Chapter 2 Summary

It is 1937, and Herriot arrives in the town of Darrowby to apply for the position of an assistant with a local veterinarian. Fresh out of veterinary school, he is eager for these new challenges and hopeful that he will actually land a job. The majority of his classmates have not been so lucky, and Herriot is nervous about his upcoming interview with Dr. Siegfried Farnon. All through his long bus ride, Herriot has imagined Dr. Farnon to be a genial German who will treat him kindly.

Herriot is struck by the beauty and simplicity of the Yorkshire countryside, which seems mostly untouched by man. Having lived in the city, this is quite a change of scenery for the young veterinarian.

Herriot arrives at Skedale House, Dr. Farnon's clinic and residence, only to find that Dr. Farnon is not there and that the housekeeper...