1. Next to the canary, the parrot is the pet bird of the house-hold. It is kept for its bright colors, its curious ways, and its power to talk. 2. The parrot is about the size of the dove. In color, those that we see most often are green or gray. Some parrots are of a bright red, and others are gay with bright green, red, and yellow. 3. The parrot has a thick, strong, and hooked bill. It is so strong that it can take hold of the branch of a tree and hold itself up, and with it it can crack the hardest nuts. [Illustration] 4. It came from a warm region, and must have a warm room in winter, or it will die. It lives on nuts and seeds, but when kept in the house it will sometimes eat meat. 5. The parrot learns to love its master and those that take care of it; but it is often cross to strangers, and will give them a terrible bite with its hooked bill if they come too near. [Illustration] 6. Like other birds, the parrot has four toes on each foot; but two of these are in front and two behind. The toes are very strong, and with them it can grasp things as we do with our hands. 7. With these toes it climbs easily, reaching up first one foot and then the other, and sometimes taking hold with its bill. When eating, it holds its food in its claw, biting off pieces to suit it. 8. When wild, the voice of the parrot is a loud, unpleasant scream, and it does not forget this scream in its new home. But it also learns to talk, and it may be taught to say many words as plainly as boys or girls speak. 9. Parrots can whistle, and some have been taught to sing. They need good care, which they repay by their pleasant ways and curious tricks. Some of the parrot kind are called paroquets, and some are called cockatoos. 10. This curious story is told of a parrot: One day, Sarah, a little girl of eight years, had been reading about secret writing with lemon-juice. 11. Not having any lemon, she thought she would try vinegar. So, after dinner, she took a cruet, and was just pouring the vinegar into a spoon, when her parrot sang out, "I'll tell mother! Turn it out! Turn it out!" 12. The child, thinking the parrot would really tell her mother, threw down the cruet and the spoon, and ran away to the nursery as fast as her legs could carry her. LESSON XX. _STORIES ABOUT PARROTS._ [Illustration: Paroquets.] 1. A green parrot, kept in a family for a long time, became so tame that she had the free run of the house. When hungry, Polly would call out, "Look! cook! I want potato!" 2. She was very fond of potatoes, and if anything else was put in her pan she would throw it out, and scream at the top of her voice, "Won't have it! Turn it out!" 3. The children in the house were all girls, and Polly for some reason had taken a great dislike to boys. One day some boys came on a visit, and, as boys do, made a great noise. This was too much for Polly, who screamed out, "Sarah! Sarah! here's a hullaballoo!" [Illustration]