hat it worked so well. But I had to
do something, didn't I?--I couldn't possibly scrub the King's kitchen
for the rest of my life. It was such a dirty kitchen!--I could see it
from the prison-window.--Well, well!--Poor Bumpo!"

"Oh, of course he will know we were just joking with him," said the
parrot.

"They had no business to lock us up," said Dab-Dab, waggling her tail
angrily. "We never did them any harm. Serve him right, if he does turn
black again! I hope it's a dark black."

"But HE didn't have anything to do with it," said the Doctor. "It was
the King, his father, who had us locked up--it wasn't Bumpo's fault....
I wonder if I ought to go back and apologize--Oh, well--I'll send him
some candy when I get to Puddleby. And who knows?--he may stay white
after all."

"The Sleeping Beauty would never have him, even if he did," said
Dab-Dab. "He looked better the way he was, I thought. But he'd never
be anything but ugly, no matter what color he was made."

"Still, he had a good heart," said the Doctor--"romantic, of
course--but a good heart. After all, 'handsome is as handsome does.'"

"I don't believe the poor booby found The Sleeping Beauty at all," said
Jip, the dog. "Most likely he kissed some farmer's fat wife who was
taking a snooze under an apple-tree. Can't blame her for getting
scared! I wonder who he'll go and kiss this time. Silly business!"

Then the pushmi-pullyu, the white mouse, Gub-Gub, Dab-Dab, Jip and the
owl, Too-Too, went on to the ship with the Doctor. But Chee-Chee,
Polynesia and the crocodile stayed behind, because Africa was their
proper home, the land where they were born.

And when the Doctor stood upon the boat, he looked over the side across
the water. And then he remembered that they had no one with them to
guide them back to Puddleby.

The wide, wide sea looked terribly big and lonesome in the moonlight;
and he began to wonder if they would lose their way when they passed
out of sight of land.

But even while he was wondering, they heard a strange whispering noise,
high in the air, coming through the night. And the animals all stopped
saying Good-by and listened.

The noise grew louder and bigger. It seemed to be coming nearer to
them--a sound like the Autumn wind blowing through the leaves of a
poplar-tree, or a great, great rain beating down upon a roof.

And Jip, with his nose pointing and his tail quite straight, said,

"Birds!--millions of them--flying fa