The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-11-25
La-La-Dab.

mentioned that he said nothing profane,
but was seIf-respecting bird. who had
been brought up in a Methodist family,
and who had been told over and over
again that his master was a deacon IN
the church. At which piece of informa-
ton La-da-dah always laughed. The
family laughed, too, but there Is no coca
sion for a chronicler of hasty tale to
endeavor to tell why.
La-da-da1 was a nuisance by every
count. He sputtered seeds out of his
cage on the floor; he called an undue
amount of attention to himself when
there were callers; he gave out wild, In
coherent cries at the moment when he
was expected to be intelligent and en-
gaging and he was, altogether, more trou-
bic than a precious child.
Grandmother positively disliked him
She thought him extensively foreign. she
often wondered, in his hearing. what
manner of heather land he had come
from. His master only tolerated him,
and his mistress fed him from motives
of humanity rather than friendship. In
brief, Ga-da-dah, parrot and nuisance,
had but one close friend. and that was
Lyle, the 10-year-old boy. Lyle loved
him and confded in him-nay, he divided
his apples and his sweets with him-and
the family to his idiosyncrasies.
He's a heather Bird" grandmother
would snap, rafting her knitting nee
dies. 1T don't see why he is kept IN a
Christian household"
Il think he is converted, grandmam-
| ma" Lyle would protest. you know
he never says anything naughty, and he
is quite polite to you"
And so he was. Grandmother never
entered the sitting-room of a morning
that La-da-dah did not cry out with en-
thusiasm:
\ fGood-morning, grandma. How-dy-
do?"
And grandmother, not to be unkind even
go bird, would reply:
I'm very well, thank you, La-da-dah.
How are you?"
"An right! All right! All right!"
La-da-dah often had to be checked and
told to keep still when he got in such
a gale Of all rights"
One day in particular the bird made
such a nuisance of himself that grand
mother sternly commanded that a cloth
be thrown over his cage to keep him ST
lent. The minister had called and the
bird had split the air with his inquiries
and calculations.
"Ain't he fat? o, my! o, my! Amt
he fatT' Poor grandmother wished that
she might sink through the floor, but
wished in vain. The minister was net
tied, and confessed to the fact by a
blush.
That night, after every one was in bed,
Lytle stole downstairs and took the
cloth off the cage.
poor La-da-dah? he whispered. "How
could you be so naughty? iss me, La-da-
dab, and you shall have a lump Of sugar.
After the exchange of these evidences OF
good will Lytle crept to bed contented.
That night, all in the still and black
of things, La-da-dah awoke and saw
what he at first took for a most mon
strous red dawn. But upon reflection he
decided that the dawn did not leap and
dance and crack as the redness about
him was doing, and that it was not 50
hot. Ja-da-dah felt something choking
him, and then his queer little bird brain
made a great effort and comprehended
the full danger. 1t WIS the supreme mentl
| mQment of La-da-dah's life.
Fire, fire, firep' he shriekd.
H told the truth, too.
Oddly enough the people upstairs did
not hear It, but a wakefuI man in the
next house did, but there was so much
of warning and supplication in the voice
! that he got up and walked to the window
| and put his curtain aside, and saw that
the bird was giving a true word. oS he
ran frantically, all undressed, to the fire
alarm box; and then back to hammer and
! pound on the door. All the time La-da-
dab did his full duty.
Fire, fire, frer' he screamed in that
metallic voice of his. The flames began
! to issue from the upstairs windows. and
| the casual policeman came, and then the
! fire patrol, and the neighbors, and some
one dra eyed La-da-dahs master and mis-
tress out, and the big policeman got Ly-
! tie. Then they were going to rest on their
| achievements, but La-da-dah, who was
! safe out in the street by this time, kept
! mp horrid din from behind the battered
wires of(his cage.
"How-dy-do, grandma?" he screamed
Grandma, grandma, how-dydo?"
''Why, that's fact, there is an old
lady in the family" cried the wakeful
man who had first heard the bird. "For
Gods sake, get upstairs there again, il
you can, men!'
The ffremen could, though it wasn't
| easy, and they came down after long
time-or what seemed to the watchers
I-a-da-dah included, as a long time-bear-
ing grandmother, unconscious, but rea-
| sonably sure of recovery. in their arms
| The bird groaned with satisfaction.
Good morning, grandma" he sobbed
| ''How-dy-dO?''
La-da-dah's mistress was coming TO he1
senses by this time. and making heart
| breaking inquiries for her husband, and
her son, and her mother, and some one
told her what the parrot had done Ia
da-dah's mistress looked things she die
not say; but if she had said them tbs
| scarlet and green bird would not hav,
| understood. In fact. the next day, wheT
all the family was together at hotel
and thanking God for their escape from
q hideous taking off, La-da-dah seemed
ridiculously stupid He sat with droop
ing head and half-closed eyes and refused
to talk to any one and he took 10 notice
when grandmother offered him humps Of
sugar through the bars, weeping as she
did so
please don't get sick, La-da-dsh
Come eat that's good bird! Wen b
friends as long as we i've, La-da-dah
Come. look up. that's a good birdr'
Now the truth was that there was g
miserable feeling about La-da-dsh's
lungs from having swallowed too much
hot smoke, and he felt as sick IS a bird
can feel but he made a great effort, as
usual, to he polite 10 grsndmother.
| How'd y-do- grandma y whispered he
20. La-da-dah. I'm well. owing 20 you
dear birdi Il was you who saved Us all
I owe my life to you. La-da-dah. Toc
must forgive me for having been 50 cross
TO YOU"
'Ia-da-dah'S lids dropped a tri9e lower
but it seemed as Il he made an effort
20 speak again. He couldn't quite do II
though. He was too Eretched a bird rs
merely toppied forward on his perch ant
fell limp-a tragic vet splendid bunch Of
scarlet and green feathers.
There's a silver vase. symmetrical an