MIJBIL : THE OTTER

-MANAS VERMA
1.How does the ignorance about Mijbil as a creature in
the urban environment of London reveal insights
about people's perceptions and knowledge regarding
animals? [CBSE SQP 2024]

Ans:  highlights a general lack of knowledge about

exotic animals / demonstrates a limited
understanding of diverse animal species -- people may
be unfamiliar with otters as pets / may not recognise
them outside of their natural habitat
 reflects a sort of disconnect from nature in urban
environments -- people may be accustomed to urban
wildlife, such as pigeons or squirrels, but less familiar
with species like otters – hence contribute to
misconceptions about Mijbil

2.Mijbil and the Tiger, both were looked after by

humans. Assume they both meet each other in the zoo
and have a conversation about their lifestyle and
feelings. Write this conversation as per your
understanding of Mijbil the Otter and A Tiger in the
Zoo.
You may begin like this
Tiger: Thanks for visiting me, though I don’t usually
like visitors.
Mijbil: Oh? I would love visitors, I think.[CBSE SQP
2022]

Ans:Mijbil:-
 Happy about his life with his owner as a pet—perhaps
would be scared to be out in the wild wouldn’t know
how to survive
 Gets to play/go for walks
 Enjoys meals and company of the owner – exists
peacefully in the company of his owner
Tiger:-
 Unhappy in captivity-- blames humans for caging
him—wished they’d know the value of peaceful co
existence
 Longing to be free and in natural habitat –perhaps
wouldn’t wish to be tamed as a pet
 Gets disturbed by the human activity

3.Mijbil turned out to be playful pet . Elaborate .

[CBSE2024 ]
Ans : Mijbil was a playful pet. It enjoyed playing with
water, marbles and ping-pong balls. While out for a
walk, it would run along the wall of the school and
gain the attention of the teachers and students. It was
lively and engaging.

4.Maxwell decides to keep an otter as a pet. Elucidate

with reference to the fact that owning a pet is a life of
commitment. [CBSE 2024]
Ans: Keeping a pet requires commitment. The pet is
dependant on the master and so, one has to take care
of it at all times. When Mijbil played with water in the
bathroom, Maxwell had to take care the pet did not
drown. Once when he left Mijbil unattended, the pet
hurt itself and bled. The author had to change the
airline because some of them did not fly animals.
During the flight, Maxwell endured hardships due to
Mijbil’s recklessness. Thus, Maxwell had to be highly
committed to Mijbil

5.What thing did mij do ,that tells you that hr is

intelligent, fun loving, and friendly animal ?[CBSE
2020]
Ans: Mij was an active pet. He loved playing with
water, marbles, ping pong and even a broken suitcase.
His innovative games show his intelligence. When Mij
was put in a new environment, it remained aloof and
indifferent. It took time to mix up with the author. Mij
was active, opened the tap by itself and played in it. It
was intelligent as it invented several games with ping
pong ball, marbles and the author’s broken suitcase.
When out for a walk with the author, it would jump
and gallop along the entire length of the wall of a
school. When the author was travelling with Mij on a
flight, Mij was allowed to be out of the box. He
disappeared for sometime and later returned to its
master. This shows that Mijbil was an intelligent, fun-
loving and friendly animal.
CREATED BY MANAS VERMA

6. Read the extracts given below and answer the

questions that follow:
When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he
casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris
marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes,
and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to
Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer
our mail from Europe. At the Consulate-General we
found that my friend’s mail had arrived but that
mine had not. [2019]
[A] what was “they” ?
[B] where could the otter get one ?
[C] Find exact word from extract that means
“domesticated” ?
[D]what did author find at the consulate
general ?
ANSWER
[A] otter
[B]tigris marshes
[C]tamed
[D]found that mail is not arrived

7.what game did mij invent ?[CBSE 2016]

Ans: he would keep broken suitcase in sloping
position and placed the ball on the high end.
Then rushed to other corner to catch the ball .

8.what guess did londoner make about what

mijbil was ? [CBSE 2015]
Ans: mongoose,baby seal,brotonosaur ,rat,
squirrels , . Even one labour asked – “what is that
supposed to be “.

9. Why do you think the otter was not friendly at

first with the narrator? How did it behave at
first? Why? [2019, 100-120 words]
Ans: . Mij was an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving
animal. When the author received it, for the first
twenty-four hours it remained aloof and indifferent
but later on, he took interest in his surroundings. He
became friendly to the author. He enjoyed his bath.
One day, he disappeared from the bedroom and
entered the bathroom where he tried to open the tap.
His intelligence is further revealed when he invented a
game of his own called ping-pong. Mij discovered that
if the ball was placed on the high end of the suitcase,
it would rather run down the length of the suitcase. He
enjoyed playing with balls and marbles. Mijbil had
developed certain compulsive habits like school
children. He used to gallop at full speed on the thirty
yards wall of a primary school.

CBSE HANDBOOK 2022 AT A GLANCE!

10.
11.Why do you think behavior of otter changes when it
is bought to gravin maxwell’s room ?
Ans:behavior of otter changes as he was feeling more
comfortable in narrator”s environment and he wants
that freedom must not be caged at any cost .

12.it is ,in effect ,a thraldom to otter , an otter

fixation , that I have since found to be shared by
most other people
what does narrator mean to convey in this statement ?
explain any two piece of evidence from he story?

Cbse 2023 question bank at a glance !

13.EXTRACT BASED QUESTION :-
For the first twenty-four hours Mijbil was neither
hostile nor friendly; he was simply aloof and
indifferent, choosing to sleep on the floor as far from
my bed as possible. The second night Mijbil came on to
my bed in the small hours and remained asleep in the
crook of my knees until the servant brought tea in the
morning, and during the day he began to lose his
apathy and take a keen, much too keen, interest in his
surroundings. I made a body-belt for him and took
him on a lead to the bathroom, where for half an
hour he 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.

[A]“Mijbil was neither hostile nor friendly; he was

simply aloof and indifferent…” From the actions of the
given set of friends, choose the person who’s behaviour
is likely to resemble Mijbil’s.
e) Akanksha rudely tells her best friend to stop calling.
f Piyush was amicable since the day he walked into his
new classroom
g) Rishabh became nasty as soon as he started
earning money.
h) Urvashi was distant for a while after losing her
grandmother.
[B]Select the option that correctly puts the following
events in correct order.
1. Maxwell planned to take Mijbil to the bathroom.
2. Mijbil slept at a significant distance from Maxwell’s
bed.
3. Mijbil immensely enjoyed playing in water.
4. Mijbil slept in much closer vicinity of the author as
opposed to the previous night.
a) 1, 3, 4, 2
b) 3, 1, 2, 4
c) 2, 4, 1, 3
d) 4, 3, 1, 2

[C]There words “slosh and splash” are examples of the

onomatopoeic words that go together phonetically-
resembling the sound that they describe. Choose the
option that DOES NOT fit the given description.
a) hip hop
b) bow wow
c) tick tock
d) pitter patter

[D]Choose the option that correctly describes a body-

belt in the given context as explained by the four
people given below.
a) A body-belt is a device especially made for
swimmers and scuba divers, which helps them breathe
under water.
b) Body-belts basically resemble the waist belts and
keep our body upright, in a standing position.
c) Body-belts are used for restraining while doing
certain activities, in order to prevent hurt.
d) A body-belt is an accessory used by body builders for
weight training as a measure against muscle and
bone injuries.

[E]Select the option that best describes the final action

of the otter, based on the given passage.

ANSWER

[A] d
[B] c :-
[C]a
[D]c
[E]b

14. EXTRACT BASED QUESTION :-

When I returned, there was an appalling spectacle.
There was complete silence from the box, but from its
airholes and chinks around the lid, blood had
trickled and dried. I whipped off the lock and tore
open the lid, and Mij, exhausted and blood-spattered,
whimpered and caught at my leg. He had torn the
lining of the box to shreds; when I removed the last of
it so that there were no cutting edges left, it was just
ten minutes until the time of the flight, and the
airport was five miles distant. I put the miserable Mij
back into the box, holding down the lid with my
hand. I sat in the back of the car with the box beside
me as the driver tore through the streets of Basra like a
ricocheting bullet.
[A]Choose the speaker that uses the phrase ‘appalling
spectacle’ correctly.
Speaker 1 – We got back home to see that our pet dog
had eaten kheer my mother had kept out of the fridge.
Indeed, an appalling spectacle.
Speaking 2 – We got back home and witnessed that our
cousin had dressed our pet dog in his t-shirt. Have to
admit that it was an appalling spectacle.
Speaker 3 – We got back home to see that our pet dog
39 sitting with a mangled rat. It was an appalling
spectacle.
Speaking 4 – We got back home from the airport and
observed our pet dog sound asleep on the rug. What an
appalling spectacle!
a) Speaker 1
b) Speaker 2
c) Speaker 3
d) Speaker 4

[B] “whipped off”, is an example of a phrasal verb i.e. a

combination of a verb and a preposition. Choose the
option that DOES NOT fit the given definition.
[C] choose the correct option that correctly describes
the box condition in which mijbil was kept:-

[D]Select the option that DOES NOT state the possible

reason for Maxwell’s cutting the box edges off. down
after out off take up out along down look up in away
back give in up out back get
a) Mij could have injured himself further.
b) It could have made the place untidy.
c) Mij could have accidently swallowed the torn pieces
d) It could have obstructed the shutting of the lid.

[E]Choose the option that correctly states Maxwell’s

likely feelings, in the situation below. “… I put the
miserable Mij back into the box, holding down the lid
with my hand.”
(1) anxious
(2) disappointed
(3) terrified
(4) guilty
(5) insulted
a) 1 and 5
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 4
d) 3 and 5
ANSWER
[A]c
[B]b
[C]d
[D]b
[E]c