The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle | Page 4

would sit on the
river-wall with my feet dangling over the water and sing with the men,
pretending to myself that I too was a sailor.
For I longed always to sail away with those brave ships when they
turned their backs on Puddleby Church and went creeping down the
river again, across the wide lonely marshes to the sea. I longed to go
with them out into the world to seek my fortune in foreign
lands--Africa, India, China and Peru! When they got round the bend in
the river and the water was hidden from view, you could still see their
huge brown sails towering over the roofs of the town, moving onward
slowly--like some gentle giants that walked among the houses without
noise. What strange things would they have seen, I wondered, when
next they came back to anchor at Kingsbridge! And, dreaming of the
lands I had never seen, I'd sit on there, watching till they were out of
sight.
Three great friends I had in Puddleby in those days. One was Joe, the
mussel-man, who lived in a tiny hut by the edge of the water under the
bridge. This old man was simply marvelous at making things. I never
saw a man so clever with his hands. He used to mend my toy ships for
me which I sailed upon the river; he built windmills out of
packing-cases and barrel-staves; and he could make the most wonderful
kites from old umbrellas.
Joe would sometimes take me in his mussel-boat, and when the tide
was running out we would paddle down the river as far as the edge of
the sea to get mussels and lobsters to sell. And out there on the cold
lonely marshes we would see wild geese flying, and curlews and
redshanks and many other kinds of seabirds that live among the samfire
and the long grass of the great salt fen. And as we crept up the river in
the evening, when the tide had turned, we would see the lights on
Kingsbridge twinkle in the dusk, reminding us of tea-time and warm
fires.

Another friend I had was Matthew Mugg, the cat's-meat-man. He was a
funny old person with a bad squint. He looked rather awful but he was
really quite nice to talk to. He knew everybody in Puddleby; and he
knew all the dogs and all the cats. In those times being a
cat's-meat-man was a regular business. And you could see one nearly
any day going through the streets with a wooden tray full of pieces of
meat stuck on skewers crying, "Meat! M-E-A-T!" People paid him to
give this meat to their cats and dogs instead of feeding them on
dog-biscuits or the scraps from the table.
I enjoyed going round with old Matthew and seeing the cats and dogs
come running to the garden-gates whenever they heard his call.
Sometimes he let me give the meat to the animals myself; and I thought
this was great fun. He knew a lot about dogs and he would tell me the
names of the different kinds as we went through the town. He had
several dogs of his own; one, a whippet, was a very fast runner, and
Matthew used to win prizes with her at the Saturday coursing races;
another, a terrier, was a fine ratter. The cat's-meat-man used to make a
business of rat-catching for the millers and farmers as well as his other
trade of selling cat's-meat.
My third great friend was Luke the Hermit. But of him I will tell you
more later on.
I did not go to school; because my father was not rich enough to send
me. But I was extremely fond of animals. So I used to spend my time
collecting birds' eggs and butterflies, fishing in the river, rambling
through the countryside after blackberries and mushrooms and helping
the mussel-man mend his nets.
Yes, it was a very pleasant life I lived in those days long ago-- though
of course I did not think so then. I was nine and a half years old; and,
like all boys, I wanted to grow up--not knowing how well off I was
with no cares and nothing to worry me. Always I longed for the time
when I should be allowed to leave my father's house, to take passage in
one of those brave ships, to sail down the river through the misty
marshes to the sea--out into the world to seek my fortune.

THE SECOND CHAPTER
I HEAR OF THE GREAT NATURALIST
ONE early morning in the Springtime, when I was wandering among
the hills at the back of the town, I happened to come upon a hawk with
a squirrel in its claws. It was standing on a rock and the