ng it, but as soon as he saw us he sent us down in a great hurry.

One day Bella walked into his room to inspect the canaries. She was
quite a spoiled bird by this time, and I heard Carl telling the family
afterward that it was as good as a play to see Miss Bella strutting in
with her breast stuck out, and her little, conceited air, and hear her
say, shrilly, "Good morning, birds, good morning! How do you do, Carl?
Glad to see you, boy."

"Well, I'm not glad to see you," he said, decidedly, "and don't you ever
come up here again. You'd frighten my canaries to death." And he sent
her flying downstairs.

How cross she was! She came shrieking to Miss Laura. "Bella loves birds.
Bella wouldn't hurt birds. Carl's a bad boy."

Miss Laura petted and soothed her, telling her to go find Davy, and he
would play with her. Bella and the rat were great friends. It was very
funny to see them going about the house together. From the very first
she had liked him, and coaxed him into her cage, where he soon became
quite at home,--so much so that he always slept there. About nine
o'clock every evening, if he was not with her, she went all over the
house, crying: "Davy! Davy! time to go to bed. Come sleep in Bella's
cage."

He was very fond of the nice sweet cakes she got to eat, but she never
could get him to eat coffee grounds--the food she liked best.

Miss Laura spoke to Carl about Bella, and told him he had hurt her
feelings, so he petted her a little to make up for it. Then his mother
told him that she thought he was making a mistake in keeping his
canaries so much to themselves. They had become so timid, that when she
went into the room they were uneasy till she left it. She told him that
petted birds or animals are sociable and like company, unless they are
kept by themselves, when they become shy. She advised him to let the
other boys go into the room, and occasionally to bring some of his
pretty singers downstairs, where all the family could enjoy seeing and
hearing them, and where they would get used to other people besides
himself.

Carl looked thoughtful, and his mother went on to say that there was no
one in the house, not even the cat, that would harm his birds.

"You might even charge admission for a day or two," said Jack, gravely,
"and introduce us to them, and make a little money."

Carl was rather annoyed at this, but his mother calmed him by showing
him a letter she had just gotten from one of her brothers, a