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"Bless you!" as father would say, every one of them knew her and recognised her as a friend and fellow-comrade, for she would sing to them sometimes like a lark, which always set them all on the twitter; goldfinches, linnets, and bullfinches, of which mother kept a large stock, hopping about their cages trying by every means in their power to attract her notice on her entering the shop and coming near them; while the lemon-crested cockatoo, who was christened `Ally Sloper, on account of his fine flow of language, and a habit he had of ruffling up the feathers round his neck when spoken to, making him look as if he had a particularly high and stiff collar on, would shriek out `Say-rah! which was mother's name, just as if father were shouting for her to come downstairs in a sort of `reef topsails' on a stormy night sort of voice.
"Say-rah!" he shouted out in the very tones of father's voice, so that I could almost fancy he were there sitting alongside of me. "Blest if I don't have a pipe!" That settled the matter.
This was a settler for all of them; father leaning back in his chair and holding his sides, while mother and Jenny enjoyed the joke as much as we could both wish, `Ally Sloper' adding to the merriment of us all by shrieking out at intervals alternately, "Say-rah! Say-rah!" and "Blest if I don't have a smoke!" in father's very own voice.
"Say-rah, Say-rah!" he screamed, ruffling up the lemon crest on the top of his head, and spreading out the feathers round his neck that made him look as if he wore high collars. "I'll wring your neck!"
Now, Larry, ye moost rimimber the owld cockatoo `Ally Sloper' wor alriddy oop there aloft; an' whin the burrd says Jocko makin' fur him, he oop stick, or rayther oop wid his crist an' flies down roight atop ov Tom's hid, shraykin' out, `Say-rah, Say-rah! as loud as the divvle could bawl. `Gyp' on this starts barkin' loike mad at the blissid cockatoo; whin down cooms Masther Jocko fur to have his share in the foight.
Hurrah, Sarah, here's good luck to the boy and speedy promotion!" "'Oo-ray, Say-rah!" screamed `Ally Sloper, the cockatoo, in cordial appreciation, apparently, of this sentiment. "'Ip, 'ip, 'oo-ray!" That settled the matter.
"I'll wring your neck!" he screamed in his hoarse, sepulchral voice; "I'll wring your neck! Say-rah! Say-rah!"