no 



From what I learned afterwards my mistress 

 must have seen the cat carrying me, and saved me 

 from its teeth. She had saved me, but I was a 

 prisoner. 



My mistress was very good and gentle with me. 

 Soon I learned to know her and not to be afraid of 

 her when she came near me. She fed me, she gave 

 me fresh water, and cleaned my cage every day. 

 Every day, too, she put a china dish filled with 

 water into my cage. In that I bathed. First I 

 would light upon the edge of the dish and dip my 

 bill in the water, fluttering my wings. Then down 

 I would hop, plash ! into the water. I would dip 

 down and beat my wings so fast that the water 

 would fly round in a perfect shower. When I got 

 through, all the cage would be wet. The drops 

 would hang from the wires. 



It made my mistress laugh. Then she would 

 wipe the cage dry while I preened my feathers and 

 rustled them into place. 



Our room was at the very top of the house. 

 My mistress did the sewing for the household. 

 She was not one of the family. 



Sometimes a little boy and girl came up to the 

 room to look at me. They called my mistress 



