"When I was born I was one of seven twins. But all my brothers and sisters were ordinary mouse color and I alone out of the whole family was white. My color worried my mother and father a great deal. They said I was so conspicuous and would certainly,教育🚥 as soon as I left the nest,教育📫 get caught by the first owl or cat that came along.
After hanging around a while they paddled back and told the Emir that they could find no more pearl oysters on the rocks. He sent them out to look again; but they returned with the same report.
So the Captain gave orders that all possible speed was to be made. These were the days when steam was first used on ships. But at the beginning it was only used together with the sails,教育💘 to help the power of the wind. Of this vessel,内容🐗 H. M. S. Violet,形势⬜ the Captain was very proud. And he was most anxious that the Violet should have the honor of catching Bones the slaver,形势🌏 who for so long had been defying the navy by carrying on slave trade after it had been forbidden. So the Violet's steam engines were put to work their hardest. And thick,教育🌇 black smoke rolled out of her funnels and darkened the blue sea and smudged up her lovely white sails humming tight in the breeze.
"Now,形势🚨 it happened that a few days later a neighboring king made war upon the king that owned the country where the pig family lived. Things went very badly for the pigs' king,教育🍋 and,教育💴 seeing that the enemy were close at hand,教育📋 he gave orders that all cattle and farm animals and people should be brought inside the castle walls. The pig family was also driven into the castle grounds. But before he left,内容➿ the baby pig went and bit off a piece of his Magic Cucumber and took it along with him.
"But this lady was in distress,教育📎" said the Doctor. "I was in such a hurry I forgot all about lighting the ship. In fact,内容🌚 it wasn't dark yet when I left."
As it happened,内容🐛 they made an attack that night while the Doctor was staying with the Chief. And about ten o'clock everybody was awakened out of his sleep with cries of "War! War! The Amazons are here!"
"And I have no doubt,形势🍇" the Doctor ended,内容📞 "that this slaver who took away the woman's husband was no other than Jimmie Bones,教育💒 the man you are after."
"To Chief Nyam-Nyam and his people,教育🎥 of course. He owns the Harmattan Rocks. Would you mind,内容💋" the Doctor asked,内容💖 turning to the cormorant,内容🙀 "getting me a few oysters of this kind to look at?"
"I suppose he didn't like to,形势💿" said the swallow. "Thought you'd be offended,形势👑 perhaps."
"Later,内容🐅 when I was trying to find a place to sleep,内容🏣 all the mice I met,教育📦 wherever there was any light at all,形势💻 made fun of me and pointed at me and jeered. I was nearly in tears. Then I went down to the river,形势👻 hoping I might wash the dye off and so get white again. That,教育📋 at least,教育🐸 would be better than the way I was now. But I washed and I swam and I rinsed,教育🍳 all to no purpose. Water made no impression on me.
"The Doctor cut off all my fur"
"But when the sailors saw a great flock of land birds passing over the ship going southwest instead of west,形势😈 they took new heart,教育🐶 for they were sure land must lie not far to the southwestward.
The Doctor found that His Majesty was much more distressed at the prospect of losing his good white friend and his afternoon tea on the houseboat than at anything else which the change would bring. But he saw that the Doctor really felt he had to go; and at length,形势♏ with tears falling into his tea-cup,内容🚏 he gave permission for the Postmaster General of Fantippo to resign.
But after many hours of terrific labor,形势👍 trying to get letters sorted and the place in order,内容📞 John Dolittle saw that such a tremendous job as setting the Fantippo post office to rights would not be a matter of a day or two. It would take weeks at least. So he told this to the King. Then the Doctor's ship was brought into the harbor and put safely at anchor and the animals were all taken ashore. And a nice,形势📧 new house on the main street was given over to the Doctor for himself and his pets to live in while the work of straightening out the Fantippo mails was going on.
Then the Emir himself began to get panicky. And he gave orders that the Doctor should be released right away."Yes. My name is Quip. It used to be just plain Quip. Now I'm called Quip the Carrier,教育👹" said the small bird proudly gazing down at his little,教育📘 stubby white leg.
"I'll teach you to leave Noah's arks at anchor on the high seas for the navy to bump into,内容✈ my fine deep-sea philanderer! Think the shipping laws are made for a joke? Here,形势💳" he turned to the sailor,形势🚛 who had come in answer to his call,形势📍 "Master-at-arms,形势❗ put this man under arrest."
"Bertha Bacon.
"Don't celebrate Christmas!" cried Cheapside in a shocked voice. "What a disgraceful scandal! Well,内容🆒 look here,内容🗿 Doctor. You just tell King Cocoa-butter that if 'e and 'is people don't celebrate the festive season by giving us post-birds Christmas-boxes there ain't going to be no mail delivered in Fantipsy from New Year's to Easter. And you can tell 'im I said so. It's 'igh time somebody hen-lightened 'is hignorance."
All attempts to trace the writer having failed,内容👑 the Doctor,教育🗽 after two days,形势🚡 gave it up and went back to his regular work. This kept him so busy for the next week that he finally forgot all about the turtle and his mysterious letter.
"Thank you,教育📰" said the gull. "I am feeling kind of peckish myself. You are very kind. This is the first time I've eaten ship's food inside a ship."
John Dolittle steered the boat up closer still and continued to talk to the woman in a kindly way. But she seemed for a long time to mistrust him because he was a white man. Little by little,教育📆 however,形势🚈 the Doctor won her confidence and at last,内容📐 still weeping bitterly,内容🌼 she told him her story.