The protagonist of “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl is Billy Weavers, a seventeen-year-old boy who dreams of being a businessman. He finds himself in a new city, looking for a place to stay. He intends to go to a hotel called Bells and Dragons but finds a bed and breakfast that has a small dog, a parrot, and a fire in the living room. He decides to take a look here. The landlady that welcomes him seems extremely nice and allows him to stay for a small amount. Because Billy is so naive, he does not catch the little hints that the landlady is not the person she says she is. For example, she tells Billy that she chooses her visitors carefully, and her dog and parrot are actually stuffed. Later, after they have settled down and are drinking some tea, Billy realizes that the dog and parrot are stuffed, and he also notices that some names in a book that the landlady asks him to write his name in are of people who have gone missing. The tea also tastes bitter, a sign that there is most likely some sort of poison in it. The story ends on a cliff-hanger allowing the reader to decide what happens next.
The two major lessons this story teaches are that we should not be so naive and trusting with others, and we should be more aware of our surroundings. If Billy had just taken the time to look carefully at the dog and the parrot, he could have realized that the, “pretty little dachshund … curled up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly” was actually not alive before going inside the bed and breakfast. Another time he did not pay attention close enough was when the landlady told him that she was “inclined to be just a teeny-weeny bit choosy and particular” about her visitors. Because Billy did not notice all these details until too late, his life most likely did not end well. If he had realized what was wrong with the dog, he could have just completely avoided this place completely. Later, after all the things the landlady says, Billy still believes that she is a kind woman.