Show A BIRDS LESSON in A few it learned some new sounds bat forgot its clever songs there he goes groaned mr george phalen a wealthy resident of highbridge was ever man cursed with auch a bird bird exclaimed mr Ph alens visitor in astonishment why you dont mean to say yon keep a bird with all those cats in the house for the sudden chorus of hissing spitting and mewing that floated in from the rear room seemed to indicate that an animated feline argument was in progress there there is no cat under my roof was the reply all the noise you hear is made by a single mocking bird just step into the other room and look at him A more woebegone creature you never saw the bird indeed looked as though he had seen hard and long service he had no vestige of a tail left and one of his eyes was gone his few feathers were ruffled and all his sleek and glorious beauty had departed three years ago old nick that is his name was a remarkably handsome bird said mr phalen and his numerous accomplishments made him a great favorite and very valuable he could whistle the campbells are coming and a dozen other airs with wonderful clearness and musical precision and he was so clever that he could learn a new tune in an hour I 1 would not have sold him then for 00 but one night everybody in the house was awakened by an awful uproar in the back parlor the mocking bird was shrieking shouting and swearing like a human being a cat that must have entered by the cellar door for we harbored none of his kind was spitting and bias ing furiously and the sound of some heavy metallic object dashed frequently and violently against the furniture was distracting I 1 went down stairs with a light and I 1 found that the cats paw was tightly wedged between the wires of the birds prison and the terrified brute was swinging the cage about the room try ing to release himself old nearly dead and badly dilapidated as yon see him now before 1 could disentangle the cat from the wires and kick him out into the darkness the birds tail never grew again nor did his plumage regain its luster be waa quite silent for a full week ond then he suddenly made the air vocal with a horrible saries of caterwaul ings and he has kept them up almost without intermission ever since in the few dreadful minutes that he passed face to face with the cat he learned every intonation of voice that bis assailant could teach him and utterly forgot all the songs and speeches with which years of careful tuition had enriched his mind A poor exchange it beems to me new york sun |