Book- Footprints without Feet

Chapter 1 - A Triumph of Surgery

By James Herriot

Summary - A Triumph of Surgery is about a small dog, Tricki who was

pampered and overindulged with unhealthy treats by his rich mistress,
Mrs Pumphrey. Soon, the dog falls ill and is taken away by the veterinary
surgeon, Mr Herriot to hospital for treatment. There Tricki had to
compete with other dogs to get food, otherwise, he had to remain
hungry. Soon he lost a lot of his body weight, therefore becoming quite
active, strong and agile. When Tricki was at home he was having a
luxurious life. But when he came to the doctor he became all right due to
the natural lifestyle. When Mrs. Pumphrey saw her active dog she
thanked the doctor a lot and she felt that it was a triumph of surgery.

Ex 1. Change into reported speech

1. Mrs. Pumphrey said, ‘This is a triumph of surgery.’
2. She said,” Tricki loves cream cakes and chocolates.”
3. Mrs. Pumphrey said, “Mr. Herriot, please tell me the truth. Is he
really better?”
4. Dr Herriot said to Mrs. Pumphrey, “Are you giving him plenty of
exercise?”
5. Dr Herriot said to Mrs. Pumphrey, “Did he cut down on the sweet
things as I told you?”

Ex2 In the character sketch of Tricki given below, fill in the

blanks with a single word each:-
Tricki is a small _______ who is thoroughly pampered by his rich
________ Mrs Pumphrey. Tricki has an affluent living provided with all
comforts in excess. The entire staff and maids pamper him with toys,
beds, cushions etc. The only fault of Tricki is his _______ for food.
Overfeeding of sweets, cakes chocolates and extras between meals
make Tricki hugely ______, like a _________ sausage with a leg at
each corner. He ___________ rheumy and listless. His tongue lolls
______ his jaws. The doctor advises Mrs Pumphrey to ________ Tricki
on a very strict diet and give ______ plenty of exercises. Tricki becomes
a victim of overindulgence and overfeeding. Dr Herriot’s instructions
______ ignored. Tricki loses appetite ______ starts vomiting.
__________ suggests Mrs Pumphrey that Tricki be hospitalised under
his observation _______ a fortnight. Tricki’s recovery is amazingly rapid.
He is not given food but plenty of _________. After a few days, Tricki
starts __________ interest in his surroundings. He is transformed
______ a flexible and hard-muscled dog. Tricki _______ his love for his
mistress by jumping onto ______ lap when she comes to collect him.

Ex.3 RTC
1. ‘And did you cut down on the sweet things as I told you?’
(a) Who do ‘you’ and ‘I’ refer to?
(b)What sweet things are being referred to in the extract?
(c) Why does the speaker enquire if the sweet things have been cut
down?
(d) What is the meaning of the phrase ‘cut down’?

Answer:
(b) The sweet things mentioned in the extract are cream cakes and
chocolates.
(c) Dr. Herriot enquires if the sweet things have been cut down because
these were spoiling Tricki’s health and he needed to be put on a strict
diet to reduce obesity and related problems.
(d) The phrase ‘cut down’ means ‘to reduce the quantity of something’.
2. “I tried to sound severe: “Now ! really mean this. If you don’t cut his
food right down and give him more exercise he is going to be really ill.
You must harden your heart and keep him on a very strict diet”.

(a) Why did the speaker try to sound severe?

(b) For whom was the advice given and why?
(c) Find the word in the extract which is a synonym of the word ‘serious’.
(d) What is the antonym of ‘hardened’?
Answer:
(a) Dr. Herriot tried to sound severe to make Mrs Pumphrey take his
advice seriously and act on it for Tricki’s well-being.
(b) The advice was given for Tricki because he had become obese and
listless. He was unwell and Dr. Herriot wanted him to be on a strict diet
to recover.
(c) The word is ‘severe’.
(d) Its antonym is ‘softened’.
Ex 4. Comprehension Check – page 3
Q1. Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
Answer: Mrs Pumphrey was worried and distraught because Tricki would
not eat anything, even refused its favourite dishes. It had bouts of
vomiting. It spent all its time lying on the rug and panting. It did not want
to go for walks or do anything.

Q2. What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?

Ans. She called the doctor to help Tricki. Yes, her decision was wise.
The doctor suggested that Tricki should be hospitalised. She swooned
and wailed, but let the dog go with the doctor. Ultimately, the doctor was
successful in curing Tricki.

Q3: Who does 'I' refer to in this story?

Ans: In this story, 'I' refers to the veterinary surgeon, Mr Herriot.

Q4: Is the narrator as rich as Tricki's mistress?

Answer: Though not clearly stated, there are instances in the story which
suggest that the narrator is not as rich as Tricki's mistress, Mrs
Pumphrey.
While the narrator is able to provide Tricki with a warm loose box as a
bed, at Mrs Pumphrey's house, Tricki has a whole range of things like a
day bed, a night bed, cushions, toys, rubber rings, a breakfast bowl, a
lunch bowl, a supper bowl, a whole wardrobe of tweed coats and
perhaps many more for his comfort. When he arrives to take the dog
with him, Mrs Pumphrey has her entire staff at her disposal to transfer all
of Tricki's belongings to the doctor's car. On hearing from the doctor
about Tricki's gradual recovery, Mrs Pumphrey sends along two dozen
eggs at a time, along with bottles of wine and brandy - all in order to help
in Tricki's speedy recovery. The narrator and the partners enjoyed the
eggs in the morning, wine at midday and finished luxuriously round the
fire with the brandy. All these luxuries were a temptation for the narrator
to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest at the surgery. Finally, when she
calls upon the narrator to take her recovered dog back home, she comes
in a chauffer-driven “thirty feet of gleaming black metal” (an obvious
reference to a limousine). All these instances point to the fact that Mrs
Pumphrey lived a luxurious life and the narrator was not as rich as her.

Q5: How does he treat the dog?

Ans: The doctor gave Tricki no food, but plenty of water for two days.
Slowly, the dog started showing interest in his surroundings and began
mixing with the other dogs at the surgery. On the third day, the doctor
saw Tricki licking the empty supper bowls of the other dogs. Next day, a
separate bowl was kept for it and the doctor was pleased to note that
Tricki had run to eat its food with enthusiasm. From that day onwards, its
progress was rapid. It did not require medicinal treatment of any kind
and recovered quite well at the end.

Q6: Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?

Ans: Mrs Pumphrey had started bringing around eggs to build Tricki's
strength. Later, even bottles of wine and brandy began to arrive. The
narrator and his partners started enjoying the eggs, wine and brandy
meant for Tricki. According to the narrator, they were days of deep
content for them - starting with the extra egg in the morning, then the
midday wine, and finally finishing the day with brandy. This was the
reason why the narrator was tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent
guest.

Q7. Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog's recovery is "a triumph of
surgery"?
Ans: Mrs Pumphrey thought that the dog's recovery was “a triumph of
surgery” because in two weeks, Tricki had recovered completely and
had been transformed from an obese, listless dog into a hard-muscled
animal. When Tricki saw her, it leaped into her lap and licked her face.
She was so excited that tears started rolling out of her eyes. She
declared Tricki's recovery as a triumph of surgery to express her
happiness and gratitude towards the doctor.
Page Number: 6
Q1. What kind of a person do you think the narrator, a veterinary
surgeon, is? Would you say he is tactful as well as full of common
sense?
Ans: I think the narrator, a veterinary surgeon, seems to be a practical,
capable and tactful person, full of common sense. He was a very
compassionate doctor and a wise and sympathetic human being. He
showed his capabilities almost immediately when he advised Mrs
Pumphrey to put Tricki on a strict diet after understanding his symptoms.
He knows how to deal with people. He adjusts himself well to the
circumstances. He immediately understands that Tricki doesn’t suffer
from any sort of illness. The main cause of his illness is overfeeding and
over-pampering. He was tactful and smart to take the dog to his surgery
and keep him on a strict diet and cure him without any medicine. The
dog gets well under his supervision and natural environment of the
surgery. Mr James was also a caring and polite individual as he
successfully allays Mrs Pumphrey’s anxiety about Tricki’s recovery
patiently. He was also tactful in not refusing the eggs, wine and brandy
that Mrs Pumphrey was sending for the dog as he knew she wouldn’t
take it well if refused. He was even tempted to keep Tricki as a
permanent guest in order to continue enjoying these luxuries. However,
he was a good man. Thus, he called Mrs Pumphrey and told her to take
the dog home when it had fully recovered. He was in all a good human
being and a successful professional.

Q2: Do you think Tricki was happy to go home? What do you think will
happen now?
Answer: Yes, Tricki was very happy to go home. It jumped out of the
narrator's arms and leapt into Mrs Pumphrey's lap as soon as it saw her.
It licked her and barked. Thereafter it is for Mrs Pumphrey to take good
care of the dog and not feed it a lot to keep it healthy and active.

Q3. Do you think this is a real-life episode, or mere fiction? Or is it a

mixture of both?
Answer: This story could be a mixture of both: real life episode and a
mere fiction. The spoiling of the dog's health by a rich mistress is
believable and could also be a real-life incident. The doctor's advice also
depicts a real-life situation. However, the extremely speedy recovery of
the dog could be fictitious. Also, the enjoyment of the luxuries (eggs,
wine and brandy) by the narrator could be fiction, just to add humour in
the story, as the doctor doesn’t seem to get lured for such things. The
giving up of these luxuries because the owner of the dog would be
getting worried is another episode that could be both real life and fiction.
At the end, the happiness of Mrs. Pumphrey on seeing her dog healthy
and their happy reunion seem to be a real life happening. Therefore, the
story is a mixture of both real life and fiction.
What evidence do you get from the text about Tricki’s affluent living?
Answer:
Tricki was loved by his mistress. She was very much concerned for him.
She was rather blind in love. Tricki lived a more lavish life than any
normal human being. He had a whole wardrobe of clothes for different
weather, raincoat for wet days. Different bowls for different meals, toys,
cushions, comfortable beds and what not. He was given a rich diet
including cream cakes and chocolates which he loved.

Question 10.
Describe the ‘parting scene’ between Tricki and Mrs Pumphrey’s house
hold?
Answer:
The -only way to save Tricki was to take him away. When Mr Herriot was
about to take him to his surgery for treatment, Mrs Pumphrey started
wailing. The entire staff was roused and maids rushed in and out
bringing his day bed, night bed, favourite cushions, toys and rubber rings
and different bowls.
As Mr Herriot moved off, Mrs Pumphrey, with a despairing cry, threw an
armful of the little coats , through the window. Everybody was in tears. It
was a sad and tearful parting.

Write the brief character sketch of Mrs Pumphrey.

Answer:
Mrs Pumphrey was a rich but eccentric lady. She had a pet dog Tricki,
whom she loved more than anything. Her way of showing love was very
different. She overfed Tricki and ignored the doctor’s advice to put him
on a strict diet and exercise . She showed her concern by giving him rich
and extra diet between meals which finally made Tricki ill. She couldn’t
bear Tricki doing exercise. She thought that it would make Tricki tired
while it was necessary for him.
She pampered her pet which had a wardrobe of clothes for every
season, different bowls for each meal, toys, different beds and much
more. Her way of loving was not normal. But Mrs. Pumphrey trusted the
doctor and was wise enough to seek his advice and hospitalise Tricki.
She was also a kind- hearted lady who finally burst into tears while
parting with her dog. She also kept calling regularly to find out about
Tricki’s condition. She had all human qualities as she didn’t forget to
thank Mr Herriot at the end.