PART III CHAPTER I THE ANIMALS' MAGAZINE

 The next thing I must tell you about is the Prize Story Competition: The fame of the Puddleby fireside-circle, where the Doctor had amused his pets with so many interesting tales, had become quite a famous institution. Too-Too had gossiped about it; Gub-Gub, Jip and the white mouse had boasted of it. (You see, they were always proud that they could say they were part of the great man's regular household.) And before long, through this new post office of their own, creatures all over the world were speaking of it and discussing it by letter. Next thing, the Doctor began to receive requests for stories by mail. He had become equally famous as an animal doctor, an animal educator and an animal author.

 

From the Far North letters came in by the dozen from polar bears and walruses¹ and foxes asking that he send them some light entertaining reading as well as his medical pamphlets and books of etiquette². The winter nights (weeks and weeks long up there) grew frightfully monotonous³, they said, after their own supply of stories had run out—because you couldn't possibly sleep all the time and something had to be done for amusement on the lonely ice-floes and in the dens⁴ and lairs⁵ beneath the blizzard-swept snow. For some time the Doctor was kept so busy with more serious things that he was unable to attend to it. But he kept it in mind until he should be able to think out the best way of dealing⁶ with the problem.

 

Now his pets, after the post office work got sort of settled and regular, often found it somewhat hard to amuse themselves in the evenings. One night they were all sitting around on the veranda⁷ of the houseboat wondering what game they could play when Jip suddenly said:

 

"I know what we can do—let's get the Doctor to tell us a story."

 

"Oh, you've heard all my stories," said the Doctor. "Why don't you play Hunt-the-Slipper?"

 

"The houseboat isn't big enough," said Dab-Dab. "Last time we played it Gub-Gub got stuck by the pushmi-pullyu's horns. You've got plenty of stories. Tell us one, Doctor—just a short one."

 

"Well, but what shall I tell you a story about?" asked John Dolittle.

 

"About a turnip⁸ field," said Gub-Gub.

 

"No, that won't do," said Jip. "Doctor, why don't you do what you did sometimes by the fire in Puddleby—turn your pockets out upon the table till you come to something that reminds you of a story—you remember?"

 

"All right," said the Doctor. "But——"

 

And then an idea came to him.

 

"Look here," he said: "You know I've been asked for stories by mail. The creatures around the North Pole wanted some light reading for the long winter nights. I'm going to start an animals' magazine for them. I'm calling it The Arctic Monthly. It will be sent by mail and be distributed by the Nova Zembla branch office. So far, so good. But the great problem is how to get sufficient stories and pictures and articles and things to fill a monthly magazine—no easy matter. Now listen, if I tell you animals a story to-night, you'll have to do something to help me with my new magazine. Every night when you want to amuse yourselves we'll take it in turns to tell a story. That will give us seven stories right away. There will be only one story printed each month—the rest of the magazine will be news of the day, a medical advice column, a babies' and mothers' page and odds⁹ and ends. Then we'll have a Prize Story Competition. The readers shall judge which is the best; and when they write to us here and tell us, we'll give the prize to the winner. What do you say?"

 

"What a splendid idea!" cried Gub-Gub. "I'll tell my story to-morrow night. I know a good one. Now go ahead, Doctor."

 

Then John Dolittle started turning his trousers pockets out onto the table to try and find something that reminded him of a story. It was certainly a wonderful collection of objects that he brought forth¹⁰. There were pieces of string and pieces of wire, stub ends of pencils, pocket-knives with the blades broken, coat buttons, boot buttons, a magnifying glass, a compass and a corkscrew.

 

 

 

"There doesn't seem to be anything very hopeful there," said the Doctor.

 

"Try in your waistcoat pockets," said Too-Too. "They were always the most interesting. You haven't turned them out since you left Puddleby. There must be lots in them."

 

So the Doctor turned out his waistcoat pockets. These brought forth two watches (one that went and one that didn't), a measuring tape, a piece of cobbler's wax, a penny with a hole through it and a clinical thermometer.

 

"What's that?" asked Gub-Gub, pointing to the thermometer.

 

"That's for taking people's temperature with," said the Doctor. "Oh, that reminds me——"

 

"Of a story?" cried Too-Too.

 

"I knew it would," said Jip. "A thing like that must have a story to it. What's the name of the story, Doctor?"

 

"Well," said the Doctor, settling himself back in his chair, "I think I'll call this story 'The Invalids¹²' Strike.'"

 

"What's a strike?" asked Gub-Gub.

 

"And what on earth is an invalid¹¹?" cried the pushmi-pullyu.

 

"A strike," said the Doctor, "is when people stop doing their own particular work in order to get somebody else to give them what they want. And an invalid—well, an invalid is a person who is always—er, more or less—ill."

 

"But what kind of work is invalids' work?" asked the white mouse.

 

"Their work is—er, staying—ill," said the Doctor. "Stop asking questions or I'll never get this story started."

 

"Wait a minute," said Gub-Gub. "My foot's gone to sleep."

 

"Oh, bother your feet!" cried Dab-Dab. "Let the Doctor get on with his story."

 

"Is it a good story?" asked Gub-Gub.

 

"Well," said the Doctor, "I'll tell it, and then you can decide for yourself. Stop fidgeting, now, and let me begin. It's getting late."

 

1 walruses   

n.海象( walrus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Walruses have enormous appetites and hunt for food almost constantly. 海象食欲极大，几乎一直在猎取食物。 来自互联网
• Two Atlantic walruses snuggle on an ice floe near Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada. 加拿大努勒维特伊格卢利克附近，两头大西洋海象在浮冰上相互偎依。 来自互联网

2 etiquette   

n.礼仪，礼节；规矩

参考例句：

• The rules of etiquette are not so strict nowadays.如今的礼仪规则已不那么严格了。
• According to etiquette,you should stand up to meet a guest.按照礼节你应该站起来接待客人。

3 monotonous   

adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的

参考例句：

• She thought life in the small town was monotonous.她觉得小镇上的生活单调而乏味。
• His articles are fixed in form and monotonous in content.他的文章千篇一律，一个调调儿。

4 dens   

n.牙齿，齿状部分；兽窝( den的名词复数 )；窝点；休息室；书斋

参考例句：

• Female bears tend to line their dens with leaves or grass. 母熊往往会在洞穴里垫些树叶或草。 来自辞典例句
• In winter bears usually hibernate in their dens. 冬天熊通常在穴里冬眠。 来自辞典例句

5 lairs   

n.（野兽的）巢穴，窝( lair的名词复数 )；（人的）藏身处

参考例句：

• Beholders usually carve out underground lairs for themselves using their disintegrate rays. 眼魔经常用它们的解离射线雕刻自己的地底巢穴。 来自互联网
• All animals are smothered in their lairs. 所有的小生灵都躲在巢穴里冬眠。 来自互联网

6 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

7 veranda   

n.走廊；阳台

参考例句：

• She sat in the shade on the veranda.她坐在阳台上的遮荫处。
• They were strolling up and down the veranda.他们在走廊上来回徜徉。

8 turnip   

n.萝卜，芜菁

参考例句：

• The turnip provides nutrition for you.芜菁为你提供营养。
• A turnip is a root vegetable.芜菁是根茎类植物。

9 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 invalid   

n.病人，伤残人；adj.有病的，伤残的；无效的

参考例句：

• He will visit an invalid.他将要去看望一个病人。
• A passport that is out of date is invalid.护照过期是无效的。

12 invalids   

病人，残疾者( invalid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The invention will confer a benefit on all invalids. 这项发明将有助于所有的残疾人。
• H?tel National Des Invalids is a majestic building with a golden hemispherical housetop. 荣军院是有着半球形镀金屋顶的宏伟建筑。