GREEN PARROTS 



GREEN parrots bear living testimony to the 

 truth of the Psalmist's complaint that the 

 wicked flourish like the green bay tree. A 

 more aggressively flourishing tribe of wicked 

 birds it would be difficult to imagine. Green parrots 

 live on the fat of the land, and let all the world know it. 

 Nevertheless, their sins do not go altogether unpun- 

 ished. A very considerable portion of the parrot folk 

 are condemned to lifelong imprisonment in little metal 

 cages, which, when hung out in the sunshine, are as hot 



as well, as a tropical country can be ! Such an 



existence, however, does not appear to depress a parrot. 

 There is something sleek and self-satisfied about the 

 bird which no amount of affliction can obliterate. I 

 have never seen a " pretty Poll " who has not the com- 

 plaisant air of a self-made man. Some human beings 

 have a parrot-like expression. Such individuals appear 

 to be proud of the fact, for they invariably hold a very 

 good opinion of themselves. And it is but fair to them 

 to add that, in most cases, this opinion is justified. A 

 man with a parrot-like face is usually a good fellow. 



Even the self-satisfaction of the green parrot is not 

 without justification ; the bird is beautiful. The com- 

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