"After a while, with the parrot's help, the Doctor got to learn the
language of the animals so well that he could talk to them himself and
understand everything they said."
John Dolittle is a highly respected doctor in the village of
Puddleby-on-the-Marsh, yet he loves animals so much that his house is
soon full of them. With all his patients scared away, and the expense of
feeding his menagerie mounting, a friend suggests that the Doctor become
a vet instead.
With the help of Polynesia the parrot, Doctor Dolittle swiftly learns
the language of the animals so that he can talk to all of his new
patients. However, when a message comes from Africa, telling of a
terrible sickness among the monkeys there, the Doctor and his animal
friends depart on a thrilling and dangerous adventure that they are
never likely to forget.