II.

Grandma lives at Jack's . She has a bird, too. Grandma's bird is a green . The parrot's name is "Pepper." loves , but Jack's crow does not love Grandma's parrot.

epper can talk like a , mew like a , bark like a . She can cry and laugh. When Jimmy says "Caw, caw!" Pepper says "C-a-w, c-a-w!" and then laughs. doesn't like to be laughed at. Once he flew at Pepper, and pushed her off her . But Pepper scratched him with her and pulled out a tail-feather with her . Now Jimmy keeps away from her, unless he wants to steal her .

n Christmas Eve came to Jack's Tree. Mama had trimmed it with and , and hung everywhere. When she went with a to light the candles, they were gone! "Where are the candles?" cried . "Somebody has carried them off, and I can't light the ." Betty, the littlest girl, began to cry—two ran down her cheeks. sat on her perch cracking a . When she heard the outcry, she dropped it and screamed "Jimmy Crow, Jimmy Crow! Oh, oh! Oh, oh!" "Oh, naughty !" said Mama. "He has hidden them. Pepper is telling tales. Run, , and hunt! We'll play a new game, 'Hunt the .'"

ight pairs of ran "up stairs, down , in my lady's chamber." At last Betty tipped over a , and out rolled the . The littlest girl had won! So held her up, and she lit the Christmas Tree.

AFTER THE SNOW STORM.