"My pet is a big green and red parrot. She has a cage in the living room. Mother calls her 'the General' because she likes to give orders. When we sit down Polly calls out, 'Get busy! Get busy! Get busy!' If we are too busy and do not notice Polly she rolls over on her back in the bottom of the cage and cries, 'Come quick! Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!' In the evening we put a cloth over Polly's cage to keep her quiet. When the cloth is taken off in the morning she begins to shout, 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'
"One evening we forgot to put the cloth over Polly's cage. That night, quite late, my big brother went down into the living room to find a book he had been reading. When he turned on the light, Polly thought it was day. She began to scream, 'Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!'
"Everyone did wake up. At first we were frightened. But when we found out what had happened we laughed and laughed. We laughed more when we heard a voice croak, 'Come quick! Come quick! Polly's sick! Polly's sick!'"
The girls and boys all laughed at the story of Polly. Paul wrote a poem about her. This is what he wrote:
Upon my word, Poll's a funny bird.
The children went around at recess saying this. They said some of Polly's speeches too.
One day Miss West told the children a true story that was very, very sad. It was about a blind man who sold papers. He had owned a little dog that used to lead him to his work and watch him all day; but the little dog had died. Now the poor man had no one to lead him. So he could not sell his papers.
The children were very sorry for him. They wanted to do something to help.
"Wouldn't it be fine," said Betty, "if we could buy him another dog?"
"But how can we get the money?" said Paul.