1.

What ‘experiment’ did Maxwell think

7. How was Mij to be transported to England? 8. What did Mij do to the box?
Camusfearna would be suitable for?
Ans: Maxwell first booked a flight to Paris and from Ans: Mij tries to escape from the box because the
Ans: Maxwell thinks that he will keep an otter
there he would go to London. The airline says that metal sheet lining of the box was uncomfortable
instead of a dog. He thinks that Camusfearna
Mij should travel in a box that must not be more for him. When Mij tries to escape, he tears the
would be a suitable spot for the experiment
than 18 inches square and the box should be placed metal lining of the box ends up hurting himself
because it was ringed by water at a short distance
on the floor near Maxwell’s feet. and starts to bleed.
from its door.

watch the happenings on

4. What do you think Valli

about eight and she was
Ans: The otter belonged to
3. What does Valli tell the elderly man when he calls

pastime was to stand in

to travel on the bus and

by zoologists as Lutrogale
5. Tick the right answer. In

a race that was unknown

named ‘Maxwell’s otter’?

the front doorway and

to science. It was named

Ans: Valli was planning

-Aloof and indifferent OR

Ans: Valli was a girl of

perspicillata Maxwell or
Ans: The otter was aloof
the beginning, the otter

things. Her favourite

was planning to do?

nearby her further.

favourite pastime?
and indifferent in the

4. Why was the otter

very curious about

explore the places

1. What was Valli’s
her a child?
Friendly OR Hostile

Maxwell’s otter.

the street.
Ans: Since Valli was only eight years, the elderly
beginning.

referred to her as a child. She defended herself saying

was

that she was not one since she paid thirty paise like
everyone else on the bus and hence must be treated
equally.

(i) What does Sandburg think the fog is like? (iv) Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Find 3. Does this poem have a rhyme scheme? Poetry
(ii) How does the fog come? three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat. that does not have an obvious rhythm or rhyme
(iii) What does ‘it’ in the third line refer to? (iv) The poet compares the fog to a cat using a metaphor, but
is called ‘free verse’.
(iv) Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? he does not say that the fog is like a cat.
Find three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat. There are three ways to know that the fog is similar to a cat: Ans: Yes, the poem "Fog" by Carl Sandburg does
Ans: (i) Sandburg compares the fog to a cat. 1. It arrives silently, like a cat sneaking in on its small feet. have a rhyme scheme. It follows an AABB rhyme
(ii) Like a cat on its little feet, the fog enters silently. 2. It has a cat appearance. scheme in each stanza:
(iii) "It" refers to fog. 3. Like a cat, it sits on its haunches.

3. How does he get the otter? Does he like it? Pick out the 2. Why does he go to Basra? How long does he wait there,
10. Why does Maxwell say the air hostess was
words that tell you this. and why?
“the very Queen of her kind”?
Ans: He carries his mail to his bedroom when he gets it. Ans: He goes to the Consulate-General in Basra. He travels
there to pick up and respond to his European mail. He Ans: Maxwell says this because the air hostess
There he sees two Arabs and a sack beside them which
twists from time to time. The Arabs hand him a note waits there for five days. He starts with his emails which was kind and helpful. He tells her about the
from his friend which says that he has sent him an otter. didn’t arrive on time. Then he makes a telephone call. In incident that happened with the box. She
Yes, he does like it. It is evident from the term “otter those days, one had to book an appointment 24 hours prior suggests that he put his pet on his knees. He
fixation” that he uses to express his feelings towards to making an international call. On the first day, the feels immense admiration towards her after this
the otter. He feels that his strong attachment towards telephone line did not work properly. On the next day, it did because she understands the pain of the otter
otters is a feeling that he shares with the people who not work either because of a public holiday. After the and himself.
have ever had an otter. torturous wait of five days, his mail finally arrives.

6. What happened when Maxwell took Mijbil to the 2. What was a source of unending joy for Valli? 3. What did Valli find out about the bus journey? How did
bathroom? What did it do two days after that? she find out these details?
What was her strongest desire?
Ans: The otter goes wild with happiness in the water Ans: Valli was a young girl of curious temperament. Her
Ans: Valli loved to stand in the front doorway and
when Maxwell takes him to the bathroom. He starts strongest desire was to travel by bus and so she
jumping and rolling in the water, he goes up and down in watch what was happening. It gave her many new
started investigating further about it. She overheard
the bathtub and makes enough splashes for a hippo. unusual experiences and the most fascinating the bus travellers talk about the fare. They mentioned
After two days, it escaped to the bathroom from his thing for her was to watch the bus, filled with a that it was thirty paise one way and the trip took
bedroom. By the time Maxwell gets there, the otter is on new set of passengers. The bus travelled between around forty-five minutes. If she stayed on her seat
the end of the bathtub. He fumbles at the taps with his and paid thirty paise again, she could return home via
her village and the nearest town. Her strongest
paws and it turns the tap and some water comes out and the same bus. She also asked them a few questions
in a moment, water comes with full flow.
desire was to ride on the bus.
further to confirm the facts.

save the money which made her proud of her achievement.

1. Why does the conductor call Valli ‘madam’? When the author described the bus, he talked about the
2. How did Valli plan her bus ride? What did she find
Ans: Valli stopped the bus when it arrived on out about the bus, and how did she save up the fare?
intricate details like it was a ‘new bus,’ painted a ‘gleaming
Ans: Valli was determined to take the bus ride. She
one fine spring day, in the afternoon. She white.’ The overhead bars ‘shone like silver’ and the seats
were ‘soft and luxurious.’ Even these trivial details were so listened carefully to the conversations of the people
tried to behave maturely and when the who extensively used the bus and got details of the
important for Valli as a child, something which adults do
conductor let out his hand to help her climb not do. Valli clapped her hands happily when she saw journey. She required thirty paise for each side of the
the bus she refused. It was a big everything around her and found the cow incident so funny journey and the town was six miles from the village.
achievement for her to get on the bus alone that even tears rolled down her eyes. Her heart was She collected every coin she found and did not spend
clouded with sadness when she saw the cow dead and it it on candies, peppermints, toys and joyrides. After a
and she felt like a grown-up. The conductor
‘looked so horrible.’ She was haunted to even look out of lot of hustle, she finally saved sixty paise.
was a jolly sort and called her madam. the window.

1. What was Valli’s deepest desire? Find the words (iii) “Everyone laughed, and gradually Valli too 4. Why does the conductor refer to Valli as ‘madam’?
and phrases in the story that tell you this. joined in the laughter. Suddenly, Valli clapped Ans: Valli refused the conductor’s help when she
Ans: Valli’s deepest desire as an eight-year-old was climbed the bus. She arranged the money herself and did
her hands with glee.”
to travel by bus she saw every day. The sentences in not ask any adult to help her. She wanted to be treated
(iv) “Somehow this was very funny to Valli. equally. On the bus, she tried to maintain her composure
the story which depict this are as follows:
“Day after day she watched the bus, and gradually She laughed and laughed until there were and act like an adult and not like a child. When an elderly
tears in her eyes.” man referred to her as a child and asked her to sit
a tiny wish crept into her head and grew there: she
down, she said that there was no child on the bus, and
wanted to ride on that bus, even if just once. This (v) “Valli wasn’t bored to the slightest and she was a grown-up girl. Because of her wish to be
wish became stronger and stronger until it was an greeted everything with the same excitement referred to as a grown-up and the conductor being a
overwhelming desire.” she’d felt the first time.” jolly one, he referred to her as ‘madam.’
 9. Why did Maxwell put the otter back in the box? 15. What guesses did the Londoners make about what Mij 14. What group of animals do otters belong to?
How do you think he felt when he did this? was? Ans: They belong to a group called Mustellines
Ans: The only way to carry Mij to London was to Ans: According to Maxwell, an otter is not recognised by
which is a comparatively smaller group of
put him in the box so Maxwell had to do it. He felt an average Londoner. They made various guesses about
animals. It shares the group with the
what Mij was. They guessed it to be a baby seal, a walrus,
pity and worried about the fact that the otter mongoose, badger, weasel, stoat, mink and
a squirrel, a hippo, a beaver, a leopard, a bear cub and a
had hurt himself. others.
brontosaur.

ball on one side of a sloping

lid and then tried to grab it

otter was unknown to science

and thus named by zoologists
4. Why didn’t Valli want to make friends with the

Ans: Mij came up with the

maxwelli or Maxwell’s otter.

game. He used to put the
3. Why didn’t she get off the bus at the bus station?

idea for a ping-pong ball

Ans: The race of Maxwell’s

3. Why is Mij's species now

as Lutrogale perspicillata
as it went down to the
12. What game had Mij

known to the world as

elderly woman? Ans: Valli planned to go back by the same bus. She

Maxwell’s otter?
Ans: The elderly lady was chewing betel nut and the

other side.
invented?
did not get off the bus since she heard the bus
juice was about to seep out of her mouth. She had the
travellers talk about it. She handed another thirty
vibes of an unrefined lady and had big earlobes with
even bigger holes. Valli did not like her and was not
paise to the conductor. She had no work in the town
interested to be friends with her. and just wanted to ride the bus and have fun.

(iv) Does the poet actually say that the fog is like a cat? Find

(iii) What does ‘it’ in the

Ans: "It" refers to fog.

The fog comes (A)
(i) What does Sandburg

compares the fog to a

Ans: Like a cat on its

(ii) How does the fog
think the fog is like?

third line refer to?

three things that tell us that the fog is like a cat.

little feet, the fog

on little cat feet. (A)

enters silently.
Ans: Sandburg
It sits looking (B) Ans: The poet compares the fog to a cat using a metaphor,
but he does not say that the fog is like a cat.

come?
over harbour and city (B)

cat.
There are three ways to know that the fog is similar to a cat:
This structured pattern of rhyming lines indicates that
It arrives silently, like a cat sneaking in on its small feet.
the poem does not belong to the category of 'free verse,'
It has a cat appearance.
which is poetry without a regular rhyme or meter.
Like a cat, it sits on its haunches.

1. What things does Mij do which tell you that he is an 11. What happened when the box was opened? 13. What are ‘compulsive habits’? What does Maxwell say are
intelligent, friendly and fun-loving animal who needs love? Ans: Mij goes out of the box when it opens. He goes the compulsive habits of
Ans: It can be said that Mij was an intelligent animal by 1. School children
down the aircraft at high speed and disappears.
looking at his activities. It invented its own game with ping- 2. Mij
pong balls. He screwed that tap by himself until the water Everyone was crying around. A woman stands up on Ans: Compulsive habits are a person’s strange or weird
flowed out and then he played in it. He had grown an her seat screaming that there is a rat. Maxwell sees activities or behaviour which s/he shows without any clear
attachment with Maxwell. He tried to get out when he was Mij’s tail moving beneath an Indian passenger’s legs. reason.
put in a box by Maxwell. After he got out, he clung to He dives to get it but he misses Mij. The airhostess When going to/coming from the school, children do this weird
Maxwell’s feet. It was a fun-loving kind of animal. He played thing where they place their feet right at the centre of each
tells Maxwell to sit and that we would find it. Mij
and enjoyed all kinds of games like, ping-pong balls, rubber paving block. Mij had created a similar habit where he
fruit, marbles and a terrapin shell. It also longed for
returns to him after some time. It climbs on his knee
jumped to the school wall and galloped all the thirty yards
Maxwell’s affection and love and got it as well. and he rubs its neck and face. of its length.

1. How did Valli save up money for her first 2. Why does Valli stand up on the seat? What does she 2. What are some of the things we come to know about
see now? otters from this text?
journey? Was it easy for her?
Ans: Valli was overly excited about the bus ride. It was Ans: Otters belong to a small group of animals known as
Ans: Valli was a young girl and was very curious Mustellines. The group is shared by others - mongoose,
something she wanted to do deeply and when she got
about things around her. The bus was the most badger, weasel, stoat, mink and others. The race of
the chance to do it, she wanted to make the most out of
fascinating thing she saw on the streets and Maxwell’s otter was unknown to science and thus named
it. She stood up because the canvas was obstructing her
wanted to travel by it one day. She saved every view that covered the lower part of the window. When
by zoologists as Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli or
coin that she was given, and she controlled her Maxwell’s otter. They are majorly found in marshes. The
she peeped out, she saw the narrow road with the canal
Arabs often tame them. Otters love to play in water and
urge of buying candies, toys, and joyrides. It was on one side and palm trees, grassland, mountains, and
the water should be kept in the move and they would sit
difficult for her but her desire to travel in a bus blue sky beyond that. On the other side, there was a and splash in it. They also love to play games, especially
outweighed all these desires. deep ditch with vast green fields. with balls.

6. Why does Valli refuse to look out of the 8. The author describes the things that Valli sees from an 2. What did Valli see on her way that made her laugh?
window on her way back? eight-year-old’s point of view. Can you find evidence Ans: It was exciting for Valli to observe the world
Ans: While returning back, the cow who was from the text for this statement? outside her window. One particular incident on the
Ans: Valli tried to act like a grown-up but her perspective road made her laugh. There was a young cow whose
running around on the road was hit by some
about the world remained the same. She viewed the tail was high in the air and was running right in the
fast-moving vehicle. She died on the spot and lay
world from the lens of eight years old. She was middle of the road. The honk from the bus frightened
dead on the roadside. She was filled with fascinated by the trivial things around her home and the animal further and it started running faster
sadness and grief to see this, and it turned her watched the world in awe. She wanted to explore the
right in front of the bus. Valli found it extremely
jolly mood into a sad one. The memory of the world further. It was a source of joy for her. Her
amusing and funny and even had tears in her eyes
dead cow pained her, and she did not want to strongest wish as eight years old was to ride the bus and
while laughing at the absurdness of the cow.
witness that again. travel to the town. She resisted all the temptation to

4. Why didn’t Valli want to go to the stall and 5. Find the lines in the text which tell you that Valli was 7. What does Valli mean when she says, “I was just
enjoying her ride on the bus. agreeing with what you said about things
have a drink? What does this tell you about her?
Ans: The following lines in the text show that Valli was happening without our knowledge.”
Ans: Valli had self-esteem and pride. When she
enjoying her ride on the bus: Ans: Valli took the bus ride without the knowledge
entered the bus, she refused help from the (i) “Valli devoured everything with her eyes.”
of her mother. She collected the money herself
conductor and acted like an adult. Even though (ii) “On the one side there was the canal and, beyond it,
and then rode the bus in the afternoon when she
she was thirsty and wanted to get a drink from palm trees, grassland, distant mountains, and the blue,
was asleep. Her mother said that we are unaware
the stall, she did not because she was short of blue sky. On the other side was a deep ditch and then
of many things that happen around us and she
the amount. She just had enough for the ride acres and acres of green fields − green, green, green,
agreed with her mother, remembering the bus ride
as far as the eye could see. Oh, it was all so
and did not want a stranger to help her. she took.
wonderful!”