Golden Dicky, The Story of a Canary and His Friends

by Marshall Saunders

CONTENTS
CHAPTER	PAGE
	[Introduction]	ix
[I.]	I Begin the Story of My Life	1
[II.]	A Trip Downstairs	17
[III.]	Sammy-Sam and Lucy-Loo	26
[IV.]	A Sad Time for a Canary Family	32
[V.]	My New Friend, Chummy Hole-in-the-Wall	41
[VI.]	Chummy Tells the Story of aNaughty Squirrel	51
[VII.]	More About Squirrie	66
[VIII.]	Chummy’s Opinions	72
[IX.]	A Bird’s Afternoon Tea	84
[X.]	Another Call from Chummy	95
[XI.]	Billie Sundae Begins the Storyof Her Life	103
[XII.]	Just One Thing After Another	120
[XIII.]	Mrs. Martin Adopts Billie	129
[XIV.]	Billie and I Have One of Our Talks	143
[XV.]	The Children Next Door	154
[XVI.]	Stories About the Old Barn	166
[XVII.]	I Lose My Tail	183
[XVIII.]	Nella the Monkey	195
[XIX.]	Squirrie’s Punishment	206
[XX.]	Sister Susie	218
[XXI.]	More About Sister Susie	227
[XXII.]	A Talking Dog	236
[XXIII.]	Third Cousin Annie	248
[XXIV.]	Black Thomas Catches a Burglar	256
[XXV.]	The Children’s Red Cross Entertainment	265
[XXVI.]	The Beginning of My FamilyCares	272

INTRODUCTION

KNOWN the world over as the champion of the dumb animals, to which her lively imagination has given human speech, Marshall Saunders, the author of “Beautiful Joe,” a book translated into many languages, has enlarged her range of humanitarian interests to take the feathered world into her protecting care. A new story of hers, entitled “Golden Dicky, the Story of a Canary and His Friends,” presents a moving plea, not only in behalf of those prime favorites of the household, the canaries, but of other birds as well, even the too much despised sparrow coming in for anything but half-hearted defence. While one may feel that his imagination must take to itself powerful pinions to follow the story, particularly in the dialogues, yet at the same time he is made aware of how largely the practical enters into it. Miss Saunders has made a careful study of animal

and bird life, and introduces into her pages much interesting information of the ways and the needs of her humble protégés, and many useful hints as to their proper care, so that the story is something more than entertaining.

While Dicky-Dick’s chronicles mainly concern the familiar feathered folk of our homes and their leafy environment, the author cannot forego an excursion into her old haunts, and in Billie Sundae, the fox-terrier, a capital new chapter is added to the literature of dog biography and autobiography. The squirrels also come in for a share of attention. Squirrie, the bad squirrel, supplies a proper villain to the cast of characters, with the sensible and good Chickari to redeem his race from opprobrium.

The children who read these delightful pages will surely form lasting friendships with Dicky-Dick, the cheery songster, and Chummy, the stout-hearted little sparrow, and all the robins and grackles and crows who with the dogs and squirrels and Nella, the monkey, make up the lively company embraced in these chronicles. In Mrs. Martin, the kind-hearted lover and protector

of birds, and her gentle daughter, “Our Mary,” we have illustrated the kindly relations which should obtain between man and the beasts of the field and the fowl of the air, over which the Creator has given him the responsibility of dominion.

Edward S. Caswell.

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS

DICKY-DICK, the canary.
DIXIE, his mother.
NORFOLK, his father.
GREEN-TOP, his brother.
SILVER-THROAT, his uncle.
CHUMMY HOLE-IN-THE-WALL, his friend the sparrow.
MRS. MARTIN, who owns DICKY-DICK.
OUR MARY, her daughter.
MR. MARTIN, her husband.
SAMMY-SAM, her nephew.
LUCY-LOO, her niece.
BILLIE SUNDAE, her dog.
SISTER SUSIE, her dove.
VOX CLAMANTI, the robin.
SLOW-BOY, the pigeon.
SUSAN, his mate.
SQUIRRIE, a bad squirrel.
CHICKARI, a good squirrel.
BLACK THOMAS, the boarding-house cat.
NELLA, the monkey.
FREDDIE, BEATRICE, Children in the boarding-house.
NIGER, the talking dog.