Mijbil The Otter

                                 Mijbil The Otter

Short Answer Type Questions [2 Marks each]

Question 1.
How was Mij to be transported to England?
Answer:
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.

Question 2.
What happened when the box was opened?
Answer:
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! A rat!”.

Question 3.
Why did Maxwell get his mail after five days and what did he do to get it?    [CBSE 2011]
Answer:
Maxwell got his mail after 5 days due to some delay. He cabled and tried to telephone in order to get his mail.

Question 4.
What did the otter look like?
Answer:
The otter looked like a small dragon belonging to the ’ middle ages. It was covered with symmetrical pointed scales of mud. One could see between the scales a soft velvet fur like that of a chocolate-brown mole.

Question 5.
What did Mijbil do during the second night?
Answer:
Mijbil came on to Maxwell’s bed soon after midnight. It remained asleep in the crook of his knees until the morning.

Question 6.
What, according to the writer, is the ‘ real play’ of the otter?    [CBSE 2015]
Answer:
The real play of an otter is lying on his back and juggling with small objects between his paws. Mijbil would roll two or more marbles up and down on his wide, fat belly. He never dropped one to the floor.

Question 7.
Why was the narrator not able to communicate when there was a delay in the arrival of the mail?
Answer:
The narrator was not able to contact because the telephone lines had to be booked twenty-four hours in advance. On the first day, the line was out of order; on the second day, the exchange was closed for a religious reason; and on the third day, there was a breakdown.

Question 8.
What was the first characteristic of the otter discovered by the narrator?    [CBSE 2014]
Answer:
The first thing that the narrator observed about the otter was that he liked to play with water. When he was taken to the bathroom, for half an hour he went wild in the water with joy. He was plunging, jumping and rolling in the water.

Question 9.
How did Mij spend his time?
Answer:
Mij spent most of his time in play. He spent hours shuffling the rubber ball round the room like a four-footed soccer player. His real play was when he used to juggle small objects between his paws. Marbles were his favourite toy for his pastime.

Question 10.
Why was Mij packed inside the box?
Answer:
Mij was to be transported to England and the airlines insisted the narrator to pack him in a box.

Question 11.
How did the narrator reach the airport? Did he reach there on time?
Answer:
The narrator reached the airport in a car. No, he reached the airport late.

Question 12.
While staying in London, what was the pastime of Mij?
Answer:
While staying in London, Mijbil would play for hours with his own selection of toys. His favburite toys were ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruit and a terrapin shell that the narrator had bought from his native marshes.

Question 13.
How did Mij behave outside the house in London?
Answer:
Mij used to follow the narrator while walking on the streets. He developed certain habits during those walks. He went with him like children playing, running and touching things in the street. He would take the author near the wall of a primary school and then gallop on it.

Long Answer (Value Based) Type Questions [8 Marks each]

Question 1.
In the name of rules and regulations, basic values are ignored but people like the airhostess in ‘Mijbil the Otter’ are a ray of hope. What virtues do we find in the airhostess?
Answer:
The airhostess was somewhat friendly, and she allowed the narrator to place the otter on his lap. She could relate and empathise with the situation faced by the narrator. This shows that apart from being professional, she was a caring lady. She not only wanted to do her job but was also responsible as she helped the narrator in finding the otter back.
She did all that she could do for Maxwell and the otter. She was hard working and was ready to help as she did not say ‘no’ to help the narrator.

Question 2.
The narrator called the airhostess the queen of her kind. This shows how caring and supportive she was. Do you find such people these days? Are people having a change in their values?
Answer:
In today’s world, it is getting difficult to find people who show their care and support. Rather than helping others, they start giving excuses and quote rules and regulations. Earlier, people used to think about the situation faced by others and helped them in all possible ways.
This is changing because of the change in the values of the people. People give first priority to their own safety and security. They care for themselves first and then think about others.

Question 3.
Why do you think the otter was not friendly at first with the narrator? Can you relate this to the human nature as well?    [CBSE 2016]
Answer:
At first, the otter was not very friendly with the narrator as he had seen him for the first time. He was brought to a new place and new surroundings. He neither knew the narrator nor the place which made him stay away from the narrator. But, as soon as he started becoming comfortable with the surroundings, he became friendly and came close to the narrator.
This is very similar to the human nature. Even, the human beings first take time to understand others and then only become friendly with them. Unless they are comfortable in being with somebody, they try to stay away from that person.