CBSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE

Detailed explanation-1: -Early in the New Year of 1956, I travelled to Southern Iraq. By then it had crossed my mind that I should like to keep an otter instead of a dog, and that Camusfearna, ringed by water a stone’s throw from its door, would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment.

Detailed explanation-2: -[I]n 1956, Gavin Maxwell, who wished to write a book about the Marshes, came with me to Iraq, and I took him round in my tarada for seven weeks. He had always wanted an otter as a pet, and at last, I found him a baby European otter which unfortunately died after a week, towards the end of his visit.

Detailed explanation-3: -Answer: The writer had gone to Southern Iraq in the year 1956. He took a fancy to the idea that instead of keeping a dog as a pet, he would go for an otter.

Detailed explanation-4: -Answer: Maxwell went to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer his mail from Europe.

Detailed explanation-5: -Answer: Maxwell was getting late for the flight. There were only ten minutes left for the flight to take off and the airport was five miles away. Hence he had to put the otter back into the box. He felt bad about doing so but he had no other option.