This page needs to be proofread.
and many of them broken, and he had a very independent air that was a great contrast to the refined manner of the well-kept canary.
"Who are you, pray?" asked Mrs. Polly, eying the new-comer curiously.
"Can't you see?" answered the sparrow in a hoarse voice.
"It's very evident you're a tramp," said Mrs. Polly. "What do you want here?"
"I didn't know you'd got a lease of the place, or I wouldn't have come," answered the sparrow pertly.
"Come now, keep a civil tongue in your head," said Mrs. Polly. "You'll find it to your advantage. Where do you live?"
"Wherever I can. Sometimes in one place, sometimes in another."
"That looks bad," said Mrs. Polly gravely. "Did you ever hear the proverb that 'rolling stones gather no moss'?"
