Mijbil the Otter Class 10 Worksheet English Chapter 1

Q.1. The way Maxwell was worried about Mijbil when he had to take him to London shows that he was very concerned about him. Do you think, owning a pet is a life-time commitment ? Elucidate.

Maxwell was very concerned about his pet. The British airline refused to fly the animal. So he booked a flight to Paris on another airline, and from there to London. The airline insisted that Mijbil should be packed into a box not more than eighteen inches square, to be carried on the floor at his feet. He got the box made. He put Mijbil into the box so that he would become accustomed to the box, in which it had to travel. When Mijbil was injured in his attempt to come out of the box, the author was really concerned about his well being. He carried a parcel of fish for Mijbil on the flight. He carried Mijbil on his knee. The lesson definitely conveys the fact that when we decide to keep a pet, it is a commitment of lifetime. This is so because we are responsible for the well-being of that life and infact, keeping a pet at home is like bringing up and nurturing a child.

Q.2. What happened when the author walked in the streets of London?

When the author walked in the streets of London along with Mijbil, the average Londoner could recognise an otter. The people guessed about the otter, some guessed it to be a baby seal, a squirrel, a walrus or bear cub etc. Mijbil was anything, not an otter for them. All were very surprised to see Mij.

Q.3. Why did Maxwell decide to have an otter as a pet? How did he get it?

Maxwell’s pet dog Jonnie died. 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. One of his friends suggested that he could get an otter in the Tigris marshes. 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.
There he found two Arabs squatting on the floor. A sack lay 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 sack was opened. And there emerged a Unique creature from the sack. Later on, this otter was named Mijbil by Maxwell.

Q.4. Why did Maxwell say the air hostess was ‘the very queen of her kind'?

Maxwell said that the air hostess was 'the very queen of her kind' because she was a very friendly and cooperative lady. He took her into his confidence about the incident with his pet. When she found the author in trouble for his otter, she permitted him to put the otter on his knees. This made the author develop a profound admiration for her.

Q.5. Describe the relationship between the otter and Maxwell in your own words.

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 for exercise every day. When Maxwell 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.

Q.6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?

When the author first took Mijbil to the bathroom, the otter first went wild with joy in the water. He plunged and rolled in it. He jumped up and down the length of the bathtub. He made enough slosh and splash. After two days, the otter suddenly disappeared and went to the bathroom to play in the water and opened the tap on his own.

Q.7. What did the otter look like?

The otter looked like a very small, medievally-conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the tail he was coated with symmetrical pointed scaled of mud armour, between whose tips were visible a soft velvet fur like that of a chocolate-brown mole. 

Q.8. What games did Mijbil play?

Mijbil spent most of his time in play. He spent hours shuffling a rubber ball around the room like a four-footed soccer player using all four feet to dribble the ball. It played with ping-pong balls and marbles etc. Mijbil invented new games to play.

Q.9. What queries did the people make about the otter in London? Which was the most surprising query for the author?

For some time, the author stayed in London with the otter. There he took Mij for walks in the streets. Now the otter had developed some compulsive habits. He used to take the author near the wall of a primary school. Wherever he went with the otter, people started to ask random questions and guess about the otter. They became very surprised to see it and did not recognize it. They thought it was a seagull, a bear cub, etc, although it belonged to the small group of animals called Mustellines. The other animals of this group were-mongoose, badger, weasel, mink stoat, etc. More random guesses hit on ‘a baby seal’ and ‘a squirrel.’ ‘Is that a walrus, mister?’ Outside a dog show, the author heard ‘a hippo’. He also heard 'A beaver, a bear cub, a leopard — one, apparently, that had changed its spots — and a ‘brontosaur’'. But for the author, the most surprising expression and the query was from a labourer digging a hole in the street. On seeing it, he left his digging work and laid down his tools and asked with surprise-“What is that supposed to be?”

Q.10. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?

The writer had gone to Southern Iraq in the year 1956. He took a fancy to the idea that instead of keeping a dog as a pet, he would go for an otter. Camusfearna was surrounded by water, so it would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment.