“All right, be a fisherman and dig for worms,” agreed Janet. “Don’t let him spoil anything in the playhouse,” she called to Teddy up in the tree. “I’m going to ask mother something.”
“All right,” replied Ted. “Are you going after more cookies?”
“No, I’m going to see if mother will let me take her little diamond locket,” answered Janet. “I mean the one with the teeny little diamond in. I want to wear it when I dress up and make believe I’m a lady getting my husband’s supper.”
“Oh, all right,” laughed Ted. “But I don’t believe mother will let you take her diamond locket.”
“I guess she will if I promise to be careful of it,” said Janet.
She went into the house, while Ted continued to play that he was a conductor on an airship, taking up tickets from the make-believe passengers. Trouble kept on digging worms, carefully putting them in a tin can.
Janet found her mother out in the front yard, talking to Mrs. Jenk, a neighbor, and both ladies were laughing.
“What are you laughing at?” asked Janet, before she asked to be allowed to wear the diamond ornament.
“It’s Mr. Jenk’s tame crow,” answered Mrs. Martin. “He really is so funny! He ought to be in a show. Look at him!”
She pointed to the open window of Mrs. Jenk’s house, where, on the sill, was perched a black crow. This crow had been caught by Mr. Jenk in the woods some years before. He had tamed the bird, which was lame from having been injured in a trap, and now it could do quite a number of tricks, besides saying a few words, or what sounded like words. The lame, tame crow could also whistle, often fooling Skyrocket, the Curlytops’ dog.