The Story Of Doctor Dolittle - Chapters 16-18

Welcome to Restful Journeys.

In this track I will continue reading the story of Dr.

Dolittle by Hugh Lofting.

This will be chapters 16,

17 and 18.

Please find a comfortable place to sit or lie down and relax.

Take a few moments to clear your mind and allow yourself to listen to these words and help you become calm.

Let's continue with chapter 16.

2-2,

The Listener.

Having thanked the sharks again for their kindness,

The doctor and his pets set off once more on their journey home in the swift ship with the three red sails.

As they moved out into the open sea,

The animals all went downstairs to see what their new boat was like inside,

While the doctor leant on the rail at the back of the ship with a pipe in his mouth,

Watching the Canary Islands fade away in the blue dusk of the evening.

While he was standing there,

Wondering how the monkeys were getting on and what his garden would look like when he got back to Puddleby,

Dab-Dab came tumbling up the stairs,

All smiles and full of news.

Doctor,

She cried,

This ship of the pirates is simply beautiful,

Absolutely.

The beds downstairs are made of primrose silk,

With hundreds of big pillows and cushions.

There are thick,

Soft carpets on the floors,

The dishes are made of silver,

And there are all sorts of good things to eat and drink,

Special things.

The larder,

Well,

It's just like a shop,

That's all.

You never saw anything like it in your life.

Just think,

They kept five different kinds of sardines,

Those men.

Come and look.

Oh,

And we found a little room down there with the door locked.

We are all crazy to get in and see what's inside.

Jip says it must be where the pirates kept their treasure,

But we can't open the door.

Come down and see if you can let us in.

So,

The doctor went downstairs,

And he saw that it was indeed a beautiful ship.

He found the animals gathered round a little door,

All talking at once,

Trying to guess what was inside.

The doctor turned the handle,

But it wouldn't open.

Then they all started to hunt for the key.

They looked under the mat,

They looked under all the carpets,

They looked in all the cupboards and drawers and lockers,

In the big chest and the ship's dining room.

They looked everywhere.

While they were doing this,

They discovered a lot of new and wonderful things that the pirates must have stolen from other ships.

Cashmere shawls as thin as cobweb,

Embroidered with flowers of gold,

Jars of fine tobacco from Jamaica,

Carved ivory boxes full of Russian tea,

An old violin with a string broken and a picture on the back,

A set of big chess men carved out of coral and amber,

A walking stick which had a sword inside it when you pulled the handle,

Six wine glasses with turquoise and silver round the rims,

And a lovely great sugar bowl made of mother of pearl.

But nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to fit that lock.

So they all came back to the door and Jip peered through the keyhole,

But something had been stood against the wall on the inside and he could see nothing.

While they were standing around wondering what they should do,

The owl Tutu suddenly said,

Shhh,

Listen,

I do believe there's someone in there.

They all kept still for a moment,

Then the doctor said,

You must be mistaken Tutu,

I don't hear anything.

I'm sure of it,

Said the owl.

Shhh,

There it goes again,

Don't you hear that?

No,

I don't,

Said the doctor.

What kind of sound is it?

I hear the noise of someone putting his hand in his pocket,

Said the owl.

But that makes hardly any sound at all,

Said the doctor.

You couldn't hear that out here?

Pardon me,

But I can,

Said Tutu.

I tell you,

There is someone on the other side of that door putting his hand in his pocket.

Almost everything makes some noise,

If your ears are only sharp enough to catch it.

Bats can hear a mole walking in his tunnel under the earth,

And they think they're good hearers.

But we owls can tell you,

Using only one ear,

The color of a kitten from the way it winks in the dark.

Well,

Well,

Said the doctor.

You surprise me,

That's very interesting.

Listen again and tell me what he's doing now.

I'm not sure yet,

Said Tutu.

If it's a man at all,

Maybe it's a woman.

Lift me up and let me listen at the keyhole,

And I'll soon tell you.

So the doctor lifted the owl up and held him close to the lock of the door.

After a moment,

Tutu said,

Now he's rubbing his face with his left hand.

It is a small hand and a small face.

It might be a woman.

No,

Now he pushes his hair back off his forehead.

It's a man,

All right.

Women sometimes do that,

Said the doctor.

True,

Said the owl,

But when they do,

Their long hair makes quite a different sound.

Shh,

Make that fidgety pig keep still.

Now all hold your breath a moment,

So I can listen well.

This is very difficult,

What I'm doing now,

And the pesky door is so thick.

Shh,

Everybody quiet still,

Shut your eyes and don't breathe.

Tutu leaned down and listened again,

Very hard and long.

At last,

He looked up into the doctor's face and said,

The man in there is unhappy.

He weeps.

He is taking care not to blubber or sniffle,

Lest we should find out why he is crying.

But I heard,

Quite distinctly,

The sound of a tear falling on his sleeve.

How do you know it wasn't a drop of water falling off the ceiling on him?

Asked Gub-Gub.

Pshh,

Such ignorance,

Sniffed Tutu.

A drop of water falling from the ceiling would have made ten times as much noise.

Well,

Said the doctor,

If the poor fellow is unhappy,

We've got to get in and see what's the matter with him.

Find me an axe and I'll chop the door down.

That concludes chapter 16.

Tutu the Listener.

Chapter 17.

The Ocean Gossips.

Right away,

An axe was found,

And the doctor soon chopped a hole in the door big enough to clamber through.

At first,

He could see nothing at all.

It was so dark inside.

So,

He struck a match.

The room was quite small,

No window,

The ceiling low.

For furniture,

There was only one little stool.

All round the room,

Big barrels stood against the walls,

Fastened at the bottom so they wouldn't tumble with the rolling of the ship,

And above the barrels,

Pewter jugs of all sizes hung from wooden pegs.

There was a strong,

Whiny smell,

And in the middle of the floor sat a little boy,

About eight years old,

Crying bitterly.

I declare,

It's the pirate's rum room,

Said Jip in a whisper.

Yes,

Very rum,

Said Gub-Gub.

The smell makes me giddy.

The little boy seemed rather frightened to find a man standing there before him,

And all those animals staring in through the hole in the broken door.

But as soon as he saw John Doolittle's face by the light of the match,

He stopped crying and got up.

You aren't one of the pirates,

Are you?

He asked.

And when the doctor threw back his head and laughed,

Long and loud,

The little boy smiled too,

And came and took his hand.

You laugh like a friend,

He said.

Not like a pirate.

Could you tell me where my uncle is?

I am afraid I can't,

Said the doctor.

When did you see him last?

It was the day before yesterday,

Said the boy.

I and my uncle were out fishing in our little boat when the pirates came and caught us.

They sunk our fishing boat and brought us both on the ship.

They told my uncle that they wanted him to be a pirate like them,

For he was clever at sailing a ship in all weathers.

But he said he didn't want to be a pirate,

Because killing people and stealing was no work for a good fisherman to do.

Then the leader,

Bin Ali,

Got very angry and gnashed his teeth,

And he said they would throw my uncle into the sea if he didn't do as they said.

They sent the men downstairs,

And I heard the noise of a fight going on above,

And when they let me come up again the next day,

My uncle was nowhere to be seen.

I asked the pirates where he was,

But they wouldn't tell me.

I am very much afraid they threw him into the sea and drowned him.

And the little boy began to cry again.

Well,

Now wait a minute,

Said the doctor.

Don't cry.

Let's go and have tea in the dining room,

And we'll talk it over.

Maybe your uncle is quite safe all the time.

You don't know that he was drowned,

Do you?

And that's something.

Perhaps we can find him for you.

First we'll go and have tea with strawberry jam,

And then we will see what can be done.

All the animals had been standing around,

Listening with great curiosity,

And when they had gone into the ship's dining room and were having tea,

Dab-Dab came up behind the doctor's chair and whispered,

Ask the porpoises if the boy's uncle was drowned.

They'll know.

All right,

Said the doctor,

Taking a second piece of bread and jam.

What are those funny clicking noises you're making with your tongue?

Asked the boy.

Oh,

I just said a couple of words in duck language.

The doctor answered,

This is Dab-Dab,

One of my pets.

I didn't even know that ducks had a language,

Said the boy.

Are all these other animals your pets too?

What is that strange looking thing with two heads?

Shh,

The doctor whispered.

That is a push-me-pull-you.

Don't let him see we're talking about him.

He gets so dreadfully embarrassed.

Tell me,

How did you come to be locked up in that little room?

The pirates shut me in there when they were going off to steal things from another ship.

When I heard someone chopping on the door,

I didn't know who it could be.

Very glad to find it was you.

Do you think you will be able to find my uncle for me?

Well,

We are going to try very hard,

Said the doctor.

Now,

What was your uncle like to look at?

He had red hair,

The boy answered.

Very red hair,

And the picture of an anchor tattooed on his arm.

He was a strong man,

A kind of uncle and the best sailor in the South Atlantic.

His fishing boat was called the Saucy Sally,

A cutter-rigged sloop.

What's cutter-rigged sloop?

Whispered Gub-Gub,

Turning to Jip.

Shh,

That's the kind of ship the man had,

Said Jip.

Keep still,

Can't you?

Oh,

Said the pig.

Is that all?

I thought it was something to drink.

So the doctor left the boy to play with the animals in the dining room and went upstairs to look for passing porpoises.

And soon,

A whole school came dancing up and jumping through the water on their way to Brazil.

When they saw the doctor leaning on the rail of his ship,

They came over to see how he was getting on.

And the doctor asked them if they had seen anything of a man with red hair and an anchor tattooed on his arm.

Do you mean the master of the Saucy Sally?

Asked one of the porpoises.

Yes,

Said the doctor.

That's the man.

Has he been drowned?

His fishing sloop was sunk,

Said the porpoises,

For we saw it lying on the bottom of the sea,

But there was nobody inside because we went and looked.

His little nephew is on the ship here with me,

Said the doctor.

And he is terribly afraid that the pirates threw his uncle into the sea.

Would you be so good as to find out for me,

For sure,

Whether he has been drowned or not?

Oh,

He hasn't drowned,

Said the porpoises.

If he were,

We would be sure to have heard it from the deep-sea decapines.

We hear all the saltwater news.

The shellfish call us.

The ocean gossips.

No,

Tell the little boy we are sorry we do not know where his uncle is,

But we are quite certain he hasn't been drowned in the sea.

So the doctor ran downstairs with the news and told the nephew,

Who clapped his hands with happiness.

And the push-me-pull-you took the little boy on his back and gave him a ride round the dining room table,

While all the other animals followed behind,

Beating the dish covers with spoons,

Pretending it was a parade.

That concludes Chapter 17,

The Ocean Gossips.

Chapter 18,

Smells Your uncle must now be found,

Said the doctor.

That is the next thing,

Now that we know he wasn't thrown into the sea.

Then Dab-Dab came up again and whispered,

Ask the eagles to look for the man.

No living creature can see better than an eagle.

When they are miles high in the air,

They can count the ants crawling on the ground.

Ask the eagles.

So the doctor sent one of the swallows off to get some eagles.

And in about an hour,

The little bird came back with six different kinds of eagles.

A black eagle,

A bald eagle,

A fish eagle,

A golden eagle,

An eagle vulture,

And a white-tailed sea eagle.

Twice as high as the boy they were,

Each one of them.

And they stood on the rail of the ship,

Like round-shouldered soldiers all in a row,

Stern and still and stiff,

While their great gleaming black eyes shot darting glances here and there and everywhere.

Gub-Gub was scared of them and got behind a barrel.

He said he felt as though those terrible eyes were looking right inside of him to see what he had stolen for lunch.

And the doctor said to the eagles,

A man has been lost.

A fisherman with red hair and an anchor marked on his arm.

Would you be so kind as to see if you can find him for us?

This boy is the man's nephew.

Eagles don't talk very much.

And all they answered in their husky voices was,

You may be sure that we will do our best for John Doolittle.

Then they flew off and Gub-Gub came out from behind his barrel to see them go.

Up and up and up they went,

Higher and higher and higher still.

Then,

When the doctor could only just see them,

They parted company and started going off in all different ways.

North,

East,

South and west,

Looking like tiny grains of black sand creeping across the wide blue sky.

My gracious,

Said Gub-Gub in a hushed voice.

What a height!

I wonder they don't scorch their feathers so near the sun.

They were gone a long time,

And when they came back it was almost night.

And the eagles said to the doctor,

We have searched all the seas and all the countries and all the islands and all the cities and all the villages in this half of the world,

But we have failed.

In the main street of Gibraltar,

We saw three red hares lying on a wheelbarrow before a baker's door.

But they were not the hares of a man,

They were the hares of a fur coat.

Nowhere,

On land or water,

Could we see any sign of the boy's uncle.

And if we could not see him,

Then he is not to be seen,

For John Dolittle,

We have done our best.

Then the six great birds flapped their big wings and flew back to their homes in the mountains and the rocks.

Well,

Said Dab-Dab after they had gone,

What are you going to do now?

The boy's uncle must be found.

There's no two ways about that.

The lad isn't old enough to be knocking around the world by himself.

Boys aren't like ducklings.

They have to be taken care of till they're quite old.

I wish Chee-Chee were here.

He would soon find the man.

Good old Chee-Chee.

I wonder how he's getting on.

If we only had Polynesia with us,

Said the White Mouse.

She should soon think of some way.

Chee-Chee,

Do you remember how she got us all out of the prison?

The second time?

My,

But she was a clever one.

I don't think so much of those Eagle Fellows,

Said Jip.

They're just conceited.

They may have very good eyesight and all that,

But when you ask them to find a man for you,

They can't do it.

And they have the cheek to come back and say that nobody else could do it.

They're just conceited,

Like that old collie in Puddleby.

And I don't think a whole lot of those gossipy old porpoises either.

All they could do is tell us that the man wasn't in the sea.

We don't want to know where he isn't.

We want to know where he is.

Oh,

Don't talk so much,

Said Gub-Gub.

It's easy to talk,

But it isn't so easy to find a man when you have got the whole world to hunt him in.

Maybe the fisherman's hair has turned white,

Worrying about the boy.

That was why the eagles didn't find him.

You don't know everything.

You're just talking.

You're not doing anything to help.

You couldn't find the boy's uncle any more than the eagles could.

You couldn't do as well.

Couldn't I?

Said the dog.

That's all you know,

You stupid piece of warm bacon.

I haven't begun to try yet,

Have I?

You wait and see.

Then Jip went to the doctor and said,

Ask the boy if he has anything in his pocket that belonged to his uncle.

Will you,

Please?

So the doctor asked him,

And the boy showed him a gold ring,

Which he wore on a piece of string around his neck because it was too big for his finger.

He said his uncle gave it to him when they saw the pirates coming.

Jip smelt the ring and said,

That's no good.

Ask him if he has anything else that belonged to his uncle.

Then the boy took from his pocket a great big red handkerchief and said,

This was my uncle's too.

As soon as the boy pulled it out,

Jip shouted,

Snuff!

By Jingo!

Black,

Wrappy snuff!

Don't you smell it?

His uncle took snuff!

Ask him,

Doctor.

The doctor questioned the boy again,

And he said,

Yes,

My uncle took a lot of snuff.

Fine,

Said Jip.

The man's as good as found.

T'will be easy as stealing milk from a kitten.

Tell the boy I'll find his uncle for him in less than a week.

Let us go upstairs and see which way the wind is blowing.

But it's dark now,

Said the doctor.

You can't find him in the dark.

I don't need any light to look for a man who smells of black,

Wrappy snuff,

Said Jip as he climbed the stairs.

If the man had a hard smell,

Like string now or hot water,

It would be different.

But snuff?

Tut-tut.

Does hot water have a smell?

Asked the doctor.

Certainly it has,

Said Jip.

Hot water smells quite different from cold water.

It is warm water or ice that has the really difficult smell.

Why,

I once followed a man for ten miles on a dark night by the smell of the hot water he had used to shave with,

For the poor fellow had no soap.

Now then,

Let us see which way the wind is blowing.

Wind is very important in long-distance smelling.

It mustn't be too fierce of a wind,

And of course it must blow the right way.

A nice,

Steady,

Damp breeze is the best of all.

Ha!

This wind is from the north.

Then Jip went up to the front of the ship and smelled the wind.

He started muttering to himself.

Tar,

Spanish onions,

Kerosene oil,

Wetcoats,

Crushed laurel leaves,

Rubber burning,

Lace curtains being washed.

No,

My mistake,

Lace curtains hanging out to dry,

And foxes,

Hundreds of them,

Cubs,

And.

.

.

Can you really smell all those different things in this one wind?

Asked the doctor.

Why,

Of course,

Said Jip.

And those are only a few of the easy smells,

The strong ones.

Any mongrel could smell those with a cold in his head.

Wait now,

And I'll tell you some of the harder scents that are coming in this wind,

A few of the dainty ones.

Then the dog shut his eyes,

Poked his nose straight up in the air,

And sniffed hard,

With his mouth half open.

For a long time,

He said nothing.

He kept as still as stone.

He hardly seemed to be breathing at all.

When at last he began to speak,

It sounded almost as though he were singing,

Sadly,

In a dream.

Bricks,

Bricks,

He whispered,

Very low.

Old yellow bricks,

Crumbling with age in a garden wall,

The sweet breath of young cows standing in a mountain stream,

The lead roof of a dove coat,

Or perhaps a greenery with the midday sun on it,

Black kid gloves laying in a bureau drawer of walnut wood,

A dusty road with a horse's drink trough beneath the sycamores,

Little mushrooms bursting through the rotting leaves,

And,

And,

And.

Any parsnips?

Asked Gub-Gub.

No,

Said Chip.

You always think of things to eat.

No parsnips,

Whatever.

And no snuff.

Plenty of pipes and cigarettes and a few cigars,

But no snuff.

We must wait till the wind changes to the south.

Yes,

It's a poor wind that,

Said Gub-Gub.

I think you're a fake,

Chip.

Who ever heard of finding a man in the middle of the ocean,

Just by smell?

I told you,

You couldn't do it.

Look here,

Said Chip,

Getting really angry.

You're going to get a bite on the nose in a minute.

You needn't think that just because the doctor won't let us give you what you deserve,

That you can be as cheeky as you like.

Stop quarreling,

Said the doctor.

Stop it.

Life's too short.

Tell me,

Chip,

Where do you think those smells are coming from?

From Devon and Wells,

Most of them,

Said Chip.

The wind is coming that way.

Well,

Well,

Said the doctor.

You know,

That's really quite remarkable.

Quite.

I must make a note of that for my new book.

I wonder if you could train me how to smell as well as that.

But no,

Perhaps,

I'm better off the way I am.

Enough is as good as a feast,

They say.

Let's go down to supper.

I'm quite hungry.

So am I,

Said Gub-Gub.

That concludes chapter 18,

Smells,

From the story of Dr.

Dolittle,

By Hugh Lofting.

Thank you for listening.

I hope you have enjoyed this story and hopefully become relaxed and possibly fallen asleep.