When grandmamma heard this, she told Alice and Beatrice that she should drive with them to Sidmouth and see the ship, and learn more about this wonderful coming on shore and merciful escape.
The two little girls were so glad, and talked of nothing but the ship and what they should see, as they drove over the hill to the town.
The carriage stopped at the hotel on the parade, and from there grandmamma and Alice and Beatrice walked till they came near the stranded ship, which looked such a huge monster out of the water.
A great crowd had collected round the ship, but they were allowed to pass and come much nearer. The sailors were running backwards and forwards, talking loud and telling everybody what a night they had had, how terrible the storm had been, and what they had done to save their lives.
A gentleman, a friend of grandmamma’s, told her a great deal about the ship, and said that it had come from the eastern coast of Africa, round by the Cape of Good Hope, and that the sailors had brought with them numberless animals and curious articles, and they wished to sell them here; for they must now go by land to London, and could take but very little with them. The gentleman pointed at the same time to several small monkeys that were climbing up the ropes and rigging of the ship, and jumping about, and shrieking and chattering to the people below. They seemed very happy at being loose, instead of shut up in cages, and to enjoy being safe and quiet instead of being tossed and thrown about upon those terrible rough waves.
Alice and Beatrice were lost in wonder, and were quite silent; they had never before seen so much that was new and strange to them, and here was so much to see.
Suddenly Alice called out, ‘Grandmamma, do you see that beautiful bird? Pray look; what bird is it?’
And at the same time a sailor came up to them with a very fine parrot in a small cage. The parrot was grey and red, but its feathers were ruffled and wet, and the cage was so small that the poor parrot could hardly turn round.
‘Will you buy a beautiful talking parrot?’ said the sailor; ‘he can say anything you like. Please, will you have it, ma’am? I will let you have it very cheap,’ addressing the lady, as he saw that the two little girls had turned to her and were asking her to buy his bird.
Grandmamma agreed, and bought the bird for a small price, for the man told her that he should be so glad to get rid of it, as well as of a pair of green paroquets which he would fetch from the ship.