The Barbary pirates ran toward their ship.
"Hurry! Everyone help me!" Dr. Dolittle shouted.
"What is that man saying?" one pirate asked.
"He seems to be speaking a strange language," answered the captain.
"It's moving! It's moving!"
Gub-Gub jumped up and down.
But the pirates were fast runners.
They got onto Dr. Dolittle's boat.
"Ah-ha! You think you can escape from me?" laughed the captain.
"We will take your boat!"
"Oh, but . . . ," Gub-Gub was about to tell them the boat was no good.
"See? Those rats were lying!" shouted Dab-Dab.
"That boat is not sinking!"
Sure enough, Dr. Dolittle's boat began chasing the pirate ship.
Dr. Dolittle could hear the pirates' laughter.
Dr. Dolittle had never been on a pirate ship before.
He did the best he could.
The animals tried to help him.
But the pirates were catching up.
The captain of the pirates shouted at them, "You are fast, but I am faster!
I am the great Ben Ali!
I am the Barbary Dragon!"
Then he laughed an ugly laugh.
"Dr. Dolittle! They're getting close!" cried Dab-Dab.
The pirates started to sing a terrible song.
"A pig we'll have tonight!
A big fat pig cooked right.
With carrots and stew and butter too, we'll eat till morning light."
Poor Gub-Gub was so scared he burst into tears.
"That boat is NOT sinking!
The rats lied!" Dab-Dab shouted angrily.
The pirates saw Dab-Dab jumping up and down.
They started to sing a new song.
"Ducks are yummy, too.
We'll put them in our stew.
His head and feet will be a treat.
Yummy duck for me and you!"
Poor Dab-Dab was so scared that he fainted.
Ben Ali, the Barbary Dragon, sailed the boat right next to their ship.
"I say we fight them!
Come on!" growled Jip.
"But they have swords.
We have nothing," Dr. Dolittle said.
"I have horns sharper than swords," said the usually quiet pushmi-pullyu.
He was sharpening all his horns.
All of a sudden, the pirates felt their boat move.
"What was that?" shouted Ben Ali.
He stared at his feet.
"This boat is SINKING!" he yelled.
The boat sank lower and lower.
"That's impossible!" one pirate cried out.
"I didn't see the rats leave the boat!"
Jip jumped up and down with joy.
"That's because they left hours ago!" he laughed.
But of course the pirates only heard a dog barking loudly.
Ben Ali and the other pirates started to panic.
No one was singing now.
"Ha-ha! Come and catch me if you can," teased Gub-Gub.
Dab-Dab stuck his tongue out at them.
The pirates climbed onto the sails.
The boat sinks deeper and deeper.
They grab a hold on the sails.
Some held onto the ropes.
But it was no use.
The boat disappeared into the water.
The pirates splashed around in the water.