Crictor was a helpful snake...
Crictor is a children's book by Tomi Ungerer first published in 1958. It tells the charming tale of an old lady named Madame Louise Bodot and her lovable pet boa constrictor named Crictor.
When Madame Bodot's son sends her a strangely-shaped package all the way from Africa, she's shocked to find a live snake inside. Overcoming her initial fear and surprise, Madame Bodot comes to love her new pet and names him "Crictor." Crictor follows Madame Bodot everywhere, from her shopping excursions to her job at the local elementary school. He even helps the children learn their numbers and letters! Soon everyone in their small town loves Madame Bodot's strange pet.
But all is not well in their idyllic little town, and when a violent burglar starts targeting houses the neighborhood, it's up to Crictor to protect his beloved mistress.
Tropes Include:
- All Animals Are Dogs: Crictor behaves much the same way a dog would — he even enjoys going on walks, during which Madame Bodot leads him around on a leash.She bought palm trees so Crictor would really feel at home. As dogs do when they are happy, he wagged his tail.
- Ambiguous Time Period: The work was first published in 1958, but the time period is not specified. The style of dress favored by Madame Bodot and all the background characters (long dresses with high collars, sailor suits for the children, everyone wears a hat while outdoors) resembles the 1900's - 1910's. The copious use of gas lamps throughout the story also indicates late 1800's or early 1900's. Early automobiles and a toy pickup truck appear in the story. Crictor climbs a utility pole to rescue a kite for a pair of children (though whether the utility pole holds telegraph wires or electrical wires is another question). And Crictor helps a pack of boy scouts learn to tie knots, though scouting didn't begin in France until 1911.
- Blatant Burglar: The burglar who breaks into Madame Bodot's apartment wears a Domino Mask, a striped shirt, and a flat cap.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Downplayed — Madame Bodot makes sure that her pet snake is a non-poisonous boa constrictor before deciding to keep him and name him. "Crictor" is a shortened form of constrictor.
- Happy Ending: Unsurprising for a children's book, there is a sweet and simple happy ending:Loved and respected by the entire village, Crictor lived a long and happy life.
The End - Intellectual Animal: Being raised by schoolteacher Madame Bodot, Crictor has an impressive grasp of literature and arithmetic for a snake. He even helps the school children in her class learn to read and count by twisting his body into the forms of letters and numbers.
- The Man in the Moon: A moon can be seen through Madame Bodot's window when the burglar breaks into her apartment. The face on the moon is frowning at the burglar's actions.
- Medals for Everyone: After capturing the serial burglar and protecting Madame Bodot from harm, Crictor is awarded an unspecified honor. (Several guards and a military band appear in the background of the scene, implying he might have gotten a parade too.) There's a sculpture carved in his likeness that shows him wearing a medallion and a laurel crown. And the little French town he calls home dedicates a park in his honor, the Parc Crictor.For his bravery a nice medal was awarded to the heroic snake.
- Nearly Normal Animal: Crictor is a snake, albeit a very intelligent one. Though he cannot speak he is able to count and spell (or at least able to recognize letters and copy their shape). He sleeps in a bed very much like a human would (only his is long and narrow), and happily wears the long woolen sweater and tasseled hat that Madame Bodot knits for him when the weather turns chilly. In one scene he sits coiled on a chair at a sidewalk cafe, sipping a drink with a straw.
- Once Upon a Time: The first sentence of the story begins thusly:Once upon a time in a little French town lived an old lady whose name was Madame Louise Bodot.
- Ouroboros: Some later editions (and one early hardcover) features a cover or title page with a portrait of Madame Bodot framed by Crictor biting his tail.
- Protagonist Title: Crictor.
- Shout-Out:
- When Crictor and Madame Bodot help the children in her class learn numbers, they reference some popular fairy tales — the The Three Little Pigs and Seven Dwarfs are brought up.
- The small town where Madame Bodot lives has a street named after Victor Hugo, the Rue V. Hugo. The street sign appears in the background of an illustration showing Crictor playing with a group of children.
- Snakes Are Sinister: Inverted — Crictor the boa constrictor is kind, intelligent, helpful, and loved by all who get to know him. He's also the hero of the story who captures a burglar and saves his beloved mistress from harm.
- Somewhere, a Herpetologist Is Crying: The book takes some liberties with snake behavior and biology in order to simplify the story:
- Madame Bodot's son is said to be studying reptiles in Africa, and he sends her a package containing the titular Crictor the boa constrictor. Although pythons are a species of constrictor snake that lives in Africa, boa constrictors are native to South America.
- Madame Bodot nurses Crictor on bottles of milk to help him grow big and strong - real snakes cannot digest the lactose in milk. Like all snakes, boa constrictors are carnivorous. Their diet consists mainly of lizards, birds, and small mammals.
- Crictor is said to enjoy wriggling in the snow when winter comes around - real snakes are coldblooded, and would prefer not to be placed in the snow. Snakes that live in habitats where it snows will hibernate to escape the cold, while a Tropical reptile such as a boa constrictor might get very sick if it got too cold.
- Stock Costume Traits:
- Madame Bodot is a school teacher. She wears a long, sweeping dress and keeps her hair in a high, tight bun. She also has a pair of small, round spectacles.
- Her son is a herpetologist working in Africa. He wears an Adventurer Outfit with a pith helmet, leg wrappings, neckerchief, and a pistol on his belt.
- The burglar wears a Blatant Burglar outfit.
- The police officer who arrests the burglar wears a dark uniform with striped trousers, cape, flat-topped police cap, and a curly old-fashioned mustache.
