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but very soon he was as much at home there as 

 though he had hved with us all his life. 



We clipped the feathers of one of his wings so 

 that he could not fly away, and then turned him 

 out on the lawn. But James liked the house better, 

 and came in upon every occasion. Then nothing 

 was safe. He tore the leaves of books with his 

 sharp, hard beak. He tore a bunch of peacock 

 feathers quite to pieces. He stole everything that 

 he took a fancy to. 



Whenever anything was missing — that is any 

 small thing — James was immediately suspected, 

 perhaps not always fairly. We wondered whether 

 he had any special place for hiding things and one 

 of the boys said he was going to watch him and 

 find out. 



We put temptation in his way in the shape of a 

 long bright-red ribbon. We knew James never 

 could resist anything as bright as that. We laid it 

 on the lawn where James would be apt to see it 

 and then Ned hid around the corner of the house, 

 keeping a sly watch on the ribbon. 



Presently up came James with his dignified walk. 

 He hurried his steps a little as he saw the ribbon, and 

 stopped beside it cocking his head this side and that. 



