THE PARROT'S MOST NARROW ESCAPE
"Well," said the parrot, "I lived in South America, where there were many beautiful trees and many strange animals, and some of the largest snakes in the whole world. The very largest snake that lives there is called the boa constrictor. He is so large that he can swallow a deer whole, and, of course, a poor little parrot, or a chicken, or a rabbit, would not make a meal for him. It would hardly make a dessert.
"One day I was seated on the end of a long limb, nearly asleep, when suddenly I looked up and saw a man pointing a gun at me, and all ready to shoot me. I was so frightened that I could not move, and I expected him to shoot any minute, but I thought that before I was killed, I would take one last look at the blue sky that I was never to see again—and what do you think I saw? A great snake, a boa constrictor, coiled around the limb above me, and looking at me as though he wanted to eat me. I was more frightened than ever. It seemed that his look made me weak, sick and dizzy. Before I could move, the snake darted at me like a flash, seized me and began to swallow me. In a moment I was just like poor Jonah, only I was inside a snake instead of a whale. Everything was dark and I could not think, except that I knew I would die in a minute.
"Suddenly I heard a great 'Bang! Bang!' and the old snake began to squirm and twist. Then in a moment I felt something cut through the snake, and I was out in the bright sunshine, and the sun almost blinded my eyes. You see, the man had shot the snake instead of shooting me, as he had intended. He took me out and put me in a bag that he had with him.
"Then he sent me to the circus, and I was there until the wreck of the train. There I learned to talk like the men. I could say, 'Polly wants a cracker,' 'Come right in, ladies and gentlemen,' and many other things. I learned to sneeze like a man, 'Ker-chou-ou-ou, ker-chou-ou-ou,' and to snore like a man, 'Aw-hu, aw-h—u, a—w-h—u,' and to cough, 'H-u-h, h-u-h,' and to whistle so that I could call a dog, '—— ————,' and to cluck so that I could make the horses go, and I learned to ride on a dog's back without sticking my claws in so that it hurt him. But that is all my story."
"My," said the little Cub Bear, "what a narrow escape. We should never lose hope. I'm glad that you escaped."
After the parrot had finished the story, the little Cub Bear went to sleep. When he was sound asleep he suddenly began to breathe hard, as though he could not get enough air, and he twisted around and seemed to be smothering. Soon, though, he breathed a great, deep breath, and then he was still and quiet. I think that he must have been dreaming? Can you guess what he was dreaming about?
The little Cub Bear slept very late next morning, and when he got up all of the animals were up, and were talking about the cave and wondering whether any more of the animals would come that day.