The Story of Doctor Dolittle
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.
_THE FIFTH CHAPTER_
THE GREAT JOURNEY
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 famous
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.’”
So they all got safely to the shore—some swimming, some flying; and
those that climbed along the rope brought the Doctor’s trunk and
hand-bag with them.
But the ship was no good any more—with the big hole in the bottom; and
presently the rough sea beat it to pieces on the rocks and the timbers
floated away.
Then they all took shelter in a nice dry cave they found, high up in
the cliffs, till the storm was over.
When the sun came out next morning they went down to the sandy beach to
dry themselves.
“Dear old Africa!” sighed Polynesia. “It’s good to get back. Just
think—it’ll be a hundred and sixty-nine years to-morrow since I was
here! And it hasn’t changed a bit!—Same old palm-trees; same old red
earth; same old black ants! There’s no place like home!”
And the others noticed she had tears in her eyes—she was so pleased to
see her country once again.
Then the Doctor missed his high hat; for it had been blown into the sea
during the storm. So Dab-Dab went out to look for it. And presently she
saw it, a long way off, floating on the water like a toy-boat.
When she flew down to get it, she found one of the white mice, very
frightened, sitting inside it.
“What are you doing here?” asked the duck. “You were told to stay
behind in Puddleby.”
“I didn’t want to be left behind,” said the mouse. “I wanted to see
what Africa was like—I have relatives there. So I hid in the baggage
and was brought on to the ship with the hard-tack. When the ship sank
I was terribly frightened—because I cannot swim far. I swam as long as
I could, but I soon got all exhausted and thought I was going to sink.
And then, just at that moment, the old man’s hat came floating by; and
I got into it because I did not want to be drowned.”
So the duck took up the hat with the mouse in it and brought it to the
Doctor on the shore. And they all gathered round to have a look.
“That’s what you call a ‘stowaway,’” said the parrot.
Presently, when they were looking for a place in the trunk where the
white mouse could travel comfortably, the monkey, Chee-Chee, suddenly
said,
“Sh! I hear footsteps in the jungle!”
They all stopped talking and listened. And soon a black man came down
out of the woods and asked them what they were doing there.
“My name is John Dolittle—M.D.,” said the Doctor. “I have been asked to
come to Africa to cure the monkeys who are sick.”
“You must all come before the King,” said the black man.
“What king?” asked the Doctor, who didn’t want to waste any time.
“The King of the Jolliginki,” the man answered. “All these lands belong
to him; and all strangers must be brought before him. Follow me.”
So they gathered up their baggage and went off, following the man
through the jungle.
_THE SIXTH CHAPTER_
POLYNESIA AND THE KING
WHEN they had gone a little way through the thick forest, they came to
a wide, clear space; and they saw the King’s palace which was made of
mud.
This was where the King lived with his Queen, Ermintrude, and their
son, Prince Bumpo. The Prince was away fishing for salmon in the river.
But the King and Queen were sitting under an umbrella before the palace
door. And Queen Ermintrude was asleep.
When the Doctor had come up to the palace the King asked him his
business; and the Doctor told him why he had come to Africa.
“You may not travel through my lands,” said the King. “Many years ago a
white man came to these shores; and I was very kind to him. But after
he had dug holes in the ground to get the gold, and killed all the
elephants to get their ivory tusks, he went away secretly in his ship—
without so much as saying ‘Thank you.’ Never again shall a white man
travel through the lands of Jolliginki.”
Then the King turned to some of the black men who were standing near
and said, “Take away this medicine-man—with all his animals, and lock
them up in my strongest prison.”
So six of the black men led the Doctor and all his pets away and shut
them up in a stone dungeon. The dungeon had only one little window,
high up in the wall, with bars in it; and the door was strong and thick.
Then they all grew very sad; and Gub-Gub, the pig, began to cry. But
Chee-Chee said he would spank him if he didn’t stop that horrible
noise; and he kept quiet.
“Are we all here?” asked the Doctor, after he had got used to the dim
light.
“Yes, I think so,” said the duck and started to count them.
“Where’s Polynesia?” asked the crocodile. “She isn’t here.”
“Are you sure?” said the Doctor. “Look again. Polynesia! Polynesia!
Where are you?”
“I suppose she escaped,” grumbled the crocodile. “Well, that’s just
like her!—Sneaked off into the jungle as soon as her friends got into
trouble.”
“I’m not that kind of a bird,” said the parrot, climbing out of the
pocket in the tail of the Doctor’s coat. “You see, I’m small enough
to get through the bars of that window; and I was afraid they would
put me in a cage instead. So while the King was busy talking, I hid in
the Doctor’s pocket—and here I am! That’s what you call a ‘ruse,’” she
said, smoothing down her feathers with her beak.
“Good Gracious!” cried the Doctor. “You’re lucky I didn’t sit on you.”
“Now listen,” said Polynesia, “to-night, as soon as it gets dark, I
am going to creep through the bars of that window and fly over to the
palace. And then—you’ll see—I’ll soon find a way to make the King let
us all out of prison.”
“Oh, what can _you_ do?” said Gub-Gub, turning up his nose and
beginning to cry again. “You’re only a bird!”
“Quite true,” said the parrot. “But do not forget that although I am