NCERT Solutions for Class 10 English for Footprints without feet Chapter 1 A Triumph of Surgery
Read and Find Out
1. Why is Mrs Pumphrey worried about Tricki?
Answer
Mrs Pumphrey was worried and distraught because Tricki would not eat anything. It 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.
2. What does she do to help him? Is she wise in this?
Answer
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.
3. Who does ‘I’ refer to in this story?
Answer
In this story, ‘I’ refers to the veterinary surgeon, Mr Herriot.
Read and Find out
1. 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 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 things.
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.
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.
2. How does he treat the dog?
Answer
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.
3. Why is he tempted to keep Tricki on as a permanent guest?
Answer
Mrs Pumphrey had started bringing around eggs to build Tricki’s strength. Later, even bottles of wineand 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.
4. Why does Mrs Pumphrey think the dog’s recovery is “a triumph of surgery”?
Answer
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 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.
Think about It
1. 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?
Answer
I think the narrator; a veterinary surgeon is a very tactful person. He knows how to deal with people. He adjusts himself well to the circumstances. He immediately understand tricki’s problem. Tricki doesn’t suffer from any sort of illness. The main cause of its illness is overfeeding. He takes the dog to his surgery. There he keeps it in natural environment. The dog gets well under his supervision and natural environment of surgery.
2. 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. Tricki was also happy at the surgery. When the dog was brought into the surgery, it was ill. But in spite of it dog got cured in two days without any medication. The proper diet and regular exercise helped a lot in its speedy recovery. The dog regained its best health and was no longer listless.
Now, I think same pampering will start again. Mrs. Pumphrey will take excessive
care of the dog. There is no doubt it was her lone, but excess of anything is harmful.
3. 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. Mrs. Pumphrey is a rich lady and has a pet dog. It is because of her pampering that she overfeeds her dog which results in its illness. Although she has good intention in her mind but excess of everything is bad. This episode can be treated as a fiction who do not take it seriously. It can be called real life for those parents who take excessive care of their child.
Talk about It
1. This episode describes the silly behaviour of a rich woman who is foolishly indulgent, Perhaps because she is lonely. Do you think such people are merely silly, or can their action cause harm to others?
Answer
This episode describes the silly behaviour of a rich woman who is foolishly. This may be because of her loneliness. They are ignorant about results of their actions. They show their excessive lone and affection for someone without knowing the consequences. There is no doubt that their intentions are good, and don’t have any sort of ill-will, but they are not aware their action can cause harm to others.
2. Do you think there are also parents like Mrs. Pumphrey?
Answer
Yes there are parents who are too much possessive about their kids. The sense of overindulgence can go in either way. There are examples of parents spoiling their child by meeting each and every demand of the child. There are also examples of strict parents who put unnecessary pressure on their child for study and particular behaviour pattern.
A Triumph of Surgery Summary Class 10 English
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 semiautobiographical works, beginning with If Only They Could Talk in 1970, which spawned a series of movies and television series.'
Gist of the lesson
The story ‘A Triumph of Surgery’ revolves around an ill dog named Tricki and his mistress, Mrs Pumphrey. The pet dog Tricki is overfed with copious amounts of energy food by its owner. She provides all kinds of luxury and comforts to her dog. This makes him very obese and his overweight body finds difficulty even to walk and move around.
One day Tricki stops eating. On seeing his pathetic condition, Mrs Pumphrey takes her pet dog to a veterinary doctor who treats the dog without using a single medicine. Tricki is hospitalised and the doctor gives Tricki nothing to eat for the first two days except water. Moreover Tricki is left with all other dogs to play and get the much-needed physical exercise. This helps him to lose all his excess fat.
On the third day, signs of improvement are seen in Tricki. He starts taking food properly. Tricki starts running around and playing with the other dogs cheerfully. Soon, he recovers completely. Mrs. Pumphrey continues enquiring about Tricki over phone and feels gratitude towards the doctor for her pet‘s cure. She is overjoyed and eyes are filled with tears of happiness when she comes to discharge Tricki from the hospital. She calls this the magical recovery as A Triumph of Surgery‘
Key points
❖ Tricki was a small dog and was excessively loved by his mistress, Mrs. Pumphery.
❖ He was greedy & loved food, but no exercise.
❖ As a result he became fat & Mrs. Pumphery believed that he became lazy because he suffered from malnutrition.
❖ Mrs Pumphery was a wealthy woman. She loved her dog so much.
❖ She gave him some little extras between meals to build him up, malt, cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night.
❖ She gave him lot to eat but no exercise.
❖ Once he became ill & she was worried & made a frantic call to Harriot who was a vet.
❖ James already had given suggestions regarding Tricki’s balanced diet. But she never followed it.
❖ He was a vet. He was shocked to see Tricki hugely fat, like a bloated sausage with a leg at each corner.
❖ He advised her to cut down on the sweet things.
❖ He expected call came within a few days & it happened. He was called by Mrs. Pumphery as Tricki refused to eat.
❖ He told her that Tricki needed immediate hospitalization for keeping under observation at his surgery for a fortnight.
❖ There he gave him no food no medicine but plenty of water.
❖ Gradually he mixed with other dogs & started playing with them. He had a lot of exercises & fun at the surgery.
❖ He was completely recovered & transformed into a hard muscled dog.
❖ James Harriot treated the dog without medicine or surgery.
❖ She was happy & filled with gratitude.
❖ She thanked Harriot & said it was a triumph of surgery.
