 This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting. Part 5, Chapter 5. War. On our way back to the village, the doctor began discussing natural history with Long Arrow. But their most interesting talk, mainly about plants, had hardly begun when an Indian runner came dashing up to us with a message. Long Arrow listened gravely to the breathless babbled words, then turned to the doctor and said in eagle tongue, Great white man, an evil thing has befallen the pupsy petals. Our neighbors to the southward, the thievish bag-jag-de-rags, who for so long have cast envious eyes on our stores of ripe corn, have gone upon the war-path, and even now are advancing to attack us. Evil news indeed, said the doctor. Yet let us not judge harshly. Perhaps it is that they are desperate for food, having their own crops frost-killed before harvest, for are they not even nearer the cold south than you? Make no excuses for any man of the tribe of the bag-jag-de-rags, said Long Arrow, shaking his head. They are an idle, shiftless race. They do but see a chance to get corn without the labor of husbandry. If it were not that they are a much bigger tribe, and hoped to defeat their neighbors by sheer force of numbers, they would not have dared to make open war upon the brave pupsy petals. When we reached the village we found it in a great state of excitement. Everywhere men were seen putting their bows in order, sharpening spears, grinding battle-axes, and making arrows by the hundred. Women were raising a high fence of bamboo poles all around the village. Scouts and messengers kept coming and going, bringing news of the movements of the enemy. While high up in the trees and hills about the village we could see look-outs watching the mountains to the southward. Long Arrow brought another Indian, short but enormously broad, and introduced him to the doctor as Big Teeth, the chief warrior of the pupsy petals. The doctor volunteered to go and see the enemy and try to argue the matter out peacefully with them instead of fighting. For war, he said, was at best a stupid wasteful business. But the two shook their heads. Such a plan was hopeless, they said. In the last war, when they had sent a messenger to do peaceful arguing, the enemy had merely hit him with an axe. While the doctor was asking Big Teeth how he meant to defend the village against attack, a cry of alarm was raised by the look-outs. They're coming! The bagjager acts, swarming down the mountains in thousands! Well, said the doctor. It's all in the day's work, I suppose. I don't believe in war, but if the village is attacked we must help defend it. And he picked up a club from the ground and tried the heft of it against a stone. This, he said, seems like a pretty good tool to me. And he walked to the bamboo fence and took his place among the other waiting fighters. Then we all got hold of some kind of weapon with which to help our friends, the gallant pops of petals. I borrowed a bow and a quiver full of arrows. Jip was content to rely upon his old, but still strong teeth. Chichi took a bag of rocks and climbed a palm where he could throw them down upon the enemy's heads. And Bumple marched after the doctor to the fence, armed with a young tree in one hand, and a doorpost in the other. When the enemy drew near enough to be seen from where we stood, we all gasped with astonishment. The hillsides were actually covered with them, thousands upon thousands. They made our small army within the village look like a mere handful. Saints alive! muttered Polynesia. Our little lot will stand no chance against that swarm. This will never do. I'm going off to get some help. Where she was going, and what kind of help she meant to get, I had no idea. She just disappeared from my side. But Jip, who had hurt her, poked his nose between the bamboo bars of the fence to get a better view of the enemy, and said, Likely she's gone after the black parrots. Let's hope she finds them in time. Just look at those ugly ruffians climbing down the rocks. Millions of them! This fight's going to keep us all hopping. And Jip was right. Before a quarter of an hour had gone by, our village was completely surrounded by one huge mob of yelling, raging, bag-jagdurags. I now come again to a part in the story of our voyages where things happen so quickly, one upon the other, that looking backwards I see the picture only in a confused kind of way. I know that if it had not been for the terrible three, as they came afterwards to be fondly called in Popsapetal history, Long Arrow, Bumpo, and the Doctor, the war would have been soon over and the whole island would have belonged to the worthless bag-jagdurags. But the Englishmen, the African, and the Indian were a regiment in themselves, and between them they made that village a dangerous place for any man to try to enter. The bamboo fencing which had been hastily set up around the town was not a very strong affair, and right from the start it gave way in one place after another as the enemy thronged and crowded against it. Then the Doctor, Long Arrow, and Bumpo would hurry to the weak spot. A terrific hand-to-hand fight would take place and the enemy be thrown out. But almost instantly a cry of alarm would come from some other part of the village wall and the three would have to rush off and do the same thing all over again. The Popsapetals were themselves no mean fighters, but the strength and weight of those three men of different lands and colors, standing close together, swinging their enormous war-clubs, was really a sight for the wonder and admiration of any one. Many weeks later, when I was passing an Indian campfire at night, I heard this song being sung. It has since become one of the traditional folk songs of the Popsapetals. The Song of the Terrible Three O hear ye the song of the terrible three and the fight that they fought by the edge of the sea, down from the mountains, the rocks and the crags, swarming like wasps, came the bag-jagdurags. Surrounding our village, our walls they broke down, oh sad was the plight of our men in our town, but heaven determined our land to set free and sent us the help of the terrible three. One was a black, he was darkest the night, one was a red-skin, a mountain of height, but the chief was a white man, round like a bee, and all in a row stood the terrible three. Shoulder to shoulder they hammered and hit, like demons of fury they kicked and they bit, like a wall of destruction they stood in a row, flattening enemies six at a blow. Oh, strong was the red-skin, fierce was the black, bag-jagdurags trembled and tried to turn back, but was of the white man they shouted, beware, he throws men in handfuls straight up in the air. Long shall they fright in bad children at night, with tales of the red and the black and the white, and long shall we sing of the terrible three and the fight that they fought by the edge of the sea. End of chapter. This is the LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This recording is by Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting. Part 5 Chapter 6 General Polynesia But alas, even the three, mighty though they were, could not last forever against an army which seemed to have no end. In one of the hottest scrimmages, when the enemy had broken up particularly wide-hole through the fence, I saw Long Arrow's great figure topple and come down with a spear sticking in his broad chest. For another half-hour, Bumpo and the doctor fought on side by side. How their strength held out so long? I cannot tell. For never a second were they given to get their breath or rest their arms. The doctor, the quiet, kindly, peaceable little doctor. Well, you wouldn't have known him if you had seen him that day, dealing out wax you could hear a mile off, walloping and swatting in all directions. As for Bumpo, with staring eyeballs and grim set teeth, he was a veritable demon. None dared come within yards of that wicked, wide-circling door-post. But a stone, skillfully thrown, struck him at last in the center of the forehead, and down went the second of the three. John Doodlittle, the last of the Terribles, was left fighting alone. Jip and I rushed to his side and tried to take the places of the fallen ones, but far too light and too small we made but a poor exchange. Another length of the fence crashed down, and through the widened gap the bag-jagdurags poured in on us like a flood. To the canoes, to the sea, shouted the pops of petals, Fly for your lives! All is over, the war is lost! But the doctor and I never got a chance to fly for our lives. We were swept off our feet and knocked down flat by the sheer weight of the mob, and once down we were unable to get up again. I thought we would surely be trampled to death. But at that moment, above the din and racket of the battle, we heard the most terrifying noise that ever assaulted human ears, the sound of millions and millions of parrots all screeching with fury together. The army, which in the nick of time Polynesia had brought to our rescue, darkened the whole sky to the westward. I asked her afterwards how many birds there were, and she said she didn't know exactly, but that they certainly numbered somewhere between sixty and seventy millions. In that extraordinarily short space of time she had brought them from the mainland of South Africa. If you have ever heard a parrot's screech with anger, you will know that it makes a truly frightful sound, and if you have ever been bitten by one, you will know that its bite can be a nasty and a painful thing. The black parrots, coal-black all over they were, except for a scarlet beak and a streak of red in wing and tail. On the word of command from Polynesia set the work upon the bag-jagdurags, who were now pouring through the village looking for plunder. And the black parrot's method of fighting was peculiar. This is what they did. On the head of each bag-jagdurag three or four parrots settled, and took a good foothold in his hair with their claws. Then they linked down over the sides of his head and began clipping snips out of his ears, for all the world as though they were punching tickets. That is all they did. They never bit them anywhere else except the ears, but it won the war for us. With howls pitiful to hear, the bag-jagdurags fell over one another in their haste to get out of that accursed village. It was no use there trying to pull the parrots off their heads, because for each head there were always four more parrots waiting impatiently to get on. Some of the enemy were lucky, and with only a snip or two managed to get outside the fence, where the parrots immediately left them alone. But with most, before the black birds had done with them, the ears presented a very singular appearance, like the edge of a postage stamp. This treatment, very painful at the time, did not however do them any permanent harm beyond the change in looks, and it later got to be the tribal mark of the bag-jagdurags. No really smart young lady of this tribe would be seen walking with a man who did not have scalloped ears, for such was a proof that he had been in the Great War. And that, though it is not generally known to scientists, is how this people came to be called by the other Indian nations the ragged-eared bag-jagdurags. As soon as the village was clear to the enemy, the doctor turned his attention to the wounded. In spite of the length and fierceness of the struggle, there were surprisingly few serious injuries. Poor Long Arrow was the worst off. However, after the doctor had washed his wound and gotten him to bed, he opened his eyes and said he already felt better. Bumpo was only badly stunned. With this part of the business over, the doctor called to Polynesia to have the black parrots drive the enemy right back into their own country and to wait there guarding them all night. Polynesia gave the short word of command, and like one bird, those millions of parrots opened their red beaks and let out once more their terrifying battle-screen. The bag-jagdurags didn't wait to be bitten a second time, but fled helter-skelter over the mountains from which they had come, whilst Polynesia and her victorious army followed watchfully behind like a great threatening black cloud. The doctor picked up his high hat which had been knocked off in the fight, dusted it carefully and put it on. Tomorrow, he said, shaking his fist towards the hills, we will arrange the terms of peace, and we will arrange them in the city of Bag-jagdurag. His words were greeted with cheers of triumph from the admiring pops of petals. The war was over. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The next day we set out for the far end of the island, and reaching it in canoes, for we went by sea, after a journey of twenty-five hours. We remained no longer than was necessary in the city of Bag-jagdurag, when he threw himself into that fight at pops of petals. I saw the doctor really angry for the first time in my life, but his anger once aroused was slow to die. All the way down the coast of the island he never ceased to rail against this cowardly people who had attacked his friends, the pops of petals, for no other reason than to rob them of their corn, because they were too idle to take care of them. And he was still angry when he reached the city of Bag-jagdurag. Long-arrow had not come with us, for he was as yet too weak from his wounds. But the doctor, always clever at languages, was already getting familiar with the Indian tongue. Besides, among the half-dozen pops of petals who accompanied us to paddling the island, was one boy to whom we had taught a little English. He and the doctor between them managed to make themselves understood to the Bag-jagdurags. This people, with the terrible parrot still blackening the hills about their stone-town, waiting for the were to descend an attack, where we found in a very humble mood. Leaving our canoes, we went to the city of Bag-jagdurag. This people, with the terrible parrot still blackening the hills about their stone-town, waiting for the were to descend an attack, where we found in a very humble mood. Leaving our canoes, we passed up the main street to the palace of the chief. Bumpo and I couldn't help smiling with satisfaction, as we saw how the waiting crowds which lined the roadway bowed their heads to the ground, as the little round angry figure of the doctor strutted ahead of us with his chin in the air. At the foot of the palace, the chief and all the more important personages of the tribe were waiting to meet him, smiling humbly holding out their hands in friendliness. The doctor took not the slightest notice. He marched right by them, up the steps to the door of the palace. There he turned around and at once began to address the people in a firm voice. I never heard such a speech in my life, and I'm quite sure they never did either. First he called them a long string of names—cowards, loafers, thieves, vagabonds, good-for-nothings, bullies, and whatnot. Then he said he was still seriously thinking of allowing the parrots to drive them into the sea in order that this pleasant land might be rid once and for all of their worthless carcasses. At this a great cry for mercy went up, and the chief and all of them fell on their knees, calling out that they would submit to any conditions of peace he wished. Then the doctor called for one of their scribes—that is, a man who did picture-writing. And on the stone walls of the palace of Bagjagdurag, he bade him write down the terms of the peace as he dictated it. This peace is known as the peace of the parrots, and unlike most pieces, was and is strictly kept even to this day. It was quite long in words. The half of the front of the palace was covered with picture-writing, and fifty pots of paint were used before the weary scribe had done. But the main part of it was that there should be no more fighting, and that the two tribes should give solemn promise to help one another whenever there was corn famine or other distress in the lands belonging to either. This greatly surprised the Bagjagdurags. They had expected from the doctor's angry face that he would at least chop a couple hundred heads off and probably make the rest of them slaves for life. But when they saw that he only meant kindly by them, their great fear of him changed into a tremendous admiration. And as he ended his long speech and walked briskly down the steps again on his way back to the canoes, the group of chieftains threw themselves at his feet and cried, Do but stay with us, great Lord, and all the riches of Bagjagdurags shall be poured into your lap. Gold mines we know of in the mountains and pearl beds beneath the sea only stay with us that all your powerful wisdom may lead our council and our people into prosperity and peace. The doctor held up his hand for silence. No man, he said, would wish to be the guest of the Bagjagdurags till they had proved by their deeds that they are an honest race. Be true to the terms of the peace, and from yourselves shall come a good government and prosperity. Farewell. Then he turned and followed by Bumpo, the popsy petals, and myself walked rapidly down to the canoes. End of Part 5 Chapter 7 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This recording is in the public domain. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Pat Elder, San Antonio, Florida, March 2007. Part 5 Chapter 8 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle The Hanging Stone But the changes in the hearts of the Bagjagdurags was really sincere. The doctor had made a great impression on them, a deeper one than even he himself realized at the time. In fact, I sometimes think that that speech of his from the palace steppes had more effect upon the Indians of Spider Monkey Island than any of his great deeds, which, great though they were, were always magnified and exaggerated when the news of them was passed from mouth to mouth. A sick girl was brought to him as he reached the place where the boats lay. She turned out to have some quite simple ailment which he quickly gave the remedy for, but this increased his popularity still more, and when he stepped into his canoe the people all around us actually burst into tears. It seems, I learned afterwards, that they thought he was going away across the sea for good to the mysterious foreign lands from which he had come. Some of the chieftains spoke to the Popsie Petals as we pushed off. What they said I did not understand, but we noticed that several canoes filled with Bagjagdurags followed us at a respectful distance all the way back to Popsie Petal. The doctor had determined to return by the other shore so that we should thus be able to make a complete trip round the island's shores. Shortly after we started, while still off the lower end of the island, we sighted a steep point on the coast where the sea was in a great state of turmoil, white with soapy froth. On going nearer we found that this was caused by our friendly whales who were still faithfully working away with their noses against the end of the island, driving us northward. We had been kept so busy with the war that we had forgotten all about them, but as we paused and watched their mighty tales lashing and churning the sea, we suddenly realized that we had not felt cold in quite a long while. Speeding up our boats, lest the island be carried away from us altogether, we passed on up the coast, and here and there we noticed that the trees on the shore already looked greener and more healthy. Spider Monkey Island was getting back into her home climates. About half way to Popsie Petal we went ashore and spent two or three days exploring the central part of the island. Our Indian paddlers took us up into the mountains, very steep and high in this region, overhanging the sea, and they showed us what they called the Whispering Rocks. This was a very peculiar and striking piece of scenery. It was like a great vast basin or circus in the mountains, and out of the center of it rose a table of rock with an ivory chair upon it. All around this the mountains went up like stairs or theater seats to a great height. Except at one narrow end which was open to a view of the sea, you could imagine it a council place or concert hall for giants, and the rock table in the center, the stage for performers, or stand for the speaker. We asked our guides why it was called the Whispering Rocks, and they said, go down into it and we will show you. The Great Bowl was miles deep and miles wide. We scrambled down the rocks and they showed us how, even when you stood far, far apart from one another, you merely had to whisper in that great place and everyone in the theater could hear you. This was, the doctor said, on account of the echoes which played backwards and forwards between the high walls of the rock. Our guides told us that it was here, in days long gone by when the Popsie pedals owned the whole of Spider Monkey Island, that the kings were crowned. The ivory chair upon the table was the throne in which they sat, and so great was the big theater that all the Indians in the island were able to get seats in it to see the ceremony. They showed us also an enormous hanging stone perched on the edge of a volcano's crater, the highest summit in the whole island. Although it was very far below us, we could see it quite plainly, and it looked wobbly enough to be pushed off its perch with a hand. There was a legend among the people, they said, that when the greatest of all Popsie pedal kings should be crowned in the ivory chair, this hanging stone would tumble into the volcano's mouth and go straight down into the center of the earth. The doctor said he would like to go and examine it closer, and when we were come to the lip of the volcano, it took us half a day to get up to it. We found the stone was unbelievably large, as big as a cathedral. Underneath it we could look right down into a black hole which seemed to have no bottom. The doctor explained to us that volcanoes sometimes spurred up fire from these holes in their tops, but that those on floating islands were always cold and dead. Steubens, he said, looking up at the great stone towering above us, do you know what would most likely happen if that boulder should fall in? No, I said, what? You remember the air chamber which the porpoises told us lies under the center of the island? Yes. Well, this stone is heavy enough, if it fell into the volcano, to break through into that air chamber from above, and once it did, the air would escape and the floating island would float no more, it would sink. But then everybody on it would be drowned, wouldn't they, said Bumpo? Oh no, not necessarily. That would depend on the depth of the sea where the sinking took place. The island might touch bottom when it had only gone down, say, a hundred feet, but there would be lots of it still sticking above the water then, wouldn't there? Yes, said Bumpo. I suppose there would. Well, let's hope that preponderous fragment does not lose its equilibriosity, for I don't believe it would stop at the center of the earth, more likely it would fall right through the world and come out the other side. Many other wonders there were which these men showed us in the central regions of their island, but I have not the time nor space to tell you of them now. Descending towards the shore again, we noticed that we were still being watched, even here among the highlands by the bagjacker rags who had followed us. And when we put to sea once more, a boatload of them proceeded to go ahead of us in the direction of Popsie Petal. Having lighter canoes, they traveled faster than our party, and we judged they should reach the village if that was where they were going, many hours before we could. The doctor was now becoming anxious to see how long Errol was getting on, so we all took turns at the paddles and went on traveling by moonlight through the whole night. We reached Popsie Petal just as the dawn was breaking. To our great surprise we found that not only we, but the whole village also had been up all night. A great crowd was gathered about the dead chief's house, and as we landed our canoes upon the beach we saw a large number of old men, the seniors of the tribe, coming out at the main door. We inquired what was the meaning of all this, and we were told that the election of a new chief had been going on all through the whole night. Bumpo asked the name of the new chief, but this, it seemed, had not yet been given out. It would be announced at mid-day. As soon as the doctor had paid a visit to Long Errol and seen that he was doing nicely, we proceeded to our own house at the far end of the village. Here we ate some breakfast and then lay down to take a good rest. Rest, indeed, we needed, for life had been strenuous and busy for us ever since we had landed on the island. And it wasn't many minutes after our weary head struck the pillow that the whole crew of us were sound asleep. End of Part 5, Chapter 8, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This recording is in the public domain. Part 5, Chapter 9, The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Kristina The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting Part 5, Chapter 9, The Election We were awakened by music. The glaring noonday sunlight was streaming in at our door, outside of which some kind of a band appeared to be playing. We got up and looked out. Our house was surrounded by the whole population of Popsipetal. We were used to having quite a number of curious and admiring Indians waiting at our door at all hours, but this was quite different. The waste crowd was dressed in its best clothes, bright beads, gaudy feathers and gay blankets gave cheerful color to the scene. Everyone seemed in very good humor, singing or playing on musical instruments, mostly painted wooden vistas or drums made from skins. We found Polynesia, who, while we slept, had arrived back from Bhagyak Dirag, sitting on our doorpost, watching the show. We asked her what all the holiday making was about. The result of the election has just been announced, said she. The name of the new chief was given out at noon. And who is the new chief, asked the doctor. You are, said Polynesia quietly. I, gasped the doctor, well of all things. Yes, said she, you are the one. And what's more, they've changed your surname for you. They didn't think that Dolittle was a proper or respectful name for a man who had done so much. So you are known to be known as John Tinkalot. How do you like it? But I don't want to be a chief, said the doctor, in an irritable voice. I'm afraid you'll have hard work to get out of it now, said she, unless you're willing to put to sea again in one of their rickety canoes. You see, you've been elected not merely the chief of the Popsipa tales. You're to be a king, the king of the whole of Spider-Monkey Island. The bug-yag derugs, who were so anxious to have you govern them, sent spies and messengers ahead of you. And when they found that you had been elected chief of the Popsipa tales, overnight they were bitterly disappointed. However, rather than lose you all together, the bug-yag derugs were willing to give up their independence and insisted that they and their lands be united to the Popsipa tales in order that you could be made king of both. So now you're in for it. Oh Lord, grown the doctor, I do wish they wouldn't be so enthusiastic. Bother it, I don't want to be a king. I should think, doctor, that you'd feel rather proud and glad. I wish I had a chance to be a king. Oh, I know it sounds grand, said he, pulling on his boots miserably. But the trouble is you can't take up responsibilities and then just drop them again when you feel like it. I have my own work to do. Scarcely one moment have I had to give to natural history since I landed on this island. I've been doing someone else's business all the time, and now they want me to go on doing it. Why, once I'm made king of the Popsipa tales, that's the end of me as a useful naturalist. I'd be too busy for anything. All I'd be then is just a king. Well, that's something, said Bumpo. My father is a king and has 120 wives. That would make it worse, said the doctor, 120 times worse. I have my work to do. I don't want to be a king. Look, said Polynesia. Here comes the headman to announce your election. Hurry up and get your boots laced. The strong, therefore, our door had suddenly parted asunder, making a long lane, and down this way now saw a group of personages coming towards us. The man in front, a handsome old Indian with a wrinkled face, carried in his hands a wooden crown, a truly beautiful and gorgeous crown, even though of wood, wonderfully carved and painted, it had two lovely blue feathers springing from the front of it. Behind the old man came eight strong Indians bearing a litter, a sort of chair with long handles underneath to carry it by. Kneeling down on one knee, bending his head almost to the ground, the old man addressed the doctor, who now stood in the doorway putting on his collar and tie. Oh, mighty one, said he, we bring you word from the popsy-petal people. Great are your deeds beyond belief. Kind is your heart and your wisdom, deeper than the sea. Our chief is dead. The people clamor for a worthy leader. Our old enemies, the Bagyag Derags, are become, through you, our brothers and good friends. They too desire to bath beneath the sunshine of your smile. Behold, then, I bring to you the sacred crown of popsy-petal, which, since ancient days, when this island and its peoples were one, Beneath one monarch has rested on no kingly brow. Oh, kindly one, we are bitten by the united voices of the peoples of this land to carry you to the whispering rocks, and there, with all respect and majesty, you may be crowned our king, king of all the moving land. The good Indians did not seem to have even considered the possibility of John Duthus refusing. As for the poor doctor, I never saw him so upset by anything. It was, in fact, the only time I have known him to get sorely fast. Oh, dear, I heard him murmur, looking around wildly for some escape. What shall I do? Did any of you see where I laid that stud of mine? How on earth can I get this collar on without a stud? What a day this is, to be sure. Maybe it rolled under the bed-bombo? I do think they might have given me a day or so to sink it over in. Whoever heard of waking a man right out of his sleep and telling him he's got to be a king, before he has even washed his face. Can't any of you find it? Maybe you're standing on it-bombo, move your feet. Oh, don't bother about your stud, said Polynesia. You will have to be crowned without a collar. They want to know the difference. I'll tell you I'm not going to be crowned, cried the doctor. Not if I can help it. I'll make them a speech. Perhaps that will satisfy them. He turned back to the Indians at the door. My friends, he said, I am not worthy of this great honour you would do me. Little or no skill have I in the arts of Kingcraft. Are shortly among your own brave men, you will find many better fitted to lead you. For this compliment, this confidence and trust I thank you. But I pray you, do not think of me for such high duties, which I could not possibly fulfil. The old man repeated his words to the people behind him in a louder voice. Stoutly they shook their heads, moving not an inch. The old man turned back to the doctor. You are the chosen one, said he. They will have none but you. Into the doctor's perplexed face suddenly there came a flash of hope. I'll go and see Long Arrow, he whispered to me. Perhaps he will know of some way to get me out of this. And asking the person just to excuse him a moment, he left them there, standing at his door and hurried off in the direction of Long Arrow's house. I followed him. We found our big friend lying on a grass bed outside his home, where he had been moved that he might witness the holiday making. Long Arrow said the doctor speaking quickly in eagle tongue, so that the bystander should not overhear. In dire peril I come to you for help. These men would make me their king. If such a thing befall me, all the great work I hope to do must go undone. For who is there unfreer than a king? I pray you speak with them and persuade their kind, well-meaning hearts that what they plan to do would be unwise. Long Arrow rised himself upon his elbow. O kindly one, said he, this seemed now to have become the usual manner of address when speaking to the doctor. Thoroughly it grieves me that the first wish you ask of me I should be unable to grant. Alas, I can do nothing. These people have so set their hearts on keeping you for king that if I tried to interfere they would drive me from their land unlikely crown you in the end in any case. A king you must be, if only for a while. We must so arrange the business of governing that you may have time to give to nature's secrets. Later we may be able to hit upon some plan to relieve you of the burden of the crown. But for now you must be king. These people are a headstrong tribe and they will have their way. There is no other course. Sadly the doctor turned away from the bed and faced about. And there behind him stood the old man again. The crown still held in his wrinkled hands and the royal litter waiting at his elbow. With the deep reverence the bearers motioned towards the seat of the chair inviting the white man to get in. Once more the poor doctor looked wildly hopelessly about him for some means of escape. For a moment I thought he was going to take to his heels and run for it. But the crowd around us was far too sick and densely packed for anyone to break through it. A band of whistles and drums nearby suddenly started the music of a solemn processional march. He turned back pleasingly against to long arrow in the last appeal for help. But the big Indian merely shook his head and pointed like the bearers to the waiting chair. At last almost on tears John Duesl stepped slowly into the litter and sat down. As he was hoisted on to the broad shoulders of the bearers I heard him still feebly muttering beneath his breath. By the ration take it I don't want to be a king. Farewell, cold long arrow from his bed and may good fortune ever stand within the shadow of your throne. He comes, he comes murmured the crowd away away to the whispering rocks. And as the processional formed up to leave the village the crowd about us began hurrying off in the direction of the mountains to make sure of good seats in the giant theatre where the crowning ceremony would take place. End of Chapter 9 Part 5 Chapter 10 of The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle This is a LibbyVox recording. All LibbyVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibbyVox.org Recording by Winna Hathaway The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting The 10th Chapter The Coronation of King Zhang In my long life time I have seen many grand and inspiring things but never anything that impressed me have as much as the sight of the whispering rocks as they looked on the day King Zhang was crowned. As Bumpo, Chi Chi, Polynesia, Jip and I finally reached the DC edge of the Great Wall and looked down inside it. It was like gazing over a never-ending ocean of copper-colored faces. For every seat in the theatre was filled. Every man, woman and child in the island including long arrow who had been carried up on his sick bed was there to see the show. Yet not a sound, not a pin drop disturbed the solemn silence of the whispering rocks. It was quite creepy and sent chills running up and down your spine. Bumpo told me afterwards that it took his breath away too much for him to speak but that he hadn't known before that there were that many people in the world. Away down by the table of the throne stood a brand new, brightly colored totem pole. All the Indian families had totem poles and kept them set up before the doors of their houses. The idea of a totem pole is something like a door plate or a visiting card. It represents in its carvings the deeds and qualities of the family to which it belongs. This one, beautifully decorated and much higher than any other was the do little or as it was to be henceforth called the Royal Think-A-Lot Totem. It had nothing but animals on it to signify the doctor's great knowledge of creatures. And the animals chosen to be shown were those which, through the Indians were supposed to represent good qualities of character such as the deer for speed, the ox for perseverance, the fish for discretion and so on. But at the top of the totem is always placed the psychoanimal by which the family is most proud to be known. This on the Think-A-Lot pole was an enormous parrot in memory of the famous piece of the parrots. The ivory throne had been all polished with scented oil and it glistened widely in the strong sunlight. At the foot of it there had been strewn great quantities of branches of flowering trees which, with a new warmth of milder climates, were now blossoming in the valleys of the island. Soon we saw the royal litter with the doctor seated in it slowly ascending the winding steps of the table. Reaching the flat top at last it halted and the doctor stepped out upon the flowery carpet. So still and perfect was the silence that even at that distance above I distinctly heard a twig snap beneath his thread. Walking to this throne accompanied by the old man the doctor got up upon the stand and sat down. How tiny his little round figure looked when seen from that tremendous height. The throne had been made for longer-legged kings and when he was seated his feet did not reach the ground but tangled six inches from the top step. Then the old man turned round and looking up at the people began to speak in a quiet even voice. But every word he said was easily heard in the furthest corner of the whispering rocks. First he recited the names of all the great popsy-petal kings who in days long ago had been crowned in this ivory chair. He spoke of the greatness of the popsy-petal people of their triumphs, of their hardships. Then waving his hand towards the doctor he began recounting the things which this king-to-be had done and I am bound to say that they easily outmatched the deeds of those who had gone before him. As soon as he started to speak of what the doctor had achieved for the tribe the people, still strictly silent all began waving their right hands towards the throne. This gave to the vast theater a very singular appearance acres and acres of something moving with never a sound. At last the old man finished his speech and stepping up to the chair very respectfully removed the doctor's battered high hat. He was about to put it upon the ground but the doctor took it from him hastily and kept it on his lap. Then, taking up the sacred crown he placed it upon John Doolittle's head. It did not fit very well for it had been made for smaller-headed kings and when the wind blew in freshly from the Sunlit Sea the doctor had some difficulty in keeping it on. But it looked very splendid. Turning once more to the people the old man said Men of Bob's seapettle behold your elected king are you content? And then at last the voice of the people broke loose John John Long live King John The sound burst upon the solemn silence with a crash of a hundred cannon there were even a whisper carried miles the shock of it was like a blow in the face back and forth the mountains threw it to one another I thought the echoes of it would never die away as it passed rumbling through the whole island jangling among the lower valleys booming in the distant sea caves Suddenly I saw the old man point upward to the highest mountain in the island and looking over my shoulder I was just in time to see the hanging stone topple slowly out of sight down into the heart of the volcano See ye man of the moving land the old man cried the stone has fallen and our legend has come true the king of kings is crowned this day the doctor too had seen the stone fall and he was now standing up looking at the sea expectantly he's thinking of the air chamber said Bumpo in my ear let us hope that the sea isn't very deep in these parts after a full minute so long did it take the stone to fall that depth we heard a muffled distant crunching sound and then immediately after a great hissing of escaping air the doctor his face tensed with anxiety sat down in the throne again still watching the blue water of the ocean with staring eyes soon we felt the island slowly sinking beneath us we saw the sea creep inland over the beaches as the shores went down one foot three feet ten feet twenty fifty a hundred it stopped spider monkey island had come to rest on the sandy bottom of the Atlantic and earth was joined to earth once more of course many of the houses near the shores were now under water Popsipetal village itself had entirely disappeared but it didn't matter no one was drowned for every soul in the island was highly up in the hills watching the coronation of King John the Indians themselves did not realize at the time what was taking place though of course they had felt the land sinking beneath them the doctor told us afterwards that it must have been the shock of that tremendous shout coming from a million throats at once which are top of the hanging stone of its perch but in Popsipetal history the story was handed down and it is firmly believed to this day that when King John set upon the throne so great was his mighty weight that the very island itself sank down to do him honor and never moved again End of Part 5, Chapter 10 Recording by Winner Hasselway in Fayetteville, North Carolina Part 6, Chapter 1 The Voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Pat Elder San Antonio Flores Chapter 1 New Popsipetal John Think a lot had not ruled over his new kingdom for more than a couple days before my notions about kings and the kind of lives they led changed very considerably I had thought that all kings had to do was to sit on their throne and have people bow down before them several times a day Now I saw that a king can be the hardest working man in the world if he attends properly to his business From the moment he got up early in the morning till the time he went to bed late at night, seven days in the week John Doolittle was busy, busy, busy First of all there was the new town to be built The village of Popsipetal had disappeared The city of New Popsipetal must be made With great care a place was chosen for it and a very beautiful position it was at the mouth of the large river The shores of the island at this point formed a wide lovely bay where canoes and ships too if they should ever come could lie peacefully at anchor without danger from storms In building this town the doctor gave the Indians a lot of new ideas He showed them what town sewers were and how garbage should be collected each day and burnt High up in the hills he made a large lake by damming a stream This was the water supply for the town None of these things had the Indians ever seen and many of the sicknesses they had suffered from before were now entirely prevented by proper drainage in pure drinking water Peoples who don't use fire do not of course have metals either because without fire it is almost impossible to shape iron and steel One of the first things that John Doolittle did was to search the mountains till he found iron and copper mines When he set to work to teach the Indians how these metals could be melted and made into knives and plows and water pipes and all manner of things In his kingdom the doctor tried his hardest to do away with most of the old fashioned pomp and grandeur of royal court As he said to Bumpo and me if he must be a king he meant to be a thoroughly democratic one that is a king who is chummy and friendly with his subjects and doesn't put on airs And when he drew up the plans for the new city of Popsie Petal he had no palace shown of any kind A little cottage in the back street was all that he had provided for himself But this the Indians would not permit on any account They had been used to having their kings rule in a truly grand and kingly manner and they insisted that he have built for himself the most magnificent palace ever seen In all else they let him have his own way absolutely but they wouldn't allow him to wiggle out of any kind of the ceremony or show that goes with being a king A thousand servants he had to keep in his palace night and day to wait on him The royal canoe had to be kept up a gorgeous polished mahogany boat, seventy feet long inlaid with mother or pearl and paddled by the hundred strongest men in the island The palace gardens covered a square mile and employed a hundred and sixty gardeners Even in his dress the poor man was compelled always to be grand and elegant and uncomfortable The beloved and battered high hat was put away in a closet and only looked at secretly State robes had to be worn on all occasions and when the doctor did once in a while managed to sneak off for a short natural history expedition he never dared wear his old clothes he had to chase butterflies with a crown upon his head and a scarlet cloak flying behind him in the wind There was no end to the kind of duties the doctor had to perform and the questions he had to decide upon Everything from disputes about land and boundaries to making peace between husbands and wives who had been throwing shoes at one another In the east wing of the royal palace was the Hall of Justice in 1911 passing judgment on all cases that were brought before him Then in the afternoon he taught school the sort of things he taught were not always those found in ordinary schools grown-ups as well as children came to learn You see, these Indians were ignorant of the many things that quite small white children know Though it is also true that they knew a lot of things that white grown-ups never dreamed of Bumple and I helped with the teaching Simple or arithmetic and easy things like that But classes in astronomy, farming science the proper care of babies with a host of other subjects the doctor had to teach himself The Indians were tremendously keen about the schooling and they came in droves and crowds so that even with the open-air classes a schoolhouse was impossible, of course The doctor had to take them in relays and batches of five or six thousand at a time and used a big megaphone or trumpet to make himself heard The rest of his day was more than filled with road-making, building water mills attending the sick and millions of other things In spite of his being so unwilling to become a king John Doolittle made a very good one once he got started He may not have been as dignified as many kings in history who were always running off to war but since I have grown up and seen something of foreign lands and governments I have often thought that Popsipettle under the reign of Jong Thinkelot was perhaps the best ruled state in the history of the world The doctor's birthday came round after we had been on the island six months and a half The people made a great public holiday of it and there was much feasting dancing, fireworks, speech making and jollification On the day the chief men of the two tribes formed a procession and passed through the streets of the town carrying a very gregariously painted tablet of ebony wood ten feet high This was a picture history such as they preserved for each of the ancient kings of Popsipettle to record their deeds With great and solemn ceremony it was set up over the door of the new palace and everybody then clustered round and looked at it It had six pictures on it commemorating the six great events of the life of King Jong and beneath it were written verses that explained them They were composed by the court poet and this is a translation One, his landing on the island heaven sent In his dolphin-drawn canoe from worlds unknown he landed on our shores The very palms bowed down their heads to the coming king Two, his meeting with the beetle by moonlight in the mountains he communed with beasts The shy Jebusery brings him picture words of great distress Three, he liberates the lost families Big was his heart with pity Big were his hands with strength See how he tears the mountain like a yam See how the lost ones dance forth to greet the day Four, he makes fire Our land was cold and dying He waved his hand and lo Lightning leapt from the cloudless skies The sun lent down and fire was born Then while we crowded round the grateful glow he pushed our wayward floating land back to peaceful anchorage in sunny seas Five, he leads the people to victory and war Once only was his kindly continent by a deadly frown Woe to the wicked enemy that dares attack the tribe with think-a-lot for chief Six, he is crowned king The birds of the air rejoiced The sea laughed and gambled with her shores All redskins wept for joy the day we crowned him king He is the builder, the healer the teacher and the prince He is the greatest of them all May he live a thousand years happy in his heart to bless our land with peace End of Chapter 1 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This recording is in the public domain Part 6, Chapter 2 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida February 2007 Chapter 2 Thoughts of Home In the royal palace Bumpo and I had a beautiful suite of rooms of our very own which Polynesia, Jip, and Chi Chi shared with us Officially Bumpo was minister of the interior while I was first lord of the treasury Long Arrow also had quarters there but at present he was absent traveling abroad One night after supper when the doctor was away in the town somewhere visiting a newborn baby we were all sitting round the big table in Bumpo's reception room This we did every evening to talk over the plans for the following day in various affairs of state It was a kind of cabinet meeting Tonight however we were talking about England and also about things to eat We had got a little tired of Indian food You see none of the natives knew how to cook and we had the most discouraging time training a chef for the royal kitchen Most of them were champions at spoiling good food Often we got so hungry that the doctor would sneak downstairs with us into the palace basement after all the cooks were safe in bed and fry pancakes secretly hiding embers of the fire The doctor himself was the finest cook that ever lived but he used to make a terrible mess of the kitchen and of course we had to be awfully careful that we didn't get caught Well as I was saying tonight food was the subject of discussion at the cabinet meeting and I had just been reminding Bumpo of the nice dishes we had had at the bed makers house in Monteverde I tell you what I would like right now said Bumpo We had a cup of cocoa with whipped cream on the top of it in Oxford we used to be able to get the most wonderful cocoa It really is too bad they haven't any cocoa trees in this island or cows to give cream When do you suppose, asked Jip the doctor intends to move on from here I was talking to him about that only yesterday said Polynesia but I couldn't get any satisfactory answer out of him about it There was a pause in the conversation Do you know what I believe she added presently I believe the doctor has given up even thinking of going home Good Lord cried Bumpo You don't say Shhh said Polynesia What's that noise? We listened and away off in the distant corridors of the palace we heard the centuries crying Make way the king It's he at last whispered Polynesia late as usual poor man how does he work Cheechy get the pipe and tobacco out of the cupboard and lay the dressing gown ready on his chair When the doctor came into the room he looked serious and thoughtful Wearily he took off the ground and hung it on a peg behind the door then he exchanged the royal cloak for the dressing gown dropped into his chair at the head of the table with a deep sigh and started to fill his pipe Well asked Polynesia quietly How did you find the baby? The baby he murmured his thoughts still seem to be very far away Ah yes the baby was much better thank you it has cut its second tooth then he was silent again staring dreamily at the ceiling through a cloud of tobacco smoke while we all sat round quite still waiting we were wondering doctor I said at last just before you came in when you would be starting for home again we will have been on this island seven months tomorrow the doctor sat forward in his chair looking rather uncomfortable well as a matter of fact he sat after a moment I meant to speak to you myself on that very subject but it's a little hard to make anyone exactly understand the situation I am afraid that it would be impossible for me to leave the work that I am now engaged on you remember when they first insisted on making me king I told you that it was not easy to shake off responsibilities once you had taken them up these people have come to rely on me for a great number of things they have changed the current of much that white people enjoy and we have, one might say changed the current of their lives considerably now it's a very ticklish business to change the lives of other people and whether the changes we have made will be in the end for good or for bad is our lookout he thought a moment and then went on in a quieter sadder voice I would like to continue my voyages my natural history work and I would like to go back to puttleby as much as any of you this is march and the crocuses will be showing in the lawn but that which I feared has come true I cannot close my eyes to what might happen if I should leave these people and run away they would probably go back to their old habits and customs wars, superstitions double worship and what not and many of the new things we have taught them might be put to improper use and make their conditions then worse by far than that in which we found them they like me, they trust me they have come to look to me for help in all their problems and troubles and no man wants to do unfair things to them who trusts him and then again I like them they are, as it were my children I never had any children of my own and I'm terribly interested in how they will grow up don't you see what I mean how can I possibly run away and leave them in the lurch no, I have thought it over a good deal and tried to decide what is best and I am afraid that the work I took up when I assumed the crown I must stick to I am afraid I have got to stay for good for your whole life asked Bumpo in a low voice for some moments the doctor frowning made no answer I don't know he said at last anyhow for the present there is certainly no hope of my leaving it wouldn't be right the sad silence that followed was broken finally by a knock upon the door with the patient sigh the doctor got up and put on his crown and cloak again come in, he called sitting down in his chair once more the door opened and a footman one of the hundred and forty-three boys on night duty stood bowing in the entrance oh kindly one he said there is a traveller at the palace gate who would have speech with your majesty another baby's been born I'll bet a shilling muttered Polynesia did you ask the traveller's name inquired the doctor yes your majesty said the footman it is long arrow the son of golden arrow The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting this recording is in the public domain Art 6, Chapter 3 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida February 2007 Chapter 3 The Red Man's Science Long Arrow cried the doctor how splendid, show him in, show him in at once I am so glad he continued turning to us as soon as the footman had gone I've missed Long Arrow terribly he's an awfully good man to have around even if he doesn't talk much let me see it's five months now since he went off to Brazil I'm so glad he's back safe he does take such tremendous chances with that canoe of his clever as he is it's no joke crossing a hundred miles of open sea in a 12 foot canoe I wouldn't try it another knock and when the door swung open in answer to the doctor's call there stood our big friend on the threshold a smile upon his strong bronze face behind him appeared two porters carrying loads done up in Indian palm matting these when the first salutations were over Long Arrow ordered to lay their burdens down behold, oh kindly one, he said I bring you as I promised my collection of plants which I had hidden in a cave in the Andes these treasures represent the labors of my life the packages were opened and inside were many smaller packages and bundles carefully they were laid out in rows upon the table first a large but disappointing display there were plants flowers, fruits, leaves roots, nuts, beans unease, gums, bark seeds, bees and a few kinds of insects the study of plants or botany as it is called was a kind of natural history which had never interested me very much I had considered it compared to the study of animals a dull science but as Long Arrow began taking up various things in his collection and explaining their qualities to us I became more and more fascinated and before he had done I was completely absorbed by the wonders of the vegetable kingdom which he had brought us so far these he said taking up a little packet of big seeds are what I have called laughing beans what are they for? asked Bumpo to cause mirth said the Indian Bumpo, while Long Arrow's back was turned took three of the beans and swallowed them alas said the Indian when he discovered what Bumpo had done if he wished to try the powers of these seeds he should have eaten no more than a quarter of a one let us hope that he does not die of laughter the beans effect upon Bumpo was most extraordinary first he broke into a broad smile then he began to giggle finally he burst into such prolonged roars of hearty laughter that we had to carry him into the next room and put him to bed the doctor said afterwards that he would probably have died laughing if he had not had such a strong constitution all through the night he gurgled happily in his sleep and even when we woke him up the next morning he rolled out of bed still chuckling returning to the reception room we were shown some red roots which Long Arrow told us how the property went into a soup with sugar and salt of causing people to dance with extraordinary speed and endurance he asked us to try them but we refused thanking him after Bumpo's exposition we were a little afraid of any more experiments for the present there was no end to the curious and useful things that Long Arrow had collected an oil from a vine which would make hair grow in one night an orange as big as a pumpkin which he had raised in his own mountain garden in Peru a black honey he had brought the bees that made it too and the seeds of the flowers they fed on which would put you to sleep just with a teaspoonful and make you wake up fresh in the morning a nut that made the voice beautiful for singing a water weed that stopped cuts from bleeding a moss that cured snake bite a lichen that prevented sea sickness the doctor of course was tremendously interested well into the early hours of the morning he was busy going over the articles on the table one by one listing their names and writing their properties and descriptions into a notebook as Long Arrow dictated there were these things here, stubens he said as he ended which in the hands of a skilled drugist will make a vast difference to the medicine and chemistry of the world I suspect that this sleeping honey by itself will take the place of half of the bad drugs we've had to use so far Long Arrow has discovered a pharmacopia of his own Miranda was right, he is a great naturalist his name deserves to be placed beside Linnaeus some day I must get all these things to England but when, he added sadly yes, that is the problem when End of Chapter 3 Part 6 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This recording is in the public domain Part 6 Chapter 4 The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle by Hugh Lofting This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida February 2007 Chapter 4 Part 6 The Sea Serpent The Sea Serpent For a long time after the cabinet meeting of which I have just told you we did not ask the doctor anything further about going home Life in Spider Monkey Island went forward month in, month out busily and pleasantly The winter with Christmas celebrations came and went and summer was with us once again before we knew it As time passed the doctor became more and more taken up with the care of his big family and of course he could spare for his natural history work grew fewer and fewer I knew that he often still thought of his house and garden in Puttleby and of his old plans and ambitions because once in a while we would notice his face grow thoughtful and a little sad when something reminded him of England or his old life but he never spoke of these things and I truly believe he would have spent the remainder of his days on Spider Monkey Island if it hadn't been for an accident The old parrot had grown very tired of the Indians and she made no secret of it The very idea she said to me one day as we were walking on the seashore the idea of the famous John Doolittle spending his valuable life waiting on these greasy natives why it's preposterous All that morning we had been watching the doctor super intend the building of the new theater in Popsie Pitle There was already an opera house and a concert hall and finally she had got so grouchy and annoyed at the sight that I had suggested her taking a walk with me Do you really think I asked as we sat down on the sands that he will never go back to Puttleby again? I don't know she said at one time I felt sure that the thought of the pets he had left behind at the house would take him home soon but since Miranda brought him word last August that everything was all right there that hope's gone for months and months I've been racking my brains to think up a plan if we could only hit upon something that would turn his thoughts back to natural history again I mean something big enough to get him really excited we might manage it but how she shrugged her shoulders and discussed how when all he thinks of now is paving streets and teaching papooses that twice one are two it was a perfect popsy pedal day bright and hot blue and yellow drowsily I looked out of the sea thinking of my mother and father I wondered if they were getting anxious over my long absence beside me old Polynesia went on grumbling away in low steady tones and her words began to mingle and mix with the gentle lapping of the waves upon the shore it may have been the even murmur of her voice helped by the soft me air that lulled me to sleep I don't know anyhow I presently dreamed that the island had moved again not floatingly as before but suddenly jerkily as though something enormously powerful had heaved it up from its bed just once and let it down how long I slept after that I have no idea I was awakened by a gentle pecking on the nose Tommy Tommy it was Polynesia's voice wake up gosh what a boy to sleep through an earthquake and never notice it Tommy listen here's our chance now wake up for goodness sake what's the matter I asked sitting up with a yawn shhh look whispered Polynesia pointing out to see still only half awake I stared before me with blurry sleep-laden eyes in the shallow water not more than 30 yards from shore I saw an enormous pale pink shell dome shaped it towered up in a graceful rainbow curve to a tremendous height and round its base the surf broke gently in little waves of white it could have belonged to the wildest dream what in the world is it I asked that whispered Polynesia is what sailors for hundreds of years have called the sea serpent I have seen it myself more than once from the decks of ships at long range curving in and out of the water but now that I see it close and still I very strongly suspect that the sea serpent of history is no other than the great glass sea snail that fidget told us of if that isn't the only fish of its kind in the seven seas call me a carrion crow Tommy we're in luck our job is to get the doctor down here to look at that prize specimen before it moves off to the deep hole if we can trust me we may leave this blessed island yet you stay here and keep an eye on it while I go after the doctor don't move or speak don't even breathe heavy he might get scared awful timid things snails just watch him I'll be back in two shakes stealthily creeping up the sands till she could get behind the cover of some bushes before she took to her wings Polynesia went off in the direction of town while I remained alone upon the shore fascinatedly watching this unbelievable monster wallowing in the shallow sea it moved very little from time to time it lifted its head out of the water showing its enormously long neck and horns occasionally it would try to draw itself up the way a snail does when he goes to move but almost at once he would sink down again as if exhausted it seemed to me to act as though it were hurt underneath but the lower part of it which was below the level of the water I could not see I was still absorbed in watching the great beast when Polynesia returned with the doctor they approached so silently and so cautiously that I neither saw nor heard them coming till I found them crouching beside me on the sand one side of the snail changed the doctor completely his eyes just sparkled with delight I had not seen him so thrilled and happy since the time we caught the Jabizari beetle when we first landed on the island it is he, he whispered the great glass sea snail himself not a doubt of it Polynesia, go down to the shore away and see if you can find any of the porpoises for me perhaps they can tell us what the snail was doing here it's very unusual for him to be in shallow water like this you go over to the harbor and bring me a small canoe but be most careful how you paddle it round into this bay if the snail should take fright and go into the deeper water we may never get a chance to see him again and don't tell any of the Indians Polynesia added in a whisper as I moved to go we must keep this a secret or we'll have a crowd of sightseers round here in five minutes it's lucky we found the snail Bay reaching the harbor I picked out a small light canoe from among the number that were lying there and without telling anyone what I wanted it for got in and started off to paddle it down the shore I was mortally afraid that the snail might have left before I got back and you can imagine how delighted I was when I rounded a rocky cape and came inside of the bay to find he was still there Polynesia I saw bringing with her a pair of porpoises these were already conversing in low tones with John Dolittle I beached the canoe and went up to listen what I want to know, the doctor was saying is how the snail comes to be here I was given to understand that he usually stayed in the deep hole and when he did come to the surface it was always in mid ocean oh, didn't you know haven't you heard? replied the porpoises hole when you sank the island why yes, you let it down right on top of the mouth of the hole sort of put a lid on it as it were the fishes that were in at the time have been trying to get out ever since the great snail had the worst luck of all the island nipped him by the tail just as he was leaving the hole for a quiet evening stroll and he was held there for six months trying to wiggle himself free finally he had to heave the whole island up at one end to get his tail loose didn't you feel a sort of an earthquake shock about an hour ago yes, I did, said the doctor it shook down part of the theater I was building well, that was the snail heaving up the island to get out of the hole they said, all the other fishes saw their chance and escaped when he raised the lid it was lucky for them he was so big and strong, but the strain of that terrific heave told on him he sprained a muscle in his tail and it started swelling rather badly he wanted some quiet place to rest up and seeing the soft beach handy he crawled in here dear me, said the doctor I'm terribly sorry I suppose I should have given some sort of notice that the island was going to be let down but to tell the truth we didn't know it ourselves it happened by kind of an accident do you imagine the poor fellow is hurt very badly we're not sure, said the porpoises because none of us can speak his language but we swam right around him on our way in here and he did not seem to be really seriously injured can't any of your people speak shellfish? the doctor asked not a word, they said it's a most frightfully difficult language do you think that you might be able to find some kind of fish that could know, said the porpoises we might try I should be extremely grateful if you would said the doctor there are many important questions I want to ask this snail and besides, I would like to do my best to cure his tail for him it's the least I can do after all, it was my fault indirectly that he got hurt well, if you wait here the porpoises said we'll see what can be done end of chapter 4 part 6 the voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting this recording is in the public domain chapter 5 part 6 the voyages of Dr. Doolittle by Hugh Lofting this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain, for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida February 2007 chapter 5 the shellfish riddles solved at last so Dr. Doolittle with a crown on his head sat down on the shore like king nut and waited and for a whole hour the porpoises kept going and coming bringing up different kinds of sea beasts from the deep to see if they could help him many and curious were the creatures they produced it would seem however that there were very few things that spoke shellfish except the shellfish themselves still the porpoises grew a little more hopeful when they discovered a very old sea urchin a funny ball like little fellow with long whiskers all over him who said he could not speak pure shellfish but he used to understand starfish enough to get along when he was young this was coming nearer even if it wasn't anything to go crazy about leaving the urchin with us the porpoises went off once more to hunt up a starfish they were not long getting one for they were quite common in those parts then using the sea urchin as an interpreter they questioned the starfish he was a rather stupid sort of creature but he tried his best to be helpful and after a little patient examination we found to our delight that he could speak shellfish moderately well feeling quite encouraged the doctor and I now got into the canoe and with the porpoises the urchin and the starfish swimming alongside we paddled very gently out till we were close under the towering shell of the great snail and then began the most curious conversation I have ever witnessed first the starfish would ask the snail something and whatever answer the snail gave the starfish would tell it to the sea urchin the urchin would tell it to the porpoises and the porpoises would tell it to the doctor in this way we obtained considerable information mostly about the very ancient history of the animal kingdom but we missed a good many of the finer points in the snail's longer speeches on account of the stupidity of the starfish and all this translating from one language to another while the snail was speaking the doctor and I put our ears against all of his shell and found that we could in this way hear the sound of his voice quite plainly it was as the fidget had described deep and bell-like but of course we could not understand a single word he said however the doctor was by this time terrifically excited about getting near to learning the language he had sought for so long and presently by making the other fishes repeat over and over again short phrases which the snail used he began to put the words together for himself you see he was already familiar with one or two fish languages and that helped him quite a little after he had practiced for a while like this he leaned over the side of the canoe and putting his face below the water tried speaking to the snail direct it was hard and difficult work and hours went by before he got any results but presently I could tell by the happy look on his face that little by little he was succeeding the sun was low in the west and the cool evening breeze was beginning to rustle softly through the bamboo groves when the doctor finally turned from his work and said to me stubens I have persuaded the snail to come in on to the dry part of the beach and let me examine his tail will you please go back to the town and tell the workman to stop working on the theater for today then go on to the palace and get the medicine bag I think I left it under the throne in the audience chamber and remember whisper Polynesia as I turned away not a word to a soul if you get asked questions keep your mouth shut pretend you have a toothache or something this time when I got back to the shore with the medicine bag I found the snail high and dry on the beach seeing him in full link like this it was easy to understand superstitious sailors called him the sea serpent he was certainly a most gigantic and in his way a graceful beautiful creature John Doolittle was examining a swelling on his tail from the bag which I had brought the doctor took out a large bottle of imbrocation and began rubbing the spring next he took out all the bandages he had in the bag and fastened them end to end but even like that they were not long enough halfway around the enormous tail the doctor insisted that he must get the swelling strapped tight somehow so he sent me off to the palace once more to get all the sheets from the royal linen closet these Polynesia and I tore into bandages for him and at last after terrific exertions we got the sprain strapped to his satisfaction the snail really seemed quite pleased with the attention he had received and he stretched himself in lazy comfort when the doctor was done in this position when the shell on his back was empty you could look right through it and see the palm trees on the other side I think one of us had better sit up with him all night said the doctor we might put Bumple on that duty he's been napping all day I know in the summer house it's a pretty bad sprain that and if the snail shouldn't be able to sleep he'll be happier with someone with him for company he'll get all right though in a few days I should judge if I wasn't so confoundedly busy I'd sit up with him myself I wish I could because I still have a lot of things to talk over with him but doctor said Polynesia as we prepared to go back to the town you ought to take a holiday all kings take holidays once in the while every one of them King Charles for instance of course Charles was before your time but he why he was always holiday making not that he was ever what you would call a model king but just the same he was fried fully popular everybody liked him even the golden carp in the fish pond at Hampton Court as a king the only thing I had against him was his inventing those stupid little snappy dogs they call Charles Spaniels there are lots of stories about poor Charles but that in my opinion is the worst thing he did however all of this is beside the point as I was saying kings have to take holidays the same as anybody else and you haven't taken one since you were crowned have you now no said the doctor I suppose that's true well now I'll tell you what you do as soon as you get back to the palace you publish a royal proclamation that you are going away for a week into the country for your help and you're going without any servants you understand just like a plain person it's called traveling incognito when kings go off like that they all do it it's the only way they can ever have a good time then the week you're away you can spend traveling on the beach back there with the snail how's that I'd like to said the doctor it sounds most attractive but there's the new theater to be built none of our carpenters would know how to get those rafters on without me to show them and then there are the babies these native mothers are so frightfully ignorant oh bother the theater and the babies too snapped Polynesia can wait a week and as for the babies they never have anything more than colic how do you suppose the babies got along before you came here for heaven's sake take a holiday you need it end of chapter 5 part 6 the voyages of doctor do little by Hugh Lofting this recording is in the public domain part 6 chapter 6 the voyages of doctor do little this is LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information and to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida February 2007 the voyages of doctor do little by Hugh Lofting part 6 chapter 6 the last cabinet meeting from the way Polynesia talked this idea of a holiday was part of her plan the doctor made no reply and we walked silently towards the town I could see nevertheless that her words had made an impression on him after supper he disappeared from the palace without saying where he was going a thing he had never done before of course we all knew where he had gone back to the beach to sit up with the snail we were sure of it because he had said nothing to Bumpo about attending to the matter as soon as the doors were closed upon the cabinet meeting that night Polynesia addressed the ministry look here you fellows she said we've simply got to get the doctor to take this holiday somehow unless we're willing to stay in this blessed island for the rest of our lives but what difference Bumpo asked is his taking a holiday going to make impatiently Polynesia turned upon the minister of the interior you see if he has a clear week to get thoroughly interested in his natural history again marine stuff his dream of seeing the floor of the ocean and all that there may be some chance of his consenting to leave this pesky place but while he's here on duty as king he never gets a moment to think of anything outside of the business of government yes that's true he is far too contentious and besides Polynesia went on his only hope of ever getting away from here would be to escape secretly he's got to leave while he is holiday making incognito when no one knows where he is or what he is doing but us if he built a ship big enough to cross the sea in all the Indians would see it and hear it being built and they'd ask what it was for they would interfere they'd sooner have anything happen then lose the doctor why I believe if they thought he had any idea of escaping they would put chains on him yes I really think they would I agreed yet without a ship of some kind I don't see how the doctor is going to get away even secretly well I'll tell you said Polynesia if we succeed in making him take this holiday our next step will be to promise to take us all on his shell and carry us to the mouth of Puddlebee river if we can once get the snail willing the temptation will be too much for John do little and he'll come I know especially as he'll be able to take those new plants and drugs of long arrows to the English doctors as well as see the floor of the ocean on the way how thrilling I cried do you mean the snail could take us under the sea on the way back to Puddlebee certainly said Polynesia a little trip like that is nothing to him he would crawl along the floor of the ocean and the doctor could see all the sights perfectly simple oh doctor do little will come all right if we can only get him to take that holiday and if the snail will consent to give us a ride golly I hope he does side jib beastly tropics they make me feel so lazy and good for nothing and there are no rats or anything here not that a fellow would have the energy to chase them even if there were my wouldn't I be glad to see old Puddlebee and the garden again and won't dab dab be glad to have us back by the end of the month I said it will be two whole years since we left England since we pulled up the anchor at King's bridge to the river and got stuck in the mud added chi chi in a dreamy far away voice do you remember how all the people wave to us from the river wall I asked yes and I suppose they've often talked about us in the town since said jip wondering whether we're dead or alive cease said bumpo I feel I am about to weep from sentiment end of chapter 6 part 6 the voyages of doctor do little by Hugh Lofting this recording is in the public domain part 6 chapter 7 the voyages of doctor do little by Hugh Lofting this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to find out how you can volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Pat Elder San Antonio, Florida March 2007 chapter 7 the doctors decision well you can guess how glad we were when next morning the doctor after his all night conversation with the snail told us that he had made up his mind to take the holiday a proclamation was published right away by the town crier that his majesty was going into the country for a 7 day rest but that during his absence the palace and the government offices would be kept open as usual Polynesia was immensely pleased she had once said quietly to work making arrangements for our departure taking good care of the while that no one should get an inkling of where we were going what we were taking with us the hour of our leaving or which of the palace's gates we would go out cunning old schemer that she was she forgot nothing and not even we who were the doctor's party could imagine what reasons she had for some of her preparations she took me inside and told me that the one thing I must remember to bring with me was all of the doctor's notebooks long arrow who was the only indian let into the secret of our destination said he would like to come with us as far as the beach to see the great snail and him Polynesia told to be sure and bring his collection of plants bump oh she ordered to carry the doctor's high hat carefully hidden under his coat she sent off nearly all the footmen who were on night duty to do errands in the town so that there should be as few servants as possible to see a sleeve and midnight the hour when most of the town's people would be asleep she finally chose for our departure we had to take a week's food supply with us for the royal holiday so with our other packages we were heavy laden when on the stroke of twelve we opened the west door of the palace and stepped cautiously and quietly into the moonlit garden hello incognito whispered bump oh as we gently closed the heavy doors behind us no one had seen us leave at the foot of the stone steps leading from the peacock terrace to the sunken rosary something made me pause and look back at the magnificent palace which we had built in this strange far off land where no white men but ourselves had ever come somehow I felt it in my bones that we were leaving it tonight never to return again and I wondered what other kings and ministers would dwell in its splendid halls when we were gone the air was hot and everything was deadly still but for the gentle splashing of the tame flamingos paddling in the lily pond suddenly the twinkling lantern of a night watchman appeared round the corner of a cypress hedge Polynesia plucked at my stocking and in an impatient whisper bade me to hurry before our flight be discovered on our arrival at the beach we found the snail already feeling much better and now able to move his tail without pain the porpoises who are by nature inquisitive creatures were still hanging about in the offing to see if anything interesting was going to happen Polynesia the plotter while the doctor was occupied with his new patient signaled to them and drew them aside for a little private chat now see here my friends she said speaking low you know how much John Doolittle has done for the animals given up his whole life for them one might say well here's your chance to do something for him listen he got made king of this island against his will see and now that he's taken the job on he feels he can't leave it thinks the Indians won't be able to get along without him and all that which is nonsense as you and I very well know all right then here's the point if the snail were only willing to take him and us and a little baggage not very much 30 or 40 pieces say inside his shell and carry us to England we feel sure that the doctor would go because he's just crazy to mess about on the floor of the ocean what's more this would be his one and only chance to escape from the island so it is highly important that the doctor return to his own country to carry on his proper work which means such a lot to the animals of the world so what we want you to do is tell the sea urchin to tell the starfish to tell the snail to take us in his shell and carry us to puddleby river is that plain quite quite said the porpoises and we will willingly do our best as you say a perfect shame for a great man to be wasting his time here when he is so much needed by the animals and don't let the doctor know what you're about said Polynesia as they started to move off he might balk if he thought we had any hand in it get the snail to offer on his own account to take us see John Doolittle unaware of anything save the work he was engaged on was standing knee deep in the shallow water helping the snail try out his mended tail to see if it were well enough to travel on Bumpo and Long Arrow with Chichi and Jip were lulling at the foot of a palm a little way up the beach Polynesia and I now went and joined them half an hour passed what success the porpoises had met with we did not know till suddenly the doctor left the snail's side and came splashing out to us quite breathless what do you think he cried while I was talking to the snail just now he offered of his own accord to take us all back to England inside his shell he says he has got to go on a voyage of discovery anyway to hunt up a new home now that the deep hole is closed said it wouldn't be much out of his way to drop us at Puttleby River if I cared to come along goodness what a chance I'd love to go to examine the floor of the ocean all the way from Brazil to Europe no man ever did it before what a glorious trip oh that I had never allowed myself to be made king now I must see the chance of a lifetime slipped by he turned from us and moved down the sands again to the middle of the beach gazing wistfully longingly out of the snail there was something peculiarly sad and forlorn about him as he stood there on the lonely shore the crown upon his head his figure showing sharply black against the glittering sea behind out of the darkness at my elbow Polynesia rose and quietly moved to his side now doctor she said in a soft persuasive voice as though she were talking to a wayward child you know this king business is not your real work in life these natives will be able to get along without you not so well as they do with you of course but they'll manage the same as they did before you came nobody can say you haven't done your duty by them it was their fault they made you king why not accept the snail's offer and just drop everything now and go the work you'll do the information you'll carry home will be far more valuable than what you are doing here good friend said the doctor turning to her sadly I cannot they would go back to their old unsanitary ways bad water uncooked fish no drainage enteric fever and the rest no I must think of their health their welfare I began life as a people's doctor I seem to have come back to it in the end I cannot desert them later perhaps something will turn up but I cannot leave them now that's where you are wrong doctor she said now is when you should go nothing will turn up the longer you stay the harder it will be to leave go now go tonight what steal away without even saying goodbye to them why Polynesia what a thing to suggest fat chance they would give you to say goodbye snorted Polynesia growing impatient at last I tell you doctor if you go back to that palace tonight for goodbyes or anything else you will stay there now this moment is the time for you to go the truth in the old parents words seem to be striking home for the doctors to silent for a minute thinking but there are the notebooks he said presently I would have to go back and fetch them I have them here doctor I said speaking up all of them again he pondered and long arrows collection he said I would have to take that also with me it is here oh kindly one came the indians deep voice from the shadow beneath the palm but what about provisions ask the doctor food for the journey we have a week supply with us for our holiday said Polynesia it's more than we will need for a third time the doctor was silent and thoughtful and then there's my hat he said fretfully at last that settles it I'll have to go back to the palace I can't leave without my hat how could I appear in puddleby with this crown on my head here it is doctor said bump oh old battered and beloved from under his coat Polynesia had indeed thought of everything yet even now we could see the doctor was still trying to think up further excuses oh kindly one said long arrow why tempt ill fortune your way is clear your future and your work beckon you back to your foreign home beyond the sea with you will go also what you have gathered for mankind to lands where it will be of wider use than it can ever hear I see the glimmerings of dawn in the eastern heaven day is at hand go before your subjects are abroad go before your project is discovered for truly I believe that if you go not now you will linger the remainder of your days a captive king in popsypedal great decisions often take no more than a moment in the making against the now paling sky I saw the doctor's figure suddenly stiffen slowly he lifted the sacred crown from off his head and laid it on the sands and when he spoke his voice choked with tears they will find it here he murmured when they come to search for me and they will know that I have gone my children my poor children I wonder will they ever understand why it was that I left them I wonder will they ever understand and forgive he took his old hat from Bumpo then facing long arrow gripped his outstretched hand in silence you decide a right oh kindly one said the indian though none will miss you and mourn you more than long arrow the son of golden arrow farewell and may good fortune ever lead you by the hand it was the first and only time I ever saw the doctor weep without a word to any of us he turned and moved down the beach into the shallow water of the sea the snail humped up its back and made an opening between its shoulders and the edge of its shell the doctor clamored up and passed within we followed him after handing up the baggage the opening shut tight with a whistling suction noise then turning in the direction of the east the great creature began moving smoothly forward down the slope into the deeper waters just as the swirling dark green surf was closing in above our heads the big morning sun popped his rim over the edge of the ocean and through our transparent walls of pearl we saw the watery world about us suddenly light up with that most wondrously colorful visions a daybreak beneath the sea the rest of the story of our homeward voyage is soon told our new quarters we found very satisfactory inside the spacious shell the snail's wide back was extremely comfortable to sit and lounge on better than a sofa when you once got accustomed to the damp and clammy feeling of it he asked us shortly after we started if we wouldn't mind taking off our boots as the hobnails in them hurt his back as we ran excitedly from one side to another to see the different sights the motion was not unpleasant very smooth and even in fact but for the landscape passing outside you would not know on level going that you were moving at all I had always thought for some reason or the other that the bottom of the sea was flat I found that it was just as irregular and changeable as the surface of the dry land we climbed over great mountain ranges with peaks towering above peaks we threaded our way through dense forests of tall sea plants we crossed wide empty stretches of sandy mud like deserts so vast that you went on for a whole day with nothing ahead of you but a dim horizon sometimes the scene was moss covered rolling country, green and restful to the eye like rich pastures so that you almost looked to see deep cropping on these underwater downs and sometimes the snail would roll us forward inside him like peas when he suddenly dipped downward to descend into some deep secluded valley with steeply sloping sides in these lower levels we often came upon the shadowy shapes of dead ships wrecked and sunk heaven only knows how many years ago and passing them we would speak in hushed whispers like children seeing monuments in churches here too in the deeper darker waters monstrous fish feeding quietly in caves and hollows would suddenly spring up alarmed at our approach and flash away into the gloom with the speed of an arrow while bolder ones all sorts of unearthly shapes and colors would come right up and peer in at us through the shell I suppose they think we are a sort of sand aquarium said Bumpo I'd hate to be a fish it was a thrilling and ever-changing show the doctor wrote or sketched incessantly before long we had filled in all the blank notebooks we had left then we searched our pockets for any old scraps of paper on which to jot down still more observations we even went through the used books a second time writing in between the lines scribbling all over the covers front and back our greatest quality was getting enough light to see by in the lower waters it was very dim on the third day we passed a band of fire eels a sort of large marine glow worm and the doctor asked the snail to get them to come along with us for a way this they did swimming alongside and their light was very helpful though not brilliant how our giant shellfish found his way across the vast gloomy world was a great puzzle to us the snail asked him by what means he navigated how he knew he was on the right road to puddleby river and what the snail said in reply got the doctor so excited that having no paper left he tore out the lining of his precious hat and covered it with notes by the night of course it was impossible to see anything and during the hours of darkness the snail used to swim instead of scroll when he did so he could travel at terrific speed just by waggling that long tail of his this was the reason why we completed the trip in so short a time five and a half days the air of our chamber having not been changed in the whole voyage got very close and stuffy and for the first two days we all had headaches but after that we got used to it and didn't mind in the least early in the afternoon of the sixth day we noticed we were climbing a gentle slope as we went upward it grew lighter finally we saw the snail had crawled right out of the water altogether and now had come to a dead stop on a long strip of grey sand behind us we saw the surface of the sea rippled by the wind on our left was the mouth of a river with the tide running out while in front the low flat land stretched away into the mist which prevented one from seeing very far in any direction a pair of wild ducks waning necks and whirling wings passed over us and disappeared like shadows seaword as a landscape it was a great change from the hot brilliant sunshine of popsy-pedal with the same whistling suction sound the snail made the opening for us to crawl out by as we stepped down upon the marshy land we noticed that a fine drizzling autumn rain was falling can this be mary england running into the fog doesn't look like any place in particular maybe the snail hasn't brought us right after all yes sighed polonisia shaking the rain off her feathers this is england all right you can tell it by the beastly climate oh but fellows cried chip as he sniffed the air in great gulps it has a smell a good and glorious smell excuse me a minute i see a water rat listen said chi chi through teeth that shattered with the cold the there's puddle be church clocks striking for four why don't we divide up the baggage and get moving we've got a long way to foot it home across the marshes let's hope i put in that dab dab has a nice fire burning in the kitchen i'm sure she will said the doctor as he picked up his old handbag with this wind from the east she'll need it to keep the animals in the house warm come on let's hug the river bank so we don't miss our way in the fog you know there's something rather attractive in the bad weather of england when you've got a kitchen fire to look forward to four o'clock come along we'll be just in time for tea end of section six chapter seven this completes the voyages of doctor do little by Hugh lofting this recording is in the public domain