Polly want a cracker?" crooned Andy.

[Illustration]

"He's not a she, he's a he," said Jerry.

"Don't put your finger near the cage. He might bite," Mrs. Martin
warned Andy.

"He wouldn't bite _me_. Parrots like me," said Andy.

"Where did you ever get acquainted with a parrot?" asked Cathy, who
had come over to admire the big green bird.

"Somewheres."

"You just dreamed you did." Cathy gave her small brother a hug,
against which he pretended to struggle. He bumped into the cage and
the parrot gave a loud squawk.

"Look out," cried Mrs. Martin.

"I've come to ask a big favor," said Mr. Bullfinch in his polite
voice. "I didn't realize until I got home that my wife is violently
allergic to parrots. She had a severe sneezing fit when it had not
been in the house more than five minutes. So, I'll have to dispose of
the bird. Fine specimen it is, too. Well, it's too late now to get a
'for sale' notice in the paper before Monday, and if I keep the bird
in the house until then my wife might have an asthma attack. Would it
be too much of an imposition for me to ask you to keep the parrot over
here until Monday?" he asked.

"Not at all," said Mr. Martin heartily.

"I'm not sure we could trust Bibsy to let the parrot alone. You know
how it is with birds and cats, Mr. Bullfinch," said Mrs. Martin.

"Say, do you think any cat could get the best of a bird with a beak on
him like that?" cried Jerry. "Anyway, Bibsy is good about leaving
birds alone. You know she is. Besides, having a parrot who can speak
Spanish in the house will teach us a little Spanish. I heard you say
that the reason people in the United States are so poor at speaking
foreign languages is because they don't start young enough to learn
one. Here's our chance."

"The amount of Spanish you'd learn from a parrot over a week end won't
be likely to make you very proficient in the language," said Mrs.
Martin. Then she turned to Mr. Bullfinch and told him she would be
glad to keep the parrot until Monday. "But only till Monday," she
said, looking at Jerry.

After Mr. Bullfinch had expressed his thanks and left, all three of
the Martin children begged their mother to buy the parrot from Mr.
Bullfinch. Jerry rashly promised all his allowance for May. Cathy
wouldn't go as far as that but she would spare a dollar. And Andy
trotted off for his piggy bank to contribute his pennies.

"I better run after Mr. Bullfinch and tell him he needn't phone in
that ad