st contemptuous laugh, which would have been insult enough by itself;
but she often accompanied it by the words,--

"'La, how smart I do feel!'

"My friend called at once on her new neighbors, but unfortunately found
they were out; she waited a long time for the call to be returned, and
at last began to wonder that no notice was taken of her politeness, when
the cause of the neglect was explained by a mutual friend.

"It appeared that on several occasions the young ladies had passed the
house, and had heard the insulting laugh and words, which they
attributed to my friend; so that when asked whether they had become
acquainted with Mrs. G., they answered, coolly, 'We have no wish to make
her acquaintance.'

"Being pressed for a reason, they at last confessed that they had been
repeatedly insulted, and narrated in what manner it had happened.

"This answer caused such a burst of merriment that they were surprised,
until, being told that it was the chattering of a tame parrot, they soon
joined in the laugh, and went at once to make her acquaintance, and also
that of her mistress."

CHAPTER IV.

POLL AT THE PARTY.

"Please, mamma, tell me all you can remember about Mrs. G.'s parrot,"
cried Minnie, a few days later. "Was she as wonderful as our Poll? and
was she as handsome?"

Mrs. Lee smiled. "If I should answer all your questions," she said
presently, "I should have work for the rest of the day. My friend's
parrot was green, with a brilliant red neck and tail. She was a great
talker, and seemed to understand the meaning of much of what was said in
her presence. I can recollect now two or three incidents which are well
worth repeating.

"Polly was very fond of children, and enjoyed being let out of her cage
to play with them as much as our Poll does. One day, when Mrs. G. had
company, they were all startled by hearing loud and repeated screams of
distress. Recognizing the voice of her favorite bird, my friend ran
hastily into the yard, expecting to see Polly in some dreadful trouble.
To her surprise, there was the bird perched safely on the clothes line;
but going a few steps farther, she saw her youngest child, a darling
girl between two and three years old, just balancing over the edge of a
hogshead of water, and entirely unable to recover herself, or to utter
one sound. Situated as she was, the poor child could not have remained
long in that position, and, but for the alarm given by the watchful
bird