The Dentist and the Crocodile

Roald Dahl


The crocodile, with cunning smile, sat in the dentist's chair.
He said, 'Right here and everywhere my teeth require repair.'
The dentist's face was turning white. He quivered, quaked and shook.
He muttered, 'I suppose I'm going to have to take a look.'
'I want you,' Crocodile declared, 'to do the back ones first.
The molars at the very back are easily the worst.'
He opened wide his massive jaws. It was a fearsome sight---
At least three hundred pointed teeth, all sharp and shining white.
The dentist kept himself well clear. he stood two yards away.
He chose the longest probe he had to search out the decay.
'I said to do the back ones first!' the Crocodile called out.
'You're much too far away, dear sir, to see what you're about.
To do the back ones properly you've got to put your head
Deep down inside my great big mouth,' the grinning Crocky said.
The poor old dentist wrung his hands and, weeping in despair,
He cried, 'No no! I see them all extremely well from here!'
Just then, in burst a lady, in her hands a golden chain.
She cried, 'Oh Croc, you naughty boy, you're playing tricks again!'
'Watch out!' the dentist shrieked and started climbing up the wall.
'He's after me! He's after you! He's going to eat us all!'
'Don't be a twit,' the lady said, and flashed a gorgeous smile.
'He's harmless. He's my little pet, my lovely crocodile.'

Available Answers

  1. 1.

    Tick (√) the right word.

    1. The crocodile's smile was
      1. clever
      2. curious
      3. cunning
    2. The crocodile's teeth required
      1. repair
      2. removal
      3. refilling
    3. The dentist's face turned
      1. red
      2. white
      3. blue
    4. The dentist
      1. quivered and quaked
      2. quaked, quivered and shook
      3. shook
    5. The crocodile wanted the dentist to first look at his
      1. cannies
      2. incisors
      3. molars
    6. The crocodile's jaws were 
      1. big
      2. massive
      3. huge
  2. 2.
    What signs showed that the dentist was really afraid?
  3. 3.
    What made the crocodile's teeth a fearsome sight?
  4. 4.
    Which teeth did the crocodile want the dentist to examine first? Why?
  5. 5.
    Why did the dentist wring his hands and weep in despair?
  6. 6.
    How do we know she was a rich lady?
11 more answer(s) available.

Please login to post your comments.