TEXT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS:
1. What “experiment” did Maxwell think Camusfearna would be suitable for ?
Ans: Maxwell thought that he should keep an otter instead of a dog since he settled in Camusfearna and it was surrounded by water. So it would be a very suitable spot for this experiment of keeping an otter.
2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there and why ?
Ans: Maxwell goes to Basra collect mail and also to answer mails from Europe.He tried to make a telephone call but was not successful He had to wait there for his mail for about five days as there was some problems.He stayed in Basra for eleven days in all.
3. How does he get the Otter? Does he like it? Pick out the words that tell you this.
Ans: The author, Maxwell got the otter from his friend. It was in a sack squirming from time to time. There were two Arabs who had handed him that that note from his friend.
Yes, the author liked it. The words that tell us is “with the opening of the sack that began as a phase of my life that has not ended”. He also uses the term “otter fixation” to express his feelings towards the otter. He also felt that this otter fixation was also shared by most other people who owned one.
4. Why was the otter named “Maxwell’s otter” ?
Ans: The otter was a race not known to science and was finally named by the zoologists as Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter.Also the otter belonged to Maxwell and that is why it was called so.
5. Tick the right answer. In the beginning, the otter was.
* Aloof and indifferent√
* Friendly
* Hostile
6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom? What did it do two days after that ?
Ans: When Maxwell took Mijbil to the bathroom, he went wild with joy in the water for half an hour. He was plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the water in the bathtub and splashed enough water all around.
Two days after that Mijbil escaped from the bedroom to the bathroom. By the time he got there, Mijbil was up on the end of the bathtub and trying to open the chromium taps with his paws. In less than a minute, he had turned the taps so much that the flow was full.
7. How was Mij to be transported to England ?
Ans: 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. The box was to be placed on the floor near his feet.
8. What did Mij do to the box ?
Ans: Maxwell had put Mij into the box and had gone for a hurried meal. When he came he saw Mij had torn the lining of the box to shreds. He had injured himself while doing so.
9. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box ?
Ans: The author, Maxwell put the otter back in the box as there were no other way he could carry Mij to London. He must have felt pity for the otter as it had hurt itself.
10. Why does Maxwell say the airhostess was ‘the very queen of her kind” ?
Ans: Maxwell said that the airhostess was “the very queen of her kind” because she was very friendly and helpful. He took her into his confidence about the incident with the box. She suggested he can put the otter on his knee. So he developed a profound admiration for her as she understood the pain of both the otter and its owner.
11. What happened when the box was opened ?
Ans: When the box was opened, Mij went out of the box. He disappeared at high speed down the aircraft. There were cried all around. A woman stood up on her seat screaming that there was a rat. The author saw Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of an Indian passenger. He dived for it, but missed. The airhostess told him to be seated and that she would find the otter. After a while Mij returned to him. He climbed on his knee and began to rub his nose on his face and neck.
12. What game had Mij invented ?
Ans: Mij had invented a game with ping-pong ball. He would put the ball at one end of the sloping lid of the damaged suitcase and then grab it as it ran to the other end.
13. What are ‘compulsive habits’ ? What does Maxwell say are the compulsive habits of (i) school children (ii) Mij.
Ans: Compulsive habits are strange acts or behaviour which a person does without a clear reason. Compulsive habits of school children are on their way to and from school, they make it a habit to place their feet on the centre of each paving block or touch each upright railings or kick the a stone for some distance . In the same way, Mij had made it a habit to jump on to the school wall and go galloping all along the full length of thirty yards.
14. What group of animals do otters belong to ?
Ans: Otters belong to a small group of animals called Mustelids, shared by the badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others.
15. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij was ?
Ans: According to the author, the average Londoner did not recognise an otter. The Londoners made many different guesses about who Mij was. Some guesses were it was a baby seal, a walrus, a hippo, a beaver, a bear cub, a leopard and a brontosaur.
16. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal ?
Ans: Mij was an intelligent animal. He invented his own game out of ping-pong ball balls. He screwed the tap and opened it till the water began to flow. Though he was aloof and indifferent in the beginning, he soon became very friendly. He formed a special attachment with Maxwell. When Maxwell took him out of the box, he clung to his feet. He was a fun-loving animal whoenjoyed playing all kinds of games.