The Island of Doctor Moreau (adapted), H. G. Wells
The Island of Doctor Moreau (adapted)
H. G. Wells
Category: Novels
Genres: Science fiction,Adventure,Horror
Level 3.320:58 h28.6 mb
After a shipwreck, Edward Prendick is rescued and taken to a lonely island far from the rest of the world. There he meets the mysterious Doctor Moreau, a scientist who spends his days working in a strange laboratory. What terrible experiments are hidden on Doctor Moreau's island?.. This is an adapted version of the novel, shortened and simplified to A2 level.

The Island of Doctor Moreau

[adapted]

by
H.G. Wells

The Island of Doctor Moreau (adapted)

Introduction

The Lady Vain sank in the Pacific Ocean in 1887. Edward Prendick was on the ship. People thought he had died. Eleven months later, sailors found him alone in a small boat. He told a strange story, but many people did not believe him.

After his death, his nephew found this story among his papers. A ship called the Ipecacuanha also disappeared in the same area. It carried a puma and other animals. This is Edward Prendick’s story.

Charles Edward Prendick

The Story of Edward Prendick

Chapter 1.
In the Small Boat

The Lady Vain hit an empty ship and sank. I escaped in a small boat with two other men: one was Helmar, a passenger, the other was a sailor. We had very little food and water. For eight days, we moved across the sea. The sun was hot, and we became very weak.

On the sixth day, Helmar said one man must die so the other two could live. I refused at first, but later I agreed to choose by chance. The sailor was chosen. He refused to die and attacked Helmar. They fought in the boat, then both men fell into the sea and sank. I was alone. My mind was weak, and I began to laugh.

Later, I saw a small ship. I had no strength to call out. The sailors found me and carried me on board. I remember a large man with red hair. I also saw a dark face with strange eyes. Then someone gave me a drink, and I knew nothing more.

Chapter 2.
The Man Who Was Going Nowhere

I woke in a small, untidy cabin. A young man with pale hair and a rough moustache held my wrist. Above us, a large animal growled and struck against its cage.

“How do you feel now?” asked the man.
I said I felt well, though I could not remember how I got there.
“You were found alone in a boat,” he said. “You were almost dead.”

Then I saw my thin hand, and the terrible days in the boat came back to me. The man gave me a cold red drink, and I soon felt stronger. He told me that the ship was the Ipecacuanha. It was a small trading ship, and its captain was named Davies. The young man was a passenger and also a doctor. He had cared for me for nearly thirty hours.

Dogs began to bark above us. The doctor left the cabin and shouted at someone outside. I heard a strange voice answer him. When he returned, he asked how I had come to be alone in the boat. I told him my name was Edward Prendick. I also said that I had studied natural history. This interested him, for he had once studied biology in London. His name was Montgomery. He gave me boiled meat, and I ate with great hunger. During the next day, I slept and ate until I could stand again. Montgomery lent me some of his clothes, because mine had been thrown away.

I asked where the ship was going.
“To Hawaii,” he said. “But it must leave me first.”
“Where?”
“On the island where I live. As far as I know, it has no name.”
His face became empty, and I understood that he did not wish to speak about the island. I asked no more.

Chapter 3.
The Strange Face

When we left the cabin, a short, broad man stood on the stairs. His back was bent, his neck was hairy, and his head seemed to sit deep between his shoulders. He turned towards me very quickly. His dark face shocked me. His mouth came forward like an animal’s mouth, and his large white teeth were easy to see. His eyes were red at the edges. Montgomery told him to move.

“They will not have me at the front of the ship,” the man said in a rough voice.
“Go there,” Montgomery answered.

The man moved away in fear. I stared at him, for I felt that I had seen that strange face before. Perhaps I had seen him when the sailors carried me onto the ship. On deck, I found animals everywhere. Dogs were tied to the mast. A large puma was shut inside a cage that was much too small. There were also rabbits and a llama. The deck was dirty with food and waste.

“What are all these animals for?” I asked. “Will the captain sell them in the South Seas?”
“It looks like it,” Montgomery said, but he turned away.

Then Captain Davies came onto the deck behind the black-faced man. The dogs barked wildly. The captain struck the man, and he fell among them.

“Stop that!” Montgomery shouted.
The man escaped from the dogs and moved away.
“Captain, leave him alone,” Montgomery said. “He is a passenger.”
“I can do what I like on my own ship!” the captain answered.

“You agreed to carry him and the animals.”
“I thought he was a normal man,” said the captain. “No one on this ship can bear him. I am the captain!” Davies shouted. “I make the rules here!”

Montgomery stepped towards him, pale with anger.
“He is drunk,” I said. “Do not fight him.” But the captain continued to insult Montgomery.
“Shut up!” I said sharply.

He then turned his anger on me and shouted many cruel words. After that, I said nothing more. I was only a rescued man without money or power on the ship, but at least I had stopped the fight.

Chapter 4.
At the Side of the Ship

That evening, we saw land. The island was low and dark, with a thin line of smoke rising into the sky.
“Is that your island?” I asked.
“Yes,” said Montgomery.

He gave no more information. The crew also seemed unfriendly towards him and his animals, so I did not press him.

Later, we stood at the side of the ship under the stars. Montgomery asked me many questions about London. He spoke like a man who missed it deeply.

“You saved my life,” I said. “I must thank you.”
“It was a chance,” he answered. “You needed help, and I knew what to do.”
“At least let me thank the man who helped me.”
“Thank no one. I was bored, and you gave me something to do.”

Then his voice changed. “Why am I living on this island instead of enjoying London? Because eleven years ago, I lost control of myself for ten minutes.” He seemed ready to explain, but then he stopped. “That is all,” he said.

Soon after, I noticed his strange servant standing at the back of the ship. The man turned his head towards me. In the weak light, his eyes shone pale green. For one moment, he did not seem human. Old fears from my childhood came back to me. Montgomery spoke, and the feeling passed.

“I am going to bed,” he said. “Have you had enough of the night air?”
We went below. The dogs began to howl, and I had dark dreams until morning.

Chapter 5.
The Man with No Place to Go

At sunrise, loud voices and heavy sounds woke me. I went on deck and saw the sailors moving cages and boxes into a large boat. The puma hung above the deck in its cage, shaking with fear. Captain Davies stood nearby. He was still drunk.

“Overboard with them!” he shouted. “Soon my ship will be clean again.”
When he saw me, he pointed towards the boat. “That way, Mr Shut-up!”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You are leaving the ship.”

Montgomery stood beside a large grey-haired man who had come from the island. I turned to them.
“Can I go with you?”
“We cannot take you,” the grey-haired man said.

I looked back at the captain. “Then I must stay here.”
“No,” he said. “You go overboard.”
“But where am I going to go?”
“That is not my problem.”

I appealed to Montgomery, but he only shook his head. The sailors continued moving the animals and supplies as though I was not there. At last, the island boat was full and began to move away. Then the captain and two sailors caught me. The small boat from the Lady Vain was tied behind the ship. It was half full of water and had no food or oars.

“I will not get into that boat,” I said. I threw myself onto the deck, but I was too weak to fight them. They tied a rope around me, lowered me into the small boat, and cut it free.

The Ipecacuanha turned away. I watched the captain laugh at me from the back of the ship. Then I looked towards the island and saw Montgomery’s boat moving towards the beach. I was alone between the ship and the land.

At first, I could not understand what they had done. Then the truth became clear. I had no oars, no food, and no way to reach the island. I began to cry. I struck the water inside the boat and prayed for death.

Chapter 6.
The Strange Boatmen

The men from the island saw that I was helpless, so they came back for me. Montgomery tied my small boat behind their launch, because there was no room for me inside. The launch was full of cages, boxes, and dogs. Montgomery’s grey-haired companion sat at the back. Three strange men sat near him. Their brown faces looked almost human, but something about them made me uneasy. Their arms and legs were covered with dirty white cloth, and their bodies seemed too long. The dogs growled at them.

As we came near the island, I saw a low beach, thick trees, and a stone wall with roofs behind it. Another strange man waited by the water. His arms were very long, and his legs were bent. The boat reached the sand, and the men began to unload the animals. They moved in a clumsy way, as if their legs did not bend in the right places. They spoke in rough voices that I could not understand.

The grey-haired man came to me.
“You look as if you have not eaten,” he said. “You are our guest now, though we did not invite you.”
Then he looked closely at me. “Montgomery says you know something about science.”
“I studied biology in London,” I said.

“That changes things,” he replied. “Montgomery and I are biologists. This is a kind of science station.”
“When can I leave the island?” I asked.
“I cannot say. A ship comes here only about once a year.”
He walked away.

Montgomery came to me and held out his hand.
“I am glad the captain did not keep you,” he said. “But this is a very strange island. Be careful where you go.”

Then he asked me to help with the rabbits. We carried a cage onto the beach, and he opened it. The rabbits ran towards the trees.
“Go and fill the island,” Montgomery said. “We need more meat here.”