Mijbil the Otter — RBSE Class 10 English (First Flight)
Most people keep a dog or a cat. Gavin Maxwell kept an otter — a slippery, playful, endlessly curious creature that turned taps into toys and a London flat into a river. This gentle, funny memoir is about the surprising joy, and the small chaos, of sharing your life with a wild animal.
1. How the writer got an otter
After his dog died, the writer, Gavin Maxwell, wanted a new pet — and, while in Southern Iraq, decided he wanted an otter (otters are common in that marsh region). A friend arranged one, and it was delivered to him at his hotel in Basra. He named it Mijbil (later shortened to Mij). It turned out to be a rare, previously unknown subspecies, later named Maxwell's otter after him.
2. Mij's nature and habits
Mij was playful, affectionate and mischievous. For the first day it was aloof, but soon it became friendly and full of character. It loved water: it would play for hours with a rubber ball, marbles and other toys, and turned on the tap to make its own splashing pool — even learning to work the tap with its paws. It slept in the writer's bed and grew deeply attached to him.
3. The clever plan to take Mij to England
The writer had to fly home to London, but the airline (BOAC) would not carry the otter, so he booked a flight with another airline (to Paris and on to London), which allowed animals if packed in a box. Mij had to travel in a box, which the airline insisted he be packed into an hour before the flight.
Left alone in the box, Mij panicked and hurt itself, tearing the lining — when the writer returned, the box was quiet but Mij was bloodied. Comforted, Mij travelled on the plane, sometimes on the writer's knee. A kind air hostess suggested he keep the otter on his knee, which he gratefully did. During the flight Mij escaped and caused a stir among the passengers before being recovered.
4. Mij in London — an otter in the city
In London, Mij delighted and puzzled everyone. It behaved almost like a human child — playing with a ping-pong ball, toy animals and marbles, and following the writer about. Taken for walks on a lead, it caused a sensation: Londoners, unfamiliar with otters, guessed it was everything from a baby seal to a 'walrus', a hippo, a beaver, or 'a brontosaur' — comic proof of how rarely people meet a wild otter.
5. Themes
- The bond between humans and animals — the deep, loving companionship between the writer and Mij.
- Wild animals as pets — their charm, playfulness and intelligence, but also the practical difficulties (Mij's panic in the box, the chaos on the plane).
- Care and responsibility — keeping a wild creature demands patience, affection and effort.
- Gentle humour — the Londoners' wild guesses and Mij's antics make the story warm and funny.
6. Closing thought
"Mijbil the Otter" is, at heart, a love story between a lonely man and a small wild animal. Maxwell shows Mij not as a possession but as a companion with a personality — mischievous, needy, joyful — and in doing so makes us see wild creatures with new affection and respect. The trouble Mij causes (the bloodied box, the escape on the plane) only deepens the bond; caring for an animal, the story quietly says, is worth the chaos.
For the RBSE board, remember how and where the writer got Mij (Iraq/Basra), Mij's playful, water-loving nature, the difficult journey to England (the box, the plane, the air hostess), and the Londoners' funny guesses. Value-based questions on the human–animal bond and responsible pet-keeping are common.
