First Flight Chapter 8 Mijbil The Otter

1. The author decided to keep an otter instead of a dog as a pet in 1956.
2. Camusfearna is suitable for keeping an otter because it is surrounded by water.
3. Very near.

1. He found two Arabs sitting on the floor.
2. They had brought a sack containing an otter.
3. Sitting.

1. The sack contained an otter.
2. They suffer from an thraldom to otters.
3. It indicates the longer life-span of the otters.

1. Mijbil’s turning the tap on surprised the author.
2. ‘He’ refers to the otter.
3. Amazed.

1. The complete silence from the box is referred to as appalling incident.
2. There was complete silence because Mij was exhausted and got wounded.
3. It means a shocking scene.

1. The narrator was completely unprepared for Mij’s terrifying the co-passengers and getting disappeared.
2. She suggested that he could have his pet on his knee, if he preferred.
3. It means ‘the best of all women’.

1. The narrator was stretching his neck.
2. It indicates that Mij was happy to be back with the narrator.
3. Bounded.

1. He would tug the narrator to the wall opposite his home.
2. They would be distracted by the shrill, loud chitter of an otter.
3. Gallop.

When Maxwell's dog Jonnie died, he was too sad to think of keeping a dog again. So he decided to keep an otter instead of a dog. He expressed his wish to his friend who managed to get an otter and sent it to Maxwell through two Arabs. Thus, Maxwell got his tamed otter.

As soon as Maxwell opened the sack, a new phase in his life began.That sack contained a tamed otter. He was completely enthralled by the otter. He had an otter fixation. 

Mijbil, the narrator's otter belonged to an unknown race of otters that was later christened by zoologists as Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli. As it Maxwell’s pet, it was named as Maxwell’s otter.

Mijbil took nearly a day to get accustomed to his master and his new surroundings. For the first twenty-four hours, Mijbil was neither hostile nor friendly. He was simply aloof and indifferent. He kept away from Maxwell. But as the days passed by, he became friendly with Maxwell. 

Mijbil was very happy to play with water. When Maxwell took him to his bathroom, he went wild with water for half an hour. He plunged and rolled in it. He had fun with the water by shooting up and down in it and made a lot of splash. He spread water everywhere.

The narrator learns that it is characteristic of otters to spread every drop of water about the place if they are around. They overturn a bowl filled with water or sit and splosh in it until it overflows. It is a wastage if water is static at a place.

One day Mij escaped from the narrator's bedroom and reached the bathroom. The narrator followed him and saw that in less than a minute Mij turned on the tap to produce at first a trickle of water and then the full flow. The narrator was amazed at his intelligence. On other occasions when Mij turned the tap the wrong way,  he screwed it up tighter. He got irritated and disappointed at the tap’s failure to cooperate.

Mijbil spent most of his time in playing. He played with a rubber-ball for hours like a four-footed soccer player. He loved playing with water. But his favourite pastime was playing with marbles. He would lie on his back rolling up and down his belly without ever dropping one to the floor.

Maxwell wanted to transport Mijbil to Camusfearna via England. The airline insisted that he must carry Mij in a square box. He could keep the box close to his feet in the flight. He got a box and put Mij into the box half an hour before he started. After that, he left for a meal in a hurry. When he returned, he was shocked to see that blood had trickled and dried from its airholes and chinks around the lid. Mij was exhausted and wounded inside the box.

There was complete silence from the box in which Mij had been kept. Blood had trickled and dried from the airholes and chinks around the lid. It shocked the narrator. He found that Mij had wounded himself while tearing off the box.

Maxwell was worried about Mij’s comfort because he was exhausted and wounded. He could not stay inside the box. He also wanted his pet to be free. Seeing his concerns, the airhostess suggested him that he could have Mij on his knee. Feeling deeply gratified for her kindness, the narrator said so.

The airhostess suggested Maxwell that he might have his pet on his knee. Maxwell did accordingly and was thankful to her. But it resulted in Mij’s escaping from the box. He ran down the aircraft. It terrified the other passengers. The narrator’s attempts to catch him landed him in the curry.

Mijbil invented a game with a ping-pong ball that could keep him engrossed for half an hour at a time. He discovered that if he placed the ball on the high end of a slightly inclined slopy suitcase lid it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would dash around to the other end of the suitcase to stop it and played hide and seek with it before grabbing. It shows that he is playful.

Children tend to develop compulsive habit for their amusement on their way to and from school. Similarly, Mijbil also developed a habit that he could never resist. He would tug Maxwell to the wall of a primary school. Then, he would jump and gallop on it. It distracted the pupils and the staff.

Maxwell's pet, Mijbil was an otter. People in London were not familiar with otters.Also, Mij belonged to an unknown race. So, most of them made numerous guesses about it but nobody could guess it right. They called it ‘a baby seal’, ‘a squirrel’, 'a walrus', 'a hippo', 'a beaver', 'a bear cub', 'a leopard-that had changed its spots' etc. 

Conservation of Wildlife is the Need of the Hour:

Man shares the planet earth with millions of other species. But in his attempt to dominate the earth, he has done away with many of these species without realizing the fact that they play an important role in his very own existence. Wildlife helps in maintaining the ecological balance, aesthetic and recreational value. Therefore, it is the duty of humans to maintain the ecosystem by conserving the wildlife. We should realize that we do not have the power to rule over other living beings or even decimate them. The species which are on the verge of extinction should be carefully preserved and the deforestation level should be reduced to let them survive and flourish in their natural habitat.

Animals are men’s best friends. They co-exist with us and support us in many ways. When we are hungry, a cow gives us milk to survive on. A dog guards our homes very loyally. The cat destroys the pests that cause damage to our crops. The bullocks carry heavy loads for us and the horses are used in battlefields. Animals help pollinate plants and help to fertilize plants. Animals are part of the food chain and keep ecosystems in balance. Moreover, they serve as companions and help in reducing loneliness. In some cases, they serve as therapeutic animals in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. They support our survival in this planet.

When the author's pet died, he thought of keeping an otter instead of a dog. This was his experiment. He also thought that Camusfearna would be suitable for keeping an otter as it loves the presence of water around it.

aloof and indifferent

When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, it went wild with joy and played for half an hour in the water. It plunged and rolled in the water, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub underwater, and made a lot of slosh and splash. Two days later Mijbil got into the bathroom and fumbled at the Chromium taps sitting up on the end of the bath tub. Maxwell was amazed to see that he could turn the tap far enough to produce the full flow of water.

Maxwell dreaded the thought of transporting Mij to England.  As the British airline would not fly animals, Maxwell booked a flight to Paris on another airline. And from Paris he had to book a flight to London. The airline asserted that Maxwell should pack Mij into a box not more than eighteen inches square so that he could keep it on the floor at his feet.

Maxwell packed Mij in the box and so that it get accustomed to the box. He left for a hurried meal after that. When he came back, he found complete silence from the box. He saw blood dried and trickled down from the airholes around the lid. He opened the box and saw that Mijbil was severely wounded. Mijbil had torn the lining of the box to shreds.

Maxwell had to put Mijbil back in the box because there was no other way of transporting Mij to London. He had no other option as only ten minutes were left until the time of the flight and the airport was five miles distant. He felt very miserable about Mij's condition.

Maxwell was very worried about his pet so he informed the airhostess about Mij's injury. Being sympathetic, she suggested him that he may keep Mij on his knee. This made him admire that airhostess. Out of gratitude for her kindness, Maxwell says that she was the very queen of her kind.

As soon as the box was opened, Mij disappeared from the box speedily down the aircraft. He terrified people in the plane. They started shrieking and screaming. Maxwell ran after him so that he could catch hold of him but he ended up getting his face covered in curry. The airhostess asked him to go back to his seat and assured him that she would find Mij and bring it to him. Soon, he heard Mij chittering from under his legs. It bounded on to his knee and began to nuzzle his face and neck.

The habits become compulsive when a person repeats them persistently without getting any actual pleasure out of it. 

(i) The school children usually have a habit of placing their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block or touching every seventh upright of the iron railings on their way to and from school.

(ii) Mij used to move Maxwell by pulling him towards the frontage of the school, he would jump on to it, and gallop the full length of the wall distracting pupils as well as the staff.

Otters belong to a small group of animals called Mustellines. Animals like badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink etc belong to the same group.

Very few londoners knew that Mij was an otter. Most of them made wrong guesses such as baby seal, squirrel, walrus , beaver and bearcub etc. Outside a dogshow, somebody called it a hippo. Someone said it was a leopard without spots. 

Maxwell was amazed when he saw that Mij could turn on the tap and achieve the full flow of water. He loved to play in water for hours. He went wild with joy while playing with it. He used to play for hours with a ball like a four footed soccer player. He also invented a game with the author's worn out suitcase. Mij always liked to be in Maxwell's company. When Maxwell left for a hurried meal after packing it in the box, Mij wounded himself while attempting to be with him. In plane, he bounded onto Maxwell's knee and nuzzled his face and neck. So, we can say that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love.

Otters belong to a small group of animals called Mustellines. Animals like badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others are from the same group. Otters love to play with water. They go wild with water and spread every drop of water about the place. For them, water must be constantly used for some work. If it is immobile, it provokes them to play with it. An otter loves to lie on his back juggling with small objects between his paws. 

Mijbil belongs to a race that is discovered recently. Zoologists have named the race as Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli, or Maxwell's otter.

(i) He spends a lot of time in playing.

(iii) 'I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow.'

(v) 'Mij discovered that if he placed the ball on the high end it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise, grab it and trot off with it to the high end once more.'

(vii) 'I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognise an otter, but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be came as a surprise to me.'

(i)   Emperor Akbar used to be fond of musical evenings.
(ii)  Every evening we would take long walks on the beach.
(iv) Fifty years ago, very few people used to own cars.
(v) Till the 1980s, Shanghai used to have very dirty streets.
(vi) My uncle would spend his holidays by the sea.

(i) otter - noun
(ii) iron - noun
(iii) Tigris - proper noun
(iv) London - proper noun
(v) Soft velvet - adjective plus noun
(vi) Four-footed - adjective plus noun

1. stone temple
2. ordinary person
3. birthday gifts
4. first time
5. railroad crossing
6. plump physique
7. college girls
8. heartbreaking thoughts
9. loud scream
10. ordinary subject
11. first flight
12. ordinary coffee
13. love triangle
14. incorrigible boys
15. college farewell
16. bare landscape
17. incorrigible chatterbox
18. panoramic view
19. hundred dresses
20. loud roar
21. first expression
22. white handkerchief
23. familty profession
24. birthday celebration

(i) a pool of blood
(ii) a piece of cotton
(iii) a huge heap of stones
(iv) a gust of wind
(v) little drops of water
(vii) flakes of snow
(vi) a pot of gold
(viii) a portion of fried fish

(a) My teacher gave me some advice
      My teacher gave me a bit of advice.

(b) Can you give me some clay, please
      Can you give me a lump of clay.

(c) The information you gave was very useful.
      The piece of information that you gave was very useful.

(d) Because of these factories, smoke hangs over the city.
      Because of these factories, a cloud of smoke hangs over the city.

(e) Two stones rubbed together can produce sparks of fire.
      Two pieces of stones rubbed together can produce sparks of fire.

(f) He gave me some flowers on my birthday.
     He gave me a bunch of flowers on my birthday.

(i)  Sandburg thinks that the fog is like a cat.
(ii) The fog comes on little cat feet.
(iii) It refers to the fog.
(iv) Yes, the poet says that fog is like a cat.
      It comes quietly like a cat.
      It sits on its haunches.
      It sits silently.

Self attempt.

1. They were otters.
2. The author could get one in Tigris Marshes.
3. The word for domesticated is 'tamed'
4. At the Consulate-General, the author found that his friend’s mail had arrived but his mail hadn’t.

or

1.  ‘Me’ stands for the child, Amanda.
2. She feels that she should also be free and relaxed as a mermaid sailing in the sea freely.
3. ‘Me’ is compared to a mermaid.
4.  ‘Blissfully’ is the word opposite to sorrowfully.