Hugh Lofting

The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle Hugh Lofting

Book Excerpt: ...! M-E-A-T!" People paid him to give this meat to their cats and dogs instead of feeding them on dog-biscuits or the scraps from the table. I enjoyed going round with old Matthew and seeing the cats and dogs come running to the garden-gates whenever they heard his call. Sometimes he let me give the meat to the animals myself; and I thought this was great fun. He knew a lot about dogs and he would tell me the names of the different kinds as we went through the town. He had several dogs of his own; one, a whippet, was a very fast runner, and Matthew used to win prizes with her at the Saturday coursing races; another, a terrier, was a fine ratter. The cat's-meat-man used to make a business of rat-catching for the millers and farmers as well as his other trade of selling cat's-meat. My third great friend was Luke the Hermit. But of him I will tell you more later on. I did not go to school; because my father was not rich enough to send me. But I was extremely fond of animals. So I used to spend...