NCERT Solutions Class 10, English, First Flight, Prose, Chapter-6, Mijbil the Otter.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
Solution:
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.
2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
Solution:
The writer went to Basra to collect and answer his mail from Europe.
He had to wait there for 5 days as his mail did not arrive.
3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.
Solution:
His friend bought the otter for him and sent it to the place where he was staying.
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…”.
4. Why was the otter named ‘Maxwell’s otter’?
Solution:
The otter was named by zoologists as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli. Hence, it was called Maxwell’s otter in short.
5. Tick the right answer. In the beginning, the otter was
- aloof and indifferent
- friendly
- hostile
The right answer is: aloof and indifferent.
6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?
Solution:
When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, it went wild with joy in the water for half an hour. It was plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub underwater, and making enough slosh and splash for a hippo.
Two days after that, it escaped from his bedroom to the bathroom. By the time he got there, Mijbil was up on the end of the bathtub and fumbling at the chromium taps with its paws. In less than a minute, it had turned the tap far enough to produce some water and after a moment, achieved the full flow.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. How was Mij to be transported to England?
Solution:
Maxwell booked a flight to Paris and from there he would go on to London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed in a box (not more than eighteen inches square) that was to be placed on the floor, near his feet.
2. What did Mij do to the box?
Solution:
The box was lined with metal sheet. Mij didn’t find it comfortable to be there so tried to escape. In its attempt to escape Mij tore into the metal lining of the box. As a result it hurt itself and started bleeding.
3. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt when he did this?
Solution:
As there was no other way to carry Mij to London so the author had put it back into the box. He must have felt pity on the way the otter had hurt itself. Moreover, he must be worried as well.
4. Why does Maxwell say the airhostess was “the very queen of her kind”?
Solution:
Maxwell said that the airhostess was “the very queen of her kind” because she was extremely friendly and helpful. He took her into his confidence about the incident with the box. She suggested that he might prefer to have his pet on his knee. Hearing this, he developed a profound admiration for her, for she understood the pain of both the otter and its owner.
5. What happened when the box was opened?
Solution:
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 screaming that there was a rat. He saw Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of an Indian passenger. He dived for it, but missed. The airhostess suggested him to be seated and that she would find the otter. After a while, Mij had returned to him. It climbed on his knee and began to rub its nose on his face and neck.
Oral Comprehension Check
1. What game had Mij invented?
Solution:
Mij invented a game of playing with the ball in a unique way. One of the author’s suitcase was damaged and had a slope on the top part. Mij would put the ball on the high end and run to catch it as it slided to the lower end.
2. What are ‘compulsive habits’? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of
(i) school children
(ii) Mij?
Solution:
Compulsive habits are usually strange act or behaviour which a person does without clear reason. For example a cricket player may put on his right shoes first as he believes it would bring him good luck or a kid jumping over a fence, instead of going through the passage way. Usually compulsive beahviour of children are full of childhood mischief and those of adults are of incorrigible type.
(i) As per this story, children must place their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block; must touch every seventh upright of the iron railings, or pass to the outside of every second lamp post.
(ii) Mijbil while on its way to home would jump over the boundary wall railing and run at full speed throughout its length.
3. What group of animals do otters belong to?
Solution:
Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustellines. The other animals of this group are badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others.
4. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
Solution:
As otters are not found in England so Londoners made the wildest possible guesses about Mij. Their guesses ranged from a baby seal, a squirrel, a hippo to a brontosaurus.
Thinking about the Text
1. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love?
Solution:
Mij invented his own game out of ping-pong ball and a worn down suitcase. He loved water, and once he understood that on opening the tap water came out of it, he would get into the tub and played with water.
He had gradually formed a special attachment with Maxwell. It giyw desperate when Maxwell left it in a box and wanted to come out as soon as possible.
2. What are some of the things we come to know about otters from this text?
Solution:
Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustellines, shared by the badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously unknown to science and was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter. They are found in large numbers in marshes. They are often tamed by the Arabs. It is characteristic of otters that every drop of water must be extended and spread about the place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it would not be overturned, be sat in and splashed in until it overflowed. For them, water must be kept on the move. Otters love playing various games, especially with a ball.
3. Why is Mij’s species now known to the world as Maxwell’s otter?
Solution:
Maxwell’s otter was of a race previously unknown to science and was at length named by zoologists Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli, hence, it is known as Maxwell’s otter in short.
