by Gavin Maxwell
An intelligent little creature that is a rare pet as well as cute trouble.
“The creature that emerged from this sack on to the spacious tiled floor of the Consulate bedroom resembled most of all a very small, medievally-conceived, dragon.”
Answer the following questions:
1) What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for?
Maxwell thought that Camusfearna would be suitable for keeping an otter as a pet instead of a dog, because the place was ringed by water a stone’s throw from its door.
2) Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there, and why?
He goes to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer their mail from Europe.
He discovers there that his friend’s mail has arrived, but his hasn’t. He cables to England to inquire about the same. Three days pass, and nothing happens. He tries to call, but the calls have to be booked twenty-four hours in advance. On the first day, the line is out of order. On the second, there is a religious holiday, and the exchange is closed. On the third, there is another breakdown. Maxwell waits there for six days.
3) How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.
The otter is sent in a sack by the author’s friend with two Arabs.
Yes, he likes it. The author mentions that he experienced ‘thraldom’ and ‘an otter fixation’ that most other people who have otters experience too.
4) Why was the otter named Maxwell’s otter?
The otter was of a race previously unknown to science. The zoologists named it Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter because it was Maxwell who had brought it to the London zoologists from Iraq.
5) How did otter behave in the beginning?
The otter was neither hostile nor friendly in the beginning. He was simply aloof and indifferent, choosing to sleep on the floor as far from the author’s bed as possible.
6) What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that?
For half an hour the otter went wild with joy in the water, 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 later, Mijbil escaped from the bedroom and went to the bathroom by himself. He was up on the end of the bathtub and was fumbling at the chromium taps with his paws, trying to open it. At first, he managed to open it enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.
7) How was Mij to be transported to England?
Mij was supposed to be transported to England through British Airways. However, British Airways did not allow animals on board. Therefore, the author decided to take him to Paris first through another airline, and then to London. There was a condition to be followed to carry him: he should be packed into a box not more than eighteen inches square, to be carried on the floor at the author’s feet.
8) What did Mij do to the box?
Mij had torn the lining of box to shreds. He also hurt himself in the process.
9) Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? How do you think he felt when he did this?
Maxwell had to follow the condition of the airlines in order to carry Mijbil with him to London. He was getting late too. There was no time to get another box made. So, he cleaned the box to remove the sharp edges and shreds so that it doesn’t hurt Mijbil, and put him in the box again.
Maxwell would have felt a little upset, desperate and helpless as his carefully designed plan was ruined, and he was even getting late to reach the airport.
10) Why does Maxwell say the airhostess was ‘the very queen of her kind’?
First of all, he gives her a parcel of fish for Mij to keep in a cool place. He then tells her everything that happened in the last hour, and upon hearing this she sounded very supportive. She even suggests that the author might prefer to have Mijbil on his knee.
Even when Mijbil comes out of the box and disappears down the aircraft, the airhostess tells Maxwell to stay in his seat, and she would bring the animal to him.
For all the helpful attitude and positivity that she displays, Maxwell considers him ’the very queen of her kind’.
11) What happened when the box was opened?
When the box was opened, Mijbil was out in a flash. He disappeared at high speed down the aircraft. There were squawks and shrieks, one woman even stood up on her seat thinking that there was a rat.
12) What game had Mij invented?
There was one suitcase that had become damaged, and hence when closed the lid remained at some slope from one end to the other. Mij invented his own game with this suitcase and a ping-pong ball. He placed the ball on the high end. The ball would run down the slope along the length of the suitcase. Then he would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise. He would then grab it, and trot off with it to the high end once more.
13) What are compulsive habits? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of (i) School children (ii) Mij
Compulsive habits are habits that are difficult to control, and performed repetitively without any particular or clear purpose.
Maxwell says that some of the compulsive habits of children are: thy think they must place their feet squarely on the center of each paving block; must touch every seventh upright of the iron railings, or pass to the outside of every second lamp post.
Maxwell says Mijbil also had one such habit. On his way home, but never on his way out, Mij would tug him to this wall, jump on to it, and gallop the full length of its thirty yards, to the hopeless distraction both of pupils and of staff within.
14) What group of animals do otters belong to?
Otters belong to the group Mustellines.
15) What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was?
The Londoners made several guesses about what Mij was. Some at least guessed the names of the animals falling in the small group Mustellines like badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. More random guesses included a baby seal and a squirrel. Some took him to be a walrus or even a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard that has changed its spots. One guess went as far as a ‘brontosaur’, a plant-eating dinosaur who is extinct.
16) What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love?
In the beginning, Mijbil was aloof and indifferent. It was not coming close to Maxwell. This is a kind of feeling even human beings can relate to when they are adjusting in a new environment with new cohabitants. However, the next night, Mijbil came to Maxwell’s bed and slept there in the crooks of his knees.
When the author took him to the bathroom, he learned very quickly how to open the tap. Two days later, he went in the bathroom by himself, and managed to open the tap there. He also felt disappointed when he turned it the wrong way, and was unable to open it. He loved to have his fun in water with splashing and sloshing water everywhere. He always wanted to keep the water moving no matter where it is.
He played with a rubber ball like a four-footed soccer player using all four feet to dribble the ball, and he could also throw it with a powerful flick of the neck. He could lie on his back and juggle objects with his paws. He had even invented his own game with the damaged suitcase of the author, and a ping-pong ball.
All these instances tell us that Mijbil was an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal.
17) What are some of the things we come to know about otters from this text?
Otters are mostly found in marshes.
There are several species of otters including the smooth-coated otters called Lutrogale perspicillata, with a sub-species known as Lutragale perspicillata maxwelli named after Gavin Maxwell.
They belong to the group of animals called Mustellines.
Otters have smooth chocolate-brown velvet fur.
Otters love to play in water, splashing and sloshing and keeping the water moving all the time.
They are intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animals.
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