What would you create to help Alfie grow faster? Is it a gadget, or a special potion, or perhaps a magic spell? Plan (and – if appropriate – make a model of) your invention and explain how it works. What do you predict will happen next in the story?.What do you think Mr Hoppy’s idea is? Talk/write/draw it.“You really would love him to grow bigger, wouldn’t you?” Mr Hoppy said, and even as he said it his mind suddenly went click and an amazing idea came rushing into his head. Do you think Alfie really is miserable about being so small? Can tortoises feel misery? Are they aware of their size? How would Alfie know that he was small if he’d never met any other tortoises?.“Try to think how miserable it must make him feel to be so titchy! Everyone wants to grow up!” “No, he’s not just fine!” Mrs Silver cried. “But I do so wish he would grow just a little bit bigger. What does ‘solemnly’ mean? Why did Mr Hoppy speak in this way?.

“Yes, well, tortoises are very slow growers,” Mr Hoppy said solemnly. Why does Mrs Silver say ‘just’ thirteen ounces?.“Just thirteen ounces,” Mrs Silver answered. “What does he weigh now?” Mr Hoppy asked her. What does she mean by ‘his winter sleep’?.Why do you think Mrs Silver wishes that Alfie would grow faster?.And do you know that in all the eleven years I’ve had him he’s not gained more than three ounces! That’s almost nothing!” “Every spring, when he wakes up from his winter sleep, I weigh him on the kitchen scales. “I do so wish he would grow a little faster,” Mrs Silver was saying. In ‘Esio Trot’, Mrs Silver wishes that Alfie would grow.Who do you think loves their pet the most? Why? Compare Mrs Silver and Alfie to yesterday’s image ( Man’s Best Friend).Do you think Mrs Silver is a good pet owner?.Why do you think she feels like this? What’re the good things about tortoises?.How does she feel about the tortoise (Alfie)? How do you know? Esio Trot, written by Roald Dahl and illustrated by Quentin Blake, is a sweet story about an elderly man who has a secret crush on his neighbor, Mrs.Consider her appearance and her personality/character.

Esio trot story