shark who was smelling his leg under the water.

"You must kill no more people," said the Doctor; "you must stop
stealing; you must never sink another ship; you must give up being a
pirate altogether."

"But what shall I do then?" asked Ben Ali. "How shall I live?"

"You and all your men must go on to this island and be
bird-seed-farmers," the Doctor answered. "You must grow bird-seed for
the canaries."

The Barbary Dragon turned pale with anger. "GROW BIRD-SEED!" he groaned
in disgust. "Can't I be a sailor?"

"No," said the Doctor, "you cannot. You have been a sailor long
enough--and sent many stout ships and good men to the bottom of the
sea. For the rest of your life you must be la peaceful farmer. The
shark is waiting. Do not waste any more of his time. Make up your
mind."

"Thunder and Lightning!" Ben Ali muttered--"BIRD-SEED!" Then he looked
down into the water again and saw the great fish smelling his other leg.

"Very well," he said sadly. "We'll be farmers."

"And remember," said the Doctor, "that if you do not keep your
promise--if you start killing and stealing again, I shall hear of it,
because the canaries will come and tell me. And be very sure that I
will find a way to punish you. For though I may not be able to sail a
ship as well as you, so long as the birds and the beasts and the fishes
are my friends, I do not have to be afraid of a pirate chief--even
though he call himself 'The Dragon of Barbary.' Now go and be a good
farmer and live in peace."

Then the Doctor turned to the big shark, and waving his hand he said,

"All right. Let them swim safely to the land."

THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER

TOO-TOO, THE LISTENER

HAVING thanked the sharks again for their kindness, the Doctor and his
pets set off once more on their journey home in the swift ship with the
three red sails.

As they moved out into the open sea, the animals all went downstairs to
see what their new boat was like inside; while the Doctor leant on the
rail at the back of the ship with a pipe in his mouth, watching the
Canary Islands fade away in the blue dusk of the evening.

While he was standing there, wondering how the monkeys were getting
on--and what his garden would look like when he got back to Puddleby,
Dab-Dab came tumbling up the stairs, all smiles and full of news.

"Doctor!" she cried. "This ship of the pirates is simply
beautiful--absolutely. The beds downstairs are made of primrose
silk--with hu