nt off, carrying pails and
saucepans, to look for water on the island, while the swallows took
their rest.

"I wonder what is the name of this island," said the Doctor, as he was
climbing up the mountainside. "It seems a pleasant place. What a lot
of birds there are!"

"Why, these are the Canary Islands," said Dab-Dab. "Don't you hear the
canaries singing?"

The Doctor stopped and listened.

"Why, to be sure--of course!" he said. "How stupid of me! I wonder if
they can tell us where to find water."

And presently the canaries, who had heard all about Doctor Dolittle
from birds of passage, came and led him to a beautiful spring of cool,
clear water where the canaries used to take their bath; and they showed
him lovely meadows where the bird-seed grew and all the other sights of
their island.

And the pushmi-pullyu was glad they had come; because he liked the
green grass so much better than the dried apples he had been eating on
the ship. And Gub-Gub squeaked for joy when he found a whole valley
full of wild sugarcane.

A little later, when they had all had plenty to eat and drink, and were
lying on their backs while the canaries sang for them, two of the
swallows came hurrying up, very flustered and excited.

"Doctor!" they cried, "the pirates have come into the bay; and they've
all got on to your ship. They are downstairs looking for things to
steal. They have left their own ship with nobody on it. If you hurry
and come down to the shore, you can get on to their ship--which is very
fast--and escape. But you'll have to hurry."

"That's a good idea," said the Doctor--"splendid!"

And he called his animals together at once, said Good-by to the
canaries and ran down to the beach.

When they reached the shore they saw the pirate-ship, with the three
red sails, standing in the water; and--just as the swallows had
said--there was nobody on it; all the pirates were downstairs in the
Doctor's ship, looking for things to steal.

So John Dolittle told his animals to walk very softly and they all
crept on to the pirate-ship.

THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER

THE BARBARY DRAGON

EVERYTHING would have gone all right if the pig had not caught a cold
in his head while eating the damp sugar-cane on the island. This is
what happened:

After they had pulled up the anchor without a sound, and were moving
the ship very, very carefully out of the bay, Gub-Gub suddenly sneezed
so loud that the pirates on the other ship