“Could that sound come from a bird?” inquired the lady; “I certainly thought it was a human voice.”
Many of the company tried to make Poll talk, but she declined for the present. After a while, however, when some witty remark was made which caused a general laugh, Poll laughed too, both loud and long, and then, as if perfectly exhausted with so much emotion, exclaimed,—
“Oh, dear! Oh, dear me!”
Two or three of the company had been invited to bring their children, and just at this time Minnie returned with her young friends, having introduced them to Jacko and her other pets.
The little girls gathered eagerly around Mrs. Lee, begging her to make Poll talk to them.
“Perhaps you would like to play a game of hide-and-seek with her,” cried Minnie; “she plays that real nice.”
“Yes, oh, yes indeed!” was the united response.
“Come, Poll,” called Minnie, extending her finger.
The parrot went at first with seeming reluctance, but presently entered into the spirit of the play, running after the children around the tables and chairs, laughing as merrily as any of them, and every once in a while repeating that curious “Oh, dear! Oh, dear me!” as if quite worn out.
Minnie then called the little girls into the next room, shutting the door behind them, when Poll, putting her head down close to the crack, seemed trying to listen to what they said. She well understood the game, however, for she presently called, “Whoop,” and then hid behind the door, to catch them when they came along, crying out, as she did so, “Ah, you little rogue!”