The Story of Dr Dolittle / История доктора Дулиттла. 5 класс
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Soon the front end of the ship began to go down and down, faster and faster; and the pirates clung to the rails and the masts and the ropes. And at last the ship plunged right down to the bottom of the sea; and the six bad men were in the deep water of the bay. Then suddenly they all cried out in great fear, “THE SHARKS! The sharks are coming! Let us get onto your ship before they eat us! Help, help! – The sharks! The sharks!”
And now the Doctor could see the backs of big fishes. And one great shark came near to the ship and said to the Doctor, “Are you John Dolittle, the famous animal-doctor?”
“Yes,” said Doctor Dolittle. “That is my name.”
“Well,” said the shark, “we know these pirates are very bad – especially Ben Ali. If they are annoying you, we will eat them up.”
“Thank you,” said the Doctor. “But I don’t think it will be necessary to eat them. Don’t let any of them reach the shore until I tell you. And please make Ben Ali swim over here. I want to talk to him.”
So the shark chased Ben Ali to the Doctor.
“Listen, Ben Ali,” said John Dolittle. “You are a very bad man; you killed many people. These good sharks want to eat you up. But promise to do as I tell you, and I will let you go in safety.”
“What must I do?” asked the pirate and looked at the big shark.
“You must kill no more people,” said the Doctor; “don’t steal anything; never sink ships; don’t be a pirate.”
“But what can I do then?” asked Ben Ali.
“Take all your men, go to this island and be bird-seed-farmers,” the Doctor answered. “You must grow bird-seed for the canaries.”
The Barbary Dragon was really angry. “GROW BIRD-SEED!” he groaned. “Can I be a sailor?”
“No,” said the Doctor, “you cannot. For the rest of your life you must be a peaceful farmer. The shark is waiting. Don’t waste his time. Make your decision now.”
“Thunder and Lightning!” Ben Ali cried. Then he looked down into the water again and saw the shark. “Very well,” he said sadly. “We’ll be farmers.”
“Now go and be a good farmer and live in peace.” Then the Doctor turned to the big shark and said, “All right. Let them swim safely to the land.”
The Sixteenth Chapter
Too-Too, The Listener
So the Doctor and his pets continued their journey home in the swift ship with the three red sails. The animals went downstairs to see their new boat inside. Soon Dab-Dab came up the stairs and cried, “Doctor! This ship of the pirates is absolutely beautiful. The beds downstairs are made of silk; there are soft carpets on the floors; the dishes are made of silver; and there is a lot of food and drinks… Oh, and we found another little room but we can’t open the door. Come down and help us open it.”
The Doctor went downstairs and he saw that it was indeed a beautiful ship. He found the animals at a little door. The Doctor turned the handle but the door didn’t open. Then they all started to look for the key. But nowhere in the whole boat could they find a key to that lock. So they all came back to the door, and Jip peered through the key-hole. But he could see nothing.
Suddenly the owl, Too-Too, said, “Sh! – Listen! – I think there’s someone in there! I hear that someone is putting his hand in his pocket,” said the owl.
“But how can you hear that?” said the Doctor.
“Almost everything makes SOME noise. We owls are very good hearers.”
“Well, well!” said the Doctor. “You surprise me. That’s very interesting… Listen again and tell me what he’s doing now.”
“I’m not sure yet,” said Too-Too, “maybe it’s a woman. Lift me up and let me listen at the key-hole and I’ll soon tell you.”
So the Doctor lifted the owl up and held him close to the lock of the door. After a moment Too-Too said, “It’s a man. And he is unhappy. He is crying.”
“Well,” said the Doctor, “if the poor fellow’s unhappy, let’s get in and see what the matter with him is. Find me an axe, and I’ll chop the door down.”
The Seventeenth Chapter
The Ocean Gossips
Soon the Doctor chopped a hole in the door and got in. At first he could see nothing at all, it was so dark inside. So he struck a match. The room was quite small; there was no window; the ceiling was low. There was only one little stool. And in the middle of the floor there was a little boy, crying bitterly. He was about eight years old.
The little boy was frightened when he saw a man before him. But as soon as he saw John Dolittle’s face by the light of the match, he got up. “You aren’t one of the pirates, are you?” he asked. And when the Doctor laughed loudly, the little boy smiled too and came and took his hand.
“You laugh like a friend,” he said – “not like a pirate. Could you tell me where my uncle is?”
“I am afraid I can’t,” said the Doctor. “When did you see him last?”
“It was the day before yesterday,” said the boy. “I and my uncle went fishing in our little boat, and the pirates came and caught us. They sank our fishing-boat and brought us both onto this ship. They told my uncle that they wanted to make him a pirate because he knew how to sail a ship in any weather. But my uncle said that he didn’t want to be a pirate because he didn’t want to kill people and steal things. Then the leader, Ben Ali, became very angry and said, ‘We will throw you into the sea then!’ They sent me downstairs; and I heard the noise of a fight. And I never saw my uncle again after that. I am very much afraid they threw him into the sea and drowned him.”
And the little boy began to cry again. “Well now – wait a minute,” said the Doctor. “Don’t cry. Let’s go and have tea in the dining-room, and we’ll talk about it. Maybe your uncle is quite safe all the time. You don’t KNOW that they drowned him, do you? Perhaps we can find him for you. First we’ll go and have tea – with strawberry jam; and then we will see what we can do.”
All the animals heard the boy’s story. So after tea Dab-Dab whispered to the Doctor, “Ask the dolphins about the boy’s uncle.”
“All right,” said the Doctor.
“What are those funny noises which you are making with your tongue?” asked the boy.
“Oh, I just said a couple of words in duck language,” the Doctor answered. “This is Dab-Dab, one of my pets.”
“I didn’t even know that ducks had a language,” said the boy. “Are all these other animals your pets, too? What is that strange animal with two heads?”
“Sh!” the Doctor whispered. “That is the pushmi-pullyu. Don’t let him see that we’re talking about him – he becomes really embarrassed… Tell me about your uncle now. “