The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle — Hugh Lofting
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Title : The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Author : Hugh Lofting Release date : January 1, 1998 [eBook #1154] Most recently updated: October 29, 2024 Language : English Other information and formats : www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1154 Credits : Produced by Emmy, MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) THE VOYAGES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE THE VOYAGES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE Transcriber's note: Image with tissue paper overlay I HIS LANDING ON THE ISLAND II HIS MEETING WITH THE BEETLE III HE LIBERATES THE LOST FAMILIES IV HE MAKES FIRE V HE LEADS THE PEOPLE TO VICTORY IN WAR VI HE IS CROWNED KING THE POPSIPETEL PICTURE-HISTORY OF KING JONG THINKALOT The VOYAGES of DOCTOR DOLITTLE ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR BY HUGH LOFTING Published by FREDK. A. STOKES Co. at 443 Fourth Avenue New York A.D. 1922 Copyright, 1922, by Frederick A. Stokes Company All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages First Printing, August 18, 1922 Second Printing, November 10, 1922 Third Printing, February 28, 1923 Fourth Printing, June 20, 1923 Fifth Printing, August 16, 1923 Sixth Printing, November 30, 1923 Seventh Printing, April 18, 1925 Eighth Printing, March 19, 1926 Ninth Printing, July 30, 1927 Tenth Printing, April 11, 1928 Eleventh Printing, June 19, 1929 Twelfth Printing, September 12, 1930 Thirteenth Printing, August 10, 1931 Fourteenth Printing, September 1, 1933 Printed in the United States of America To Colin and Elizabeth CONTENTS PART ONE CHAPTER PAGE Prologue 1 I The Cobbler’s Son 3 II I Hear of the Great Naturalist 8 III The Doctor’s Home 15 IV The Wiff-Waff 24 V Polynesia 32 VI The Wounded Squirrel 41 VII Shellfish Talk 45 VIII Are You a Good Noticer? 50 IX The Garden of Dreams 55 X The Private Zoo 60 XI My Schoolmaster, Polynesia 65 XII My Great Idea 70 XIII A Traveler Arrives 75 XIV Chee-Chee’s Voyage 80 XV I Become a Doctor’s Assistant 84 PART TWO I The Crew of “The Curlew” 88 II Luke the Hermit 91 III Jip and the Secret 95 IV Bob 99 V Mendoza 105 VI The Judge’s Dog 111 VII The End of the Mystery 116 VIII Three Cheers 121 IX The Purple Bird-of-Paradise 126 X Long Arrow, the Son of Golden Arrow 129 XI Blind Travel 135 XII Destiny and Destination 140 PART THREE I The Third Man 144 II Good-Bye! 151 III Our Troubles Begin 155 IV Our Troubles Continue 160 V Polynesia Has a Plan 167 VI The Bed-Maker of Monteverde 172 VII The Doctor’s Wager 177 VIII The Great Bullfight 184 IX We Depart in a Hurry 193 PART FOUR I Shellfish Languages Again 198 II The Fidgit’s Story 205 III Bad Weather 221 IV Wrecked! 225 V Land! 233 VI The Jabizri 239 VII Hawk’s-Head Mountain 245 PART FIVE I A Great Moment 253 II “The Men of the Moving Land” 262 III Fire 266 IV What Makes an Island Float 271 V War! 275 VI General Polynesia 282 VII The Peace of the Parrots 287 VIII The Hanging Stone 291 IX The Election 300 X The Coronation of King Jong 308 PART SIX I New Popsipetel 314 II Thoughts of Home 322 III The Red Man’s Science 328 IV The Sea-Serpent 332 V The Shellfish Riddle Solved at Last 340 VI The Last Cabinet Meeting 346 VII The Doctor’s Decision 350 ILLUSTRATIONS The Popsipetel Picture-History of King Jong Thinkalot (in colors) Frontispiece PAGE “I would sit on the river-wall with my feet dangling over the water” 5 “And in her right foot she carried a lighted candle!” 22 “‘Being a good noticer is terribly important’” 53 A traveler arrives 77 “On the bed sat the Hermit” 101 “Sat scowling down upon the amazed and gaping jury” 115 “‘What else can I think?’” 133 “‘Boy, where’s the skipper?’” 147 “In these lower levels we came upon the shadowy shapes of dead ships” (in colors) 162 “The Doctor started chatting in Spanish to the bed-maker” 175 “Did acrobatics on the beast’s horns” 189 “‘He talks English!’” 201 “I was alone in the ocean!” 226 “It was a great moment” 257 The Terrible Three 279 “Working away with their noses against the end of the island” 293 “The Whispering Rocks” 295 “Had to chase his butterflies with a crown upon his head” 317 “‘Tiptoe incognito,’ whispered Bumpo” 353 THE VOYAGES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE THE VOYAGES OF DOCTOR DOLITTLE PROLOGUE ALL that I have written so far about Doctor Dolittle I heard long after it happened from those who had known him—indeed a great deal of it took place before I was born. But I now come to set down that part of the great man’s life which I myself saw and took part in. Many years ago the Doctor gave me permission to do this. But we were both of us so busy then voyaging around the world, having adventures and filling note-books full of natural history that I never seemed to get time to sit down and write of our doings. Now of course, when I am quite an old man, my memory isn’t so good any more. But whenever I am in doubt and have to hesitate and think, I always ask Polynesia, the parrot. That wonderful bird (she is now nearly two hundred and fifty years old) sits on the top of my desk, usually humming sailor songs to herself, while I write this book. And, as every one who ever met her knows, Polynesia’s memory is the most marvelous memory in the world. If there is any happening I am not quite sure of, she is always able to put me right, to tell me exactly how it took place, who was there and everything about it. In fact sometimes I almost think I ought to say that this book was written by Polynesia instead of me. Very well then, I will begin. And first of all I must tell you something about myself and how I came to meet the Doctor. PART I THE FIRST CHAPTER THE COBBLER’S SON MY name was Tommy Stubbins, son of Jacob Stubbins, the cobbler of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh; and I was nine an