_THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER_
THE BLACK PRINCE
BY the edge of the river they stopped and said farewell.
This took a long time, because all those thousands of monkeys wanted toshake John Dolittle by the hand.
Afterwards, when the Doctor and his pets were going on alone, Polynesiasaid,
“We must tread softly and talk low as we go through the land of theJolliginki. If the King should hear us, he will send his soldiers tocatch us again; for I am sure he is still very angry over the trick Iplayed on him.”
“What I am wondering,” said the Doctor, “is where we are going to getanother boat to go home in.... Oh well, perhaps we’ll find one lyingabout on the beach that nobody is using. ‘Never lift your foot till youcome to the stile.’”
One day, while they were passing through a very thick part of theforest, Chee-Chee went ahead of them to look for cocoanuts. And whilehe was away, the Doctor and the rest of the animals, who did not knowthe jungle-paths so well, got lost in the deep woods. They wanderedaround and around but could not find their way down to the seashore.
Chee-Chee, when he could not see them anywhere, was terribly upset.He climbed high trees and looked out from the top branches to try andsee the Doctor’s high hat; he waved and shouted; he called to all theanimals by name. But it was no use. They seemed to have disappearedaltogether.
Indeed they had lost their way very badly. They had strayed a long wayoff the path, and the jungle was so thick with bushes and creepersand vines that sometimes they could hardly move at all, and theDoctor had to take out his pocket-knife and cut his way along. Theystumbled into wet, boggy places; they got all tangled up in thickconvolvulus-runners; they scratched themselves on thorns, and twicethey nearly lost the medicine-bag in the under-brush. There seemed noend to their troubles; and nowhere could they come upon a path.
At last, after blundering about like this for many days, getting theirclothes torn and their faces covered with mud, they walked right intothe King’s back-garden by mistake. The King’s men came running up atonce and caught them.
But Polynesia flew into a tree in the garden, without anybody seeingher, and hid herself. The Doctor and the rest were taken before theKing.
“Ha, ha!” cried the King. “So you are caught again! This time you shallnot escape. Take them all back to prison and put double locks on thedoor. This White Man shall scrub my kitchen-floor for the rest of hislife!”
So the Doctor and his pets were led back to prison and locked up. Andthe Doctor was told that in the morning he must begin scrubbing thekitchen-floor.
They were all very unhappy.
“This is a great nuisance,” said the Doctor. “I really must get backto Puddleby. That poor sailor will think I’ve stolen his ship if Idon’t get home soon.... I wonder if those hinges are loose.”
But the door was very strong and firmly locked. There seemed no chanceof getting out. Then Gub-Gub began to cry again.
All this time Polynesia was still sitting in the tree in thepalace-garden. She was saying nothing and blinking her eyes.
This was always a very bad sign with Polynesia. Whenever she saidnothing and blinked her eyes, it meant that somebody had been makingtrouble, and she was thinking out some way to put things right. Peoplewho made trouble for Polynesia or her friends were nearly always sorryfor it afterwards.
Presently she spied Chee-Chee swinging through the trees still lookingfor the Doctor. When Chee-Chee saw her, he came into her tree and askedher what had become of him.
“The Doctor and all the animals have been caught by the King’s men andlocked up again,” whispered Polynesia. “We lost our way in the jungleand blundered into the palace-garden by mistake.”
“But couldn’t you guide them?” asked Chee-Chee; and he began to scoldthe parrot for letting them get lost while he was away looking for thecocoanuts.
“It was all that stupid pig’s fault,” said Polynesia. “He would keeprunning off the path hunting for ginger-roots. And I was kept so busycatching him and bringing him back, that I turned to the left, insteadof the right, when we reached the swamp.—Sh!—Look! There’s Prince Bumpocoming into the garden! He must not see us.—Don’t move, whatever youdo!”
And there, sure enough, was Prince Bumpo, the King’s son, opening thegarden-gate. He carried a book of fairy-tales under his arm. He camestrolling down the gravel-walk, humming a sad song, till he reacheda stone seat right under the tree where the parrot and the monkeywere hiding. Then he lay down on the seat and began reading thefairy-stories to himself.
Chee-Chee and Polynesia watched him, keeping very quiet and still.
“He began reading the fairy-stories to himself”]
After a while the King’s son laid the book down and sighed a wearysigh.
“If I were only a _white_ prince!” said he, with a dreamy, far-awaylook in his eyes.
Then the parrot, talking in a small, high voice like a little girl,said aloud,
“Bumpo, some one might turn thee into a white prince perchance.”
The King’s son started up off the seat and looked all around.
“What is this I hear?” he cried. “Methought the sweet music of afairy’s silver voice rang from yonder bower! Strange!”
“Worthy Prince,” said Polynesia, keeping very still so Bumpo couldn’tsee her, “thou sayest winged words of truth. For ’tis I, Tripsitinka,the Queen of the Fairies, that speak to thee. I am hiding in arose-bud.”
“Oh tell me, Fairy-Queen,” cried Bumpo, clasping his hands in joy, “whois it can turn me white?”
“In thy father’s prison,” said the parrot, “there lies a famouswizard, John Dolittle by name. Many things he knows of medicine andmagic, and mighty deeds has he performed. Yet thy kingly father leaveshim languishing long and lingering hours. Go to him, brave Bumpo,secretly, when the sun has set; and behold, thou shalt be made thewhitest prince that ever won fair lady! I have said enough. I must nowgo back to Fairyland. Farewell!”
“Farewell!” cried the Prince. “A thousand thanks, good Tripsitinka!”
And he sat down on the seat again with a smile upon his face, waitingfor the sun to set.