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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Gavin Maxwell (1914-1969) is the author of the prose named 'Mijbil, the Otter'. The author describes how his life changed after keeping an otter as a pet as he lost his first pet dog. He is trying to take the audience through his journey of playing and all his experiences with Mijbil-the-otter.Maxwell was educated at Stowe School and then University of Oxford, then became a freelance journalist. He served with the Scots Guard in World War II. The best-selling Ring of Bright Water (1960) describes his life with two pet otters in his seaboard cottage in the west Highlands of Scotland; The Rocks Remain (1963) is a sequel.
1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?Maxwell had settled in Camusfearna. He thought that he should like to keep an otter instead of a dog. Camusfearna was ringed by water. So it would be a very suitable spot for this experiment of keeping an otter.
2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
He goes there to collect his mail and also to mail his answers. He had to wait there for five days .He had to wait there because his mail arrived five days later due to certain problems.
3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.
It was sent to him by his friend. He liked the otter very much. He made for it a body-belt and also enjoyed its pranks in the bathroom.
4. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?
It at once started plunging and rolling in the bathtub. It went wild with joy. Two days later, it escaped into the bathroom and started fumbling with the tap; soon it turned the tap on.
5. What game had Mij invented?
He had invented a game with ping-pong ball. He would put the ball at one end of a sloping lid and then grab it as it ran to the other end.
6. What are ‘Compulsive habits’? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of :
i.Schoolchildren
ii.Mij
7. How was Mij to be transported to England?
The British Airline to England would not fly animals. So Maxwell booked a flight to Paris on another airline and from there to London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed into a box not more than eighteen inches square. Thus Mij was transported to England in that box, which was kept on the floor at his feet.
8. What happened when the box was opened?
When the box was opened, Mij went out of the box. He disappeared at a high speed down the aircraft. There were cries all around. A woman stood up on her seat crying, “A rat”.
9. Why does Maxwell say-‘the air hostess was the very queen of her kind’?
The air hostess was very nice to Maxwell. She did all she could do for Maxwell and his otter.
10. What group of animals does otters belongs to?
Otters belong to the group known as Mustellines. They belong to the family of badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. They are found in large numbers in marshes. Arabs keep them as pets and tame them. Otters love to spread water and splash in it. Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously unknown to science and so they named it maxwell’s otter.
11. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
Their guesses included all possible animals but the otter. They called it a beaver, a seal, a leopard, a bear cub, a squirrel and what not.
12. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun loving animal who needs love?
Mij develops a bond of friendship with the author in just twenty-four hours. He sleeps comfortably in the crook of the author’s knees. His behavior in the aeroplane shows that he is intelligent, friendly and fun loving animal who needs love.
ii.Mij
Compulsive habits are the things that one feels compelled to do in circumstances. On their way to and from school, children make it a habit to place their feet exactly on the centre of each paving block. Similarly, Mij had made it a habit to jump on to the school wall and go galloping all along its length of thirty yards.
7. How was Mij to be transported to England?
The British Airline to England would not fly animals. So Maxwell booked a flight to Paris on another airline and from there to London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed into a box not more than eighteen inches square. Thus Mij was transported to England in that box, which was kept on the floor at his feet.
8. What happened when the box was opened?
When the box was opened, Mij went out of the box. He disappeared at a high speed down the aircraft. There were cries all around. A woman stood up on her seat crying, “A rat”.
9. Why does Maxwell say-‘the air hostess was the very queen of her kind’?
The air hostess was very nice to Maxwell. She did all she could do for Maxwell and his otter.
10. What group of animals does otters belongs to?
Otters belong to the group known as Mustellines. They belong to the family of badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. They are found in large numbers in marshes. Arabs keep them as pets and tame them. Otters love to spread water and splash in it. Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously unknown to science and so they named it maxwell’s otter.
11. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
Their guesses included all possible animals but the otter. They called it a beaver, a seal, a leopard, a bear cub, a squirrel and what not.
12. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun loving animal who needs love?
Mij develops a bond of friendship with the author in just twenty-four hours. He sleeps comfortably in the crook of the author’s knees. His behavior in the aeroplane shows that he is intelligent, friendly and fun loving animal who needs love.
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