John Dolittle now became very busy. He found a lot of sick monkeys – gorillas, orangutans, chimpanzees, gray monkeys, red ones – all kinds. And many died. The first thing he did was to separate the sick monkeys from the well ones. Then he asked Chee-Chee and his cousin to build him a little house of grass. The next thing: he told all the monkeys who were still well to come and be vaccinated. Then he asked to build another house – a big one, with a lot of beds in it; and he put all the sick monkeys in this house. But there were not enough well monkeys to look after the sick ones. So he asked the other animals, like the lions and the leopards and the antelopes, to come and help.

But the Leader of the Lions was a very proud creature. And when he came to the Doctor’s big house full of beds he looked angry.

“Do you dare to ask me, Sir?” he said and glared at the Doctor. “Do you dare to ask me – ME, THE KING OF BEASTS, to look after a lot of dirty monkeys?”

Although the lion looked very terrible, the Doctor was not afraid of him.

“They’re not dirty,” he said quietly. “They’ve all had a bath this morning. Now listen, and I’ll tell you something: the day may come when the lions get sick. And if you don’t help the other animals now, the lions will be all alone when THEY are in trouble. That often happens to proud people.”

“The lions are never IN trouble – they only MAKE trouble,” said the Leader, turning up his nose. And he walked away into the jungle.

Then the leopards became proud too and said they didn’t want to help. And then of course the antelopes said so. And now the poor Doctor was really worried because he didn’t know how to help poor sick monkeys.

But when the Leader of the Lions came back to his den, he saw his wife, the Queen Lioness, who said, “One of the cubs doesn’t want to eat. I don’t know WHAT to do with him. He hasn’t taken a thing since last night.” And she began to cry because she was a good mother, even though she was a lioness. So the Leader went into his den and looked at his children – two very little cubs, lying on the floor. And one of them seemed quite poor. Then the lion told his wife, quite proudly, about his talk with the Doctor. And she got so angry that she nearly drove him out of the den.

“You are foolish!” she screamed. “All the animals from here to the Indian Ocean are talking about this wonderful man, and how he can cure any kind of sickness, and how kind he is! And now, NOW – when we have a sick baby on our hands, you offended him! Go back to that white man at once,” she yelled, “and tell him you’re sorry. And take all the other stupid leopards and antelopes with you. Then do everything that the Doctor tells you. Work hard! And perhaps he will be kind enough to come and see the cub later. HURRY, I tell you! You’re not a good father!” And she went into the den next door, where another mother-lion lived, and told her all about it.

So the Leader of the Lions went back to the Doctor and said, “I was near your house and decided to look in. Have you got any help yet?”

“No,” said the Doctor. “I haven’t. And I’m really worried.”

“It’s very hard to get help these days,” said the lion. “Animals don’t want to work any more…Well, I see you’re in difficulties so I am ready to help you but only if I don’t have to wash the creatures. And I have told all the other animals to come and help. The leopards will be here soon…. Oh, and by the way, we’ve got a sick cub at home. I don’t think that the problem is serious. But my wife is anxious. So will you take a look at him?”

Then the Doctor was very happy because all the lions and the leopards and the antelopes and the giraffes and the zebras – all the animals came to help him in his work. And now very soon the monkeys began to get better. And two weeks later all the monkeys got well. Then the Doctor’s work was done; and he was so tired that he went to bed and slept for three days.