The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1889-04-11
BOARDING-HoUsE PARROT.
Its Remarks While Hungry Boarder was Dining
Caused Him to Settle and Quit.


A very garrulous parrot is owned by woman
who keeps a boarding house in the southern
part of Scranton Pa. During meal hours the
talkative bird is not allowed to stay in the dim
ing-room for it makes SO much noise that the
boarders can't hear themselves think, much
less what one boarder tries to say to the others.
So, lust before the bell is ruDg, polls cage is
hung out in the kitchen, and, after the table
has been cleared of, it's put back again. Not
long ago one of the young men boarders was
unusually late to his dinner. His absence at
the regular meal had not been noticed, and the
mistress Of the house, supposing that all OF her
boarders had dined, ordered the girl to hang
the parrot in the dining room. The girl did
so, and pretty soon the belated boarder came
in and told the waiter girl that he was uncom-
monty hungry He duplicated his first order
and took plenty of time to eat it, the girl stay
ing in the kitchen when she wasn't waiting on
him.
For 20 minutes the parrot kept as still as a
mouse. Then it began to screech and yell at a
great rate, and, when it had got its voice in
good working order, it sang out:
"John, come here! John, come here Fan
ME. come on up! Fannie, come on npi"
John and Fannie are members of the house
hold, and the parrot, after having yelled their
names for a while, changed the tone of its voice
little, stuck its bill out of the cage, looked
down on the solitary feeder, and went on in
this way:
"say, let up! Say, let up! Stop, stop, stop,
STOP stop, stop! Let up let up let up, let up
Say, let up Say, let upi Stop STOP stop, stop,
stop, stop! Let up, there Let up, there! Stop,
stop, stOp!"
Poll kept this up for two or three minutes,
and then changed its tone again and sang out
go it, go it, go it, go it, go it," for two min
utes more, when it gave another series of
screeches and yelled:
do let up, do let UP, do let up Stop, stop,
stop, STOP stop, stop!" until it got out of wind.
By this time the boarder was mad. He called
the girl out of the kitchen and asked:
where's the mstress?"
"Down stairs, | guess"
"Well, go'n tell her l want TO see her."
The girl hurried down stairs, and presently
the landlady appeared and asked the boardeI
what he wanted to see her for.
Chow much do l owe you?" he inquired.
'Why, you don't owe me for week yet
I'm in no hurry for the money"
"We'll, I'm in hurry to pay you and get out
of here. won't stay in any house where they
put a noisy parrot in the room TO see how much
eat, and then yell at me to stop. won't
stand lit"
"Why, my dear sir, nobody thought of such
thing. and / hope you don't think they did
had the parrot hung here because thought
eyeryb body had been TO dinner"
Il know better She's been yelling at me IL
let up and to stop for the last 10 minutes. 1t;
too thin, and I'll never eat another meal il
| your house again"
The lady said all she could to pacify the an
CRY and hot-headed boarder, but she couldn'
make him believe that the parrot had not beer
| placed there to watch him, and so she tool
what he owed her and let him go.