NCERT CBSE Class 10th English (First Flight) Chapter 8: Mijbil the Otter

The eighth chapter in 'First Flight' textbook is 'Mijbil the Otter' written by Gavin Maxwell. This story describes the beautiful bond between the author and his pet otter, Mijbil. The story continues with the series of incidents that followed during their onward journey to London. The story begins with the writer, Gavin Maxwell who was travelling to Basra with his friend to the Consulate-General to collect and answer their mail from Europe. During their journey, Maxwell expressed his desire to keep an otter as a pet instead of a dog as he felt very lonely after losing his pet dog earlier. His friend suggested he get an otter from the Tigris marshes in Iraq. When they reached the destination his friend received the mail immediately, while Maxwell had to wait for a few more days to receive his mail. Once he received the mail, he took the sack that was brought by two Arabs carrying a message from his friend and discovered an otter inside it. He christened the otter ‘Mijbil’ and would often refer to it as Mij.