Mijbil the Otter

Maxwell’s pet dog, Jonnie, had died, leaving him feeling very lonely. He decided to keep an otter instead of a dog because he felt too sad to own another dog so soon. He thought Camusfearna (his home in Scotland) would be suitable because it was surrounded by water, and otters love water.

He got the otter in Basra, Iraq. He had expressed his desire to have an otter to a friend. When they reached Basra, two Arabs brought a sack sent by his friend. Inside the sack was the otter.

The experiment was to keep an otter as a pet instead of a dog. This was an “experiment” because otters are wild animals, usually found in marshes, and keeping one in a domestic setting in Scotland was unusual.

• First time: Mijbil went wild with joy in the water, plunging and rolling in the bathtub like a hippo.
• Two days later: Mijbil escaped to the bathroom on his own. Maxwell found him fumbling with the tap until he managed to turn it on and get a flow of water.

The British airline refused to fly animals. So, Maxwell had to book a flight to Paris and then to London. The airline insisted the otter be packed in a box (not more than 18 inches square).

The Problem: When Maxwell put Mij in the box, the otter panicked and tore the inner lining, hurting himself. Blood started trickling from the airholes. Maxwell had to clean the box and rush to the airport with the terrified otter.

Maxwell explained the situation to a kind air hostess, who allowed him to keep the otter on his knee. However, Mijbil escaped from the box and ran down the aisle. Passengers shrieked, and a woman climbed onto her seat screaming “A rat! A rat!”. The air hostess helped Maxwell catch Mijbil.

Mij invented a game with a ping-pong ball and a broken suitcase. The suitcase had a slope on the lid. Mij would place the ball on the high end and run to the other end to catch it before it fell off.

Londoners had rarely seen an otter. They guessed it was:

• A baby seal
• A squirrel
• A walrus
• A hippo
• A beaver
• A leopard

The funniest guess was from a labourer who asked, “Here, Mister—what is that supposed to be?”

The poet compares the fog to a cat.

The fog comes silently on little cat feet. “It” refers to the fog itself. It arrives quietly, just like a cat walking softly on its paws.

The fog comes silently, sits looking over the harbor and city “on silent haunches” (like a cat sitting with knees bent), and then moves on. This describes the temporary and quiet nature of fog.