Knjigice
Fairy tale · Animal stories
The Story of Doctor Dolittle
The doctor who learned to talk to the animals
Also in: Zgodba o doktorju Dolittlu (Slovenian) · Príbeh o doktorovi Dolittlovi (Slovak)
On the edge of a small town stood a house with a big garden. In it lived Doctor Dolittle — a short, round, always smiling gentleman in a tall black top hat. People liked him, but he liked animals even better. Mice nested in his kitchen, a hedgehog slept in the cupboard, and in the pockets of his big brown coat he always carried something to nibble. An old dog with a grey muzzle dozed on the bench by the stove.
1
Every day there were more animals. Rabbits in the pantry, ducks on the stairs, and in the stable an old horse who could hardly see. Patients began turning round at the door. One day an old lady found a large hedgehog in her armchair, and after that nobody came at all. "Now we are poor," said Dab-Dab the duck, sweeping the hall. The Doctor only smiled: "But what company we have."
2
Then Polynesia the grey parrot said something wonderful: "Doctor, animals talk. You only have to listen." All winter they sat by the stove and she taught him. He learned what it means when a dog wags his tail, and what it means when a horse lays back his ears. He even learned how to say good morning in Mouse. And so Doctor Dolittle became the first man in the world who could speak Dog.
3
The old horse came to say he needed spectacles. The Doctor measured his nose and made him a fine big green pair. The horse could see every blade of grass again, and neighed three times for joy. The news spread across the country. Soon a long queue stood outside the house: cows, foxes, badgers, even a snail with a cracked shell. The Doctor helped them all, and he was happy — though he owned nothing.
4
One morning a swallow tapped at the window. "Doctor, quickly! Across the sea the monkeys are terribly ill. One after another they fall sick, and nobody can help them." The Doctor looked at his empty purse, then reached for his hat. "Then we shall go," he said. "Medicines, bread for the journey and a warm blanket. We shall be back by autumn."
5
A sailor lent him an old ship with a patched sail. They all went aboard: Polynesia up the mast, Jip the dog on the bow, Dab-Dab into the galley, and the Doctor to the wheel. The swallow flew ahead, showing the way. For six weeks they sailed the wide blue sea, until no shore lay behind them any more, and none ahead of them yet.
6
Then came the storm. The wind howled, the waves were as high as houses, and the ship cracked like a dry branch. The Doctor held his hat with both hands — and then the sky turned over. In the morning they woke on a sandy shore: soaked through, every one of them safe, and with no ship at all. "We have arrived," said Jip, sniffing the air. "The jungle is up there. And the monkeys."
7
The monkeys came running out of the forest and took the Doctor by both hands. Along a narrow path they led him to their sick ones. Hundreds lay in the shade of the great leaves, too weak even to sit up. The Doctor opened his bag, rolled up his sleeves and said: "Do not be afraid. By morning we shall do all that can be done."
8
He worked three days and three nights and hardly closed his eyes. The healthy monkeys made a long line from the river to the sick ones and passed the bowls of medicine along it — hand to hand, hand to hand, a mile of them. One by one the sick monkeys opened their eyes and asked for food. When the sun rose, the whole jungle cheered.
9
As they said goodbye, a deep gorge blocked their way. "Nothing easier," said the monkeys. They took hold of one another's hands and feet and made a living bridge across the drop. The Doctor walked over it carefully, hat in hand, and after him came Jip, Dab-Dab and Polynesia. Far below the river roared. On the other side he turned and waved.
10
"We must give you something," said the monkeys. And they brought out the shyest animal in the world: the Pushmi-Pullyu. He had soft brown fur and a head at each end of his body, so nobody could ever surprise him from behind. One head always stayed awake, and the other was allowed to sleep. "Will you come with us?" He nodded — with both heads at once.
11
They came home on a fishing boat. When they walked into the town with the Pushmi-Pullyu, people came running from everywhere to see him, and every one of them wanted to pay for a look. The Doctor had money for bread and hay again. But what he loved best were the evenings in the garden, sitting among his animals while each one told him what it had done that day.
12The End
