Short Stories

"The Boy Who Talked with Animals"

Information   Plot/Description   Fun Stuff   Teacher Resources

Information

• Collected in:
  • The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More
  • The Best of Roald Dahl

Plot/Description

Spoiler Warning! A turtle has landed on a resort beach in Jamaica and everyone wants to kill it for the meat and its shell. A small boy David becomes hysterical and tries to save the turtle. His parents explain that he is very sensitive to animals and they volunteer to buy the turtle from the resort owner. While they are haggling over the price, David talks to the turtle and tells it to swim away. During the night the boy himself disappears and next day two local fishermen come back with a crazy story – they have seen David riding the turtle out in the middle of the ocean!

Fun Stuff

• Sotheby's Dahl Auction

Teacher Resources

• "The Boy Who Talked with Animals"
  • Classroom Activities
    • Includes a crossword, questions, who said what, vocabulary, summary, and writing a letter