Class 10 English (Footprints without Feet) Chapter 1 –
A Triumph of Surgery
By- James Herriot
Introduction to the lesson
Tricki, a small dog, is pampered and overfed by his rich mistress. He falls
seriously ill and his mistress consults a veterinary surgeon. Does he perform
an operation? Does the dog recover?
This story is about Tricki, a dog who is the pet of a rich lady named Mrs.
Pumphrey. She loves her dog very much and is unable to refuse him anything
he wants. Tricki, is fond of eating cream cakes and chocolates. So one day
when Mrs. Pumphrey is out with Tricki for a walk the narrator sees them and
stops to talk. While talking to Mrs. Pumphrey he realises that she has been
overfeeding Tricki and also had been giving him things that he shouldn’t eat
due to which Tricki had started looking like a bloated sausage. Soon Tricki got
unwell and Mrs. Pumphrey has to call Mr. Herriot (narrator) for help. She does
not want to send him away but the only way suggested by Mr. Herriot is to get
,him hospitalised for 15 days. Then the story unfolds into how he gets well.
Read the description to know more.
About the Author
James Alfred Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), known by the pen
name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and writer, who used
his many years of experiences as a veterinary surgeon to write a series of
books each consisting of stories about animals and their owners. He is best
known for these semi-autobiographical works, beginning with If Only They
Could Talk in 1970, which spawned a series of movies and television series.
A Triumph of Surgery Summary
The story starts when Mrs. Pumphrey, a rich lady takes her dog out for a walk.
A nearby veterinary doctor who knows the lady sees the dog and is shocked
as he sees that the dog looks like a bloated sausage with a leg at each end.
He advises her to stop giving him unhealthy things to eat but Mrs. Pumphrey
is not able to refuse him. Soon he falls sick and the doctor is called. The
narrator, Mr. Herriot then somehow takes Tricki, the dog to the hospital even
though he knows that Mrs. Pumphrey is not ready to leave her dog and nearly
fainted just by hearing these words.Then he takes the dog along and puts a
bed for him in his surgery. The dog doesn't move much nor eats anything for
the first two days. On the second day he looks around and whimpers a bit. He
wanted to go out on the third day and started playing with the bigger dogs
when he was taken out. He also licked the bowls of other dogs clean on the
third day.
Then his condition started improving very fast. He started fighting for his
meals with other dogs. Then when this news reached Mrs. Pumphrey, she
started sending him eggs as she thought that Tricki was recovering from an
,illness and needed energy foods. Mr. Herriot and his partners started eating
those eggs for morning breakfast. Then for improving Tricki’s blood, Mrs.
Pumphrey started sending in bottles of wine which was again consumed by
Mr. Herriot. He used to take two glasses before lunch and some more glasses
while having his lunch. Then when she started sending in bottles of brandy for
Tricki that was the time when Mr. Herriot thought that he would really like to
keep Tricki as a permanent guest in the surgery. Mr. Herriot used to be really
happy someday by having two extra eggs every morning. Then having few
glasses of wine in the afternoon and closing the day by having brandy at night.
But then he took a wise decision and called up Mrs. Pumphrey as she was
really worried and on this side Tricki was ready to be taken back home. Tricki
was really happy to see his mistress and jumped into the car. Mrs. Pumphrey
said that she won't be able to ever thank him for what he had done and also,
that his surgery had been successful as Tricki was now cured.
A Triumph of Surgery Lesson and explanation (with
word meanings)
I was really worried about Tricki this time. I had pulled up my car when I saw
him in the street with his mistress and I was shocked at his appearance. He
had become hugely fat, like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner. His
eyes, bloodshot and rheumy, stared straight ahead and his tongue lolled from
his jaws.Mrs Pumphrey hastened to explain, “He was so listless, Mr Herriot.He
seemed to have no energy. I thought he must be suffering from malnutrition,
so I have been giving him some little extras between meals to build him up,
some malt and cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night to make him sleep
— nothing much really.”“And did you cut down on the sweet things as I told
you?”“Oh, I did for a bit, but he seemed to be so weak I had to relent. He does
love cream cakes and chocolates so. I can’t bear to refuse him.”I looked down
again at the little dog. That was the trouble. Tricki’s only fault was greed. He
had never been known to refuse food; he would tackle a meal at any hour of
the day or night. And I wondered about all the things Mrs Pumphrey hadn’t
mentioned.“Are you giving him plenty of exercise?”“Well, he has his little walks
with me as you can see, but Hodgkin,the gardener, has been down with
lumbago, so there has been no ring-throwing lately.”
, Mistress- a woman in a position of authority or control.
Bloated- excessive in size or amount.
Sausage- an item of food in the form of a cylindrical length of minced pork or
other meat encased in a skin, typically sold raw to be grilled or fried before
eating.
Bloodshot- (of the eyes) inflamed or tinged with blood, typically as a result of
tiredness.
Rheumy- watery.
Lolled- sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way.
A Triumph of Surgery
By- James Herriot
Introduction to the lesson
Tricki, a small dog, is pampered and overfed by his rich mistress. He falls
seriously ill and his mistress consults a veterinary surgeon. Does he perform
an operation? Does the dog recover?
This story is about Tricki, a dog who is the pet of a rich lady named Mrs.
Pumphrey. She loves her dog very much and is unable to refuse him anything
he wants. Tricki, is fond of eating cream cakes and chocolates. So one day
when Mrs. Pumphrey is out with Tricki for a walk the narrator sees them and
stops to talk. While talking to Mrs. Pumphrey he realises that she has been
overfeeding Tricki and also had been giving him things that he shouldn’t eat
due to which Tricki had started looking like a bloated sausage. Soon Tricki got
unwell and Mrs. Pumphrey has to call Mr. Herriot (narrator) for help. She does
not want to send him away but the only way suggested by Mr. Herriot is to get
,him hospitalised for 15 days. Then the story unfolds into how he gets well.
Read the description to know more.
About the Author
James Alfred Wight (3 October 1916 – 23 February 1995), known by the pen
name James Herriot, was a British veterinary surgeon and writer, who used
his many years of experiences as a veterinary surgeon to write a series of
books each consisting of stories about animals and their owners. He is best
known for these semi-autobiographical works, beginning with If Only They
Could Talk in 1970, which spawned a series of movies and television series.
A Triumph of Surgery Summary
The story starts when Mrs. Pumphrey, a rich lady takes her dog out for a walk.
A nearby veterinary doctor who knows the lady sees the dog and is shocked
as he sees that the dog looks like a bloated sausage with a leg at each end.
He advises her to stop giving him unhealthy things to eat but Mrs. Pumphrey
is not able to refuse him. Soon he falls sick and the doctor is called. The
narrator, Mr. Herriot then somehow takes Tricki, the dog to the hospital even
though he knows that Mrs. Pumphrey is not ready to leave her dog and nearly
fainted just by hearing these words.Then he takes the dog along and puts a
bed for him in his surgery. The dog doesn't move much nor eats anything for
the first two days. On the second day he looks around and whimpers a bit. He
wanted to go out on the third day and started playing with the bigger dogs
when he was taken out. He also licked the bowls of other dogs clean on the
third day.
Then his condition started improving very fast. He started fighting for his
meals with other dogs. Then when this news reached Mrs. Pumphrey, she
started sending him eggs as she thought that Tricki was recovering from an
,illness and needed energy foods. Mr. Herriot and his partners started eating
those eggs for morning breakfast. Then for improving Tricki’s blood, Mrs.
Pumphrey started sending in bottles of wine which was again consumed by
Mr. Herriot. He used to take two glasses before lunch and some more glasses
while having his lunch. Then when she started sending in bottles of brandy for
Tricki that was the time when Mr. Herriot thought that he would really like to
keep Tricki as a permanent guest in the surgery. Mr. Herriot used to be really
happy someday by having two extra eggs every morning. Then having few
glasses of wine in the afternoon and closing the day by having brandy at night.
But then he took a wise decision and called up Mrs. Pumphrey as she was
really worried and on this side Tricki was ready to be taken back home. Tricki
was really happy to see his mistress and jumped into the car. Mrs. Pumphrey
said that she won't be able to ever thank him for what he had done and also,
that his surgery had been successful as Tricki was now cured.
A Triumph of Surgery Lesson and explanation (with
word meanings)
I was really worried about Tricki this time. I had pulled up my car when I saw
him in the street with his mistress and I was shocked at his appearance. He
had become hugely fat, like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner. His
eyes, bloodshot and rheumy, stared straight ahead and his tongue lolled from
his jaws.Mrs Pumphrey hastened to explain, “He was so listless, Mr Herriot.He
seemed to have no energy. I thought he must be suffering from malnutrition,
so I have been giving him some little extras between meals to build him up,
some malt and cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night to make him sleep
— nothing much really.”“And did you cut down on the sweet things as I told
you?”“Oh, I did for a bit, but he seemed to be so weak I had to relent. He does
love cream cakes and chocolates so. I can’t bear to refuse him.”I looked down
again at the little dog. That was the trouble. Tricki’s only fault was greed. He
had never been known to refuse food; he would tackle a meal at any hour of
the day or night. And I wondered about all the things Mrs Pumphrey hadn’t
mentioned.“Are you giving him plenty of exercise?”“Well, he has his little walks
with me as you can see, but Hodgkin,the gardener, has been down with
lumbago, so there has been no ring-throwing lately.”
, Mistress- a woman in a position of authority or control.
Bloated- excessive in size or amount.
Sausage- an item of food in the form of a cylindrical length of minced pork or
other meat encased in a skin, typically sold raw to be grilled or fried before
eating.
Bloodshot- (of the eyes) inflamed or tinged with blood, typically as a result of
tiredness.
Rheumy- watery.
Lolled- sit, lie, or stand in a lazy, relaxed way.
