The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Read Online Free PDF Page B

that the bacon was getting all dried up with the heat. So I pulled
the dish a little further away from the fire and went on through the
house looking for the Doctor.
    I found him at last in the Study. I did not know then that it was called
the Study. It was certainly a very interesting room, with telescopes
and microscopes and all sorts of other strange things which I did not
understand about but wished I did. Hanging on the walls were pictures of
animals and fishes and strange plants and collections of birds' eggs and
sea-shells in glass cases.
    The Doctor was standing at the main table in his dressing-gown. At first
I thought he was washing his face. He had a square glass box before him
full of water. He was holding one ear under the water while he covered
the other with his left hand. As I came in he stood up.
    "Good morning, Stubbins," said he. "Going to be a nice day, don't
you think? I've just been listening to the Wiff-Waff. But he is very
disappointing—very."
    "Why?" I said. "Didn't you find that he has any language at all?"
    "Oh yes," said the Doctor, "he has a language. But it is such a poor
language—only a few words, like 'yes' and 'no'—'hot' and 'cold.'
That's all he can say. It's very disappointing. You see he really
belongs to two different families of fishes. I thought he was going to
be tremendously helpful—Well, well!"
    "I suppose," said I, "that means he hasn't very much sense if his
language is only two or three words?"
    "Yes, I suppose it does. Possibly it is the kind of life he leads.
You see, they are very rare now, these Wiff-Waffs—very rare and very
solitary. They swim around in the deepest parts of the ocean entirely
by themselves—always alone. So I presume they really don't need to talk
much."
    "Perhaps some kind of a bigger shellfish would talk more," I said.
"After all, he is very small, isn't he?"
    "Yes," said the Doctor, "that's true. Oh I have no doubt that there
are shellfish who are good talkers—not the least doubt. But the big
shellfish—the biggest of them, are so hard to catch. They are only to
be found in the deep parts of the sea; and as they don't swim very much,
but just crawl along the floor of the ocean most of the time, they are
very seldom taken in nets. I do wish I could find some way of going down
to the bottom of the sea. I could learn a lot if I could only do that.
But we are forgetting all about breakfast—Have you had, breakfast yet,
Stubbins?"
    I told the Doctor that I had forgotten all about it and he at once led
the way into the kitchen.
    "Yes," he said, as he poured the hot water from the kettle into the
tea-pot, "if a man could only manage to get right down to the bottom
of the sea, and live there a while, he would discover some wonderful
things—things that people have never dreamed of."
    "But men do go down, don't they?" I asked—"divers and people like
that?"
    "Oh yes, to be sure," said the Doctor. "Divers go down. I've been down
myself in a diving-suit, for that matter. But my!—they only go where
the sea is shallow. Divers can't go down where it is really deep. What
I would like to do is to go down to the great depths—where it is miles
deep—Well, well, I dare say I shall manage it some day. Let me give you
another cup of tea."

The Eighth Chapter. Are You a Good Noticer?
*
    JUST at that moment Polynesia came into the room and said something to
the Doctor in bird language. Of course I did not understand what it was.
But the Doctor at once put down his knife and fork and left the room.
    "You know it is an awful shame," said the parrot as soon as the Doctor
had closed the door. "Directly he comes back home, all the animals over
the whole countryside get to hear of it and every sick cat and mangy
rabbit for miles around comes to see him and ask his advice. Now there's
a big fat hare outside at the back door with a squawking baby. Can she
see the Doctor, please!—Thinks it's going to have convulsions. Stupid
little thing's been eating Deadly