CORA BELLE. 



Cora Belle is a gray African parrot 

 and the greatest talker that ever you 

 heard. Her mistress has owned her for 

 over twenty years and would hardly 

 know how to get along without her. 



A number of years ago, the parrot 

 was gone from the house four days and 

 .three nights. She then returned of her 

 own accord and entered her cage. A 

 more pleased bird than Cora Belle was, 

 when at home again, would be hard to 

 find. 



Cora Belle not only talks, but sings, 

 whistles, laughs and barks. She will say 

 in very hoarse tones, "Cora Belle has 

 got a cold," then cough and ask, ''Have 

 you got a cold?" 



The parrot will eat nearly all kinds of 

 fruit, pie, cake and meat, and she loves 

 to gnaw a bone. In fact, she eats about 

 everything that a person would enjoy. 

 It is great fun to watch her eat a nut. 

 She can manage peanuts very well, but 

 other kinds have to be cracked for her. 

 She will hold the nut in her claw and 

 pick the meat out of the shell with her 

 beak. Cora always eats her breakfast at 

 the table perched on Mrs. Sweet's shoul- 

 der, and she will say ''Cora's hungry, 

 Cora wants her breakfast," all the while 

 the meal is being cooked. 



The first time she ever ate watermelon 

 her mistress had it on the table. The 

 parrot was perched on her shoulder and 

 continually repeated, "Cora wants it, 

 Cora wants it." Mrs. Sweet gave her 

 piece after piece of everything on the 

 table except the melon, but Cora threw 

 it all upon the floor. At last her mistress 

 said, "Well, Cora, you've had a piece of 

 everything on the table except the water- 

 melon, and I don't know whether you'll 

 eat that or not," but she gave her a piece. 



"That's what Cora wanted," the parrot 

 said, but she did not seem to relish it 

 verv well. 



Unlike most parrots, Cora Belle takes 

 a bath in a dish. It is always taken on 

 the condition that her mistress will re- 

 main in the room, and then it is done in 

 a rather gingerly way as if afraid she 

 might be drowned. 



"Now let me see how pretty you can 

 whistle," Cora will say, then she will be- 

 gin to whistle, but will soon stop, say- 

 ing, "Oh, you can't whistle at all." 



She is very fond of dogs and is al- 

 ways delighted when one comes in the 

 house. "Come pup, come pup," she will 

 call and then ask, "Where's the cat? 

 Where's the black cat?" 



The moment a team drives into the 

 yard, Cora will begin to holler, "Whoa! 

 Back ! Whoa !" and she will have a splen- 

 did time calling. She has little to say 

 before strangers but she is not long in 

 getting acquainted. 



Cora has a handsome red tail and one 

 of her friends will sometimes say, "Now 

 I'll have one of those red feathers." The 

 parrot knows what that means, and she 

 will run and fly about the room with her 

 friend in hot pursuit. 



When her mistress is frying doughnuts 

 the parrot will repeatedly say, "Cora 

 wants cake, Cora wants cake." Mrs. 

 Sweet will take one out of the kettle, 

 break it and give her a piece steaming 

 hot. The parrot will drop it into her 

 water cup to soak and then will eat it. 

 When in her cage, she soaks everything 

 in the water cup before eating. 



Cora goes to bed early and will al- 

 ways call, no matter if there are strangers 

 present, "Cora wants go to bed, Cora 

 wants go to bed. Kiss me good-night." 

 Mrs. Sweet kisses her, then covers the 

 cage with a dark cloth to keep her warm 

 and to keep out the light, and Cora Belle 

 is quiet for the night. 



Martha R. Fitch. 



