Class 10 English Chapter 6 Previous Year Questions - Mijbil the Otter

Ans: Mijbil’s transportation to England was indeed a nightmare for Maxwell. The airline refused to carry animals, forcing him to take another route via Paris. Mij injured himself while trying to escape from the box, leaving it blood-stained. During the flight, he escaped, causing chaos in the plane until the air hostess helped retrieve him.

Ans: The narrator went to the Consulate-General at Basra to collect his mail from Europe but found that only his friend’s mail had arrived. He cabled England for information and waited three days. He then tried to telephone, but due to technical faults and holidays, his call was repeatedly delayed.

Ans: Mijbil loved to play all the time. He would shuffle a rubber ball around like a four-footed soccer player and even throw it high using his neck. His favourite game was lying on his back and juggling marbles on his belly without dropping them, showing his playful and intelligent nature.

Ans: Mijbil was to be transported to England by air. Since the British airline refused to carry animals, Maxwell booked a flight to Paris on another airline. The airline instructed that Mij be kept in a box not more than eighteen inches square, placed on the floor at Maxwell’s feet during the flight.

Ans: Both Mijbil the Otter and A Tiger in the Zoo highlight the natural instinct for freedom in animals. In Mijbil the Otter, Mij shows his playful and free spirit whenever he is near water. He loves plunging, rolling, and splashing around, and even learns to turn the tap himself. However, when confined in a small box during his journey to England, he injures himself trying to escape, showing his discomfort and longing for freedom. Similarly, in A Tiger in the Zoo, the tiger paces restlessly in his cage, yearning for the freedom of the forest where he could hunt and roam freely. Both animals reveal that captivity suppresses their natural instincts and that true happiness lies in freedom.

Ans: Maxwell’s story beautifully blends emotion, humour, and surprise. His deep affection for Mijbil shows genuine emotion, while incidents like Mij opening the tap or creating chaos in the aircraft add humour. The story’s freshness lies in its unique subject — the author’s loving bond with an otter, an uncommon pet.

Ans: Mijbil is shown as intelligent when he learns to open the tap and play with a ball like a soccer player. He is friendly and affectionate, shown by the way he nuzzles Maxwell’s face on the plane. His playful nature is evident in his love for water and juggling marbles.

Ans: Keeping a pet requires commitment. The pet is dependant on the master and so, one has to take care of it at all times. When Mijbil played with water in the bathroom, Maxwell had to take care the pet did not drown. Once when he left Mijbil unattended, the pet hurt itself and bled. The author had to change the airline because some of them did not fly animals. During the flight, Maxwell endured hardships due to Mijbil’s recklessness. Thus, Maxwell had to be highly committed to Mijbil.

Ans:

Tiger: Thanks for visiting me, though I don’t usually like visitors 

Mijbil: Oh? I would love visitors, I think

Tiger: Why do you think that is? How on earth can you appreciate these obnoxious people who put me in this cage? 

Mijbil: This is how I feel comfortable. That is why I do not despise them and believe that I am safe in this way.

Tiger: How can you feel safe when you’re not in your natural habitat, the jungles?

Mijbil: I don’t think I’d be able to survive in the wild because I’m not as big and scary as you in the wild, any predator can easily harm me

Tiger: I see but they can learn to co-exist. It is their nonsensical activities such as hitting us with stones etc that make us attack them. If they learn how to behave then we will stay out of their way.

Mijbil: I understand your reasoning and am sorry for your predicament. I hope they can learn to coexist one day, but I also want you to be pleased about your circumstances.

Tiger: It is easier said than done, but I shall give it my best.

Ans: Maxwell said that the air hostess was 'the very queen of her kind’ because she was extremely friendly and helpful. He narrated the whole incident with the box to the hostess and he took her into his confidence. The air hostess suggested him to keep the pet in his knee. This had an impact and made an impression on the otter and its owner.

Ans: Maxwell had to go to Basra to the Consulate-General, to collect and answer his mail from Europe and he had to wait there for five days. His mail had not reached on time and his telephone line was not working well. Only after waiting for five days his mail arrived.

Ans: Mr. Maxwell wanted an otter as a pet while travelling in southern Iraq. A few days later, in Basra, two Arab men delivered a sack to his hotel room. The note from Mr. Maxwell's friend stated that he had sent the otter to him.

Ans: 'They' referred to the otters.

Ans: The author could get one in the Tigris marshes.

Ans: The word is 'tamed'.

Ans: At the Consulate-General, the author found that his friend's mail had arrived but his hadn't.

Ans: When Maxwell first took Mijbil to his bathroom, he couldn’t resist and went wild in the water. He plunged and rolled in the bathtub. Two days after that, Mijbil escaped to the bathroom himself and turned on the taps with his paws.

Ans: The game that Mij invented in London was with a ping-pong ball. Mijbil would place the ball on the high end of a broken suitcase and when the ball would run down the length of the suitcase Mijbil would rush to the other end to ambush its arrival. Then he would do it all over again.

Ans: The game that Mij invented in London was with a ping-pong ball. Mijbil would place the ball on the high end of a broken suitcase and when the ball would run down the length of the suitcase Mijbil would rush to the other end to ambush its arrival. Then he would do it all over again.

Ans: After he took him to the bathroom, Maxwell learned about a special characteristic of Mijbil. The otter went wild with joy in the water. He plunged into the water and rolled in it. Mijbil even splashed water to express his enjoyment. Watching Mijbil enjoying water, Maxwell realised that for otters, water must always be kept moving and must be made to do things; still or stagnant water caused them anger/frustration.

Ans: Londoners would never guess that Mijbil was an otter. Some of the random guesses were: baby seal, a squirrel, a walrus, a dog, a hippo, beaver, bear cub, leopard, even a brontosaur.

Ans: While they were in London, Mijbil developed some compulsive habits. Like children on their way to school, Mijbil would place his feet squarely on the centre of each pair of block or touch the iron railing or lamp post. Especially while coming back home, Mijbil would tug his owner to the wall of a primary school, jump on to it, and gallop the full length of its thirty yards.

Ans: When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, Mijbil enjoyed himself immensely in the water in the bathtub. He would plunge into the water, roll in it, shoot up and down the length of the bathtub underwater. It shows Mijbil's playfulness and love for water.

Ans: Maxwell thought Camusfearna would be suitable for keeping an otter instead of a dog as a pet. 

Ans: Camusfearna was a suitable spot for his experiment because it was surrounded by water, which would be ideal for an otter that loves to swim. 

Ans: The phrase 'crossed my mind' means that the idea or thought came to one's mind or was considered briefly. 

Ans: Maxwell casually mentioned his desire to keep an otter as a pet instead of a dog. 

Ans: Maxwell could easily get his pet in the Tigris Marshes because otters are found there as commonly as mosquitoes. Moreover, they are often tamed by Arabs. 

Ans: The word 'casually' means in a relaxed or informal manner, without much thought or effort. 

Ans: When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, Mijbil enjoyed himself immensely in the water in the bathtub. He would plunge into the water, roll in it, shoot up and down the length of the bathtub underwater.

Ans: Two days after his first encounter with water in the author’s bathroom, Mijbil was seen (by the author) dashing towards the bathroom. When the author followed Mijbil there, he was amazed to see that Mijbil was fumbling at the chromium taps with his paws. In slightly more than thirty seconds, Mijbil had succeeded in turning the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and soon enough turned it some more to achieve the full flow. This shows that Mijbil was an intelligent animal.