was there to be laughed at, and as I tapped 

 at the door a perfectly intelligible ''Day- 

 day-day-day" came from the nursery ; the 

 babes had already learned to talk ! 



It was so long before we visited them 

 again that we expected to find the post 

 deserted. There was no sign of occupancy 

 and I felt depressed because it was all 

 over. But a gentle tap brought a tiny, 

 angular cranium and a careworn baby 

 face to the door. It didn't seem possible 

 that Boy Chickadee could have such a 

 homely bairn ! We withdrew in haste 

 when he threatened to come out ; but we 



had summoned him and the moment had 

 come to seek his fortune. The young- 

 ster stepped into the door and set sail 

 straight across the wide roadway. When 

 we caught a rear view of the tiny sailboat 

 our gravity was undone, for not a vestige 

 of tail adorned it and he was the most un- 

 finished fledgling we had ever seen. 



This was the last sign of life the old 

 fence-post yielded, but I canot learn to 

 believe it final. I am constantly expect- 

 ing to see more Chickadees set sail, and 

 its possibilities still haunt me. 



Elizabeth Nunemacher. 



THE STORY BIRD 



The parrot has been called the "bird- 

 man" on account of its intelligence ; but 

 so many anecdotes are told of it that it 

 might well be styled the Story-bird. 



Of the four hundred and thirty differ- 

 ent species known, America claims one 

 hundred and twenty-six. Europe is the 

 only large country that does not possess 

 native tribes of parrots. 



The parrot is the monkey of the feath- 

 ered world, because of his imitative pow- 

 ers. He also uses one of his feet as a 

 hand to carry what he eats to his beak. 



A parrot possessed of remarkable lin- 

 guistic powers, being able to speak in 

 Spanish, Portuguese, French, German 

 and English, was accustomed whenever a 

 visitor was at all boisterous to imitate his 

 laugh and then groan in anguish, ex- 



claiming in tones of commiseration, 

 *Toor, poor Polly!" 



A cardinal is said to have paid a hun- 

 dred crowns for a parrot that could re- 

 cite without a blunder the Apostles' 

 creed and chant the Magnificat correctly. 



An attempt was once made to reform a 

 bad parrot which kept saying, in refer- 

 ence to his mistress, "I wish the old lady 

 would die," 



The curate sent over his own bird, that 

 had been religiously trained, hoping its 

 influence would have a good effect on 

 the bad bird. But whenever the latter 

 said, ''I wish the old lady would die," the 

 clergyman's bird rolled up its eyes and 

 exclaimed, "We beseech Thee to hear 



us, good Lord." 



Belle P. Drurv 



121 



