The Story of Doctor Dolittle | Page 7

so that his big garden was nearly always crowded with animals trying to get in to see him.
There were so many that came that he had to have special doors made for the different kinds. He wrote "HORSES" over the front door, "COWS" over the side door, and "SHEEP" on the kitchen door. Each kind of animal had a separate door--even the mice had a tiny tunnel made for them into the cellar, where they waited patiently in rows for the Doctor to come round to them.
And so, in a few years' time, every living thing for miles and miles got to know about John Dolittle, M.D. And the birds who flew to other countries in the winter told the animals in foreign lands of the wonderful doctor of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, who could understand their talk and help them in their troubles. In this way he became famous among the animals-- all over the world--better known even than he had been among the folks of the West Country. And he was happy and liked his life very much.
One afternoon when the Doctor was busy writing in a book, Polynesia sat in the window-- as she nearly always did--looking out at the leaves blowing about in the garden. Presently she laughed aloud.
"What is it, Polynesia?" asked the Doctor, looking up from his book.
"I was just thinking," said the parrot; and she went on looking at the leaves.
"What were you thinking?"
"I was thinking about people," said Polynesia. "People make me sick. They think they're so wonderful. The world has been going on now for thousands of years, hasn't it? And the only thing in animal-language that PEOPLE have learned to understand is that when a dog wags his tail he means `I'm glad!'--It's funny, isn't it? You are the very first man to talk like us. Oh, sometimes people annoy me dreadfully-- such airs they put on--talking about `the dumb animals.' DUMB!--Huh! Why I knew a macaw once who could say `Good morning!' in seven different ways without once opening his mouth. He could talk every language--and Greek. An old professor with a gray beard bought him. But he didn't stay. He said the old man didn't talk Greek right, and he couldn't stand listening to him teach the language wrong. I often wonder what's become of him. That bird knew more geography than people will ever know.--PEOPLE, Golly! I suppose if people ever learn to fly--like any common hedge- sparrow--we shall never hear the end of it!"
"You're a wise old bird," said the Doctor. "How old are you really? I know that parrots and elephants sometimes live to be very, very old."
"I can never be quite sure of my age," said Polynesia. "It's either a hundred and eighty- three or a hundred and eighty-two. But I know that when I first came here from Africa, King Charles was still hiding in the oak-tree-- because I saw him. He looked scared to death."

THE THIRD CHAPTER
MORE MONEY TROUBLES
AND soon now the Doctor began to make money again; and his sister, Sarah, bought a new dress and was happy. Some of the animals who came to see him were so sick that they had to stay at the Doctor's house for a week. And when they were getting better they used to sit in chairs on the lawn.
And often even after they got well, they did not want to go away--they liked the Doctor and his house so much. And he never had the heart to refuse them when they asked if they could stay with him. So in this way he went on getting more and more pets.
Once when he was sitting on his garden wall, smoking a pipe in the evening, an Italian organ- grinder came round with a monkey on a string. The Doctor saw at once that the monkey's collar was too tight and that he was dirty and unhappy. So he took the monkey away from the Italian, gave the man a shilling and told him to go. The organ-grinder got awfully angry and said that he wanted to keep the monkey. But the Doctor told him that if he didn't go away he would punch him on the nose. John Dolittle was a strong man, though he wasn't very tall. So the Italian went away saying rude things and the monkey stayed with Doctor Dolittle and had a good home. The other animals in the house called him "Chee-Chee"-- which is a common word in monkey-language, meaning "ginger."
And another time, when the circus came to Puddleby, the crocodile who had a bad tooth- ache escaped at night and came into the Doctor's garden. The Doctor talked to him in crocodile-language and took him into the house and made his tooth better. But when the crocodile saw what a nice