The Story of Doctor Dolittle

_THE FOURTH CHAPTER_

A MESSAGE FROM AFRICA

THAT Winter was a very cold one. And one night in December, when theywere all sitting round the warm fire in the kitchen, and the Doctorwas reading aloud to them out of books he had written himself inanimal-language, the owl, Too-Too, suddenly said,

“Sh! What’s that noise outside?”

They all listened; and presently they heard the sound of some onerunning. 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 inAfrica. There is a terrible sickness among the monkeys out there. Theyare all catching it—and they are dying in hundreds. They have heard ofyou, and beg you to come to Africa to stop the sickness.”

“Who brought the message?” asked the Doctor, taking off his spectaclesand 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 withthe cold. The swallows flew South six weeks ago!”

So the swallow was brought in, all huddled and shivering; and althoughshe was a little afraid at first, she soon got warmed up and sat on theedge 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. ButI’m afraid we haven’t money enough to buy the tickets. Get me themoney-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 thatbadger’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 Ishall be able to borrow a boat that will take us to Africa. I knew aseaman once who brought his baby to me with measles. Maybe he’ll lendus his boat—the baby got well.”

“‘I felt sure there was twopence left’”]

So early the next morning the Doctor went down to the sea-shore. Andwhen he came back he told the animals it was all right—the sailor wasgoing to lend them the boat.

Then the crocodile and the monkey and the parrot were very glad andbegan 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 theduck, 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 togo back and live in the fields where they were born till we come homeagain. But as most of them sleep through the Winter, they won’t mindthat—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, begantelling the Doctor all the things he would have to take with him on theship.

“You must have plenty of pilot-bread,” she said—“‘hard tack’ they callit. 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. Youcan’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 everyhalf-hour and then you know what time it is. And bring a whole lot ofrope—it always comes in handy on voyages.”

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

“Oh, bother it! Money again,” cried the Doctor. “Goodness! I shall beglad to get to Africa where we don’t have to have any! I’ll go and askthe grocer if he will wait for his money till I get back—No, I’ll sendthe sailor to ask him.”

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

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

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

As soon as they were on the ship, Gub-Gub, the pig, asked where thebeds were, for it was four o’clock in the afternoon and he wanted hisnap. So Polynesia took him downstairs into the inside of the ship andshowed him the beds, set all on top of one another like book-shelvesagainst 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 ashelf. Climb up into it and go to sleep. That’s what you call ‘a bunk.’”

“And the voyage began”]

“I don’t think I’ll go to bed yet,” said Gub-Gub. “I’m too excited. Iwant to go upstairs again and see them start.”

“Well, this is your first trip,” said Polynesia. “You will get used tothe 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 hewould 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 wouldshow them how to get there.

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