52 A BOOK OF MORTALS 



immensely interesting as showing in many well authenti- 

 cated cases an association of word and idea. Parrot stories 

 are as plentiful as dog stories and blackberries, but a personal 

 experience is given here as a method of showing that some- 

 times this idea of vocal expression appears to have been 

 grasped. 



Polly — a grey Australian — would on sunny days hasten 

 her removal to a chestnut tree in the garden by calling to 

 her attendant and saying " Polly wants to take a walk." 

 This was supposed to be very clever of Polly, but one day 

 after being put out she was forgotten. It grew chilly, cold, 

 finally almost dark, and poor Polly huddled herself together 

 dolefully until despair suggested the appeal which had always 

 hitherto resulted in a move, " Polly wants to take a walk ! 

 Bina ! Polly wants to take a walk ! " 



Now here there was nothing to stimulate the speech ; no 

 sunshine, no sight of birds or green things. Nothing but 

 an intelligent remembrance that the words generally made 

 her take a walk and that she badly wanted to get back to 

 the house. 



Again it is incredible that the ants can design their 

 domes, the bees their honey-combs and brood chambers, the 

 countless artificers of the insect tribe their innumerable 

 designs without some collective idea of what has to be done. 

 The ant, for instance, who passing through some new 

 tenements saw a fault of structure, routed the junior 

 architects and never rested till she made them put in the 

 arch properly, must have had some way of conveying her 

 experience and desires to the young builders. 



But how, is hard to say, for in this case no parleying 

 with antennae was observed. 



