I confess I have never read the book or seen any of the films. However today I was privileged to witness one of my chinese students (Tom) trying to pretend he had read the book for a book report. When I asked what was special about Dr Dolittle and animals he replied “He was their dentist”.
To be a dentist to the animals, just imagine it
Extracting wisdom teeth from a chimpanzee
Imagine descaling for a tiger, polishing for a cheetah
What a neat achievement that would be.
If we could check all the animals, prevent gum diseases
Remove stains caused by drinking tea.
We’d study elephants enamel, buffalo and beagle,
And charge them all quite a hefty fee.
We would do root canals for polar bears,
And we could do a crown for a kangaroo.
If people asked can we do a crown for a rhinoceros,
We’d say, “Of courserous, can’t you?”
If we could be a dentist to the animals, give them fillings
Drain any tooth abscess of puss
If we could cure all the animals, protect their enamels,
Brush and floss all the teeth of the animals,
And they could smile with minty fresh breath to us.