then he would hide from it and take it by surprise. Further, he would grab it and run with it to the high end of the suitcase.

Ans. Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustellinae. The other animals of this group are badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink, etc.

Ans. Londoners made the wildest possible guesses about Mij as otters are not found in England. Their guesses were a baby seal, a squirrel, a hippo or a brontosaur. Sometimes, people took it for a walrus, a beaver, a bear cub or a leopard.

Ans. Maxwell put the otter back in the box as there was no other way to carry Mij to London.

Maxwell must have felt helpless and miserable to do this. He must be worried as well.

Ans. Introduction Gavin Maxwell is the writer of the story. He had an otter as a pet. He took care of his otter with love. He. enjoyed all the activities of the otter.

Animal Lover The author loved keeping pet. When his pet dog died, he became sad and decided to keep another pet. He loved the otter and enjoyed his company.

Knowledgeable about Otter’s Species The author had knowledge of the otter’s species. He knew that the otter belonged to a race previously unknown to science and was, at length, named by zoologists as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwell, or Maxwell’s otter.

Caring and Sensitive The author looked after the otter very nicely. He provided him all the things like fish, toys, marbles, etc. When the otter injured himself in the box, the author felt sad and worried about him. He made efforts to make him comfortable in the flight.

Enjoyed Company of the Otter The author enjoyed the company of the otter. He bathed him, took him outside for walk and exercise. He enjoyed and liked his games and other activities.

Conclusion The author was a loving and caring person who loved pets. He was sensitive about the problems and injury of his pets. He had an unbreakable bond of love with his otter.

Ans. The people of London did not recognise an otter but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be surprised the author. The author faced a continuous barrage of conjectural questions that were belonged to the all animals of mustelinae but not with the otter.

They guessed the otter as a baby seal, a squirrel, walrus and hippo. They also called him a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard-one, apparently, that had changed its spots and a brontosaur.

They were not able to recognise Mij. All the people guessed about the species of Mij but none of them was correct. The author giggled at their silly questions but he was very much surprised by their guesses.

Ans. Mij does many things that tell us he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal. Initially, Mijbil was aloof and indifferent but later he took keen interest’ in his surroundings. He would spend most of his time playing in water, with his toys, marbles, rubber balls, etc. Mijbil invented his own game out of ping-pong ball and a suitcase. He loved water and once he understood that on opening the tap, water came out of it, he would get into the tub and play with water.

He had gradually formed a special attachment with Maxwell. It grew desperate when Maxwell packed it in a box and wanted to come out as soon as possible. It tore the lining of the box to shreds. Thus, Mijbil was an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needed love.

Ans. When Maxwell first took Mijbil to the bathroom, the otter first went wild with joy in the water. It dived and rolled in it. It jumped up and down the length of the bathtub. It sloshed and splashed the water.

Two days after that, Mijbil escaped from the author’s “bedroom and went to the bathroom. It turned the water taps with its paws in less than a minute.

Ans. When the author opened the sack, an otter emerged from it which resembled most of all a very small, medievally conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the tail he was coated with symmetrical pointed scales of mud armour, between whose tips was visible a soft velvet fur like that of a chocolate-brown mole.

For the first twenty-four hours, the otter was neither hostile nor friendly, he was simply aloof and indifferent. He tried to keep a distance from the author but in the second night he came to the bed of the author and slept between his kness.