The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-11-13
AN ADVERTISEMENT
How a Parrot Perpetrated a Little
Joke, and at the Same Time N-,.
Taught a Moral Lesson.

The wave of grief that swept over the
second floor front of No. I28 McDougal
street on Saturday evening, and circled
out with hourly increasing force to all
the houses in the neighborhood, return
ed in gentle summer ripples yesterday.
On Saturday afternoon the pet parrot of
Mrs. Rogers, who occupies the second
floor front, was swearing gaily in his ac-
custo1led place between the windows,
and Mrs. Rogers felt sure from a some
what varied experience with the bird,
that lie was in unusually fine spirits. At
twilight, however, the Sulphurious
characteristics of the parrots neighbor-
hood had unaccountably disappeared
No stream OF profanity filed the drowsy
air; no harsh, discordant cries awoke
the dull echoes in the next block. To
oft-repeated inquiries concerning
"Polly's" inordinate craving for crackers
there was no reply. Aroused by the
parrots unwonted silence, Mrs. Rogers
made a search of the room, and stopped
in the centre of the floor in blank dis
may. A hurried search of the window
stills. a securing of the back yard, and
suspicious scrutiny of sleeping cat on
the unfathOmable calm Of an old ash
barrel, gave up no result. In response
to anxious and gref-burdened cries for
Polly only the echo of Mr.. Rogers
voice came floating back on the way
ward breeze. Night settled down softly
and the cat slept peacefully, for once
H. IS
Tiger" "Sic'em !" and other expressions
calculated to fill tae feline mind with
unspeakable terror. .3l
One by one the neighbors dropped in
to hear the story of the parrots disap-
pearanoe, but all were powerleSs to sug-
| geSt way out OF the trouble. AT length
hearing Mrs. Rogers say, with SUSPECT
Gus huskinesS, that she wouldn't "a
taken $20for that parrot" a young man
of enterprising turn of mind rushed off
and inserted the following emotional
advertisement morning newspaper:
o00 REwARD-LosT, A PARROT, RE-
MRS. ROGERS.
"That'l fetch 'em," said the young
man to Mrs. Rogers on his return. He
won't be long away now. When you
! lose anything always advertise, and the
| things sure to come back. Why, l
| know a man who had friend who ad-
vertised for "a lost dog, and forty-seven
dogs were brought to his door next day.
Yes, Mrs. Rogers, that'll fetch i'm"
| Whether the parrot grew tired of his
isolation from home, or whether he
feared to see himself in cold type in a
morning newspaper. is unknown, for
while the air was vet heavy with the
young mans prOtestations of confidence
| in the parrots retarn, there streamed
into the window the most frightful ava
lanche OF sound that had been heard in
the neighborhood for many weeks.
.'It is the parrot?" cried Mrs. Rogers,
gleefully, running to the window.
1t was the parrot. With premeditated
! malice unequaled in natural history, the
| notified pet had climbed up the lace cur
tains, crawled through the open window
and secreted himself on the cornice OF
the house. When tired of the joke he
caIle in again and made the household
happy All day yesterday the echoes OF
| the advertisement drifted into the house
with the visiting neighbOrs, and tC
groups of the curious was the story oi
the parrots disappearance told IN vary
! ing degrees of truth and imagination
I Late in the afternoon the stream OF
callers had ceased, theparrot was swear
ing like lineal descendant OF Captain
Kid, and the family was happy.