her admiration for Mr Hoppy's magical spell. However, the tortoise cannot fit in the house now, so Mr Hoppy tells Mrs Silver to say the magic spell in reverse (Tortoise, tortoise, get bigger bigger, etc.). On the next night he secretly replaces this tortoise with one slightly smaller one. His part works splendidly, and Mr Hoppy, suddenly emboldened by Mrs Silver's warm smile, asks Mrs Silver for her hand in marriage. Mrs Silver delightedly accepts Mr Hoppy's proposal, then adds that she thought he would never get around to asking. "All due to Alfie!" she cries. Mr Hoppy secretly returns all the tortoises in his living room back to their respective pet shops, telling all the owners that no refund is needed. Mr Hoppy and Mrs Silver are happily married a few weeks later. The "original" Alfie is bought by a girl called Roberta Squibb after he is returned to a pet shop; moreover, after many years, he does indeed grow to double his size before. Adaptation The book was adapted by Richard Curtis and Paul Mayhew-Archer (the team that had previously written The Vicar of Dibley) into a BBC comedy television film, Roald Dahl's Esio Trot. It features Dustin Hoffman, as Mr Hoppy and Judi Dench as Mrs Silver, with James Corden as the narrator. Filming took place in May 2014 in London. It was screened on 1 January 2015 and received praise, with The Guardian calling it "a thing of wonder". References Editions (hardcover, 1990) (paperback, 1991) 1990 British novels 1990 children's books British children's books British children's novels British novels adapted into films Books about turtles Children's books by Roald Dahl Jonathan Cape books