summary

1. A TRIUMPH OF SURGERY James Herriot

2. 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.
• He was a vet in Yorkshire, England, during the 1940s.
• He 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 semi-autobiographical works, beginning with ‘If Only They Could
Talk’ in 1970, which spawned a series of movies and television series.
• James undergoes a variety of adventures during his work, which are just as often caused by
the characters of the county.

3. Tricki was a small dog and was
excessively loved by his mistress,
Mrs. Pumphery.

4. He was greedy and
loved food, but no
exercise.

5. As a result he became fat & Mrs.
Pumphery believed that he became
lazy because he suffered from
malnutrition.

6. Mrs Pumphery was a
wealthy woman.She
loved her dog too
much.

7. MALT
● 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.

9. ● 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.

10. ● 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.
● His expected call came within
a few days & it happened. He
was called by Mrs. Pumphery
as Tricki refused to eat.

11. He told her that
Tricki needed
immediate
hospitalisation
for keeping
under
observation at his
surgery for a
fortnight.

12. There he gave him no food, no
medicine but plenty of water.

13. He had a lot of exercises & fun at the
surgery.

14. Gradually he mixed with other
dogs & started playing with
them.

15. He was completely recovered &
transformed into a hard muscled
dog.

16. ● 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.

17. Difficult Words
Triumph -Success or Victory
Bear -Tolerate
Relent -To change one’s mind
Lumbago -back pain
Ring Throw -game played with a rubber ring
Harden your heart -Stop being sympathetic
Wrung -Pressed hard
Regime -routine
Totter -To walk with difficulty
Drooping -Bending

18. Difficult Words
Bloated -Swollen
Sausage -a cylindrical dish of meat
Rheumy -Filled with water
Lolled out -Hanging out
Hasten -To do quickly
Listless -Lazy
Distraught -Worried
Scrimmage -friendly fight
Convalescing -Improving health

19. MESSAGE
The lesson imparts a message that our love for our pets
should not be expressed by pampering them too much.
Such over-indulgence can be life threatening for the poor
animal who trusts his master completely. In fact, pets need
a balance between indulgence and strictness. Excess of
everything is bad, even of love.

20. TITLE
“A Triumph of Surgery” is an apt title for the story. Tricki’s speedy recovery is
actually the outcome of appropriate diagnosis and accurate treatment. Such a
recovery is usually obtained only after surgical intervention. But Dr Herriot’s
wisdom and initiative to keep Tricki away from his owner and bringing him to the
surgery to cure him by simple cleansing his system becomes a ‘triumph’ ailment in
the real sense.

21. CHARACTER SKETCH
Mrs. Pumphrey:
She is a fabulous rich and resourceful lady with a large
number of servants and maids. She is passionately attached to
her little pet dog, Tricki. She is much worried about Tricki’s
miserable condition.
Mrs. Pumphrey is impractical but very compassionate and
caring. She and her staff arrange all comforts, beds, cushions,
and toys for Tricki. She constantly enquires about his health
from Dr. Herriot. She gratefully thanks him for saving Tricki’s
life and calls it ‘A Triumph of Surgery’.

22. Sequence of Events
•Tricki was a small dog and was excessively loved by his mistress, Mrs. Pumphery. He was greedy
& loved food, but did no exercise.
• As a result he became fat & Mrs. Pumphrey believed that he became lazy because he suffered
from malnutrition.
• Mrs Pumphrey was a wealthy woman. She loved her dog too much. She gave him some little
extras between meals to build him up, malt, cod-liver oil and a bowl of Horlicks at night.
• 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.

23. Sequence of Events
•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.
• He was completely recovered & transformed into a hard muscled dog.
• James Harriot treated the dog without medicine or surgery.
• Mrs Pamphrey was happy & filled with gratitude.
• When Mrs. Pumphrey got Trickiback she was so happy. She thought the narrator had done some
surgery on him. So in gratitude she thanked Harriot & said it was a triumph of surgery.

24. CHARACTER SKETCH
Dr. James Herriot:
Dr. James is no doubt a competent veterinary
surgeon. He is practical and pragmatic. He
doesn’t give any medical treatment to the dog.
He feeds the dog with only water. His method
works. The grateful mistress thanks Dr. Herriot
and calls his feat, ‘A Triumph of Surgery!’ Dr.
James is clever enough to enjoy the best of both
the worlds. He is tempted to keep Tricki as a
permanent guest. It was a happy period for Dr.
Herriot and his friends. He used to enjoy eggs
for breakfast and wine and brandy for lunch.