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behold; thou shalt be made the whitest prince that

ever won fair lady!  I have said enough。  I

must now go back to Fairyland。  Farewell!〃



〃Farewell!〃 cried the Prince。  〃A thousand thanks;

good Tripsitinka!〃



And he sat down on the seat again with a

smile upon his face; waiting for the sun to set。







THE TWELFTH CHAPTER



MEDICINE AND MAGIC



VERY; very quietly; making sure that no one should see

her; Polynesia then slipped out at the back of the tree

and flew across to the prison。



She found Gub…Gub poking his nose through

the bars of the window; trying to sniff the

cooking…smells that came from the palace…

kitchen。  She told the pig to bring the Doctor

to the window because she wanted to speak to

him。  So Gub…Gub went and woke the Doctor

who was taking a nap。



〃Listen;〃 whispered the parrot; when John

Dolittle's face appeared: 〃Prince Bumpo is

coming here to…night to see you。  And you've

got to find some way to turn him white。  But

be sure to make him promise you first that he

will open the prison…door and find a ship for

you to cross the sea in。〃  



〃This is all very well;〃 said the Doctor。

〃But it isn't so easy to turn a black man white。

You speak as though he were a dress to be re…

dyed。  It's not so simple。  ‘Shall the leopard

change his spots; or the Ethiopian his skin;' you

know?〃



〃I don't know anything about that;〃 said

Polynesia impatiently。  〃But you MUST turn this

man white。  Think of a waythink hard。

You've got plenty of medicines left in the bag。

He'll do anything for you if you change his

color。  It is your only chance to get out of

prison。〃  



〃Well; I suppose it MIGHT be possible;〃 said

the Doctor。  〃Let me see;〃 and he went over

to his medicine…bag; murmuring something

about 〃liberated chlorine on animal…pigment

perhaps zinc…ointment; as a temporary measure;

spread thick〃



Well; that night Prince Bumpo came secretly

to the Doctor in prison and said to him;



〃White Man; I am an unhappy prince。

Years ago I went in search of The Sleeping

Beauty; whom I had read of in a book。  And

having traveled through the world many days;

I at last found her and kissed the lady very

gently to awaken heras the book said I should。

'Tis true indeed that she awoke。  But when

she saw my face she cried out; ‘Oh; he's black!'

And she ran away and wouldn't marry mebut

went to sleep again somewhere else。  So I came

back; full of sadness; to my father's kingdom。

Now I hear that you are a wonderful magician

and have many powerful potions。  So I come to

you for help。  If you will turn me white; so

that I may go back to The Sleeping Beauty; I

will give you half my kingdom and anything

besides you ask。〃  



〃Prince Bumpo;〃 said the Doctor; looking

thoughtfully at the bottles in his medicine…bag;

〃supposing I made your hair a nice blonde

colorwould not that do instead to make you

happy?〃



〃No;〃 said Bumpo。  〃Nothing else will

satisfy me。  I must be a white prince。〃  



〃You know it is very hard to change the color

of a prince;〃 said the Doctor〃one of the hardest

things a magician can do。  You only want

your face white; do you not?〃



〃Yes; that is all;〃 said Bumpo。  〃Because I

shall wear shining armor and gauntlets of steel;

like the other white princes; and ride on a

horse。〃  



〃Must your face be white all over?〃 asked the Doctor。



〃Yes; all over;〃 said Bumpo〃and I would

like my eyes blue too; but I suppose that would

be very hard to do。〃  



〃Yes; it would;〃 said the Doctor quickly。

〃Well; I will do what I can for you。  You will

have to be very patient thoughyou know with

some medicines you can never be very sure。  I

might have to try two or three times。  You have

a strong skinyes?  Well that's all right。

Now come over here by the lightOh; but before

I do anything; you must first go down to

the beach and get a ship ready; with food in it;

to take me across the sea。  Do not speak a word

of this to any one。  And when I have done as

you ask; you must let me and all my animals

out of prison。  Promiseby the crown of Jolliginki!〃



So the Prince promised and went away to get

a ship ready at the seashore。



When he came back and said that it was done;

the Doctor asked Dab…Dab to bring a basin。

Then he mixed a lot of medicines in the basin

and told Bumpo to dip his face in it。



The Prince leaned down and put his face in

right up to the ears。



He held it there a long timeso long that

the Doctor seemed to get dreadfully anxious

and fidgety; standing first on one leg and then

on the other; looking at all the bottles he had

used for the mixture; and reading the labels on

them again and again。  A strong smell filled

the prison; like the smell of brown paper

burning。



At last the Prince lifted his face up out of the

basin; breathing very hard。  And all the animals

cried out in surprise。



For the Prince's face had turned as white as

snow; and his eyes; which had been mud…colored;

were a manly gray!



When John Dolittle lent him a little looking…

glass to see himself in; he sang for joy and

began dancing around the prison。  But the

Doctor asked him not to make so much noise

about it; and when he had closed his medicine…bag

in a hurry he told him to open the prison…door。



Bumpo begged that he might keep the looking…

glass; as it was the only one in the Kingdom

of Jolliginki; and he wanted to look at himself

all day long。  But the Doctor said he needed

it to shave with。



Then the Prince; taking a bunch of copper

keys from his pocket; undid the great double

locks。  And the Doctor with all his animals ran

as fast as they could down to the seashore; while

Bumpo leaned against the wall of the empty

dungeon; smiling after them happily; his big

face shining like polished ivory in the light of

the moon。



When they came to the beach they saw

Polynesia and Chee…Chee waiting for them on the

rocks near the ship。



〃I feel sorry about Bumpo;〃 said the Doctor。



〃I am afraid that medicine I used will never

last。  Most likely he will be as black as ever

when he wakes up in the morningthat's one

reason why I didn't like to leave the mirror with

him。  But then again; he MIGHT stay whiteI

had never used that mixture before。  To tell the

truth; I was surprised; myself; that it worked

so well。  But I had to do something; didn't I?

I couldn't possibly scrub the King's kitchen

for the rest of my life。  It was such a dirty

kitchen!I could see it from the prison…

window。Well; well!Poor Bumpo!〃



〃Oh; of course he will know we were just

joking with him;〃 said the parrot。



〃They had no business to lock us up;〃 said Dab…Dab;

waggling her tail angrily。  〃We never did them any harm。

Serve him right; if he does turn black again! I hope it's

a dark black。〃  



〃But HE didn't have anything to do with it;〃

said the Doctor。  〃It was the King; his father;

who had us locked upit wasn't Bumpo's fault。

。。。I wonder if I ought to go back and apologize

Oh; wellI'll send him some candy

when I get to Puddleby。  And who knows?

he may stay white after all。〃  



〃The Sleeping Beauty would never have him;

even if he did;〃 said Dab…Dab。  〃He looked

better the way he was; I thought。  But he'd

never be anything but ugly; no matter what

color he was made。〃  



〃Still; he had a good heart;〃 said the Doctor

〃romantic; of coursebut a good heart。

After all; ‘handsome is as handsome does。'〃



〃I don't believe the poor booby found The

Sleeping Beauty at all;〃 said Jip; the dog。

〃Most likely he kissed some farmer's fat wife

who was taking a snooze under an apple…tree。

Can't blame her for getting scared!  I wonder

who he'll go and kiss this time。  Silly business!〃



Then the pushmi…pullyu; the white mouse;

Gub…Gub; Dab…Dab; Jip and the owl; Too…Too;

went on to the ship with the Doctor。  But Chee…

Chee; Polynesia and the crocodile stayed behind;

because Africa was their proper home; the land

where they were born。



And when the Doctor stood upon the boat; he

looked over the side across the water。  And then

he remembered that they had no one with them

to guide them back to Puddleby。



The wide; wide sea looked terribly big and

lonesome in the moonlight; and he began to

wonder if they would lose their way when they

passed out of sight of land。



But even while he was wondering; they heard

a strange whispering noise; high in the air;

coming through the night。  And the animals all

stopped saying Good…by and listened。



The noise grew louder and bigger。  It seemed

to be coming nearer to thema sound like the

Autumn wind blowing through the leaves of a

poplar…tree; or a great; great rain beating down

upon a roof。



And Jip; with his nose pointing and his tail

quite straight; said;



〃Birds!millions of themflying f

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