70 MOKE ABOUT THE PARROT. 



are mistaken. What looks like a carpet is, in 

 reality, a flock of Parrots, dressed in their gaudy 

 plumes. They stick their claws into the sides 

 of the stack, and hold on while they pick out 

 the straws and get at the grain. They waste 

 more than they eat, scattering it on the ground 

 all round the stack. 



They are very fond of fruit, and they do not 

 wait till it is ripe. They come in the same bril- 

 liant flocks, and fall, like a sheet of colour, on 

 the trees in the orchard, while the pears and 

 apples are young and green. They pick, and 

 tear, and devour without mercy. They are quite 

 at their ease on any kind of plant ; for they can 

 hook, or swing, or clamber, or put themselves in 

 any posture. The boughs will be full of them, 

 packed together as closely as possible. 



If one of the flock cries out, the rest take 

 fright and fly away, for they are timid just at 

 first. They will not come again that day ; but 

 they will be here again to-morrow ; and do not 

 quit the orchard until the trees that looked so 

 fair and flourishing are entirely stripped. 



