Pripovijest o doktoru Dolittleu

The Tale of Doctor Dolittle is the first and most famous novel in the series by Hugh Lofting, published in 1920. The book was created from letters that Lofting sent to his children during World War I – he wanted to avoid war themes and create a cheerful, imaginative story.

The main character is Dr. John Dolittle, a gentle, eccentric and unusually kind man who lives in the small English town of Puddleby-on-the-Marsh with his sister Sarah. His house is full of animals: Jip the dog, Dab-Dab the duck, Gub-Gub the pig, Too-Too the owl, Chee-Chee the monkey and especially Polynesia the parrot. Sarah considers the animals dirty and drives away the patients, so Dolittle loses his human patients and becomes poor.

But then, Polynesia, an old parrot who lived with pirates and African princes, teaches Dolittle the languages ​​of animals – he becomes the only man who understands dogs, cats, birds, horses, cows and all the rest. He begins to treat animals instead of people and soon becomes famous among the animals.

When news arrives of a major epidemic among the monkeys in West Africa, Chee-Chee asks Dolittle to help. The doctor, although he has no money, borrows a ship and sets sail with the entire animal company: Polynesia, Jip, Dab-Dab, Gub-Gub and Chee-Chee. On the way, they encounter the pirate Ben Ali, but they outwit him. In Africa, Dolittle treats the monkeys with a mixture of medicine and food, and out of gratitude, they build a bridge across the river and help him.

King Jolliginki imprisons Dolittle because he thinks he has come to steal, but Dolittle escapes with the help of the animals. The biggest prize is Pushmi-pullyu – a miraculous animal with two heads (one in front, one in back), which cannot be caught. She agrees to go with Dolittle to England, where she becomes the main attraction – people pay to see her, and the doctor finally becomes rich and can live with his animals in peace.

The book is full of humor, warmth, and imagination: the animals have personalities (Polynesia is wise and sarcastic, Gub-Gub is gluttonous and naive, Jip is brave), and Dolittle is the archetypal good man who loves animals more than people. The themes are empathy for animals, adventure, friendship, and a critique of greed and closed-mindedness. In the Croatian translation, this is a classic children's read - a simple, cheerful, and instructive story about kindness and the miracle of communication with animals.