The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1901-12-13
A PARROT PROVES HIS WORTH
With His Tongue He Scares n Second
Story Burglar Away from n Girls
Boarding School

Not far from this city, out in Con-
necticut, is a girls boarding school
which includes a number of small cot
tages used by the teachers and older
pupils as dormitOries. In one of these
is kept a parrot, the mascot and pri-
vate property of the senior class, says
the New York Sun.
Polly is a very old bird. In fact he
is almost as old as the seminary itself,
graduated, whose cheer Polly has
learned and can recite to this very day.
But cheers are not his only accom-
plishment, for every class has taught
him some phrase or other, so that in
all these years he has amassed large
vocabulary, composed mostly of such
words as the popular name for caout-
chouc, and other schoolgirl slang.
The entire school assemblies for
meals in the main building. This Gus
tom leaves the smaller cottages prac-
tically unguarded during mealtime
As nothing was ever stolen, the girls
gradually BECAME more and more lax
in locking the doors and windows.
One day lately, when the boarders
were all enjoying their midday meal,
a violent screeching and yelling was
heard from the nearest cottage, that
in which the parrot was kept. One of
the girls suggested that a stray cat
had got into the house and was the
cause of the cutlery.
At this one of the teachers volun-
teered to investigate. In a few mo-
ments she returned, breathless and
excited, announcing that the cottage
had been entered by burglars, and was
at that very moment being robbed.
For an instant panic reigned among
the pupils, but it was Immediately
quelled by the principal. She directed
one of the teachers to telephone for
the police, while she went over to the
cottage with James, the gardener.
On arriving at the scene they found
the building had indeed been entered.
Almost all the rooms showed signs of
a robber. The bureau drawers had
been rifed and things strewn about.
In the next to the last room on the
second floor was found a large bag,
packed with all sorts of valuable trim
kets, and other articles were lying
about the floor, as if the intruder,
whoever he was, had beat a hasty re-
treat. The cause of this precipitate
fight was soon made manifest by the
sudden cutlery of the parrot in the
next room.
sect out of here! Get out of here!"
screamed the bird.
Polly was discovered in an exceed
ingly ruff1ed state, and his loud sect
out of here!" had evidently done the
work.
Outside the building was a ladder
leaning against one of the back win
dows. The burglar had entered and
gone through all the rooms, taking
whatever he could from each one, till
the next to the last was reached.
At this point, it is supposed, Polly
heard the strange footsteps, for he
was well acquainted with the step of
every one who lived in the building,
and cried out in alarm, and by some
happy chance happened to strike upon
the phrase sect out of here!"
The birds voice was very human,
and even the inmates of the cottage
had often mistaken it for that of a
human being. Therefore it is not to
be wondered at that burglar had been
misled by the voice and fed.
On summing UP the loss it was found
that only a few dollars worth of trim
kets were missing, and that the bird
had been the means of preventing the
theft of perhaps many hundreds of
dollars worth of jewelry.