THE TALKING TRIBES IOI 



thing bad. Firs?, 'tet' me beg you to rid your- 

 self of the old false notion that anything about 

 the tongue must be cut; it is as unnecessary 

 as it is cruel. 



It is said a parrot will learn most easily from 

 a woman's voice, and he is taught exactly as a 

 child is taught, by repeating the desired word, 

 slowly and distinctly, just as you want him to 

 say it. It is best to begin with one word, and 

 that perhaps most natural is his own name. 

 I hope it will not be " Polly," and I protest 

 against his first sentence being the traditional 

 request for a cracker. There are already thou- 

 sands if not millions of parrots in the world 

 dinning that sentence into our ears; let us 

 have something original, or at least fresh. 



Take care also in teaching a word that the 

 bird understands it. If you give him a nut, 

 say " Nut ;" when you come in, say " Good- 

 morning ;" when you go out, say " Good-bye." 

 In this way you will have a bird who knows 

 what he is talking about, instead of one who 

 rattles off remarks like a string of phrases in a 

 foreign language. Do not fancy that the bird 

 attaches no meaning to the words; to him I 

 believe they always mean some definite thing; 



