There’s trickery afoot in this touching and brief story. Mr Hoppy loves his garden and he (secretly) loves Mrs Silver. Mrs Silver is oblivious of what Mr Hoppy feels and she gives all of her love to her tortoise! Mr Hoppy realises that the way to Mrs Silver’s heart is to help to make the tortoise grow. But how can he do that? Mr Hoppy comes up with a clever plan. Everyone is happy. Roald Dahl is a master of invention and his love of clever tricks – and here they are unusually nice ones - permeate this delicious story. ~ Julia Eccleshare
'I do actually happen to know how to make tortoises grow faster, if that's really what you want.' Mr Hoppy really loves his neighbour Mrs Silver, and Mrs Silver really loves her tortoise, Alfie. Oh, if only Mr Hoppy could perform some great feat that would make him a hero in her eyes! Then one day an amazing idea rushes into his head. With the help of a magical spell, some cabbage leaves and one hundred and forty tortoises, can shy Mr Hoppy win Mrs Silver's heart? The text in this edition of Esio Trot was updated in 2022 for young independent readers.
