That means, there aren't
any more. But long ago, when Doctor Dolittle was alive,
there were some of them still left in the deepest jungles
of Africa; and even then they were very, very scarce.
They had no tail, *but a head at each end,
and sharp horns on each head. They were very
shy and terribly hard to catch. The black men
get most of their animals by sneaking up behind
them while they are not looking. But you could
not do this with the pushmi-pullyu--because,
no matter which way you came towards him, he
was always facing you. And besides, only one
half of him slept at a time. The other head
was always awake--and watching. This was
why they were never caught and never seen in
Zoos. Though many of the greatest huntsmen
and the cleverest menagerie-keepers spent years
of their lives searching through the jungles
in all weathers for pushmi-pullyus, not a single
one had ever been caught. Even then, years
ago, he was the only animal in the world with
two heads.
Well, the monkeys set out hunting for this
animal through the forest. And after they had
gone a good many miles, one of them found
peculiar footprints near the edge of a river;
and they knew that a pushmi-pullyu must be
very near that spot.
Then they went along the bank of the river
a little way and they saw a place where the
grass was high and thick; and they guessed that
he was in there.
So they all joined hands and made a great
circle round the high grass.
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