"Snakes!" declared the little old lady. "I don't mind monkeys and parrots so much, but I can't bear snakes! They give me the shivers, though Uncle Toby said some snakes do a lot of good in this world, by catching rats and mice. But he didn't bring in any snakes!"
"Do you mean to say he has a parrot?" asked Mr. Martin.
"Don't you hear him?" questioned Mrs. Watson. "Listen!"
As she finished speaking the Curlytops heard a shrill:
"Cracker! Cracker! Give Polly a crack-crack-cracker!"
"Oh, it is a parrot!" cried Janet in delight.
"And is there a monkey, too?" demanded Ted.
"An' a han' ordan! Is dere a han' ordan?" asked Trouble.
"No hand organ, child, no," answered Mrs. Watson. "But there is a monkey, a parrot, two dogs, and a cat, a——"
"Stop! Wait a moment!" begged Mrs. Martin. She took a seat beside her husband on the top step. "I just wanted to sit down before I fainted when I heard the worst," she went on. "Now go ahead, Mrs. Watson. Tell me the rest. I'll have something to lean against in case she tells me there's an elephant."