Peterkin

I was quite sorry for her, she seemed so disappointed.

It was just like a tiresome baby, whose mamma and nurse want to show off and bring it down to the drawing-room all dressed up, and it won"t go to anybody, or say "Dada," or "Mam-ma," or anything, and just screeches. I can remember Elvira being like that, and I daresay we all were.

"It is too bad," said our old lady. "He has got to know me, and I have been teaching him some new words. And his mistress and her maid are out this afternoon, so I thought we should have him all to ourselves, and it would be so amusing. But"--just then a bright idea struck her--"supposing you two go back into the room, so that he can"t see you, and I will say "Good-bye, my dears," very loud and plainly, to make him think you have gone. Then I will come out again, and you shall listen from behind the curtain. I believe he will talk then, just as he has been doing."

Pete and I were most willing to try--we were all three quite excited about it. It was really quite funny how his talking got the Polly treated as if he was a human being. We stalked back into the drawing-room, Mrs. Wylie after us, saying in a very clear tone--

"Good-bye, then, my dears. My love to your mamma, and the next time you come I hope Poll-parrot will be more friendly."

And then I shut the door with a bang, to sound as if we had gone, though, of course, it was all "acting," to trick the parrot. Peterkin and I peeped out at him from behind the curtain, and we could scarcely help laughing out loud. He looked so queer--his head c.o.c.ked on one side, listening, his eyes blinking; he seemed rather disgusted on the whole, I thought.

Then Mrs. Wylie stepped out again.

"Polly," she said, "I"m ashamed of you. Why couldn"t you be kind and friendly to those nice boys who came to see you?"

"Pretty Poll," he said, in a coaxing tone.

"No," she replied; "not pretty Poll at all. Ugly Poll, I should say."

"Polly"s so tired; take Polly in. Polly"s cold," he said, in what we called his natural voice; and then it seemed as if the first words had reminded him of the little girl, for his tone suddenly changed, and he began again: "I"m so tired, Nana. No, I won"t be good; no, I won"t. I"ll write a letter, and I won"t be locked up," in the squeakier sort of voice that showed he was copying somebody else.

"Nonsense!" said Mrs. Wylie. "You are not tired or cold, Polly, and n.o.body is going to lock you up."

He was silent for a moment, and peeping out again, we saw that he was staring hard at the old lady.

Then he said very meekly--I am not sure which voice it was in--

"Polly be good! Polly very sorry!"

Mrs. Wylie nodded approvingly.

"Yes," she said, "that"s a much prettier way to talk. Now, supposing we have a little music," and she began to sing in a very soft, very thin, old voice a few words of "Home, Sweet Home."

There was something very piteous about it. I think there is a better word than "piteous"--yes, Clement had just told it me. It is "pathetic."

I felt as if it nearly made me cry, and so did Peterkin. We told each other so afterwards, and though we were so interested in the parrot and in hearing him, I wished he would be quiet again, and let Mrs. Wylie go on with her soft, sad little song. But of course he didn"t. He started, too, a queer sort of whistle, not very musical, certainly, but yet, no doubt, there was a bit of the tune in it, and now and then sounds rather like the words "sweet" and "home." I do think, altogether, it was the oddest musical performance that ever was heard.

And when it was over, there came another voice. It was the maid next door, who had stepped quietly on to the balcony--

"I"m afraid, ma"am, I must take him in now," she said, very respectfully. "It is getting cold, and it would never do for him to get a sore throat just as he"s learning to sing so. You are clever with him, ma"am; you are, indeed: there"s quite a tune in his voice."

Mrs. Wylie gave a little laugh of pleasure.

"And did the young gentlemen you were speaking of never come, after all?" the maid asked, as she was turning away, the big cage in her hand.

"Oh yes," said Mrs. Wylie, "they are here still. But Polly was very naughty," and she explained about it.

"He"s learnt that "won"t be good" from next door," said the girl, "and I do believe he knows what it means."

"I very sorry; I be good," here said the parrot.

They both started.

"Upon my word!" exclaimed the maid.

"Has he learnt _that_ from next door?" said Mrs. Wylie, in a lower voice.

"I hope so. It"s very clever of him, and it"s not unlikely. The child is getting better, I believe, and there"s not near so much crying and complaining."

"So I have heard," said the old lady, and we fancied she spoke rather mysteriously, "and I hope," she went on, but we could not catch her next words, as she dropped her voice, evidently not wishing us to hear.

Peterkin squeezed my hand, and I understood. There _was_ a mystery of some kind!

Then Mrs. Wylie came in and shut the gla.s.s door. She was smiling now with pleasure and satisfaction.

"I did get him to talk, did I not?" she said. "He _is_ a funny bird. By degrees I hope he will grow quite friendly with you too."

I did not feel very sure about it.

"I"m afraid," I said, "that he will not see us enough for that. It isn"t like you, Mrs. Wylie, for I daresay you talk to him every day."

"Yes," she replied, "I do now. I have felt more interested in him since--" here she hesitated a little, then she went on again--"since the evening I found Peterkin listening to him," and she smiled very kindly at Pete. "Before that, I had not noticed him very much; at least, I had not made friends with him. But he has a wonderful memory; really wonderful, you will see. He will not have forgotten you the next time you come, and each time he will c.o.c.k his head and pretend to be shy, and gradually it will get less and less."

This was very interesting, but what Peterkin and I were really longing for was some news of the little girl. We did not like to ask about her.

It would have seemed rather forward and inquisitive, as the old lady did not mention her at all. We felt that she had some reason for it, and of course, though we could not have helped hearing what she and the parrot"s maid had said to each other, we had to try to think we _hadn"t_ heard it. Clement says that"s what you should do, if you overhear things not meant for you, unless, sometimes, when your having heard them might really matter. _Then_, he says, it"s your duty--you"re in honour bound--to tell that you"ve heard, and _what_ you"ve heard.

"Now," said our old lady, "I fancy tea will be quite ready. I thought it would be more comfortable in the dining-room. So shall we go downstairs?"

We were quite ready, and we followed her very willingly. The dining-room was even smaller than the drawing-room, and that was tiny enough. But it was all so neat and pretty, and what you"d call "old-fashioned," I suppose. It reminded me of a doll-house belonging to one of our grandmothers--mamma"s mother, who had kept it ever since she was a little girl, and when we go to stay with her in the country she lets us play with it. Even Peterkin and I are very fond of it, or used to be so when we were smaller. There"s everything you can think of in it, down to the tiniest cups and saucers.

The tea was very jolly. There were buns and cakes, and awfully good sandwiches. I remember that particular tea, you see, though we went to Mrs. Wylie"s often after that, because it was the first time. The cups _were_ rather small, but it didn"t matter, for as soon as ever one was empty she offered us more. I would really be almost ashamed to say how many times mine was filled.

And Mrs. Wylie was very interesting to talk to. She had never had any children of her own, she told us, and her husband had been dead a long time. I think he had been a sailor, for she had lots of curiosities: queer sh.e.l.ls, all beautifully arranged in a cabinet, and a book full of pressed and dried seaweed, and stuffed birds in cases. I don"t care for stuffed birds: they look too alive, and it seems horrid for them not to be able to fly about and sing. Peterkin took a great fancy to some of the very tiny ones--humming-birds, scarcely bigger than b.u.t.terflies; and, long afterwards, when we went to live in London, Mrs. Wylie gave him a present of a branch with three beauties on it, inside a gla.s.s case. He has it now in his own room. And she gave me four great big sh.e.l.ls, all coloured like a rainbow, which I still have on my mantelpiece.

Once or twice--I"m going back now to that first time we went to have tea with her--I tried to get the talk back to the little girl. I asked the old lady if she wouldn"t like to have a parrot of her own. I thought it would be so amusing. But she said No; she didn"t think she would care to have one. The one next door was almost as good, and gave her no trouble or anxiety.

And then Peterkin asked her if there were any children next door. Mrs.

Wylie shook her head.

"No," she said. "The parrot"s mistress is an old maid--not nearly as old as I am, all the same, but she lives quite alone; and on the other side there are two brothers and a sister, quite young, unmarried people."

"And is the--the little girl the only little girl or boy in _her_ house?" asked Peterkin.

He did stumble a bit over asking it, for it had been very plain that Mrs. Wylie did not want to speak about her; but I got quite hot when I heard him, and if we had been on the same side of the table, or if his legs had been as long as they are now, I"d have given him a good kick to shut him up.

Our old lady was too good-natured to mind; still, there was something in her manner when she answered that stopped any more questions from Pete.

"Yes," she said, "there are no other children in that house, or in the terrace, except some very tiny ones, almost babies, at the other end. I see them pa.s.s in their perambulators, dear little things."

It was quite dark by the time we had finished tea, and the lamps were lighted upstairs in the drawing-room, where Mrs. Wylie showed us some of the curiosities and things that I have already written about.