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Show , O CIk imm Point AN ORIGINAL STORY. v In the first plaed I want it distinctly understood that I am not the little bird that tells everybody's secrets aud keeps little girls' mothers posted as to their doings.. I am quite sit re that bird iti a former incarnation must have been a newspaper reporter or a detective; but that is neither here nor there, so far as my antecedents are concerned. Even now 1 would not speak were it not all so strange. ' , Living, as I do, with a woman of artistic temperamenther tem-peramenther friends call it, temperament, her maids call it , temper there is probably no other bird that leads such a strenuous life as I. Did you ever live with one of artistic temperament tempera-ment f Xo? Then you don't know what it means, but I will tell you. It means a constant series of surprises. It means sugar and lettuce, to eat one morning and nothing at. all the next day. It means baths and perfume on your feathers, and a ribbon on your cage. It means a terrible strain d excitement excite-ment to keep up With the piano in the mining, and a temptation to stay awake half the night Ip be per toil. There was nothing of all this before we came: to live with her aud the strangest thing of all is how we happened to come. ' Wc were, in fact, very undecided about it at first. We used to have long discussions about it through the bars of the cage. That was when he and 1 lived together in the other place the little four-roomed bachelor flat where we used to have such happy times. Life was interesting there in the evenings but all day long it was so quiet.' I Mould rest up and be wide awake to do my tricks in the evening. Didn't I led you I was a trick bird? . O, yes, I am exceedingly intellectual. Everybody Every-body seems to regard ine as almost marvellous. When we lived in' the flat 1 used to perform for the'iouijg gentlemen in dinner coats, who called on us in the evenings. After some especially especial-ly applauded trick 1 would mount my perch and blink my thanks for their keen appreciation of my talents. Though it was strange, after these delightful delight-ful evenings the landlady was always put out at us. The 2iext morning she would plunk my cage dowu ivto ihe water so hard, it really gave me quite a shock; but I understood and never said a word. I have often seen beautiful ladies, too, far more 1 beautiful than she in fact, 1 can't quite see why he didn't marry one of' them instead of a simple little thing with brown hair and so undistinguished looking. I'll never forget the day she first came to the ludio. The a. jngcmeiit. had all' been made and my master was io paint her portrait. From the moment she 'phoned that she and her mother were coming the excitement was awful. We had a terrible argument, with the landlady because the place hadn't beep dusted for-two weeks. Then my master went out. find bought flowers and put ihem all around the rooms. Well, after that poriVait was finished there wasn't any doubt about the matter, Y"o had fully decided to come here and live with her. Things are so different here. There are lace curtains and rubber plants and a piano some paintings, too hut not like those in my master's little studio and there is always an odor of French perfume about. Sometimes my master ,t--ed to frighten me. by saying he was sure we should have to part, as she hated birds aijd wouldn't, have me, liut one day he' came home looking quite radiant, and said he had asked her point blank if be could keep me. I don't know what she said but, at any rate. Fin here. Then came a terrible quarrel. I don't quite tin-, derstand what it was about, but I heard her say she wished she had never seen us, and shortly afterward after-ward my master came to my cage and said, in a husky voice: "Old fellow, you're the- only real" friend I have. You take any kind of treatment and don't say a word about, it.'' Then he kind of choked up and didn't say any more, but just put his finger through the bars of the cage. I immediately imme-diately hopped on it and looked tit him -out of the comer of my eye. At that moment there was a soft rustle behind J us, and, as if by mutual consent, Ave both looked i up. She looked so penitent and didn't say a word, but just came straight over to my cage and knelt down and put her finger through ihe bars. I took the hint and hopped on. apd said "peep-peep," and then they suddenly forgot that I existed. That day she fed mo herself from her own hand and brought me fresh ehh-kweod and apple. Ever since then I have been hading $this strenuous life, and wearing French perfume on my feathers, and it i so exciting in its way that I have almost ceased 1o long for the bachelor flat, where I spent such j happv davs. . . DOLLY MALOXEY. j Class 'Go, Sacred Heart Academy, Ogden. i . . m . . |