And all this time Polynesia came with me wherever I went, teaching me bird language and showing me how to understand the talking signs of the animals.  At first I thought I would never be able to learn at all—­it seemed so difficult.  But the old parrot was wonderfully patient with me—­ though I could see that occasionally she had hard work to keep her temper.

Soon I began to pick up the strange chatter of the birds and to understand the funny talking antics of the dogs.  I used to practise listening to the mice behind the wainscot after I went to bed, and watching the cats on the roofs and pigeons in the market-square of Puddleby.

And the days passed very quickly—­as they always do when life is pleasant; and the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months; and soon the roses in the Doctor’s garden were losing their petals and yellow leaves lay upon the wide green lawn.  For the summer was nearly gone.

One day Polynesia and I were talking in the library.  This was a fine long room with a grand mantlepiece and the walls were covered from the ceiling to the floor with shelves full of books:  books of stories, books on gardening, books about medicine, books of travel; these I loved—­and especially the Doctor’s great atlas with all its maps of the different countries of the world.

This afternoon Polynesia was showing me the books about animals which John Dolittle had written himself.

“My!” I said, “what a lot of books the Doctor has—­ all the way around the room!  Goodness!  I wish I could read!  It must be tremendously interesting.  Can you read, Polynesia?”

“Only a little,” said she.  “Be careful how you turn those pages—­ don’t tear them.  No, I really don’t get time enough for reading—­much.  That letter there is a K and this is a B.”

“What does this word under the picture mean?” I asked.

“Let me see,” she said, and started spelling it out.  “B-A-B-O-O-N—­that’s monkey.  Reading isn’t nearly as hard as it looks, once you know the letters.”

“Polynesia,” I said, “I want to ask you something very important.”

“What is it, my boy?” said she, smoothing down the feathers of her right wing.  Polynesia often spoke to me in a very patronizing way.  But I did not mind it from her.  After all, she was nearly two hundred years old; and I was only ten.

“Listen,” I said, “my mother doesn’t think it is right that I come here for so many meals.  And I was going to ask you:  supposing I did a whole lot more work for the Doctor—­ why couldn’t I come and live here altogether?  You see, instead of being paid like a regular gardener or workman, I would get my bed and meals in exchange for the work I did.  What do you think?”

“You mean you want to be a proper assistant to the Doctor, is that it?”

“Yes.  I suppose that’s what you call it,” I answered.  “You know you said yourself that you thought I could be very useful to him.”