Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle: NCERT Class 7 English Story (Poorvi)

etmantra3 Nov 20266 min read

What if your doctor could understand what your dog was saying? In this light, funny story, a parrot teaches a kind doctor the language of animals, and his life changes. Children enjoy the talking animals, and they learn a lot about listening, kindness and compound words along the way.

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From NCERT’s new English book Poorvi for Class 7, unit “Wit and Humour”. Unit 2.

What your child learns

Following a funny story told mostly through dialogue
Compound words: hyphenated (check-in), open (bird language) and closed (teatime)
The present perfect tense: has/have + past participle (has stopped, have brought)
Palindromes, and writing a formal school notice

What the story is about

Doctor John Dolittle is a people's doctor. One day the Cat's-food-Man, who has come to him with a stomach-ache, tells him he should treat animals instead, because he knows more about them than the local vets. His parrot, Polynesia, agrees. She tells him a secret: animals can talk. Parrots speak both people's language and bird language, and animals also talk with their ears, feet, tails and noses. All afternoon, while it rains, she teaches him bird words, and he writes them down. Soon he can talk to animals himself, and he gives up treating people.

Now pet owners and farmers bring him their animals. A plough horse tells him that the vet over the hill only gave him pills, when all he needed was spectacles. The doctor gets him a pair of green glasses, and soon farm animals around Puddleby wear glasses too. Because animals can tell him where it hurts, he cures them easily. So many come that he makes a separate door for each kind, and even a tiny tunnel for the mice. Birds carry his name to other countries, and he becomes famous among animals all over the world.

New words, with Hindi meanings

scholar: a person who has studied a lot and knows a lot (हिंदी: विद्वान)
porridge: a soft, hot food made by cooking oats or grain in milk or water (हिंदी: दलिया)
cracker: a thin, dry biscuit (हिंदी: पतला बिस्किट)
twitching: making small, quick movements (हिंदी: फड़कना, हिलाना)
plough: to dig and turn the soil of a field before sowing (हिंदी: हल चलाना)
spectacles: glasses that help you see clearly (हिंदी: चश्मा)
vet: a doctor for animals (हिंदी: पशु डॉक्टर)
countryside: the land outside towns, with farms and fields (हिंदी: देहात, ग्रामीण इलाका)
cellar: a room under the ground, often used to store things (हिंदी: तहख़ाना)
patiently: calmly, without getting upset while waiting (हिंदी: धैर्य से)

Talk about it

Ask these aloud after reading or watching. Let your child answer in English if they can, or mix in their home language. Both help.

Why did the Cat's-food-Man think Doctor Dolittle should become an animal doctor?
How did Polynesia show that animals talk even without words?
What was wrong with the plough horse, and how did the doctor help him?
Why did Doctor Dolittle become famous among animals all over the world?
If you could talk to one animal or bird, which one would it be, and what would you ask it?

Answers for parents

He felt the doctor knew much more about animals than the local vets. He had heard the doctor's book about cats and found it wonderful.
She pointed to Jip the dog, who was twitching one side of his nose. She explained that it meant he was asking if the doctor could see that the rain had stopped.
He was going blind in one eye and needed spectacles, but the vet over the hill only gave him pills. Doctor Dolittle listened and got him green glasses, and he could see well again.
He could understand animals, so they told him what was wrong and he cured them easily. The animals told their friends, and birds flying to other countries spread his name.
For example: I would talk to the street dog near my school. I would ask him if he is hungry and where he sleeps at night.

Grammar corner: The present perfect tense (has/have + past participle)

We use the present perfect for an action that has just finished, or a past action that still matters now. We make it with has or have and the third form of the verb (stopped, written, taught). Use has with he, she, it and one person; use have with I, you, we, they.

The rain has stopped, so Jip wants to go out.
Polynesia has taught the doctor many bird words.
The farmers have brought their sick cows to the little house.

Practice at home

Fill in the blank with the present perfect of 'write': The doctor ___ a book about cats.
Sort these compound words: teatime, check-in, plough horse. Which is closed, which is hyphenated and which is open?
Is 'level' a palindrome? Make one sentence using it.

Answers: 1. has written · 2. teatime: closed; check-in: hyphenated; plough horse: open · 3. Yes, it reads the same backwards. Sample: The doctor kept the shelf level.

Try this

Play 'Doctor for animals'. One person is the doctor and the other is an animal who cannot use words: only the face, ears, hands (paws) and feet. The animal acts out a problem, such as a sore leg, a toothache or feeling cold. The doctor must guess and say it in English: 'You have hurt your leg.' Then swap. Afterwards, try to find a palindrome around the house, like 'mom', 'dad' or 'level'.

Tip for parents

Ask your child in Hindi first: 'अगर तुम जानवरों की भाषा समझ पाते, तो सबसे पहले किससे बात करते? वह क्या कहता?' Let them answer in Hindi or a mix, then help them say one line in English, such as 'I would talk to my cat. She would say she is hungry.' Repeat the English line warmly and praise every try; a mixed answer is a good start.

Questions parents ask

What is the story Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle about?

It is about Doctor John Dolittle, who learns the language of animals from his parrot, Polynesia. He gives up treating people, becomes an animal doctor, and grows famous among animals all over the world because he can understand them.

Who are the characters in Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle?

Doctor John Dolittle, the parrot Polynesia, the Cat's-food-Man, Jip the dog and a plough horse who needs spectacles. The story is by Hugh Lofting.

Is Animals, Birds, and Dr. Dolittle in the new NCERT book?

Yes. It is Chapter 4 of NCERT's new Poorvi book for Class 7, in Unit 2 (Wit and Humour).

Learn every Class 7 chapter with CALP

Every chapter of Poorvi, NCERT’s new Class 7 book, with notes in English and Hindi, say-it-aloud practice with a score, listening, grammar, speaking and writing with feedback. ₹1,599 for the whole year.

See the free lessons and enrol →