SUBJECT: ENGLISH

TEXTBOOK: FOOTPRINTS WITHOUT FEET

LESSON: A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY

INTRODUCTION

‘A Triumph of Surgery’ written by James Herriot is about a small dog Tricki who is pampered a
lot by his rich mistress, Mrs. Pumphrey. He falls sick as a result of being overfed and is cured by
Mr. Herriot, a veterinarian, at his surgery.

Apparently, this is a simple story but has a lesson to teach. Many kids get spoilt because they are
unreasonably pampered by their parents. Mrs. Pumphrey can be related to an overindulgent
mother who pampers Tricki like her own child, spoils him without thinking about the
consequences and becomes the cause of his misery, unintentionally.

EXPLANATION

• Mrs. Pumphrey is foolishly indulgent with her pet dog Tricki, due to which the latter puts
on a lot of weight, looks like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner and lacks energy
and enthusiasm.
• The narrator Mr. Herriot, who is a veterinary surgeon, is shocked to see a hugely fat
Tricki. He cautions Mrs. Pumphrey to cut down on his food and to give him enough
physical exercise.
• Mrs. Pumphrey, thinking that Tricki had become lazy due to malnutrition, kept giving
him some little extra foods between the meals, like malt and cod liver oil as well as a
bowl of Horlicks, in order to build his strength. She also gave him cream cakes and
chocolates but no exercise.
• Tricki becomes sick, refuses to eat or do anything and has bouts of vomiting. He is
hospitalised by Mr. Herriot who understands that Tricki’s problem is his greed and
overindulgence. He intends to keep Tricki under observation for a fortnight.
• Tricki is not given any special treatment at the clinic. He is provided a warm loose box
for his bed and is made to sleep near other household dogs. No medicinal treatment is
given to him. He is served very little food but is given a lot of water to drink. All the
eatables and drinks brought for Tricki by Mrs. Pumphrey are consumed by the doctor and
his staff at the clinic.
• Gradually, Tricki begins to show interest in his surroundings and whimpers on hearing
other dogs in the yard. He starts mingling with other dogs and joins in their friendly
scrimmages, fighting like a tiger for his share at mealtimes and hunting rats in the old
hen-house at night. In this way he gets the much needed exercise and is transformed into
a flexible, hard muscled dog in a fortnight.
• Tricky recovers completely with the help of tactful Mr. Herriot. Mrs. Pumphrey is
informed about his complete recovery and is asked to take Tricki back home.
 • Mrs. Pumphrey comes in her chauffeur driven luxurious car to take Tricki back home.
Tricki jumps into her lap. Tears of happiness can be seen in the eyes of Mrs. Pumphrey.
• Mrs. Pumphrey is happy and full of gratitude. She thanks Mr. Herriot for the treatment
and calls Tricki’s recovery a triumph of surgery.

VOCABULARY

bloated-swollen; excessive in size.

bloodshot-inflamed or tinged with blood.
tottering-moving in a feeble or unsteady way.
tweed- a rough-surfaced woollen cloth.
harness- a set of straps and fittings.
bouts- a short period of intense activity of a specified type.
roused- made active or excited.
gasping- catching one’s breath with an open mouth.
surged- moved suddenly and powerfully forward or upward.
whimper- make a series of low, feeble sounds expressive of fear, pain, or unhappiness.
trotted- ran at a moderate pace with short steps.
slopped- spilt over the edge of a container, typically as a result of careless handling.
jostling- pushing or bumping against someone roughly, typically in a crowd.
rapid- happening in a short time or at a great rate.
scrimmages- confused struggle or fights.
bowled over-pushed and made to fall on the ground.
dodged-avoided
reverently- with deep and solemn respect.
chauffeur- a person employed to drive a private or hired car.
hurtling- moving or causing to move at a high speed, typically in an uncontrolled manner.
leap - jump to a great height.
startled - felt sudden shock or alarm.

CHARACTERS

MRS. PUMPHREY

Mrs. Pumphrey is a wealthy but foolishly indulgent woman who pampers her dog Tricki by
overfeeding him. She wrongly relates Tricki’s listlessness to malnutrition and serves him cream
cakes, chocolates and cod liver oil. She also doesn’t follow the doctor’s advice of cutting down
on his food and making him exercise as she can’t be strict with him. Thus she becomes the cause
of Tricki’s misery. Mrs. Pumphrey is excessively fond of her little dog and pampers him a lot.
Tricki has a whole wardrobe of tweed coats for the cold weather and a rain coat for the wet days.
He also has a separate day bed, a night bed, his favourite cushions, toys, a breakfast bowl, a
lunch bowl and a supper bowl. Mrs. Pumphrey gets distraught and almost swoons when Mr.
Herriot tells her that Tricki needs to be hospitalised. She keeps wailing when Tricki is taken to
the surgery and makes several phone calls throughout the day to keep herself informed about
Tricki’s health. On learning about Tricki’s ‘convalescing’ news, she starts bringing dozens of
eggs to build up his strength .She also brings wine and brandy for Tricki to enrich his blood and
build his constitution. Albeit caring, she is silly as she is ignorant about the consequences of her
actions. Thus the saying “excess of everything is bad” holds true in her case.

MR. HERRIOT

Mr. Herriot is a veterinary doctor who is very tactful and caring while dealing with pets. He has a
lot of common sense. He could understand that Tricki’s problem is his greed as he can never
refuse food. He also understands the psyche of Mrs. Pumphrey who overfeeds her pet and can’t
follow his advice. He makes plans in advance to get Tricki out of the house for a fortnight and
advises Mrs. Pumphrey that Tricki needs to be hospitalised. He ignores Mrs. Pumphrey’s wailing
and bemoaning and takes a firm stand regarding Tricki’s health. He gives the best treatment to
Tricki without administering any medicine to him and by keeping a close watch on his diet. He
also makes Tricki do enough exercise by letting him play with other dogs and lets him discover
the joys of being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes which helps Tricki
get back into shape. Although it is a temptation to keep Tricki as a permanent guest, considering
the good amount of eggs, wine and brandy brought by Mrs. Pumphrey to build Tricki’s
constitution, he is kind and compassionate enough to understand her suffering and informs her
about Tricki’s recovery. Mr. Herriot well deserves the gratitude expressed by Mrs. Pumphrey for
the wonderful treatment of Tricki.

TRICKI

Tricki is a small dog who is pampered by his rich mistress, Mrs. Pumphrey and enjoys all the
comforts and luxuries in her house. He has a whole wardrobe of tweed coats for the cold weather
and a raincoat for the wet days. He also has a day bed, a night bed, a good variety of cushions,
toys, a breakfast bowl, a lunch bowl and a supper bowl. Tricki is overfed by his rich mistress and
is overtly fond of cream cakes and chocolates. He is not given enough exercises. His only
problem is his greed for food .He has never been known to refuse food and can tackle a meal at
any hour of the day or night. As a result of overindulgence, he becomes hugely fat, like a bloated
sausage with a leg at each corner. His eyes, bloodshot and rheumy, stare straight ahead and his
tongue lolls from his jaws. He is listless and struggles to walk. Due to over feeding, Tricki
suddenly stops eating, refuses even his favourite dishes and has bouts of vomiting. He loses
interest in everything and spends all his days lying on the rug, panting. Tricki recuperates at Mr.
Herriot’s surgery under the doctor’s supervision as he is kept there on a strict diet and is given
plenty of exercise. He joins the other dogs in their friendly scrimmages and discovers the joys of
being bowled over, tramped on and squashed every few minutes and becomes an accepted
member of their gang. Thus, from a lazy dog Tricki gets transformed into a flexible, hard
muscled one, due to the efforts of his kind and compassionate vet, Mr. Herriot.

ASSIGNMENT (To be done in Practice Notebook)

A. Answer the following questions in about 30-40 words.

1. Why was Mr. Herriot shocked at Tricki’s appearance?
2. What advice did Mr. Herriot give to Mrs. Pumphrey?
3. What ‘little extras’ did Mrs. Pumphrey add to Tricki’s diet. Why?
4. The entire staff at Mrs. Pumphrey’s household was roused. How?
5. What treatment was given to Tricki at Mr. Herriot’s surgery?
6. Keeping Tricki as a permanent guest was a temptation for Mr. Herriot. Why?
7. Did Tricki enjoy his stay at the surgery? Give reasons for your answer.
8. Why did Mrs. Pumphrey call Tricki’s recovery ‘a triumph of surgery’?

B. Answer the following questions in about 100-150 words.

1. Tricky was a pampered dog. Justify the statement with examples from the text.
2. ‘Excess of everything is bad’. Does the statement hold true in case of Mrs. Pumphrey?
Give reasons.