feeding his pets for him; helping to make new houses and fences
for the zoo; assisting with the sick animals that came; doing all
manner of odd jobs about the place. So that although I enjoyed
it all very much (it was indeed like living in a new world) I
really think the Doctor would have missed me if I had not come so
often.

And all this time Polynesia came with me wherever I went,
teaching me bird language and showing me how to understand the
talking signs of the animals. At first I thought I would never be
able to learn at all--it seemed so difficult. But the old parrot
was wonderfully patient with me--though I could see that
occasionally she had hard work to keep her temper.

Soon I began to pick up the strange chatter of the birds and to
understand the funny talking antics of the dogs. I used to
practise listening to the mice behind the wainscot after I went
to bed, and watching the cats on the roofs and pigeons in the
market-square of Puddleby.

And the days passed very quickly--as they always do when life is
pleasant; and the days turned into weeks, and weeks into months;
and soon the roses in the Doctor's garden were losing their
petals and yellow leaves lay upon the wide green lawn. For the
summer was nearly gone.

One day Polynesia and I were talking in the library. This was a
fine long room with a grand mantlepiece and the walls were
covered from the ceiling to the floor with shelves full of books:
books of stories, books on gardening, books about medicine, books