7 The Bridge of Apes

CHAPTER 7 The Bridge of Apes The king was so angry! He could not sleep a wink all night. He stormed around his room,

shaking his fists in the air. "How dare they trick me like that!" he said. "No one treats me like that! I am the king!" He called everyone a fool. He threw his toothbrush at the palace cat. The queen had never seen her husband so angry. She knew that he felt embarrassed. It was hard to admit that a parrot tricked him. He sent all his guards into the jungle to catch Doctor Dolittle. Then he sent all the palace staff out—the cooks, the maids, and the housekeepers. Even the queen was sent out in a search party. In the meantime, Doctor Dolittle and his animal friends were rushing through the jungle. They knew they had to reach the sick monkeys as quickly as possible. They suspected the king would eventually discover the trick and send guards after them. Unfortunately, they did not realize how quickly they had been found out. Gub-Gub the pig had short legs. He tired out very quickly, so the doctor carried him. This

made their travels more difficult. They had to pull the trunk full of medicine with them, too. The king thought it would be easy to find Doctor Dolittle and friends. He thought they would easily get lost in the jungle. He was wrong, though. Chee-Chee the monkey knew the land. He helped them rush through the jungle. He knew the shortcuts to the Land of the Monkeys. Chee-Chee and Polynesia knew all the fruit and vegetables that grew in the jungle. This was very helpful. The group had to travel for several days. The monkey and parrot knew where to find water. They found figs and dates and nuts. They knew how to make a delicious drink from oranges and honey. At night, they all slept in tents made of palm leaves. They made thick soft beds out of dried grass. It was quite comfortable, and they all slept well. It was good to rest after so much walking. The doctor made a fire out of sticks and leaves. After

supper, they would sit in a circle around the fire singing songs. Sometimes Chee-Chee told a story about the jungle. The monkey knew many, many stories. Monkeys, you see, have no history books. There is nothing written down to remember all the tales. So they keep their stories alive by telling them over and over. Chee-Chee learned all his stories from his mother and father. They had learned the stories from their own parents. In this way, the stories and history of the monkeys were not lost. Some of these stories were very, very old. Chee-Chee had tales from the time when man still lived in caves and wore animal skins. This was the time before man knew about fire. He told the animals about the great mammoths that nibbled on treetops and lizards with tails as long as trains. Sometimes Chee-Chee talked for so long that the fire burned down to nothing but ashes. Then they all had to scurry around to find

more sticks to build a new one. After the first night in the jungle, the king's guards and staff returned to the palace. The king was angry that they had returned without the prisoners. "Go back into the jungle," he ordered. "Do not return until you have the doctor!" So while Doctor Dolittle's party made their way through the jungle, thinking they were out of danger, they were being followed. If Chee-Chee had known this, he would have been more careful to hide them. One day, Chee-Chee climbed to the top of a tree. He looked out over the land in front of them. He climbed back down excited. "We are close to the Land of the Monkeys," he said. "We should be there very soon." An hour or two later, they were surprised by a group of monkeys. One of them was CheeChee's cousin. The monkeys were sitting in trees near the edge of a swamp waiting for them. When they saw Doctor Dolittle approach, the

monkeys started to shout and thump on the trees. They cheered and waved leaves. They jumped up and down. Several of the monkeys surrounded the travelers. They grabbed Doctor Dolittle's bag and trunk. They even helped carry Gub-Gub.