Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-02-13
A "HAPPY FAMILY"
Cats, Eirds and Mice Living Together in
Peace and Harmony.


cats, birds and mice?
why" you may exclaim with scorn,
"the cats would eat the others up!" No,
not in the HAPPY family" of which l
am now going to tell you.
Some times and in some places in the
| streets of London, and also at the sea-
side resorts, may be seen such a family;
and the birds do not peck at the mice,
and the cats keep their claws from both!
1t is called a ''happy family"
"What birds are these? Well, in one
such family which have seen there are
| pretty paroquets, a couple of green
finches, and sometimes a brace of gay
Java sparrows. There are one or more
white mice and couple of cats.
The birds chirp and twitter and hop
about in cage, on the top of which two
sleepy cats stare around them, appar-
emily quite oblivious of the feathered
creatures beneath, while when wanted
the mouse or mice make their appear
ance, sometimes from the masters
pocket, sometimes from the cage or
little box. And so tanned are the cats
that l have seen the little white mouse
run up slight pole and down again
through cats paws, and it was actually
placed once on cats nose-for sec
ond or so only, it is true-but the cruel
jaws made no snap at the little creature.
Tho mouse seemed quite safe.
Rut these creatures perform. The
Exhibition-if we may give it that
grand name-takes place on a little
wooden platform or board supported on
two pairs of legs which can be folded up
like two pairs Of gigantic scissors. And
if you we're to meet Mr.. Snowman and
his companion, who is sometimes little
girl and carries small bag for the
money, on their travels as they make
their way to different places, you might
not perhaps think they had a Happy
Family" with them. The cage is
shrouded in cloth cover, the cats are
shut up in a flat-lidded basket, and the
platform, taken off its legs, which are
folded up, looks little else than paint
ed board.
But now the show is to beginl The
board is placed on its legs, the cage Of
twitterers uncovered and stood at one
end, with the two sleepy cats upon it.
The little pole is fixed in its place with
little flag on the top. When required
a couple of small ladders leaning to-
gether like the sides of a pyramid are
produced, and up the sloping sides Of
this the twittering birds move-up one
side and down the other-and the white
mouse crawls. A tight rope is also
stretched for them, and along this the
little performers also pass.
Perhaps the mouse hopes to find food
at the end of its journey, for / have seen
it hurry into the cage, the door Of which
is open opposite the end of the second
ladder, and look after the bird-seed lying
there. Another trick performed by a
Java sparrow is to hang from the tight
rope with his head downwards like
piece of meat in butchers shop; and
the red color of the bird of course assists
the imitation. Then another little
feathered creature pretends to be a dead
bird. 1t lies on its back in the show
mans hand with its legs apparently
stiff, for all the world as though life had
really departed!
And while the little performance is
proceeding Mr.. Snowman can keep up
pretty patter or running talk of his own,
in which you may hear such names as
Champagne Charlie, Mrs. Caudle and
Girl of the Period Presently two of the
birds-shall we call them Mrs. and Mrs.
Caudle?-are taken out for drive!
Dexterously their master catches one Of
the greenfinches and hooks around it a
sort of little cloak perches small hat
on its head, and tucks it into little
open carriage Very funny looks the
pretty little head with its beak and
bright eyes turning about.
The other greenfinch is treated in a
similar manner. Then a paroquet is
caught-possibly one of the largest and
strongest-and placed between the
shafts. These appear like two wires
converging toward each other and
joined at their ends by ring placed up
right between them, like a loop The
bird stoops its head, pops it through
the ring, and hops away, drawing the
coachful behind. Very probably if you
watch. you will see Mr.. Snowman lift
I'D his platform slightly so that the
coach may run more easily down the in
c.ine. The ring seems to reston the birds
wings and apparently does it no harm,
though it will probably get out of the
circlet as soon as possible.
Sometimes greater brilliancy is given
to the performance by bird firing of
toy cannon. The master lights the
match and places it in little apparatus
behind the small piece of artillery.
The bird jumps upon the apparatus,
when down goes the match and off bangs
the cannon!
One of the cats ard sometimes both,
may be supposed to hold up the little
pole for the mouse to climb. The stick /,
is fixed in the platform but the cats
paws are placed around it. The little
white animal crawls between the paws
without, apparently, the slightest fear
A cat too will jump over the masters
outstretched arm. something as its big
cousins. trained tiger or leopard, will /
spring through hoop in a show.