Hugh Lofting: Doctor Dolittle's Return

Presently he began to doze off again. But just before he fell asleep he murmured:

"Stubbins, see that the locust has a good feed of lettuce. He will be leaving again before daylight."

"All right, Doctor," I said. "I'll attend to it."

"And don't forget to unload all the baggage off him—some very important specimens, Stubbins, and a lot of notes—very important."

"Yes," I said, "I'll get them unloaded and stored away safe."

I took his pulse again, and while I was doing it he dropped off into a peaceful sleep.

Several times during what was left of that night I heard John Dolittle stir. By the light of the turned–down lamp I went and looked at him quietly. It was when the first grey of dawn was showing through the canvas of the tent that he called to me. And as I bent over him I heard the great locust outside whirr up off the lawn and start its return journey to the moon.

"Listen, Stubbins," he said weakly. "In the baggage you'll find a package done up in large orange–coloured leaves."

"Yes, Doctor," I said. "I saw it. I have it stored safely away with the other things."

He beckoned me to come nearer. Then he whispered in my ear,

"There's a cat inside it."

I tried not to show my surprise. But I must say it was a shock. The Dolittle household had kept almost every kind of animal on earth in its time, but never a cat. The Doctor always feared that it wouldn't get on happily with the birds and the others. But I only answered,

"Yes, Doctor."

"I had to bring it, Stubbins," he went on—"simply had to. I found it on the far side of the moon, in the twilight zone. There was a whole colony of them there. They were the one kind of animal that refused to join in the Council's work for balancing life and stamping out the everlasting warfare of one species against another. You know they're very independent, cats. Consequently they had had to live by themselves. But when I visited them they did not seem very happy just the same."

"But how did cats come to be on the moon in the first place?" I asked.

"Oh, I imagine there must have been a pair of cats on that piece of the earth which shot away into the sky and became the moon, thousands of years ago. The same thing that happened to the Moon Man himself. I made a lot of other discoveries, too, in the animal kingdom up there after you left. I'll tell you all about them when I'm feeling stronger."

I was simply aching to ask him a thousand questions concerning these discoveries. But for his sake I held my patience.

"All right, Doctor," I said; "there's no hurry."

"No, but listen," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper again. "Keep it quiet—about the cat. Don't say anything to our own animals for the present. It would just upset them. I'll speak to them myself later on. She's a nice cat—quite a character. You know most people think cats are just stay–at–homes. They are not. They're very adventurous. This one astonished me. Said that Otho Bludge, the only man up there, didn't understand cats. And she wanted to travel—to see the world—the earth down here where her ancestors came from. Could she come with me? Well, what was I to do? She promised she would kill no birds, eat no mice and live on nothing but milk—if I'd only take her. You see, Stubbins, I just had to bring her. Polynesia made an awful row, but there was nothing else for it."

"Very good, Doctor," I said. "I'll see she is fed regularly."

But while I said the words I foresaw a revolution in the Dolittle household ahead of us.

"Now run and get breakfast," said the Doctor. "Look, it's daylight outside."

Weary from the effort of talking, he sank back upon the pillow. It made me terribly unhappy to see him lying there so weak and weary. I had never known John Dolittle to have a single day's sickness in his life. He had always been so up–and–doing, cheerful, strong and active.

"Tell me," I said, "don't you think it would be a good idea if I got a doctor in to see you?"

"Oh, no, Stubbins," he smiled. "I'll be all right. You just keep note of my pulse. We don't want any medical men coming here. It might bring those newspaper fellows around."

"Can I get you anything to eat?" I asked.

"Bring me a half–dozen eggs beaten up—with a little pepper and salt. But there's no hurry. Get your own breakfast first, Stubbins. I'll have another little sleep now. And don't forget the cat, will you?"

"No, Doctor," I said, "I won't forget."

"By the way," he added as I pulled aside the tent–flap to leave, "you will find her difficult to talk to. Took me quite a while to get on to the language. Quite different from anything we've tried so far in animal languages. A curious tongue—very subtle, precise and exact. Sounds as though whoever invented it was more anxious to keep things to himself than to hand them over to others. Not chatty at all. There's no word for gossip in it. Not much use for people who want to be chummy. Good language for lawyers though."

When I got indoors I found every one sitting down to a good breakfast which Dab–Dab and Theodosia had prepared. I was glad to be able to tell them that the Doctor could breathe and speak better this morning, but that he still seemed very weak and easily tired.

"The first thing," I said, "is to make him really strong and well. After that we'll have to get his weight and size down to what it was. But that must be done gradually, without letting him lose strength. I'll get him to lay out a diet for himself—then we'll know just what things to give him and what not to give him."

"Then you ain't goin' to get another doctor to see 'im, Master Tommy?" asked Theodosia.

"No," I said, "not for the present anyhow."

"What would he want with a doctor?" Gub–Gub asked, raising his eyebrows. "John Dolittle knows all there is to be known, himself, about doctoring, doesn't he?"

"Well," I explained, "you see, when doctors get ill they sometimes have to get other doctors to doctor them."

"Humph!" grunted Gub–Gub. "How extraordinary! Seems a dreadful waste of money."

"Now," I said, "the main thing for the present—you must forgive me if I repeat it—is that all of you, you, Gub–Gub, Jip, Whitey, Too–Too, everybody, must leave him in peace. Don't visit the tent unless you're sent there specially. He has a lot to tell us and I am just as anxious to hear it as you are. But we have got to wait till he is well enough to tell us in his own way and in his own time. Is that clear?"

They all promised that they would do as I asked. And I must say that they were very good about it. Any one who knew the way they loved the Doctor can imagine how hard it was for them to keep away from him at this time, when they had not seen or talked with him for so long.

Matthew and Theodosia I allowed into the tent—and, once in a while, Polynesia and Chee–Chee. But I never let any of them stay long. It is true that I was a very worried boy those first few days. And if the Doctor's pulse had behaved in any way queerly I would have got another doctor in, no matter what my patient himself had to say.

But, very slowly, a little each day, he began getting better. Before Theodosia left to go back to look after her own home she decided she would like to make him a new suit. Matthew was sent to buy the cloth. But he found that to get enough woollen cloth for such a job would cost far more money than we had. So Mrs. Mugg took three old suits of the Doctor's and by very clever needlework made them into one big one. Then she re–dyed it to make it all of one colour. Of course the Doctor could not wear it right away because he was not yet well enough to move about. But he was very glad to have it against the day when he could get up.

"Mrs. Mugg took three suits and made them into one"