The pushmi-
pullyu heard them coming; and he tried hard
to break through the ring of monkeys. But he
couldn't do it. When he saw that it was no
use trying to escape, he sat down and waited to
see what they wanted.
They asked him if he would go with Doctor Dolittle
and be put on show in the Land of the White Men.
But he shook both his heads hard and said,
"Certainly not!"
They explained to him that he would not be
shut up in a menagerie but would just be looked
at. They told him that the Doctor was a very
kind man but hadn't any money; and people
would pay to see a two-headed animal and the
Doctor would get rich and could pay for the
boat he had borrowed to come to Africa in.
But he answered, "No. You know how shy
I am--I hate being stared at." And he almost
began to cry.
Then for three days they tried to persuade
him.
And at the end of the third day he said he
would come with them and see what kind of a
man the Doctor was, first.
So the monkeys traveled back with the
pushmi-pullyu. And when they came to where
the Doctor's little house of grass was, they
knocked on the door.
The duck, who was packing the trunk, said,
"Come in!"
And Chee-Chee very proudly took the animal
inside and showed him to the Doctor.
"What in the world is it?" asked John
Dolittle, gazing at the strange creature.
"Lord save us!" cried the duck. "How does
it make up its mind?"
"It doesn't look to me as though it had any,"
said Jip, the dog.
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