Doctor Dolittle Meets a Londoner in Paris
"Doctor Dolittle Meets a Londoner in Paris" is a short story by Hugh Lofting in the Doctor Dolittle series, published in the children's anthology The Flying Carpet (pp. 110–19), designed [edited] by Cynthia Asquith in 1925. The Flying Carpet was an anthology of original short stories, original poems, and original illustrations by personages well known at the time for producing material for children.
| "Doctor Dolittle Meets a Londoner in Paris" | |
|---|---|
| Author | Hugh Lofting |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | Doctor Dolittle |
| Genre(s) | Children's literature |
| Published in | The Flying Carpet |
| Publication type | Anthology |
| Media type | |
Plot
The story tells of an incident that occurred when Doctor Dolittle was in Paris, France, in spring time, at the request of some French naturalists to discuss some new features to be added to the zoo in the Jardin des Plantes. He was walking through the Tuileries Garden one day when he noticed a Sparrow bathing in a puddle in his path and realized it was his friend Cheapside who usually lived in London. Cheapside explained that he normally flew over to Paris with his wife Becky every spring.
Doctor Dolittle remarked with envy that he had not been able to take a bath himself in Paris for over a week. Cheapside suggests that the Doctor try the marble pond at the other side of the shrubbery, The Doctor should meet him at the spot at midnight and bathe while he and Becky will keep a lookout for anyone who might disturb him.
So that night the Doctor takes his bath in a marble pond ornamented by statues of Neptune and his attendants. But just as he is about to finish he is warned that someone is coming and that he should hide by jumping on the marble pedestal and pretending to be one of the statues. The Doctor does so, and the interlopers turn out to be Doctor Dolittle's sister Sarah and her husband the Reverend Lancelot Dingle who by coincidence are tourists in Paris at the time. They notice the supposed statue that is really the Doctor but do not realize that it is not a statue and remark on its fatness.
Then upon the departure of Sarah and her husband, a policeman comes upon the scene. But the policeman's attention is taken up by a surprise attack by Becky while Doctor Dolittle quickly dresses and flees the scene without being seen.