I did not go to school; because my father was not rich enough to
send me. But I was extremely fond of animals. So I used to spend
my time collecting birds' eggs and butterflies, fishing in the
river, rambling through the countryside after blackberries and
mushrooms and helping the mussel-man mend his nets.
Yes, it was a very pleasant life I lived in those days long ago--
though of course I did not think so then. I was nine and a half
years old; and, like all boys, I wanted to grow up--not knowing
how well off I was with no cares and nothing to worry me. Always
I longed for the time when I should be allowed to leave my
father's house, to take passage in one of those brave ships, to
sail down the river through the misty marshes to the sea-- out
into the world to seek my fortune.
THE SECOND CHAPTER
I HEAR OF THE GREAT NATURALIST
ONE early morning in the Springtime, when I was wandering among
the hills at the back of the town, I happened to come upon a hawk
with a squirrel in its claws. It was standing on a rock and the
squirrel was fighting very hard for its life. The hawk was so
frightened when I came upon it suddenly like this, that it
dropped the poor creature and flew away. I picked the squirrel up
and found that two of its legs were badly hurt. So I carried it
in my arms back to the town.
When I came to the bridge I went into the musselman's hut and
asked him if he could do anything for it. Joe put on his
spectacles and examined it carefully. Then he shook his head.
"Yon crittur's got a broken leg," he said--"and another badly cut
an' all. I can mend you your boats, Tom, but I haven't the tools
nor the learning to make a broken squirrel seaworthy. This is a
job for a surgeon--and for a right smart one an' all. There be
only one man I know who could save yon crittur's life. And that's
John Dolittle."
"Who is John Dolittle?" I asked. "Is he a vet?"
"No," said the mussel-man. "He's no vet. Doctor Dolittle is a
nacheralist."
"What's a nacheralist?"
"A nacheralist," said Joe, putting away his glasses and starting
to fill his pipe, "is a man who knows all about animals and
