The Parrot

I love to visit my friends. They live outside of Ottawa and have a huge house and a pool. There's also three dogs plus one bird. The dogs are great, the bird, not so. It's a parrot and it attacks when it's not being paid enough attention. And when it's left alone upstairs when everyone's downstairs, it makes a sound like a child crying.

So one day we're all downstairs. The bird's crying and it so happens someone has backed into my friend's car and a cop is taking a report. Suddenly, he looks up. What's wrong with that child?

No, it's a bird. There's no child in the house.

He's not convinced and because he's worried that a child is being abused, he has probable cause. They let him in. He checks the whole downstairs. No child. He starts up the stairs.

Well, the bird cries because it's lonely. When it hears a whole troop of people, it stops. The cop sees the bird.

It's not making any noise.

They try to explain. Anyway, half an hour later, he's finally convinced there's no abused kid in the house, that the bird is a brat and he leaves. My friend is philosophical, Just doing his job, she says.

Anyone who owns a parrot knows about the quirky behavior of these birds. Wouldn't it be better to leave them in their jungle home?