1 68 Parrots & Parakeets 



And before I end about Puff, I must just mention 

 Puff's end. 



He was run over by a carriage, which accident 

 paralysed his hind-quarters, so that he had very little 

 control over them. The consequence was, when his 

 mistress was airing him in the village, much to the 

 astonishment of the inhabitants, Puff would suddenly 

 kick his hind legs high in the air, not infrequently 

 turning a somersault . (as a little girl of my acquaint- 

 ance, during her Sunday questions, accused Lot's wife 

 of doing), and the parishioners stared at Puff, and 

 thought, " What a tricky dog, to be sure." 



At last things grew so bad that no one quite knew 

 which was Puff's tail or head, he got so mixed up ; 

 certainly his expression of face went to show that he 

 didn't always know himself; so he was "planted" in 

 the dogs' cemetery ; and every one, including the 

 parrot, said "Poor old Puff," but the parrot has said 

 so ever since, and will insist on asking him how he 

 is off for soap. 



Happy thought ! Surely Messrs. Pears, or Monkey 

 Brand, or Sunlight, would give me a small fortune for 

 Polly ! 



Hundreds of grey parrots are imported every year 

 from Africa, when they are almost nestlings, and 

 hundreds of them die in a very short time. 



It is almost useless to buy one of these unac- 

 climatised birds ; their price sounds cheap and tempting, 

 when in reality it is cheap and nasty, for to find your 

 grey parrot on his back with his toes curled up, is very 

 nasty and disappointing. 



