Chapter Sketch
In this story, the author Gavin Maxwell tells us about his unusual pet ‘Mijbil’, an otter. He tells that when his dog died, he decided to have another pet. Soon, he shifted to Iraq where he saw people were keeping otters as a pets. He also decided to have an otter as a pet.
He describes, while he had to shift to England, how much problems were faced by him in taking Mijbil with him. On reaching London, people did not recognise the otter. They used to make guesses about the animal. The author thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with the otter.

About the Characters
Gavin Maxwell He is a very caring and a polite person. He takes complete care of his pet. Mijbil ttie Otter He is the pet of the narrator. He is a very friendly, intelligent and a fun-loving creature. He plays with water and other objects like a rubber ball.

OVERVIEW OF THE CHAPTER
The Author Decides to Keep an Otter
The author travelled to Southern Iraq in 1956. He decided to keep an otter as a pet. As his native place of living, Camusfeama, had much water around, an otter was suitable for the experiment.

The Author and his Friend Travel to Basra
When the author mentioned about his wish to keep an otter as a pet to his friend, he suggested him to take an otter from Tigris Marshes as they are quite common there. They were going to Basra to collect their mails. The mail of his friend reached but his mail did not arrive.

The Author’s Mall Arrives and He Gets the Otter
The author sent a telegram to England as his’mail had not arrived. For three days there was no reply. He tried to make a phone call but due to some problems he was not able to get through. Finally, after five days his mail arrives.
Once his mail arrived, he went to his room to read it. There, he saw two Arabs with an otter. They told that it was for him.

Strangeness of the Otter
The otter changed the life of the author. The otter came on to the tiled floor from the sack (bag). At once, it appeared like a small dragon. From head to tail, his body was coated with mud. In between the mud, a velvet fur like creature resembling a chocolate brown mole appeared. There was a lot of dust on his body. It took the author a month’s time to remove all the dust from his body.

Domestication of the Otter
The narrator named the otter as Mijbil. In short, he was called as Mij. For the first twenty-four hours, the otter was neither unfriendly nor friendly. He was aloof and indifferent. He kept on sleeping on the floor far from the bed. The second night, he came onto the author’s bed and slept in the crook of his knees. In the day, he kept a keen interest in his surroundings. The author made a body belt for him. The otter liked playing in the water in the bathroom.

Mljbll’s Escape from the Bedroom
Two days later, Mijbil escaped from the author’s bedroom. He went to the bathroom. He entered the bathtub and turned the tap on with his paws within minutes.

Mijbil becomes Friendly
Within a very less time, he became very friendly. He followed the author when he called his name. He spent most of the time in playing with the rubber ball. He played it like a soccer ball. His favourite toys were the marbles.

Taking Mijbil Back to Home
Days passed peacefully at Basra. The author had a fear of transporting Mij to England and then to Camusfearna. The British airlines would not fly animals. He booked a flight to Paris and then from there to London. The airlines told him to pack Mij in a box. He made a box for Mij. He put him inside the box before the flight so that he becomes habitual to it. Then he went to have lunch.

The Otter and the Box
When the author came back after sometime, he was shocked to see a complete silence from the box. Blood was coming out from the airholes. He opened the box. He saw Mij covered with blood. Only 10 minutes were left for the flight and the airport was five miles away. He kept Mij inside the box and held the lid with his hands.

The Author Leaves for Airport
The author sat in the car with the box beside him. The driver drove the car very fast. Just when the aircraft was about to take off, he was rushed through to it by the angry officials at the airport.

The Author In the Aircraft
He had booked the front seat for him. He covered the floor around his seat with newspapers. He gave the parcel of fish to the airhostess for the otter. She suggested him to keep the otter on his knees.

Mijbil Goes out of the Box
Mij was out of the box at once. He disappeared in the aircraft. There was a woman shouting, “A rat! A rat!” in fear. The author tried to catch the otter but he failed. The air hostess told him to be seated and said that she would find the otter for him. Very soon the otter came near the author and climbed on his knees. He started rubbing his face and neck with his nose.

Mijbil Reaches London
The author remained in London for almost a month. Mij kept on playing with ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruit and a terrapin shell that the author had bought from the marshes.

Mijbil Plays Outside the House
The author exercised Mij on a lead on the streets. Mij quickly developed certain habits during the walks on London streets. There was a primary school opposite to the author’s house. He would take the author near the outer wall of it which was some two feet high. He would then gallop on to this. This distracted the students and the staff. The people in London were not able to recognise the Otter and made wild guesses.

Chapter Highlights

1. After the death of his dog, the author decides to keep an otter as his pet.
2. As per his friend’s suggestion, he got an otter from Tigris Marshes.
3. The author felt that coming of the otter started a new phase of his life.
4. The otter first appeared as a small dragon. He was coated with mud.
5. It took ajot of time and effort for the author to remove the dust.
6. The otter loved to play with water, and could not stand still in front of it.
7. He also loved to play with the rubber ball. Marble toys were his favourite.
8. After some days, the author had to come back to London.
9. The transporting of Mijbil to London became a problem. British airline did not permit animals on its flights.
10. Another airline agreed to take the animal if packed in a box.
11. The author made a small box for the otter.
12. While in the plane, the otter escaped from the box. Some passengers. Shouted and stood on their seats on seeing the otter in the plane. At last, the otter came back and settled on the author’s knees.
13. On reaching London, people did not recognise the otter. They just made random guesses.
14. Mijbil played with ping-pong ball and develops certain playing habits in London.

WORD MEANINGS
The given page nos. correspond to the pages in the prescribed textbook.