4 More Money Troubles

CHAPTER 4 More Money Troubles Doctor Dolittle and the animals were not the only ones happy with his new business. His sister

Sarah was also pleased. At long last they had money coming into the household. She even bought a new dress to wear on Sundays. The animals still upset her, though. It was impossible to keep a clean house. Some of the animal patients were so sick that they had to stay a week. They would sit on chairs on the lawn or relax in the garden. And too often when the animals were feeling better, they did not want to leave. They liked staying with Doctor Dolittle too much. The doctor never had the heart to say no. So the number of pets at his house grew and grew. One day while he was walking through town, he saw an organ-grinder with a monkey on a string. Right away, the doctor noticed that the monkey's collar was on too tight. He could see that the little animal was unhappy. So he gave the man a dollar and took the monkey away from him. At first, the organ grinder was angry. He did not want to give up the monkey. But Doctor

Dolittle said he would call the police and report his cruelty. The man realized he had lost the argument. He took his dollar and left. So the monkey moved in with Doctor Dolittle and all his pets. The other animals named him Chee-Chee, which means "ginger" in monkey language. On another day, the circus came to town. A crocodile traveling with the circus had a bad toothache. He escaped in the middle of the night and went to Doctor Dolittle. The doctor could speak to him in crocodile language, of course. He took the crocodile into his house and fixed the sore tooth. As you might imagine, the crocodile did not want to leave. He asked the doctor if he could live by the pond at the end of the garden if he promised not to eat the fish. Of course, the doctor could not refuse. The crocodile kept his word. He was always quiet and gentle with everyone in the house. When the circus men came to take the crocodile back, they

saw that he was happy and calm. They agreed with the doctor that the crocodile would be much happier staying there, so they left him behind. However, the doctor's sister Sarah was not happy. She was frightened of the crocodile. She worried that other people would be frightened, too. Unfortunately, she was right. The old ladies stopped bringing their sick poodles. They were afraid the crocodile would eat their beloved pets. The farmers stopped bringing their sheep for the same reason. Doctor Dolittle tried talking to the crocodile. He explained that he was losing patients because people were afraid. The doctor told the crocodile that he would have to go back to the circus. The crocodile wept big tears and begged the doctor let him stay. Of course, the doctor agreed. He could not stand to see an unhappy animal. "This is the last straw," his sister said. "We were just starting to do well again. We will be in the poor-house again in no time. That alligator

must go!" "It's not an alligator," Doctor Dolittle calmly replied. "It's a crocodile." "I don't care what it is," his sister said. "It's an awful thing to find under a bed." "He has promised me that he won't hurt any animal," said the doctor. "I trust him completely." "Trust him?" she screamed. "Have you gone mad? People have stopped coming because of that creature. I've had enough. Either he goes or I do." So that was that. Doctor Dolittle's sister Sarah packed up her things and left. She moved to the next street and took a job as a housekeeper. Eventually she married a very nice man and lived a quiet and happy life. As you might suspect, her house was always neat and tidy. Although Doctor Dolittle was very happy with his animals, it was still a difficult time. His sister was right: People were afraid of the crocodile.

He lost most of his patients. Once again, the doctor had very little money. Also, without his sister, there was no one else to help around the house. He could not afford to hire help, so the animals did their best to pitch in. Chee-Chee the monkey did all the cooking and sewing. Too-Too the owl helped with the household accounts. He was good with arithmetic, you see. Dab-Dab the duck dusted and made the beds. Gub-Gub the pig helped with