CHAPTER I.
MINNIE AND HER PARROT.
In these little books, I am going to tell you about Minnie, her home,and her pets; and I hope it will teach every boy and every girl whoreads them to be kind to animals, as Minnie was. Minnie Lee had apleasant home. She was an only child, and as her parents loved toplease her, they procured every thing which they thought would make herhappy. The first pet Minnie had was a beautiful tortoise-shell kitten,which she took in her baby arms and hugged tightly to her bosom. After atime, her father, seeing how much comfort she took with kitty, boughther a spaniel. He already had a large Newfoundland dog; but Mrs. Leewas unwilling to have him come into the house, saying that in summer hedrew the flies, and in winter he dirtied her hearth rugs. So Leo, as thegreat dog was called, was condemned to the barn, while Tiney could rovethrough the parlors and chambers whenever he pleased.
In Minnie's seventh year, her father bought her a Shetland pony and alamb, which he told her was called a South Down--a rare and valuablebreed. The little girl now thought her hands quite full; but only thenext Christmas, when her uncle came home from sea, he told her he hadbrought an addition to her pets; and true enough, when his luggage camefrom town, there was a bag containing a real, live monkey, named Jacko.
These, with the silver-gray parrot, which had been in the family foryears, gave Minnie employment from morning till night.
You will wonder, perhaps, that one child should have so many pets; and,indeed, the parrot belonged to her mother; but when I tell you that,though her parents had had six children, she was the only one remainingto them, and that in her infancy she was very sickly, you will notwonder so much. The doctor said that their only hope of bringing her upwas to keep her in the open air as much as possible.
"Let her have a run with Leo," he used to say; or, "Get her a horse, andteach her to ride. That will do her more good than medicine."
When her father came home from town, if he did not see his littledaughter on the lawn, playing with Fidelle, the cat, and Tiney, the dog,he was almost sure to find her in the shed where Jacko's cage was kept,with Miss Poll perching on her shoulder.
When visitors called and asked to see her, her mother would laugh, asshe answered, "I'm sure I don't know where the child is, she has so manypets."
Minnie was not allowed to study much in books; indeed, she scarcely knewhow to read at all; yet she was not an ignorant child, for her fatherand mother took great pains to teach her. She knew the names of all thedifferent trees on her father's place, and of all the flowers in hermother's garden; but her favorite study was the natural history ofbeasts and birds; and nothing gave her so much pleasure as to have herfather relate anecdotes of their intelligence and sagacity.
He had a large, well-selected library, where were many rare volumes onher favorite subject, illustrated with pictures of different animals.When Mr. Lee could not recall a story as often as she wished, she wouldtake his hand and coax him to the library. Then she would run up thesteps to her favorite shelf, and taking down a book almost as large asshe could lift, say, playfully, "Now, father, I'm ready for you toread."
Mrs. Lee often found them sitting together, talking over the wonderfulfeats of some dog, cat, horse, or monkey, and laughed as she said to herhusband, "I believe Minnie comes naturally by her love for animals, foryou seem as much interested in the stories as she does."
Mr. Lee lived in a very handsome house about seven miles from the citywhere he did business. He had made a great deal of money by sendingships to foreign lands, freighted with goods, which he sold there inexchange for others which were needed at home. He now lived quite at hisease, with plenty of servants to do his bidding, and horses andcarriages to carry him wherever he wished to go.
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But in this volume I shall speak of himself, his family, equipage, andestate, only as they are connected with my object, which is to tell youabout Minnie's pet parrot, and also to relate stories of other parrots,all of which are strictly true.
Poll was brought from the coast of Africa by a sea captain, whopresented her to a lady, aunt to Mrs. Lee. At the lady's death it wasgiven to her niece, and had been an important member of the family eversince. It was not known how old she was when she was brought toAmerica; but she had been in the family for fifteen years, and thereforewas old enough to know how to behave herself properly on all occasions.
Miss Poll had a plumage of silver-gray feathers, with a brilliantscarlet tail. Her eyes were a bright yellow, with black pupils, andaround them a circle of small white feathers. Her beak was large andstrong, hooked at the end. Her tongue was thick and black. Her clawswere also black, and she could use them as freely as Minnie used herhands. When her mistress offered her a cup of tea,--a drink of which shewas very fond,--she took it in her claws, and drank it as gracefully asany lady.
In the morning, when her cage was cleaned, she always had a cup ofcanary seed; but at other times she ate potato, cracker, bread, apple,and sometimes a piece of raw meat. She liked, too, to pick a chickenbone, and would nibble away upon it, laughing and talking to herself ingreat glee.
Miss Poll, I am sorry to say, was very proud and fond of flattery. IfMrs. Lee went to the cage, and put out her finger for the bird to lightupon it, and did not praise her, she would often bite it. But if shesaid, "Sweet Poll! dear Poll! she is a darling!" she would arch herbeautiful neck, and look as proud as any proud miss. Then she would tipher head, and put her claws in her mouth, just like a bashful littlegirl.
Poll was exceedingly fond of music, and learned a tune by hearing itplayed a few times; but she had a queer habit of leaving off in themiddle of a line, when she would whistle for the dog, or call out,"Leo, come here! lie down, you rascal!"
Poll was very fond of Minnie, and indeed of all children.
When she saw the little girl come into the room with her bonnet on, sheexclaimed, in a natural tone, "Going out, hey?" When Minnie laughed, shewould laugh too, and keep repeating, "Going out? Good by."
Parrots are said to be very jealous birds, and are displeased to haveany attention shown to other pets.
I think Poll was so, and that she was angry when she saw Minnie show somuch kindness to Fidelle. One day she thought she would punish thekitty; so she called, "Kitty, kitty," in the most sweet, coaxing tones.Puss seemed delighted, and walked innocently up to the cage, whichhappened to be set in a chair.
"Kitty, kitty," repeated Poll, until she had the little creature withinreach of her claws, when she suddenly caught her, and bit her ears andher tail, Fidelle crying piteously at this unexpected ill treatment,until some one came to rescue her. Then puss crept softly away to thefarther end of the room, and hid under a chair, where she began to lickher wounded tail, while Poll laughed and chuckled over the joke.