The Story of Doctor Dolittle: Being the History of His Peculiar Life at Home and Astonishing Adventures in Foreign Parts Never Before Printed (3 page)

"It isn't an alligator," said the Doctor—"it's
a crocodile."

"I don't care what you call it," said his sister.
"It's a nasty thing to find under the bed. I
won't have it in the house."

"But he has promised me," the Doctor
answered, "that he will not bite any one. He
doesn't like the circus; and I haven't the money
to send him back to Africa where he comes
from. He minds his own business and on the
whole is very well behaved. Don't be so fussy."

"I tell you I WILL NOT have him around," said
Sarah. "He eats the linoleum. If you don't send
him away this minute I'll—I'll go and get married!"

"All right," said the Doctor, "go and get
married. It can't be helped." And he took
down his hat and went out into the garden.

So Sarah Dolittle packed up her things and
went off; and the Doctor was left all alone with
his animal family.

And very soon he was poorer than he had
ever been before. With all these mouths to fill,
and the house to look after, and no one to do
the mending, and no money coming in to pay
the butcher's bill, things began to look very
difficult. But the Doctor didn't worry at all.

"Money is a nuisance," he used to say.
"We'd all be much better off if it had never
been invented. What does money matter, so
long as we are happy?"

But soon the animals themselves began to get
worried. And one evening when the Doctor
was asleep in his chair before the kitchen-fire
they began talking it over among themselves in
whispers. And the owl, Too-Too, who was
good at arithmetic, figured it out that there was
only money enough left to last another week—
if they each had one meal a day and no more.

Then the parrot said, "I think we all ought
to do the housework ourselves. At least we can
do that much. After all, it is for our sakes that
the old man finds himself so lonely and so poor."

So it was agreed that the monkey, Chee-Chee,
was to do the cooking and mending; the dog
was to sweep the floors; the duck was to dust
and make the beds; the owl, Too-Too, was to
keep the accounts, and the pig was to do the
gardening. They made Polynesia, the parrot,
housekeeper and laundress, because she was the oldest.

Of course at first they all found their new
jobs very hard to do—all except Chee-Chee, who
had hands, and could do things like a man. But
they soon got used to it; and they used to think
it great fun to watch Jip, the dog, sweeping
his tail over the floor with a rag tied onto it for
a broom. After a little they got to do the work
so well that the Doctor said that he had never
had his house kept so tidy or so clean before.

In this way things went along all right for a
while; but without money they found it very hard.

Then the animals made a vegetable and flower
stall outside the garden-gate and sold radishes
and roses to the people that passed by along the road.

But still they didn't seem to make enough
money to pay all the bills—and still the Doctor
wouldn't worry. When the parrot came to
him and told him that the fishmonger wouldn't
give them any more fish, he said,

"Never mind. So long as the hens lay eggs
and the cow gives milk we can have omelettes
and junket. And there are plenty of vegetables
left in the garden. The Winter is still a long
way off. Don't fuss. That was the trouble
with Sarah—she would fuss. I wonder how
Sarah's getting on—an excellent woman—in
some ways—Well, well!"

But the snow came earlier than usual that
year; and although the old lame horse hauled
in plenty of wood from the forest outside the
town, so they could have a big fire in the kitchen,
most of the vegetables in the garden were gone,
and the rest were covered with snow; and many
of the animals were really hungry.

THAT Winter was a very cold one. And one night in December,
when they were all sitting round the warm fire in the
kitchen, and the Doctor was reading aloud to them out of
books he had written himself in animal-language, the owl,
Too-Too, suddenly said, "Sh! What's that noise outside?"

They all listened; and presently they heard
the sound of some one running. Then the door
flew open and the monkey, Chee-Chee, ran in,
badly out of breath.

"Doctor!" he cried, "I've just had a message
from a cousin of mine in Africa. There is a
terrible sickness among the monkeys out there.
They are all catching it—and they are dying
in hundreds. They have heard of you, and beg
you to come to Africa to stop the sickness."

"Who brought the message?" asked the Doctor,
taking off his spectacles and laying down
his book.

"A swallow," said Chee-Chee. "She is
outside on the rain-butt."

"Bring her in by the fire," said the Doctor.
"She must be perished with the cold. The swallows
flew South six weeks ago!"

So the swallow was brought in, all huddled
and shivering; and although she was a little
afraid at first, she soon got warmed up and sat
on the edge of the mantelpiece and began to talk.

When she had finished the Doctor said,

"I would gladly go to Africa—especially in
this bitter weather. But I'm afraid we haven't
money enough to buy the tickets. Get me the
money-box, Chee-Chee."

So the monkey climbed up and got it off the
top shelf of the dresser.

There was nothing in it—not one single penny!

"I felt sure there was twopence left," said the Doctor.

"There WAS," said the owl. "But you spent
it on a rattle for that badger's baby when he
was teething."

"Did I?" said the Doctor—"dear me, dear
me! What a nuisance money is, to be sure!
Well, never mind. Perhaps if I go down to
the seaside I shall be able to borrow a boat that
will take us to Africa. I knew a seaman once
who brought his baby to me with measles.
Maybe he'll lend us his boat—the baby got well."

So early the next morning the Doctor went
down to the seashore. And when he came back
he told the animals it was all right—the sailor
was going to lend them the boat.

Then the crocodile and the monkey and the
parrot were very glad and began to sing,
because they were going back to Africa, their real
home. And the Doctor said,

"I shall only be able to take you three—with
Jip the dog, Dab-Dab the duck, Gub-Gub the
pig and the owl, Too-Too. The rest of the animals,
like the dormice and the water-voles and
the bats, they will have to go back and live in
the fields where they were born till we come
home again. But as most of them sleep through
the Winter, they won't mind that—and besides,
it wouldn't be good for them to go to Africa."

So then the parrot, who had been on long sea-
voyages before, began telling the Doctor all the
things he would have to take with him on the ship.

"You must have plenty of pilot-bread," she
said—"'hard tack' they call it. And you must
have beef in cans—and an anchor."

"I expect the ship will have its own anchor,"
said the Doctor.

"Well, make sure," said Polynesia. "Because
it's very important. You can't stop if you
haven't got an anchor. And you'll need a bell."

"What's that for?" asked the Doctor.

"To tell the time by," said the parrot. "You
go and ring it every half-hour and then you
know what time it is. And bring a whole lot of
rope—it always comes in handy on voyages."

Then they began to wonder where they were
going to get the money from to buy all the
things they needed.

"Oh, bother it! Money again," cried the
Doctor. "Goodness! I shall be glad to get to
Africa where we don't have to have any! I'll
go and ask the grocer if he will wait for his
money till I get back—No, I'll send the sailor
to ask him."

So the sailor went to see the grocer. And presently
he came back with all the things they wanted.

Then the animals packed up; and after they
had turned off the water so the pipes wouldn't
freeze, and put up the shutters, they closed the
house and gave the key to the old horse who
lived in the stable. And when they had seen
that there was plenty of hay in the loft to last
the horse through the Winter, they carried all
their luggage down to the seashore and got on
to the boat.

The Cat's-meat-Man was there to see them
off; and he brought a large suet-pudding as a
present for the Doctor because, he said he had
been told, you couldn't get suet-puddings in
foreign parts.

As soon as they were on the ship, Gub-Gub,
the pig, asked where the beds were, for it was
four o'clock in the afternoon and he wanted
his nap. So Polynesia took him downstairs into
the inside of the ship and showed him the beds,
set all on top of one another like book-shelves
against a wall.

"Why, that isn't a bed!" cried Gub-Gub.
"That's a shelf!"

"Beds are always like that on ships," said the
parrot. "It isn't a shelf. Climb up into it and
go to sleep. That's what you call 'a bunk.'"

"I don't think I'll go to bed yet," said Gub-
Gub. "I'm too excited. I want to go upstairs
again and see them start."

"Well, this is your first trip," said Polynesia.
"You will get used to the life after a while."
And she went back up the stairs of the ship,
humming this song to herself,

I've seen the Black Sea and the Red Sea;
I rounded the Isle of Wight;
I discovered the Yellow River,
And the Orange too by night.
Now Greenland drops behind again,
And I sail the ocean Blue.
I'm tired of all these colors, Jane,
So I'm coming back to you.

They were just going to start on their journey,
when the Doctor said he would have to go back
and ask the sailor the way to Africa.

But the swallow said she had been to that
country many times and would show them how
to get there.

So the Doctor told Chee-Chee to pull up the
anchor and the voyage began.

NOW for six whole weeks they went sailing on and on, over
the rolling sea, following the swallow who flew before the
ship to show them the way. At night she carried a tiny
lantern, so they should not miss her in the dark;
and the people on the other ships that passed
said that the light must be a shooting star.

As they sailed further and further into the
South, it got warmer and warmer. Polynesia,
Chee-Chee and the crocodile enjoyed the hot
sun no end. They ran about laughing and looking
over the side of the ship to see if they could
see Africa yet.

But the pig and the dog and the owl, Too-
Too, could do nothing in such weather, but
sat at the end of the ship in the shade of a big
barrel, with their tongues hanging out, drinking
lemonade.

Dab-Dab, the duck, used to keep herself cool
by jumping into the sea and swimming behind
the ship. And every once in a while, when
the top of her head got too hot, she would dive
under the ship and come up on the other side.
In this way, too, she used to catch herrings on
Tuesdays and Fridays—when everybody on the
boat ate fish to make the beef last longer.

When they got near to the Equator they saw
some flying-fishes coming towards them. And
the fishes asked the parrot if this was Doctor
Dolittle's ship. When she told them it was, they
said they were glad, because the monkeys in
Africa were getting worried that he would never
come. Polynesia asked them how many miles
they had yet to go; and the flying-fishes said
it was only fifty-five miles now to the coast of
Africa.

And another time a whole school of porpoises
came dancing through the waves; and they too
asked Polynesia if this was the ship of the fa-
mous doctor. And when they heard that it was,
they asked the parrot if the Doctor wanted
anything for his journey.

And Polynesia said, "Yes. We have run
short of onions."

"There is an island not far from here," said
the porpoises, "where the wild onions grow tall
and strong. Keep straight on—we will get
some and catch up to you."

So the porpoises dashed away through the
sea. And very soon the parrot saw them again,
coming up behind, dragging the onions through
the waves in big nets made of seaweed.

The next evening, as the sun was going down
the Doctor said,

"Get me the telescope, Chee-Chee. Our
journey is nearly ended. Very soon we should
be able to see the shores of Africa."

And about half an hour later, sure enough,
they thought they could see something in front
that might be land. But it began to get darker
and darker and they couldn't be sure.
Then a great storm came up, with thunder
and lightning. The wind howled; the rain
came down in torrents; and the waves got so
high they splashed right over the boat.

Presently there was a big BANG! The ship
stopped and rolled over on its side.

"What's happened?" asked the Doctor,
coming up from downstairs.

"I'm not sure," said the parrot; "but I think
we're ship-wrecked. Tell the duck to get out
and see."

So Dab-Dab dived right down under the
waves. And when she came up she said they
had struck a rock; there was a big hole in the
bottom of the ship; the water was coming in;
and they were sinking fast.

"We must have run into Africa," said the
Doctor. "Dear me, dear me!—Well—we must
all swim to land."

But Chee-Chee and Gub-Gub did not know
how to swim.

"Get the rope!" said Polynesia. "I told you
it would come in handy. Where's that duck?
Come here, Dab-Dab. Take this end of the
rope, fly to the shore and tie it on to a palm-
tree; and we'll hold the other end on the ship
here. Then those that can't swim must climb
along the rope till they reach the land. That's
what you call a 'life-line.'"