| Princess Sukey | [Frontispiece] |
| “W-w-whew!” he said after a time, “isn’t she a beauty—a real princess!” | Facing page [32] |
| “Go tell the servants that she is found,” said the Judge to Titus | Facing page [91] |
| “In the middle of the hall stood the grinning colored boy and the ugly yellow spotted dog” | Facing page [204] |
| “Why are you dressed like a little boy?” I asked. | Facing page [292] |
PRINCESS SUKEY
CHAPTER I
The Pigeon Princess
Dear little Princess Sukey sitting by the fire—pretty little pigeon—of what is she thinking as she dreamily eyes the blazing wood? If a pigeon could review its past life, what she has of bird mind would be running back over the series of adventures that she had ere she established herself in this well ordered household.
Has she any mentality of her own, or are all pigeons stupid as has been said? Listen to her story, and judge for yourself.
To begin with—she is not a common street pigeon like those who are looking in the window, and who are probably envying her the silk cushion on which she sits, her china bath, her lump of rock salt, and her box of seeds. For it is a bitterly cold day. The wind is blowing fiercely, the thermometer is away below zero, and the ground is covered with snow. In summer these same street pigeons seem to be laughing at the pigeon princess on account of the abnormal life that she leads, but just now they certainly would change places with her.
The princess is a Jacobin—a thoroughbred, with a handsome hood that nearly hides her head, a fine mane and chain, and her colors are red and white.
Her parents were beauties—show birds with perfect points, and they were owned by a young pigeon fancier of the small city of Riverport, Maine.
The lad’s name was Charlie Brown, and he had a friend called Titus Sancroft, or, more familiarly, “Stuttering Tite,” from an unfortunate habit that he had formed of catching his breath at the beginning of nearly every sentence he uttered.
Now, young Titus walked most opportunely into Charlie’s pigeon loft just a day after Princess Sukey had been hatched.