"Now, Olly, what do you think of my parrot ?" "Can it talk ?" asked Olly, looking at it with very wide open eyes.
"It _can_ talk; whether it _will_ talk is quite another thing.

Parrots are contradictious birds.

I feel very often as if I should like to beat Polly, he's so provoking.

Now, Polly, how are you to-day ?" "Polly's got a bad cold; fetch the doc--" said the bird at once, in such a funny cracked voice, that it made Olly jump as if he had heard one of the witches in Grimm's "Fairy Tales" talking.
"Come, Polly, that's very well behaved of you; but you mustn't leave off in the middle, begin again.

Olly, if you don't keep your fingers out of the way Polly will snap them up for his dinner.