The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle [33]
the garden, turning up her nose in all directions, as though she owned the earth--just because she's got a lot of colored plumage. A London sparrow's as good as her any day. I don't hold by these gawdy bedizened foreigners nohow. Why don't they stay in their own country?"
"But what did you say to her that got her so offended?"
"All I said was, 'You don't belong in an English garden; you ought to be in a milliner's window. That's all."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Cheapside. Don't you realize that this bird has come thousands of miles to see me-- only to be insulted by your impertinent tongue as soon as she reaches my garden? What do you mean by it?--If she had gone away again before I got back to-night I would never have forgiven you-- Leave the room."
Sheepishly, but still trying to look as though he didn't care, Cheapside hopped out into the passage and Dab-Dab closed the door.
The Doctor went up to the beautiful bird on the ink-stand and gently stroked its back. Instantly its head popped out from under its wing.
THE TENTH CHAPTER
LONG ARROW, THE SON OF GOLDEN ARROW
WELL, Miranda," said the Doctor. "I'm terribly sorry this has happened. But you mustn't mind Cheapside; he doesn't know any better. He's a city bird; and all his life he has had to squabble for a living. You must make allowances. He doesn't know any better."
Miranda stretched her gorgeous wings wearily. Now that I saw her awake and moving I noticed what a superior, well-bred manner she had. There were tears in her eyes and her beak was trembling.
"I wouldn't have minded so much," she said in a high silvery voice, "if I hadn't been so dreadfully worn out--That and something else," she added beneath her breath.
"Did you have a hard time getting here?" asked the Doctor.
"The worst passage I ever made," said Miranda. "The weather--Well there. What's the use? I'm here anyway."
"Tell me," said the Doctor as though he had been impatiently waiting to say something for a long time: "what did Long Arrow say when you gave him my message?"
The Purple Bird-of-Paradise hung her head.
"That's the worst part of it," she said. "I might almost as well have not come at all. I wasn't able to deliver your message. I couldn't find him. LONG ARROW, THE SON OF GOLDEN ARROW, HAS DISAPPEARED!"
"Disappeared!" cried the Doctor. "Why, what's become of him?"
"Nobody knows," Miranda answered. "He had often disappeared before, as I have told you--so that the Indians didn't know where he was. But it's a mighty hard thing to hide away from the birds. I had always been able to find some owl or martin who could tell me where he was--if I wanted to know. But not this time. That's why I'm nearly a fortnight late in coming to you: I kept hunting and hunting, asking everywhere. I went over the whole length and breadth of South America. But there wasn't a living thing could tell me where he was."
There was a sad silence in the room after she had finished; the Doctor was frowning in a peculiar sort of way and Polynesia scratched her head.
"Did you ask the black parrots?" asked Polynesia. "They usually know everything."
"Certainly I did," said Miranda. "And I was so upset at not being able to find out anything, that I forgot all about observing the weather-signs before I started my flight here. I didn't even bother to break my journey at the Azores, but cut right across, making for the Straits of Gibraltar-- as though it were June or July. And of course I ran into a perfectly frightful storm in mid-Atlantic. I really thought I'd never come through it. Luckily I found a piece of a wrecked vessel floating in the sea after the storm had partly died down; and I roosted on it and took some sleep. If I hadn't been able to take that rest I wouldn't be here to tell the tale."
"Poor Miranda! What a time you must have had!" said the Doctor. "But tell me, were you able to find out whereabouts Long Arrow was last seen?"
"Yes. A young albatross told me he had seen him on Spidermonkey Island?"
"Spidermonkey
"But what did you say to her that got her so offended?"
"All I said was, 'You don't belong in an English garden; you ought to be in a milliner's window. That's all."
"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, Cheapside. Don't you realize that this bird has come thousands of miles to see me-- only to be insulted by your impertinent tongue as soon as she reaches my garden? What do you mean by it?--If she had gone away again before I got back to-night I would never have forgiven you-- Leave the room."
Sheepishly, but still trying to look as though he didn't care, Cheapside hopped out into the passage and Dab-Dab closed the door.
The Doctor went up to the beautiful bird on the ink-stand and gently stroked its back. Instantly its head popped out from under its wing.
THE TENTH CHAPTER
LONG ARROW, THE SON OF GOLDEN ARROW
WELL, Miranda," said the Doctor. "I'm terribly sorry this has happened. But you mustn't mind Cheapside; he doesn't know any better. He's a city bird; and all his life he has had to squabble for a living. You must make allowances. He doesn't know any better."
Miranda stretched her gorgeous wings wearily. Now that I saw her awake and moving I noticed what a superior, well-bred manner she had. There were tears in her eyes and her beak was trembling.
"I wouldn't have minded so much," she said in a high silvery voice, "if I hadn't been so dreadfully worn out--That and something else," she added beneath her breath.
"Did you have a hard time getting here?" asked the Doctor.
"The worst passage I ever made," said Miranda. "The weather--Well there. What's the use? I'm here anyway."
"Tell me," said the Doctor as though he had been impatiently waiting to say something for a long time: "what did Long Arrow say when you gave him my message?"
The Purple Bird-of-Paradise hung her head.
"That's the worst part of it," she said. "I might almost as well have not come at all. I wasn't able to deliver your message. I couldn't find him. LONG ARROW, THE SON OF GOLDEN ARROW, HAS DISAPPEARED!"
"Disappeared!" cried the Doctor. "Why, what's become of him?"
"Nobody knows," Miranda answered. "He had often disappeared before, as I have told you--so that the Indians didn't know where he was. But it's a mighty hard thing to hide away from the birds. I had always been able to find some owl or martin who could tell me where he was--if I wanted to know. But not this time. That's why I'm nearly a fortnight late in coming to you: I kept hunting and hunting, asking everywhere. I went over the whole length and breadth of South America. But there wasn't a living thing could tell me where he was."
There was a sad silence in the room after she had finished; the Doctor was frowning in a peculiar sort of way and Polynesia scratched her head.
"Did you ask the black parrots?" asked Polynesia. "They usually know everything."
"Certainly I did," said Miranda. "And I was so upset at not being able to find out anything, that I forgot all about observing the weather-signs before I started my flight here. I didn't even bother to break my journey at the Azores, but cut right across, making for the Straits of Gibraltar-- as though it were June or July. And of course I ran into a perfectly frightful storm in mid-Atlantic. I really thought I'd never come through it. Luckily I found a piece of a wrecked vessel floating in the sea after the storm had partly died down; and I roosted on it and took some sleep. If I hadn't been able to take that rest I wouldn't be here to tell the tale."
"Poor Miranda! What a time you must have had!" said the Doctor. "But tell me, were you able to find out whereabouts Long Arrow was last seen?"
"Yes. A young albatross told me he had seen him on Spidermonkey Island?"
"Spidermonkey