Esio Trot Esio Trot
Teg Reggib Reggib!
Emoc No, Esio Trot,
Worg pu, Ffup pu, Toohs pu!
Gnirps pu, Wolb pu, llews pu!
Egrog! Elzzug! Ffuts! Plug!
Tup No, Taf, Esio Trot, Tup No Taf!
Teg No! Teg No! Elbbog Doof!
These are the key words of Esio Trot, a Roald Dahl book. If we read Esio Trot backwards, we realize it is Tortoise. Similarly, the paragraph written above can be read as :
Tortoise, Tortoise,
Get bigger, bigger!
Come on Tortoise,
Grow up, Puff up, Shoot up!
Spring Up, blow up, swell up!
Gorge!Gizzle!Stuff!Gulp!
Put on fat, tortoise, put on fat!
Get on, Get on! Gobble Food!
The Story :
This is the story of Mr. Hoppy who secretly admires Mrs. Silver, who lives in the apartment below Mr Hoppy’s. The trouble with Mrs Silver was that she gave all her love to Alfie, her pet tortoise. That tortoise was the only thing Mr. Hoppy envied. But on a certain bright morning, something changes and electrifies Mr. Hoppy’s life. Mrs Silver tells Mr. Hoppy that Alfie is not gaining weight so Mr. Hoppy gives her the “Esio Trot” formula claiming it will make Alfie grow. Mrs. Silver believes him but Mr. Hoppy has his own plans. Whether tortoise grows, Mr. Hoppy succeeds in his own plans or Mrs. Silver kicks him out. To know what and how, you should read the book.
Characters :
The book has only three characters :
Mr. Hoppy : A lonely, retired man who lives in a tall, concrete building. He has two loves – The first are his flowers he grows in his balcony and second is Mrs. Silver. He is a kindhearted man, but very intelligent and smart too.
Mrs. Silver : An attractive middle-aged woman who gave all her love to Alfie, her pet tortoise. She is a soft-spoken and simple woman, who can do anything for Alfie.
Alfie – He is the hero of this book, Mrs. Silver’s Esio Trot, I mean Tortoise.
Roald Dahl always mentions some interesting incidents of his life in his books. This one also has one :
Some years ago, when my children were small, we usually had a pet tortoise or two roaming in our garden. You could buy them quite cheaply from any pet shop and they were least troublesome and the most harmless pets. They were brought to England mostly from North Africa. But not many years ago a law was passed that made it illegal to bring any tortoises to the country. It was not for our safety but the tortoise itself. You see, the traders who brought them in, used to swarm thousands of them tightly into the packing crates without food or water and in such horrible conditions that a great many of them died on the journey over.
I am happy to know that such law passed and tortoises were given a concern.
It is a very thin book of approximately 60 pages. It has a very simple language. Also Roald Dahl never failed to amuse me using some new tricks with language itself. This time it was “read it backwards” trick. The illustrations are by Quentin Blake and are freehand. They portray the character-sketch of the people in the story.
The most interesting and gripping part of book is Mr. Hoppy’s plans to make Alfie grow. I loved reading this book. Also, it is special to me as it was my last issued book from my last school.
And, as in the “tortoise language” we say “A Taerg Koob, Od daer ti!” Enjoy.
Happy Reading
MJ