When changes are made, they often simply remove rather ordinary references to the skin color of the characters. For example, 1922/1950 (p. 162) AND 2001 (p. 154) read:

“I very soon grew to be quite fond of our funny black friend Bumpo, with his grand way of speaking and his enormous feet which some one was always stepping on or falling over.”

1988 omits the word “black” (p.139), while 1998 omits “funny black” (p. 120).

1922/1950 (p. 141), 1998 (p. 102), and 2001 (p. 132), read :

“It is quite possible we shall be the first white men to land there."

1988 omits 'white men' (p. 120).

Further in the book, Dr. Dolittle tries unsuccessfully to speak in various animal languages with a native who has been buried alive for several months in a cave. From 1922/1950 (p. 258) AND 2001 (p. 248):

"Till at last he came to the language of eagles.

 

'Great Red-Skin,' he said in the fierce screams and short grunts that the big birds use, 'never have I been so glad in all my life as I am to-day to find you still alive.'

 

In a flash Long Arrow's stony face lit up with a smile of understanding; and back came the answer in eagle-tongue. 'Mighty White Man, I owe my life to you. For the remainder of my days I am your servant to command.'"

1988 (p. 223) replaces "Great Red-Skin" with "Great Long Arrow" and "Mighty White Man" with "Mighty Friend”. 1998 (p. 196) makes the same first substitution, but simply leaves off “Mighty White Man,” leaving the sentence to read “I owe my life to you.”

1922/1950 (p. 80-1) and 2001 (p. 75) both read:

"It seems that after Polynesia had left, Chee-Chee had grown more homesick than ever for the Doctor and the little house in Puddleby. At last he had made up his mind that by hook or crook he would follow her. And one day, going down to the seashore, he saw a lot of people, black and white, getting on to a ship that was coming to England. He tried to get on too. But they turned him back and drove him away. And presently he noticed a whole big family of funny people passing on to the ship. And one of the children in this family reminded Chee-Chee of a cousin of his with whom he had once been in love. So he said to himself, 'That girl looks just as much like a monkey as I look like a girl. If I could only get some clothes to wear I might easily slip on to the ship amongst these families, and people would take me for a girl. Good idea!'

 

So he went off to a town that was quite close, and hopping in through an open window he found a skirt and bodice lying on a chair. They belonged to a fashionable black lady who was taking a bath."

1998 (p. 57) eliminates the words in boldface, while 1988 (p. 64) eliminates those plus the italicized word.

Next: THE SONG OF THE TERRIBLE THREE