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animals don’t complain. As a matter of fact it takes a much cleverer man to be a really
good animal-doctor than it does to be a good people’s doctor. My farmer’s boy thinks

he knows all about horses. I wish you could see him—his face is so fat he looks as
though he had no eyes—and he has got as much brain as a potato-bug. He tried to put
a mustard-plaster on me last week.’

‘Where did he put it?’ asked the Doctor.

‘Oh, he didn’t put it anywhere—on me,’ said the

horse. ‘He only tried to. I kicked him into
the duck-pond.’

‘Well, well!’ said 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. In this story, John
‘Come in again Tuesday—Good morning!’ Dolittle has been Let’s connect
portrayed as a gentle and
Then John Dolittle got a fine, big pair of green understanding doctor. Do

spectacles; and the plow-horse stopped going blind in you also get treatment from
one eye and could see as well as ever. a doctor like him?

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
booby: a foolish or stupid
person him. As soon as they found that he could talk their language,
monkey with: to interfere they told him where the pain was and how they felt, and of
with something
course it was easy for him to cure them.

—Hugh Lofting

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