My Name is Bob. An Illustrated Picture Book

I had the greatest admiration for those rotund and earnest little tortoises, for breaking out of the egg was no easy matter. What amused me most, I think, was the way—after he had been using the hind feet to enlarge the hole—the tiny reptile would swivel round inside the shell, and the next moment a minute, wrinkled and rather sad little face would be poked through the hole in the shell, as if the tortoise wanted to reassure himself that the outside world was still there and still as attractive as it had been when he last looked. We were very lucky to have been able to hatch these tortoises, but what was even luckier was the fact that Ralph Thompson, who illustrated this book, happened to be staying with me at the time, and was thus able to draw the whole of the process from start to finish, which he assured me he thoroughly enjoyed, in spite of the fact that, owing to the high temperature in the reptile house, his glasses kept misting over. 4 CLAUDIUS AMONG THE CLOCHES Dear Mr Durrell, Do you ever stuff your animals? If you ever wanted to stuff your animals I could stuff them for you, as I have a great experience in stuffing animals… On acquiring new animals, one of the many problems that face you is the process of settling them in, for until they have learned to look upon their new cage as home, and have also learned to trust you, they are uneasy ...»