NCERT Textbook: Mijbil the Otter | English Class 10 PDF Download

 Page 1


BEFORE YOU READ
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... Read what happened then, in Maxwell’s own words.
Activity
1. Do you have a pet? If you do, you perhaps know that a pet is a
serious responsibility. Read in the box below what the SPCA —
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — has to
say about how to care for a pet.
Owning a pet is a lifetime of commitment (up to ten years or
more if you own a dog or a cat) involving considerable
responsibility. The decision to acquire one, therefore, should
be made by the whole family. Without full agreement by
everyone, the pet could end up unwanted. Puppies and
kittens are so adorable, it is easy to understand why adults
and children alike would be attracted to them. Unfortunately
their cute looks are often a disadvantage, because people
purchase them without consideration and the knowledge on
how to take proper care of them. The basic points you should
keep in mind before adopting a puppy are:
• an annual dog licence in accordance with government
regulations
• its annual vaccination against major diseases
• toilet training
• regular grooming and bathing
• obedience training
• don’t forget you should feed your pet a balanced diet
• socialisation (many dogs are kept confined in cages or tied
up to stop them from dirtying the garden or from chewing
on shoes — this is wrong) is very important
• a daily dose of exercise, affection and play.
Reprint 2024-25
Page 2


BEFORE YOU READ
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... Read what happened then, in Maxwell’s own words.
Activity
1. Do you have a pet? If you do, you perhaps know that a pet is a
serious responsibility. Read in the box below what the SPCA —
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — has to
say about how to care for a pet.
Owning a pet is a lifetime of commitment (up to ten years or
more if you own a dog or a cat) involving considerable
responsibility. The decision to acquire one, therefore, should
be made by the whole family. Without full agreement by
everyone, the pet could end up unwanted. Puppies and
kittens are so adorable, it is easy to understand why adults
and children alike would be attracted to them. Unfortunately
their cute looks are often a disadvantage, because people
purchase them without consideration and the knowledge on
how to take proper care of them. The basic points you should
keep in mind before adopting a puppy are:
• an annual dog licence in accordance with government
regulations
• its annual vaccination against major diseases
• toilet training
• regular grooming and bathing
• obedience training
• don’t forget you should feed your pet a balanced diet
• socialisation (many dogs are kept confined in cages or tied
up to stop them from dirtying the garden or from chewing
on shoes — this is wrong) is very important
• a daily dose of exercise, affection and play.
Reprint 2024-25
2. Imagine someone has gifted you a pet. With your partner’s help,
make a list of the things you need to know about the pet in
order to take good care of it. One has been done for you.
(i) The food it eats.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
3. Otters are found in large numbers in the marshes (i.e. wet
areas near lakes, rivers or seas) near Basra, a town in Iraq.
Imagine you wanted to bring an otter from Iraq to London,
as a pet. What special arrangements would you need to
make for your pet otter? You would need to find a place
with lots of water, for example. What other points should
you think about? The information about Iraq and London
given below may help you.
Iraq
Iraq has mostly broad plains
and marshes along the
Iranian border in the south,
with large flooded areas. A
large part of Iraq’s land area
is desert, so it has cool
winters and dry, hot and
cloudless summers. The
mountain areas near Iran
and Turkey have cold winters.
There is heavy snowfall there,
and when the snow melts in
spring, it causes floods in
central and southern Iraq.
London
London has a large
population and is a very busy
city. In addition to multi-
storeyed buildings, however,
it has many open spaces or
parks. It has a temperate
climate (i.e. it is neither very
hot, nor very cold), with
regular but generally light
rainfall or snow throughout
the year. The warmest month
is July, and the coolest
month is January. February
is the driest month. Snow is
not very common in London.
Reading up on the subject beforehand is another
important requirement and will guide you towards being a
responsible pet owner. Selected pet shops and major book
stores provide books on the care of various breeds/pets.
81
Mijbil the Otter
Reprint 2024-25
Page 3


BEFORE YOU READ
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... Read what happened then, in Maxwell’s own words.
Activity
1. Do you have a pet? If you do, you perhaps know that a pet is a
serious responsibility. Read in the box below what the SPCA —
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — has to
say about how to care for a pet.
Owning a pet is a lifetime of commitment (up to ten years or
more if you own a dog or a cat) involving considerable
responsibility. The decision to acquire one, therefore, should
be made by the whole family. Without full agreement by
everyone, the pet could end up unwanted. Puppies and
kittens are so adorable, it is easy to understand why adults
and children alike would be attracted to them. Unfortunately
their cute looks are often a disadvantage, because people
purchase them without consideration and the knowledge on
how to take proper care of them. The basic points you should
keep in mind before adopting a puppy are:
• an annual dog licence in accordance with government
regulations
• its annual vaccination against major diseases
• toilet training
• regular grooming and bathing
• obedience training
• don’t forget you should feed your pet a balanced diet
• socialisation (many dogs are kept confined in cages or tied
up to stop them from dirtying the garden or from chewing
on shoes — this is wrong) is very important
• a daily dose of exercise, affection and play.
Reprint 2024-25
2. Imagine someone has gifted you a pet. With your partner’s help,
make a list of the things you need to know about the pet in
order to take good care of it. One has been done for you.
(i) The food it eats.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
3. Otters are found in large numbers in the marshes (i.e. wet
areas near lakes, rivers or seas) near Basra, a town in Iraq.
Imagine you wanted to bring an otter from Iraq to London,
as a pet. What special arrangements would you need to
make for your pet otter? You would need to find a place
with lots of water, for example. What other points should
you think about? The information about Iraq and London
given below may help you.
Iraq
Iraq has mostly broad plains
and marshes along the
Iranian border in the south,
with large flooded areas. A
large part of Iraq’s land area
is desert, so it has cool
winters and dry, hot and
cloudless summers. The
mountain areas near Iran
and Turkey have cold winters.
There is heavy snowfall there,
and when the snow melts in
spring, it causes floods in
central and southern Iraq.
London
London has a large
population and is a very busy
city. In addition to multi-
storeyed buildings, however,
it has many open spaces or
parks. It has a temperate
climate (i.e. it is neither very
hot, nor very cold), with
regular but generally light
rainfall or snow throughout
the year. The warmest month
is July, and the coolest
month is January. February
is the driest month. Snow is
not very common in London.
Reading up on the subject beforehand is another
important requirement and will guide you towards being a
responsible pet owner. Selected pet shops and major book
stores provide books on the care of various breeds/pets.
81
Mijbil the Otter
Reprint 2024-25
82
First Flight
I
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 tamed by the Arabs.
We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General
to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the
Consulate-General we found that my friend’s mail
had arrived but that mine had not.
I cabled to England, and when, three days later,
nothing had happened, I 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
the exchange was closed for a religious holiday. On
the third day there was another breakdown. My
friend left, and I arranged to meet him in a week’s
time. Five days later, my mail arrived.
I carried it to my bedroom to read, and there,
squatting on the floor, were two Arabs; beside them
lay a sack that squirmed from time to time. They
handed me a note from my friend: “Here is your otter...”
II
With the opening of that sack began a phase of my
life that has not yet ended, and may, for all I know,
not end before I do. It is, in effect, a thraldom to
otters, an otter fixation, that I have since found to
be shared by most other people, who have ever
owned one.
The creature that emerged from this sack on to
the spacious tiled floor of the Consulate bedroom
resembled most of all a very small, medievally-
conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the
crossed my mind
(a thought) came
into my mind
a stone's throw
a very short distance
cabled
sent a message by
telegraph
squirmed
twisted about
thraldom (old
fashioned)
being under the
control of
fixation
a very strong
attachment or feeling
medievally-
conceived
an imagination of
the Middle Ages
Reprint 2024-25
Page 4


BEFORE YOU READ
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... Read what happened then, in Maxwell’s own words.
Activity
1. Do you have a pet? If you do, you perhaps know that a pet is a
serious responsibility. Read in the box below what the SPCA —
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — has to
say about how to care for a pet.
Owning a pet is a lifetime of commitment (up to ten years or
more if you own a dog or a cat) involving considerable
responsibility. The decision to acquire one, therefore, should
be made by the whole family. Without full agreement by
everyone, the pet could end up unwanted. Puppies and
kittens are so adorable, it is easy to understand why adults
and children alike would be attracted to them. Unfortunately
their cute looks are often a disadvantage, because people
purchase them without consideration and the knowledge on
how to take proper care of them. The basic points you should
keep in mind before adopting a puppy are:
• an annual dog licence in accordance with government
regulations
• its annual vaccination against major diseases
• toilet training
• regular grooming and bathing
• obedience training
• don’t forget you should feed your pet a balanced diet
• socialisation (many dogs are kept confined in cages or tied
up to stop them from dirtying the garden or from chewing
on shoes — this is wrong) is very important
• a daily dose of exercise, affection and play.
Reprint 2024-25
2. Imagine someone has gifted you a pet. With your partner’s help,
make a list of the things you need to know about the pet in
order to take good care of it. One has been done for you.
(i) The food it eats.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
3. Otters are found in large numbers in the marshes (i.e. wet
areas near lakes, rivers or seas) near Basra, a town in Iraq.
Imagine you wanted to bring an otter from Iraq to London,
as a pet. What special arrangements would you need to
make for your pet otter? You would need to find a place
with lots of water, for example. What other points should
you think about? The information about Iraq and London
given below may help you.
Iraq
Iraq has mostly broad plains
and marshes along the
Iranian border in the south,
with large flooded areas. A
large part of Iraq’s land area
is desert, so it has cool
winters and dry, hot and
cloudless summers. The
mountain areas near Iran
and Turkey have cold winters.
There is heavy snowfall there,
and when the snow melts in
spring, it causes floods in
central and southern Iraq.
London
London has a large
population and is a very busy
city. In addition to multi-
storeyed buildings, however,
it has many open spaces or
parks. It has a temperate
climate (i.e. it is neither very
hot, nor very cold), with
regular but generally light
rainfall or snow throughout
the year. The warmest month
is July, and the coolest
month is January. February
is the driest month. Snow is
not very common in London.
Reading up on the subject beforehand is another
important requirement and will guide you towards being a
responsible pet owner. Selected pet shops and major book
stores provide books on the care of various breeds/pets.
81
Mijbil the Otter
Reprint 2024-25
82
First Flight
I
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 tamed by the Arabs.
We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General
to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the
Consulate-General we found that my friend’s mail
had arrived but that mine had not.
I cabled to England, and when, three days later,
nothing had happened, I 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
the exchange was closed for a religious holiday. On
the third day there was another breakdown. My
friend left, and I arranged to meet him in a week’s
time. Five days later, my mail arrived.
I carried it to my bedroom to read, and there,
squatting on the floor, were two Arabs; beside them
lay a sack that squirmed from time to time. They
handed me a note from my friend: “Here is your otter...”
II
With the opening of that sack began a phase of my
life that has not yet ended, and may, for all I know,
not end before I do. It is, in effect, a thraldom to
otters, an otter fixation, that I have since found to
be shared by most other people, who have ever
owned one.
The creature that emerged from this sack on to
the spacious tiled floor of the Consulate bedroom
resembled most of all a very small, medievally-
conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the
crossed my mind
(a thought) came
into my mind
a stone's throw
a very short distance
cabled
sent a message by
telegraph
squirmed
twisted about
thraldom (old
fashioned)
being under the
control of
fixation
a very strong
attachment or feeling
medievally-
conceived
an imagination of
the Middle Ages
Reprint 2024-25
83
Mijbil the Otter
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.
He shook himself, and I half expected a cloud of
dust, but in fact it was not for another month that I
managed to remove the last of the mud and see the
otter, as it were, in his true colours.
Mijbil, as I called the otter, was, in fact, of a
race previously unknown to science, and was at
length christened by zoologists Lutrogale perspicillata
maxwelli, or Maxwell’s otter. For the first twenty-
four hours Mijbil was neither hostile nor friendly;
he was simply aloof and indifferent, choosing to
sleep on the floor as far from my bed as possible.
The second night Mijbil came on to my bed in the
small hours and remained asleep in the crook of
my knees until the servant brought tea in the
morning, and during the day he began to lose his
apathy and take a keen, much too keen, interest in
his surroundings. I made a body-belt for him and
took him on a lead to the bathroom, where 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. This, I was to learn, is a
characteristic of otters; every drop of water must
be, so to speak, extended and spread about the
place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it
will not be overturned, be sat in and sploshed in
until it overflows. Water must be kept on the move
and made to do things; when static it is wasted
and provoking.
christened
named
hostile
unfriendly
aloof and
indifferent
keeping a distance
apathy
absence of interest
so to speak
as it were (one could
say this)
provoking
causing anger or
some other reaction
Reprint 2024-25
Page 5


BEFORE YOU READ
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... Read what happened then, in Maxwell’s own words.
Activity
1. Do you have a pet? If you do, you perhaps know that a pet is a
serious responsibility. Read in the box below what the SPCA —
the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — has to
say about how to care for a pet.
Owning a pet is a lifetime of commitment (up to ten years or
more if you own a dog or a cat) involving considerable
responsibility. The decision to acquire one, therefore, should
be made by the whole family. Without full agreement by
everyone, the pet could end up unwanted. Puppies and
kittens are so adorable, it is easy to understand why adults
and children alike would be attracted to them. Unfortunately
their cute looks are often a disadvantage, because people
purchase them without consideration and the knowledge on
how to take proper care of them. The basic points you should
keep in mind before adopting a puppy are:
• an annual dog licence in accordance with government
regulations
• its annual vaccination against major diseases
• toilet training
• regular grooming and bathing
• obedience training
• don’t forget you should feed your pet a balanced diet
• socialisation (many dogs are kept confined in cages or tied
up to stop them from dirtying the garden or from chewing
on shoes — this is wrong) is very important
• a daily dose of exercise, affection and play.
Reprint 2024-25
2. Imagine someone has gifted you a pet. With your partner’s help,
make a list of the things you need to know about the pet in
order to take good care of it. One has been done for you.
(i) The food it eats.
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)
3. Otters are found in large numbers in the marshes (i.e. wet
areas near lakes, rivers or seas) near Basra, a town in Iraq.
Imagine you wanted to bring an otter from Iraq to London,
as a pet. What special arrangements would you need to
make for your pet otter? You would need to find a place
with lots of water, for example. What other points should
you think about? The information about Iraq and London
given below may help you.
Iraq
Iraq has mostly broad plains
and marshes along the
Iranian border in the south,
with large flooded areas. A
large part of Iraq’s land area
is desert, so it has cool
winters and dry, hot and
cloudless summers. The
mountain areas near Iran
and Turkey have cold winters.
There is heavy snowfall there,
and when the snow melts in
spring, it causes floods in
central and southern Iraq.
London
London has a large
population and is a very busy
city. In addition to multi-
storeyed buildings, however,
it has many open spaces or
parks. It has a temperate
climate (i.e. it is neither very
hot, nor very cold), with
regular but generally light
rainfall or snow throughout
the year. The warmest month
is July, and the coolest
month is January. February
is the driest month. Snow is
not very common in London.
Reading up on the subject beforehand is another
important requirement and will guide you towards being a
responsible pet owner. Selected pet shops and major book
stores provide books on the care of various breeds/pets.
81
Mijbil the Otter
Reprint 2024-25
82
First Flight
I
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 tamed by the Arabs.
We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General
to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the
Consulate-General we found that my friend’s mail
had arrived but that mine had not.
I cabled to England, and when, three days later,
nothing had happened, I 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
the exchange was closed for a religious holiday. On
the third day there was another breakdown. My
friend left, and I arranged to meet him in a week’s
time. Five days later, my mail arrived.
I carried it to my bedroom to read, and there,
squatting on the floor, were two Arabs; beside them
lay a sack that squirmed from time to time. They
handed me a note from my friend: “Here is your otter...”
II
With the opening of that sack began a phase of my
life that has not yet ended, and may, for all I know,
not end before I do. It is, in effect, a thraldom to
otters, an otter fixation, that I have since found to
be shared by most other people, who have ever
owned one.
The creature that emerged from this sack on to
the spacious tiled floor of the Consulate bedroom
resembled most of all a very small, medievally-
conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the
crossed my mind
(a thought) came
into my mind
a stone's throw
a very short distance
cabled
sent a message by
telegraph
squirmed
twisted about
thraldom (old
fashioned)
being under the
control of
fixation
a very strong
attachment or feeling
medievally-
conceived
an imagination of
the Middle Ages
Reprint 2024-25
83
Mijbil the Otter
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.
He shook himself, and I half expected a cloud of
dust, but in fact it was not for another month that I
managed to remove the last of the mud and see the
otter, as it were, in his true colours.
Mijbil, as I called the otter, was, in fact, of a
race previously unknown to science, and was at
length christened by zoologists Lutrogale perspicillata
maxwelli, or Maxwell’s otter. For the first twenty-
four hours Mijbil was neither hostile nor friendly;
he was simply aloof and indifferent, choosing to
sleep on the floor as far from my bed as possible.
The second night Mijbil came on to my bed in the
small hours and remained asleep in the crook of
my knees until the servant brought tea in the
morning, and during the day he began to lose his
apathy and take a keen, much too keen, interest in
his surroundings. I made a body-belt for him and
took him on a lead to the bathroom, where 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. This, I was to learn, is a
characteristic of otters; every drop of water must
be, so to speak, extended and spread about the
place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it
will not be overturned, be sat in and sploshed in
until it overflows. Water must be kept on the move
and made to do things; when static it is wasted
and provoking.
christened
named
hostile
unfriendly
aloof and
indifferent
keeping a distance
apathy
absence of interest
so to speak
as it were (one could
say this)
provoking
causing anger or
some other reaction
Reprint 2024-25
84
First Flight
Two days later, Mijbil escaped from my bedroom
as I entered it, and I turned to see his tail
disappearing round the bend of the corridor that
led to the bathroom. By the time I got there he was
up on the end of the bathtub and fumbling at the
chromium taps with his paws. I watched, amazed;
in less than a minute he had turned the tap far
enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a
moment or two achieved the full flow. (He had been
lucky to turn the tap the right way; on later
occasions he would sometimes screw it up still
tighter, chittering with irritation and disappointment
at the tap’s failure to cooperate.)
Very soon Mij would follow me without a lead
and come to me when I called his name. He spent
most of his time in play. He spent hours shuffling a
rubber ball round the room like a four-footed soccer
player using all four feet to dribble the ball, and he
could also throw it, with a powerful flick of the
neck, to a surprising height and distance. But the
real play of an otter is when he lies on his back
and juggles with small objects between his paws.
Marbles were Mij’s favourite toys for this pastime:
he would lie on his back rolling two or more of them
up and down his wide, flat belly without ever
dropping one to the floor.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be
suitable for?
2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell
you this.
4. Why was the otter named ‘Maxwell’s otter’?
5. Tick the right answer. In the beginning, the otter was
• aloof and indifferent
• friendly
• hostile
6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom?  What did
it do two days after that?
fumbling
trying to do
something in a
clumsy manner
flick
a quick, light
movement
Reprint 2024-25