Mijbil the Otter by Gavin Maxwell is a lesson which moves around the experiences of the author after he pets an otter and gives the name Mijbil to him. It begins when the writer is travelling to a place called Basra, along with his friend. At one point, the author showed his interest to pet an otter. The author lost his pet dog and felt alone ever since the dog passed away. Therefore, he decided to pet an otter. His friend suggested he get an otter from the marshes. When they arrived at the destination, they discovered nothing else, only a letter from the friend’s mail. But the author still waited for the mail. When he received it, he went to the room only to find an otter packed. The otter has been sent to him with the help of the Arabs along with a message. The author names the otter as Mijbil and calls him Mij with love.
The author went to Southern Iraq in 1956. Since his pet dog died, He took a decision that instead of keeping a dog as a pet, he should go for an otter. Camusfearna was surrounded by water, so it would be a suitable spot for this experiment. Otters thrive in wet areas and places with lots of water.
The writer went to Basra for collection and answered his mail from Europe.He had to wait there for 5 days as his mail was not arrived.
One of the author's friends probably requested a local to get an otter for him.The author liked it. This is seen in “The second night Mijbil came on to my bed in the small hours and remained asleep in the crook of my knees….” “ I made a body-belt for him…”.
The author explains every small prank of the otter which shows that he liked the otter.
The zoologists named the otter as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli. Therefore, it was called Maxwell's otter in short.
In the beginning, the otter was aloof and indifferent.
When Maxwell first took Mijbil to the bathroom, the otter was plunging and rolling in it. He started jumping up and down the length of the bathtub and made enough slosh and splash for the hippo. After two days, the otter suddenly escaped from the bedroom and went to the bathroom to play in the water and itself opened the tap.
After the refusal of the British Airways to take a pet on it's flight, they insisted Mijbil should be packed in a box and placed near his feet on the floor.Then Maxwell booked flights from Paris and transported to England in this way.
The author packed Mij in the box which is of a metal sheet. Mij felt uncomfortable in the box and tried to escape. In this attempt, Mij got severely injured.
As there was no other option to carry Mij to London, Maxwell put it in the box again. Otter hurt himself in the box which made Maxwell feel pity for the otter and after that he was worried about him.
The airhostess was very generous and sympathetic in nature . After listening to the whole story of Maxwell, she understood how he might be feeling and then suggested that he take the otter out of the box. This is because Maxwell referred to her as “the very queen of her kind”.
As soon as the box was opened by Maxwell, Mij ran out and jumped here and there in the flight which scared the passengers. Due to all this, chaos was created in the flight.
Mij invented a game of playing with the ping pong ball which damaged the author’s suitcase. He would put it on a height and then he would run to catch it as it slided at the lower side.
Compulsive habits are defined as a persistent or strange act which leads to an actual reward or pleasure.Usually compulsive behaviour of children is full of mischievous and naughtiness of childhood.
(i). As per this story, children should place their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block and pass to the outside of every second lamp post.
(ii). Mijbil would tug Maxwell when he was on its way home, jump over the boundary wall railing and run at full speed throughout its length.
Otters generally belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustellines such as mongoose, stoat, mink and others.
According to Maxwell, otters are not found in England therefore Londoners made the funniest and wildest possible guesses about Mij. Their guesses ranged from a baby seal, a squirrel, a hippo to a brontosaurus.
Mij created his own game of ping-pong ball and a worn down suitcase. He loved water, so he started jumping up and down in the bathtub when he went into the bathroom.
Maxwell felt a special attachment with Mij because of his playful and lovely actions. It looked desperate when Maxwell put it in a box and it wanted to come out as soon as possible.
A small group of animals called Mustellines represent otters such as badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others which are found in large numbers in marshes. They are very fond of water and love to be around water.Otters are generally tamed by the Arabs.
A race previously unknown to science about the Maxwell's otter and was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli, hence, It can be called an association with the author who is named Maxwell.
| What Mij Does | How Mij feels or thinks |
|---|---|
| plunges, rolls in the water and makes the water splosh and splash | Mijbil thinks of it as a hippo and is very happy. |
| Screws the tap in the wrong way | He was irritated and disappointed. |
| Nuzzles Maxwell’s face and neck in the aeroplane | He felt comfortable and content after his distressed chitter. |
(i) True
(ii) False
(iii) True
(iv) True
(v) True
(vi) False
(vii) True
(i) Noun
(ii) Noun
(iii) Proper noun
(iv) Proper noun
(v) Adjective plus noun
(vi) Adjective plus noun
1. Temple- White temple
2. Gifts- Special gift
3. Time- Tough time, School time
4. Crossing- Zebra crossing
5. Physique- Best physique, ordinary physique
6. Girls- Jolly girls, funky girls, college girls
7. Thoughts - Beautiful thoughts, Positive thoughts, Bad thoughts
8. Scream- scream, heartbreaking scream
9. Subject - Uncomfortable subject
10. Flight- First flight, ordinary flight, uncomfortable flight
11. Coffee - Black coffee, ordinary coffee
12. Farewell - Tremendous farewell, college farewell
13. Landscape - Sloped landscape,
14. Chatterbox - Incorrigible chatterbox, ridiculous chatterbox
15. View - Amazing view, beautiful view
16. Dresses - Party dresses, marriage dresses
17. Handkerchief - White handkerchief, clean handkerchief
18. Profession - Family profession
19. Celebration - Birthday celebration, tremendous celebration
20. Roar- Loud roar
(i) A portion of - fried fish
(ii) A pool of - water
(iii) Flakes of - snow
(iv) A huge heap of - stones,
(v) A gust of - wind
(vi) Little drops of - blood
(vii) A piece of cotton, A piece of fried fish
(viii) A pot of - gold
(i) My teacher gave me a little bit of advice.
(ii) Can you please give me a lump of clay?
(iii) A piece of information you gave was very useful.
(iv) Because of these factories, a cloud of smoke hangs over the city.
(v) Two pieces of stone rubbed together can produce sparks of fire.
(vi) He gave me a bunch of flowers on my birthday.