_THE FIFTH CHAPTER_
THE GREAT JOURNEY
NOW for six whole weeks they went sailing on and on, over the rollingsea, following the swallow who flew before the ship to show them theway. At night she carried a tiny lantern, so they should not miss herin the dark; and the people on the other ships that passed said thatthe light must be a shooting star.
As they sailed further and further into the South, it got warmer andwarmer. Polynesia, Chee-Chee and the crocodile enjoyed the hot sun noend. They ran about laughing and looking over the side of the ship tosee if they could see Africa yet.
But the pig and the dog and the owl, Too-Too, could do nothing in suchweather, but sat at the end of the ship in the shade of a big barrel,with their tongues hanging out, drinking lemonade.
Dab-Dab, the duck, used to keep herself cool by jumping into the seaand swimming behind the ship. And every once in a while, when the topof her head got too hot, she would dive under the ship and come upon the other side. In this way, too, she used to catch herrings onTuesdays and Fridays—when everybody on the boat ate fish to make thebeef last longer.
When they got near to the Equator they saw some flying-fishes comingtowards them. And the fishes asked the parrot if this was DoctorDolittle’s ship. When she told them it was, they said they were glad,because the monkeys in Africa were getting worried that he would nevercome. Polynesia asked them how many miles they had yet to go; and theflying-fishes said it was only fifty-five miles now to the coast ofAfrica.
And another time a whole school of porpoises came dancing through thewaves; and they too asked Polynesia if this was the ship of the famousdoctor. And when they heard that it was, they asked the parrot if theDoctor wanted anything for his journey.
And Polynesia said, “Yes. We have run short of onions.”
“There is an island not far from here,” said the porpoises, “where thewild onions grow tall and strong. Keep straight on—we will get some andcatch up to you.”
So the porpoises dashed away through the sea. And very soon the parrotsaw them again, coming up behind, dragging the onions through the wavesin big nets made of seaweed.
The next evening, as the sun was going down, the Doctor said,
“Get me the telescope, Chee-Chee. Our journey is nearly ended. Verysoon we should be able to see the shores of Africa.”
And about half an hour later, sure enough, they thought they could seesomething in front that might be land. But it began to get darker anddarker and they couldn’t be sure.
Then a great storm came up, with thunder and lightning. The windhowled; the rain came down in torrents; and the waves got so high theysplashed right over the boat.
Presently there was a big BANG! The ship stopped and rolled over on itsside.
“What’s happened?” asked the Doctor, coming up from downstairs.
“I’m not sure,” said the parrot; “but I think we’re ship-wrecked. Tellthe duck to get out and see.”
So Dab-Dab dived right down under the waves. And when she came up shesaid they had struck a rock; there was a big hole in the bottom of theship; the water was coming in; and they were sinking fast.
“We must have run into Africa,” said the Doctor. “Dear me, dearme!—Well—we must all swim to land.”
But Chee-Chee and Gub-Gub did not know how to swim.
“Get the rope!” said Polynesia. “I told you it would come in handy.Where’s that duck? Come here, Dab-Dab. Take this end of the rope, flyto the shore and tie it on to a palm-tree; and we’ll hold the otherend on the ship here. Then those that can’t swim must climb along therope till they reach the land. That’s what you call a ‘life-line.’”
“‘We must have run into Africa’”]
So they all got safely to the shore—some swimming, some flying; andthose that climbed along the rope brought the Doctor’s trunk andhand-bag with them.
But the ship was no good any more—with the big hole in the bottom; andpresently the rough sea beat it to pieces on the rocks and the timbersfloated away.
Then they all took shelter in a nice dry cave they found, high up inthe cliffs, till the storm was over.
When the sun came out next morning they went down to the sandy beach todry themselves.
“Dear old Africa!” sighed Polynesia. “It’s good to get back. Justthink—it’ll be a hundred and sixty-nine years to-morrow since I washere! And it hasn’t changed a bit!—Same old palm-trees; same old redearth; same old black ants! There’s no place like home!”
And the others noticed she had tears in her eyes—she was so pleased tosee her country once again.
Then the Doctor missed his high hat; for it had been blown into the seaduring the storm. So Dab-Dab went out to look for it. And presently shesaw it, a long way off, floating on the water like a toy-boat.
When she flew down to get it, she found one of the white mice, veryfrightened, sitting inside it.
“What are you doing here?” asked the duck. “You were told to staybehind in Puddleby.”
“I didn’t want to be left behind,” said the mouse. “I wanted to seewhat Africa was like—I have relatives there. So I hid in the baggageand was brought on to the ship with the hard-tack. When the ship sankI was terribly frightened—because I cannot swim far. I swam as long asI could, but I soon got all exhausted and thought I was going to sink.And then, just at that moment, the old man’s hat came floating by; andI got into it because I did not want to be drowned.”
So the duck took up the hat with the mouse in it and brought it to theDoctor on the shore. And they all gathered round to have a look.
“That’s what you call a ‘stowaway,’” said the parrot.
Presently, when they were looking for a place in the trunk where thewhite mouse could travel comfortably, the monkey, Chee-Chee, suddenlysaid,
“Sh! I hear footsteps in the jungle!”
They all stopped talking and listened. And soon a black man came downout of the woods and asked them what they were doing there.
“‘I got into it because I did not want to be drowned’”]
“My name is John Dolittle—M.D.,” said the Doctor. “I have been asked tocome to Africa to cure the monkeys who are sick.”
“You must all come before the King,” said the black man.
“What king?” asked the Doctor, who didn’t want to waste any time.
“The King of the Jolliginki,” the man answered. “All these lands belongto him; and all strangers must be brought before him. Follow me.”
So they gathered up their baggage and went off, following the manthrough the jungle.