The Story of Dr Dolittle / История доктора Дулиттла. 5 класс Лофтинг Хью Джон

The Fifteenth Chapter

The Barbary Dragon

They pulled up the anchor without a sound, and moved the ship very, very carefully out of the bay. But suddenly Gub-Gub sneezed so loudly that the pirates on the other ship rushed upstairs to see what the noise was. As soon as they saw that the Doctor was on their ship, they sailed the other boat and blocked the entrance to the bay so that the Doctor could not get out into the open sea. Then the leader of these bad men (who called himself “Ben Ali, The Dragon”) shook his fist at the Doctor[24] and shouted, “Ha! Ha! You are trapped,[25] my fine friend! You were going to run off in my ship, eh? But you are not a good enough sailor to beat Ben Ali, the Barbary Dragon. I want your duck and your pig too. We’ll have pork chops and roast duck for supper tonight. And before I let you go home, your friends must send me a trunk – full of gold.”

Poor Gub-Gub began to weep. But the owl, Too-Too, whispered to the Doctor, “Let him talk, Doctor. Be pleasant to him. Our old ship will sink soon – the rats said so – and the rats are never wrong. Let him talk.”

“Look here, Ben Ali —” But before the Doctor could say any more, the pirates began to sail the ship nearer and they laughed. Poor Gub-Gub was really frightened. But soon something went wrong with the pirates; they stopped laughing; they looked puzzled. Then Ben Ali suddenly shouted, “Thunder and Lightning! – Men, THE BOAT’S LEAKING!” And then the other pirates saw that the boat started getting lower and lower in the water.

Soon the front end of the ship began to go down and down, faster and faster; and the pirates clung to the rails and the masts and the ropes. And at last the ship plunged right down to the bottom of the sea; and the six bad men were in the deep water of the bay. Then suddenly they all cried out in great fear, “THE SHARKS! The sharks are coming! Let us get onto your ship before they eat us! Help, help! – The sharks! The sharks!”

And now the Doctor could see the backs of big fishes. And one great shark came near to the ship and said to the Doctor, “Are you John Dolittle, the famous animal-doctor?”

“Yes,” said Doctor Dolittle. “That is my name.”

“Well,” said the shark, “we know these pirates are very bad – especially Ben Ali. If they are annoying you, we will eat them up.”

“Thank you,” said the Doctor. “But I don’t think it will be necessary to eat them. Don’t let any of them reach the shore until I tell you. And please make Ben Ali swim over here. I want to talk to him.”

So the shark chased Ben Ali to the Doctor.

“Listen, Ben Ali,” said John Dolittle. “You are a very bad man; you killed many people. These good sharks want to eat you up. But promise to do as I tell you, and I will let you go in safety.”

“What must I do?” asked the pirate and looked at the big shark.

“You must kill no more people,” said the Doctor; “don’t steal anything; never sink ships; don’t be a pirate.”

“But what can I do then?” asked Ben Ali.

“Take all your men, go to this island and be bird-seed-farmers,” the Doctor answered. “You must grow bird-seed for the canaries.”

The Barbary Dragon was really angry. “GROW BIRD-SEED!” he groaned. “Can I be a sailor?”

“No,” said the Doctor, “you cannot. For the rest of your life you must be a peaceful farmer. The shark is waiting. Don’t waste his time. Make your decision now.”

“Thunder and Lightning!” Ben Ali cried. Then he looked down into the water again and saw the shark. “Very well,” he said sadly. “We’ll be farmers.”

“Now go and be a good farmer and live in peace.” Then the Doctor turned to the big shark and said, “All right. Let them swim safely to the land.”

The Sixteenth Chapter

Too-Too, The Listener

So the Doctor and his pets continued their journey home in the swift ship with the three red sails. The animals went downstairs to see their new boat inside. Soon Dab-Dab came up the stairs and cried, “Doctor! This ship of the pirates is absolutely beautiful. The beds downstairs are made of silk; there are soft carpets on the floors; the dishes are made of silver; and there is a lot of food and drinks… Oh, and we found another little room but we can’t open the door. Come down and help us open it.”

The Doctor went downstairs and he saw that it was indeed a beautiful ship. He found the animals at a little door. The Doctor turned the handle but the door didn’t open. Then they all started to look for the key. But nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to that lock. So they all came back to the door, and Jip peered through the key-hole. But he could see nothing.

Suddenly the owl, Too-Too, said, “Sh! – Listen! – I think there’s someone in there! I hear that someone is putting his hand in his pocket,” said the owl.

“But how can you hear that?” said the Doctor.

“Almost everything makes SOME noise. We owls are very good hearers.”

“Well, well!” said the Doctor. “You surprise me. That’s very interesting… Listen again and tell me what he’s doing now.”

“I’m not sure yet,” said Too-Too, “maybe it’s a woman. Lift me up and let me listen at the key-hole and I’ll soon tell you.”

So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him close to the lock of the door. After a moment Too-Too said, “It’s a man. And he is unhappy. He is crying.”

“Well,” said the Doctor, “if the poor fellow’s unhappy, let’s get in and see what the matter with him is. Find me an axe, and I’ll chop the door down.”

The Seventeenth Chapter

The Ocean Gossips

Soon the Doctor chopped a hole in the door and got in. At first he could see nothing at all, it was so dark inside. So he struck a match. The room was quite small; there was no window; the ceiling was low. There was only one little stool. And in the middle of the floor there was a little boy, crying bitterly. He was about eight years old.

The little boy was frightened when he saw a man before him. But as soon as he saw John Dolittle’s face by the light of the match, he got up. “You aren’t one of the pirates, are you?” he asked. And when the Doctor laughed loudly, the little boy smiled too and came and took his hand.

“You laugh like a friend,” he said – “not like a pirate. Could you tell me where my uncle is?”

“I am afraid I can’t,” said the Doctor. “When did you see him last?”

“It was the day before yesterday,” said the boy. “I and my uncle went fishing in our little boat, and the pirates came and caught us. They sank our fishing-boat and brought us both onto this ship. They told my uncle that they wanted to make him a pirate because he knew how to sail a ship in any weather. But my uncle said that he didn’t want to be a pirate because he didn’t want to kill people and steal things. Then the leader, Ben Ali, became very angry and said, ‘We will throw you into the sea then!’ They sent me downstairs; and I heard the noise of a fight. And I never saw my uncle again after that. I am very much afraid they threw him into the sea and drowned him.”

And the little boy began to cry again. “Well now – wait a minute,” said the Doctor. “Don’t cry. Let’s go and have tea in the dining-room, and we’ll talk about it. Maybe your uncle is quite safe all the time. You don’t KNOW that they drowned him, do you? Perhaps we can find him for you. First we’ll go and have tea – with strawberry jam; and then we will see what we can do.”

All the animals heard the boy’s story. So after tea Dab-Dab whispered to the Doctor, “Ask the dolphins about the boy’s uncle.”

“All right,” said the Doctor.

“What are those funny noises which you are making with your tongue?” asked the boy.

“Oh, I just said a couple of words in duck language,” the Doctor answered. “This is Dab-Dab, one of my pets.”

“I didn’t even know that ducks had a language,” said the boy. “Are all these other animals your pets, too? What is that strange animal with two heads?”

“Sh!” the Doctor whispered. “That is the pushmi-pullyu. Don’t let him see that we’re talking about him – he becomes really embarrassed… Tell me about your uncle now. “

“He had red hair,” the boy said – “very red hair, and he had the picture of an anchor on his arm, a tattoo. He was a strong man, a kind uncle and the best sailor in the South Atlantic.”

Then the Doctor left the boy to play with the animals in the dining-room and went upstairs. Soon he saw a school of dolphins near the ship. They were on their way to Brazil. And the Doctor asked them, “Have you seen a man with red hair and the tattoo of an anchor on his arm?”

“We saw his boat on the bottom of the sea. But we know that there was nobody inside it, because we went and looked.”

“His little nephew is on the ship with me here,” said the Doctor. “And he is afraid that the pirates threw his uncle into the sea.”

“No – tell the little boy we are sure that the pirates didn’t drown him in the sea.”

So the Doctor ran downstairs with the news and told the nephew, who clapped his hands with happiness. And the pushmi-pullyu took the little boy on his back and gave him a ride round the dining-room table.

The Eighteenth Chapter

Smells

“Your uncle didn’t drown. We must find him,” said the Doctor. Then Dab-Dab came up to him again and whispered, “Ask the eagles to look for the man.” So the Doctor sent one of the swallows off to call some eagles. And in an hour the little bird came back with six eagles. And they stood on the rail of the ship, like soldiers. Gub-Gub was very scared of them. And the Doctor said to the eagles, “Please help us find a fisherman. He has red hair and the tattoo of an anchor on his arm. This boy is the man’s nephew.” Eagles do not talk very much. And they answered, “You may be sure that we will do everything for John Dolittle.” Then they flew off. When they came back, it was almost night. And the eagles said to the Doctor, “We have searched all the seas and all the countries and all the islands and all the cities and all the villages. But we couldn’t find the man anywhere.” Then the six great birds flew back to their homes in the mountains and the rocks.

“Well,” said Dab-Dab, “what are we going to do now? We MUST find the boy’s uncle.” Then Jip went to the Doctor and said, “Ask the boy to bring me something that belonged to his uncle, please.” So the boy took from his pocket a big red handkerchief and said, “This was my uncle’s.” As soon as the boy pulled it out, Jip shouted, “I’ll find his uncle for him in less than a week. Let us go upstairs and see which way the wind is blowing.” Then Jip went up to the front of the ship and smelt the wind. “It’s blowing from the North,” said the dog. Then he shut his eyes tight and sniffed hard with his mouth half-open. For a long time he said nothing. At last he said, “I can’t smell his uncle. We must wait until the wind changes to the South.” And the Doctor said, “Well, let’s go down to supper then. I’m quite hungry.” “So am I,” said Gub-Gub.

The Nineteenth Chapter

The Rock

Early next morning they got up and saw that the day was sunny and Jip smelt the South wind. Then he came to the Doctor and said, “I can’t smell the boy’s uncle. We must wait until the wind changes to the East.” But even when the East wind came, at three o’clock that afternoon, the dog could not catch the smell of the man. The little boy was very upset and began to cry again. But Jip said to the Doctor, “Tell him that when the wind changes to the West, I’ll find his uncle.” The West wind came three days later. This was on a Friday morning. The wind was soft and warm and wet. As soon as Jip awoke he ran upstairs and poked his nose in the air. Then he rushed down again to wake the Doctor up.

“Doctor!” he cried. “Wake up! Listen! I’ve got it! The wind’s from the West and it smells of the boy’s uncle. Come upstairs and start the ship – quick!” So the Doctor went to the rudder to steer the ship. “Now I’ll go up to the front,” said Jip; “and you watch my nose – wherever I point it, you turn the ship the same way. The man cannot be far off. Now watch me!”

Soon Jip said to the Doctor, “I feel that the boy’s uncle is starving. We must make the ship go as fast as we can.”

“How do you know he is starving?” asked the Doctor.

“Because there is no other smell in the West wind,” said Jip. “I don’t smell any food. And the man hasn’t even fresh water to drink.”

“All right,” said the Doctor; and he sent Dab-Dab to ask the swallows to pull the ship. And now the boat went through the waves really fast. But hour after hour went by and no land anywhere came in sight. And now the animals didn’t talk and sat around silent, anxious and miserable. The little boy again became sad. And on Jip’s face there was a worried look. At last, late in the afternoon, the owl, Too-Too, who was on the tip of the mast, suddenly cried, “Jip! Jip! I see a great, great rock in front of us. Is the smell coming from there?” And Jip called back, “Yes. That is where the man is. – At last, at last!”

And when they got nearer they could see that the rock was very large – as large as a big field. No trees grew on it, no grass – nothing. Then the Doctor sailed the ship round the rock. But they didn’t see the man anywhere. And the little boy burst into tears[26] and said, “I am afraid I will never see my uncle anymore!”

But Jip called to the Doctor, “He must be there – he must – HE MUST! Sail the ship close to the rock and let me jump out on it.” So the Doctor brought the ship as close as he could and let down the anchor. Then he and Jip got out of the ship onto the rock. Jip at once put his nose down close to the ground and began to run all over the place. And the Doctor ran behind him. At last Jip let out a great bark and sat down. And when the Doctor ran up to him, he saw a big, deep hole in the middle of the rock.

“The boy’s uncle is down there,” said Jip quietly. So the Doctor got down into the hole. There was a long tunnel. Then he struck a match and started to make his way along the dark passage with Jip. At last the passage came to an end; and the Doctor saw a tiny room with walls of rock. And there, in the middle of the room, lay a man with very red hair. He was fast asleep!

The Twentieth Chapter

The Fisherman’s Town

The doctor woke the man up. When John Dolittle told him that he had his little nephew on his ship, the man was very glad. And he said, “The Barbary Dragon put me onto this rock and left me there, when I refused to become a pirate; I slept in this hole because there was no house on the rock to keep me warm.” And then he said, “I didn’t eat or drink for four days. I’m starving.” So they went back to the boat and the man got some soup.

When the animals and the little boy saw the red-headed man, they began to cheer and dance about the boat. And Jip was awfully proud of himself. When Dab-Dab came to him and said, “Jip, I had no idea you were so clever!” he answered, “Oh, that’s nothing special. But only a dog can find a man, you know. Birds are not good for a game like that.” Then the Doctor asked the red-haired fisherman where his home was, and told the swallows to guide the ship there first.

So they came to the land and saw a little fishing-town at the foot of a rocky mountain; and the man pointed out the house where he lived. And then the little boy’s mother (who was also the man’s sister) ran to the shore to meet them, and she was really happy. And she kissed the Doctor many times, so that he giggled and blushed like a school-girl. And she tried to kiss Jip too; but he ran away and hid inside the ship. “Let her go and kiss Gub-Gub – if she MUST kiss something,” he said.

The fisherman and his sister begged the Doctor to spend a few days with them. So John Dolittle and his animals stayed at their house a whole Saturday and Sunday and half of Monday. All those days that the Doctor stayed at the little fishing-town the people invited him to dinners and parties; all the ladies sent him boxes of flowers and candies; and the village-band played music under his window every night. At last the Doctor said, “Good people, I must go home now. You are really kind. I will always remember it. But I must go home because I have a lot of work.”

Then, just as the Doctor was going to leave, the Mayor of the town came to the Doctor.

“Doctor John Dolittle,” said he: “It is a great pleasure for me to present to the man who rid the seas of the Dragon of Barbary this little gift from the grateful people of our town.” And the Mayor took from his pocket a little packet, opened it, and handed to the Doctor a beautiful watch with real diamonds in the back. Then the Mayor pulled out of his pocket a larger parcel and said, “Where is the dog?” When Jip came to the Doctor’s side, the Mayor opened the larger parcel; and inside was a dog-collar made of gold! And on the collar in big letters were these words: “JIP – THE CLEVEREST DOG IN THE WORLD.” Then the whole crowd moved down to the beach to see them off. The red-haired fisherman and his sister and the little boy thanked the Doctor and his dog many times, and the great, swift ship sailed to Puddleby.

The Last Chapter

Home Again

It was June when the Doctor at last got back to his own country. But he did not yet go home to Puddleby. First he traveled through the land with the pushmi-pullyu in a wagon. They stopped at all the country-fairs. And there they hung out a big sign which read, “COME AND SEE THE MARVELOUS TWO-HEADED ANIMAL FROM THE JUNGLES OF AFRICA. Admission SIXPENCE.” And the pushmi-pullyu stayed inside the wagon, while the other animals were underneath. The Doctor sat in a chair in front, took the money and smiled; and he let the children in for nothing.[27]

And zoo-keepers and circus-men came and asked the Doctor to sell them the strange animal. They were ready to pay a lot of money for him. But the Doctor always shook his head and said, “No. The pushmi-pullyu will never live in a cage. He will be free, like you and me.” So many people flocked to the little wagon and paid the sixpence to go inside and see the pushmi-pullyu that very soon the Doctor was able to go home.

And one fine day, when John Dolittle was rich, he came back to Puddleby to live in the little house with the big garden. And the old lame horse in the stable was glad to see him. And Dab-Dab, Jip and Gub-Gub were glad, too, to get back to the house that they knew so well.

And the Doctor went and saw the sailor, and he bought two new ships for him and a doll for his baby; and he paid the grocer for the food. And he bought another piano and put the white mice back in it – because they said the bureau-drawer was drafty.

The Doctor filled the old money-box on the shelf, and he still had a lot of money left. “Money,” he said, “is a terrible nuisance. But it’s nice not to worry about it.” “Yes,” said Dab-Dab, “it is indeed!” And when the winter came again, the Doctor and his animals sat round the big, warm fire after supper; and he read aloud to them out of his books.

But far away in Africa, where the monkeys chattered in the palm-trees before they went to bed under the big yellow moon, they often said to one another, “What is The Good Man doing now – over there, in the Land of the White Men? Do you think he ever will come back?” And Polynesia said, “I think he will – I hope he will!” And then the crocodile grunted at them from the black mud of the river, “I’m SURE he will – Go to sleep!”

Vocabulary