Vladimir and Estragon

Good morning Vladimir and Estragon, here's your breakfast! Now for mine.. Vladimir and Estragon are Mr. Ratburn's pet goldfishes. Their first appearance was in "Cents-Less," where their names were also revealed. They were being fed "breakfast" (fish food) by Mr. Ratburn. Vladimir and Estragon live in Mr. Ratburn's house, in a small fish tank that contains a mini-castle sculpture. They appear again in "Get Smart."

Name Origin
The names, Vladimir and Estragon, are based on the two main characters from a play called Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. In the play, Vladimir is an intelligent and optimistic character while Estragon is a simplistic character who has a negative outlook on life and humans. Estragon, however, is attached to Vladimir and needs his protection which is why he is seen as more of a child to Vladimir's adult and parent-like character. Since one of Mr. Ratburn's goldfishes is smaller, it can be assumed that he is Estragon, while the larger one is Vladimir.

Trivia

 * The fish's tank has no water filter; this could have been seen as an unnecessary detail, or it was forgotten.