4 of Dahl's animal stories read by Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, Martin Jarvis, and Geoffrey Palmer
- Publisher: Puffin Audiobooks (November 25, 2004)
- ISBN-10: 0141805641
- ISBN-13: 978-0141805641
FANTASTIC MR. FOX read by Martin Jarvis
In the tradition of
The Adventures of Peter Rabbit, this is a
"garden tale" of farmer versus vermin, or vice versa. The farmers in
this case are a vaguely criminal team of three stooges: "Boggis and
Bunce and Bean / One fat, one short, one lean. / These horrible crooks
/ So different in looks / Were nonetheless equally mean." Whatever
their prowess as poultry farmers, within these pages their sole
objective is the extermination of our hero--the noble, the clever, the
Fantastic Mr. Fox. Our loyalties are defined from the start; after all,
how could you cheer for a man named Bunce who eats his doughnuts
stuffed with mashed goose livers? As one might expect, the farmers in
this story come out smelling like ... well, what farmers occasionally
do smell like.
ESIO TROT read by Geoffrey Palmer
This celebrated, splendidly matched author-illustrator team here
present a 64-page love story that is equally sweet and silly. For
years, Mr. Hoppy has leaned over his balcony rail to gaze longingly at
Mrs. Silver, who lives one floor below him. But all of her attention
and affection is showered upon her pet tortoise, Alfie. Although the
creature seems content, his devoted owner is concerned because he has
gained a mere three ounces in the 11 years she has owned him. When the
distressed Mrs. Silver tells her neighbor that she will be his "slave
for life" if he can find a way to make Alfie grow, the determined Mr.
Hoppy devises an elaborate scheme to make her think the tortoise is
growing. (Since tortoises, according to Mr. Hoppy, are backward
creatures that "can only understand words that are written backwards,"
his exhortation to the pet begins "Esio Trot"--which is "tortoise"
reversed.) It is a happy Hoppy who gets all the credit--and Mrs.
Silver's hand.
THE ENORMOUS CROCODILE read by Stephen Fry
With his "secret plans and clever tricks," the Enormous Crocodile desires to lunch not with but
on
a nice, juicy child. His croc companion, the Notsobig One, is the first
to try to talk him out of his scheme, claiming children are no good to
eat. "'
Tough and
chewy!' cried the Enormous Crocodile. '
Nasty and
bitter!
What awful tommyrot you talk! They are juicy and yummy!'" One jungle
critter after another--from Trunky the elephant to Muggle-Wump the
monkey to the Roly-Poly Bird--tries to prevent the Enormous Crocodile
from carrying out his dastardly deed, but on he waddles toward the
village. Unfortunately for him, the animals have a few secret plans and
clever tricks up
their furry sleeves, too!
THE GIRAFFE AND THE PELLY AND ME read by Hugh Laurie
When Billy joins the Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company, he gets a lot
more than a new job. First he makes three new friends, then it's time
to get to work cleaning all 677 windows of the Duke of Hampshire's
house. The Duke is not only the most wealthy man in the country, he's
also the most generous. Can he make Billy's lifelong dream come true?
"A captivating story and a wonderful read-aloud.
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