talking, climbing parrot, and the chattering, climbing monkey are the only two animals that seem to know what a joke is.

7 I have a grey parrot that is a very bright pupil. She can whistle and talk, laugh and cry, cough and sneeze. She can mew like a kitten, and bark like a dog. She loves to swing in her ring in the cage, and she can climb as well as any cat you ever saw. Poll uses her great hooked beak to help her when she climbs, and very strong her beak must be. If I vex her I must take care not to let her bite me with it.

8. My parrot is very fond of sugar and crackers and nuts, especially of walnuts. You should see. how nicely she can clean out all the sweet meat from the shell, keeping hold of her perch with one of her handy claws while she works away at her food with the other and with her hard sharp bill.

9. Sometimes we dress Poll up, for fun, in a doll's hat and cloak. It is very droll to see her join in the sport, and strut up and down the floor like a proud lady. Indeed, she has at last begun to think that the hat and cloak are her own.

10. The other day she found Miss Doll on the sofa, all nicely dressed; and what do you think she did? She dragged the poor thing down, untied the cloak-strings with her beak, pulled off the cloak, and hid it. What a funny bird!

11. A parrot's voice is not sweet. All the words are in one tone: there are no ups and downs" in her voice. So, when any one speaks or reads words all in one tone of voice, as if he did not know their

meaning, we say that he talks or reads "like a parrot.”

12. I once heard of a parrot that had been taught to speak in two languages, Spanish and English. If her master spoke to her in English, she would always answer in English; and if he spoke to her in Spanish, she would be sure to answer in Spanish. She knew a little Spanish song too, but would never sing it unless asked in Spanish words to do so. So, you see, the parrot knew something about two languages, and never mixed them in her talk Is not that a great deal for a bird to know?

13. I think a parrot is a very cheerful pet. It surely is better to hear a parrot's voice than not to hear any voice at all. Think of Robinson Crusoe ! You know he did not hear a man's voice for many years, on the island where he was shipwrecked. No wonder he taught his parrot to say, "Robin Crusoe, Robin Crusoe! Poor Robin Crusoe !"

SUMMARY.-Many stories could be told about the parrot to show how clever it is and how fond of fun. I have a grey parrot that is a very bright pupil. She can whistle and talk, laugh and cry, cough and sneeze. She can mew like a kitten, and bark like a dog. She loves to swing in her ring in the cage, and she can climb as well as any cat you ever saw. The parrot is the only animal that can be taught to speak-to say little sentences and to answer questions.

1. The dog has more sense than most other animals. He has been called the friend of man, for he loves his master so much, and is so faithful to him, that he will scarcely ever leave him.

2. There are several kinds of dogs, the shepherd's dog, the wolf-dog, the greyhound, the foxhound, the harrier, the terrier, the mastiff, the spaniel, the bull-dog, and many others. All these are useful in one way or other. The shepherd finds that his dog can gather the sheep when they have spread

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themselves over the hills.

The watch-dog keeps our homes safe from the attacks of thieves.

3. The dog in a wild state is fierce; but when tamed is very docile and mild, so that he is made use of by men of various countries. In England he hunts the fox, the hare, or the rat. In the north of Europe he is trained to draw a sledge over the snow, and will go a hundred miles in a day.

4. In the south of Europe, near the top of one of the Alpine mountains called Mount St. Bernard, is a convent where the monks keep a very fine breed of dogs. They train them to go in search of travellers who have been lost in the snow, which often cover the hills and valleys to a great depth.

5. Once upon a time an English family were crossing the Alps. A snowstorm came on with such violence, that one of the horses, on which a little boy rode with a servant to take care of him, was hurled from the sides of the mountain into the gulf beneath. The family, giving the son and servant up for lost, made their way to the convent of St. Bernard, where they told their frightful tale.

6. The monks bade the father be of good cheer, and said they would go in search of his son and servant. They took one of their dogs, a large, strong animal, and having tied a flask of brandy and a bag of food round his neck, went to the place where the child and servant had fallen over.

7. It was a deep chasm of the mountain where the place was so steep, and the snow so slippery, that no one could get down. At last, however, they heard the cries of the poor boy.

8. The dog at once ran down the snowy sides of the mountain, and was soon lost from sight amid the masses of snow. The monks waited a long while, and at last began to call the dog back; but they did not get him to return. One of the monks went home, and there he found at the convent door the dog and child all safe and sound.

9. The servant, when he saw the dog come near, untied the brandy and food from the dog's neck, and having refreshed himself and the child, he placed the boy on the dog's back. The poor boy held fast with his arms round the dog's throat, and the noble animal, knowing at once what he ought to do, set out and found a safe road over the snows up to the convent.

10. The servant was soon after saved. Cords were sent down by other dogs, and he was drawn up, though nearly frozen to death.

SUMMARY.-Near the top of one of the Alpine mountains called St. Bernard there is a convent. The monks who live in it keep a fine breed of dogs, which they have trained to go in search of travellers who may have lost their way in the snow, which often covers the hills and valleys to a great depth. A flask of brandy and a bag of food are placed round the necks of the dogs when they are sent out from the convent. In a wild state the dogs are fierce, but when tamed they are very docile, so that they are found useful by men of various countries.

Chasm, hole, opening.
Do-cile, easily taught.

Sledge, kind of coach.
Vi-o-lence, great force.

QUESTIONS.

Name some of the different kinds of dogs. In England what does the dog do? In the north of Europe what is he trained to do? How many miles will dogs draw a sledge in a day? What do the monks of St. Bernard

keep? What do they train them to do? What kind of place was it over which the child and servant fell? What did the dog do? When the dog came near the servant, what did he do? Where did he place the boy?