id the Doctor.

"I'm a pretty quiet creature as a rule," said the horse--"very patient
with people--don't make much fuss. But it was bad enough to have that
vet giving me the wrong medicine. And when that red-faced booby started
to monkey with me, I just couldn't bear it any more."

"Did you hurt the boy much?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh, no," said the horse. "I kicked him in the right place. The vet's
looking after him now. When will my glasses be ready?"

"I'll have them for you next week," said the Doctor. "Come in again
Tuesday--Good morning!"

Then John Dolittle got a fine, big pair of green spectacles; and the
plow-horse stopped going blind in one eye and could see as well as ever.

And soon it became a common sight to see farm-animals wearing glasses
in the country round Puddleby; and a blind horse was a thing unknown.

And so it was with all the other animals that were brought to him. As
soon as they found that he could talk their language, they told him
where the pain was and how they felt, and of course it was easy for him
to cure them.

Now all these animals went back and told their brothers and friends
that there was a doctor in the little house with the big garden who
really WAS a doctor. And whenever any creatures got sick--not only
horses and cows and dogs--but all the little things of the fields, like
harvest-mice and water-voles, badgers and bats, they came at once to
his house on the edge of the town, so that his big garden was nearly
always crowded with animals trying to get in to see him.

There were so many that came that he had to have special doors made for
the different kinds. He wrote "HORSES" over the front door, "COWS" over
the side door, and "SHEEP" on the kitchen door. Each kind of animal
had a separate door--even the mice had a tiny tunnel made for them into
the cellar, where they waited patiently in rows for the Doctor to come
round to them.

And so, in a few years' time, every living thing for miles and miles
got to know about John Dolittle, M.D. And the birds who flew to other
countries in the winter told the animals in foreign lands of the
wonderful doctor of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, who could understand their
talk and help them in their troubles. In this way he became famous
among the animals--all over the world--better known even than he had
been among the folks of the West Country. And he was happy and liked
his life very much.

One afternoon when the Doctor was busy