Dr. Dolittle and Polynesia arrived on the beach.
Tommy was so happy to see the doctor that he began to cry.
"Hush, now," the doctor said, comforting him.
"It's good to have you back, Dr. Dolittle,"
Charles said as he brushed away a tear.
"We must get going before the natives find you are missing," said Polynesia.
"Will the people be all right?"
the doctor asked, looking back toward the huts.
"Of course," answered Long Arrow.
"They already have a chief.
Do not worry, I will explain to them."
"You're not coming with us?" the doctor said in surprise.
"I'm afraid not, my friend," the Indian said sadly.
"My journey is different from yours.
You must go your way, and I must go mine."
The two men did not speak for a minute.
"Will we ever meet again?" asked Dr. Dolittle.
"As long as the eagles soar, our paths shall cross," replied Long Arrow.
A loud splash came from the waters.
"He is here," Polynesia said.
"Who is?" asked the doctor.
"Remember what the fidgit said?"
Tommy grabbed the doctor's hand excitedly.
"He spoke about the great glass sea snail?"
Tommy led the doctor toward the edge of the water.
Dr. Dolittle stopped in his tracks and gasped at the creature before him.
It was an enormous snail, the size of two large houses.
Its shell was transparent and shone like a million diamonds.
"It's beautiful!" sighed the doctor.
"How did you find it?"
"When we told Long Arrow you wanted to learn shellfish language," explained Tommy, "Long Arrow went in search of the snail."
Dr. Dolittle smiled at Long Arrow.
"Now you can learn the language on your way back home," said Tommy.
"What? Will the snail come with us?" the doctor said, confused.
The snail let out a loud groan and shook its huge body.
The bottom of its shell came away from its body.
Dr. Dolittle's eyes grew big with excitement.
"You and your friends can ride inside the shell," Long Arrow explained.
"The snail will take you on an underwater journey."
Dr. Dolittle wiped a tear from his eye.
"How can I ever thank you?" he said with emotion.
"You are my dearest friend."
Dr. Dolittle blew his nose.
"You have made all my dreams come true."
Tommy felt a lump in his throat.
He looked around the island.
The sun was starting to come up.
He realized that he had learned much more on this voyage than he had ever expected.
But he also realized how much he missed his parents and Puddleby.
He was ready to go home.
It was very sad to say good-bye to Long Arrow.
He had a gift for each of his new friends.
To Charles he gave a beautiful stone with a red dot in the middle.
To Tommy he gave a large eagle's feather.
Tommy wore it in his hair, just like Long Arrow.
For Polynesia, Long Arrow had a tiny necklace made of flowers.
She wore it proudly around her neck.
And finally, to Dr. Dolittle Long Arrow gave his pouch.
"I can't accept this," the doctor said, his voice choking.
"It is my most treasured item," said the Indian,
"and I want my most treasured friend to have it."
The two friends cried as they finally said good-bye.
Dr. Dolittle and his friends climbed into the sea snail's shell.
Inside the shell, it was comfortably warm.
There were no chairs, but Tommy found that the snail's back was soft to sit on.
He looked outside.
It felt strange to view the world from inside a shell.
After everyone was settled in, the snail groaned once again.
Its shell locked in place and slowly it moved into the water.
Dr. Dolittle and his friends waved to Long Arrow as they disappeared below the waves.
"Now the real voyage begins!" Charles shouted joyfully.
Yes, returning home was yet another adventure.
After returning to Puddleby, Tommy's life changed quite a bit.
He could now speak more animal languages.
He was no longer afraid of any kind of animal.
And he was certain that he wanted to be an animal doctor when he grew up.
But some things would never change.
"Tommy! Come listen to this!"
the doctor would shout excitedly, pulling his head out of the shellfish tank.
"I think I've got it!"
Whenever Charles came to visit, Dr. Dolittle and his friends would talk about their trip.
The other pets never got tired of hearing all the exciting stories.
But Tommy was ready for a new voyage.
During one of Charles' visits, Dr. Dolittle looked at Tommy and winked.
It seemed as if Dr. Dolittle were ready too.
Tommy thought of places they could travel.
It didn't matter where they went.
As long as Tommy was with Dr. Dolittle, every voyage would be an adventure.
[caption_out@