Two Friends.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 16 November 1929, Page 18

Two Friends.

Cocky and Joey are our two birds (states a writer in an Australian exchange). Neither has ever known the freedom of the bush, having been captured when Hedgings, and each has I developed according to his tempera-1 ment. Coeky, the galah, is a. philosopher, and Joey the rogella is a gossip. He is more accomplished but Cocky has seen life; he has been run over by a bus. One wet day we put him on the balcony and the sight of so much of the world unnerved him. He fluttered down on to the road, along came a bus, right over Cocky, and went on its way. The bird emerged muddy, indignant, and ruffled, and shrieking ''‘Good-bye, good-bye,” to the departing vehicle. Doubtless he would have said more had his vocabulary not been so limited. Hi s chief expression is a monosyllable that can only be interpreted as one thing, “Won’t.” After that we cut his wing, and he spends his days in the coral tree, meditating, and we bring him in every night. At. the sight of him, Joey, who lives in a cage, jumps about and shrieks “.’Cup of tea for Cocky and a beer for Joey. ” Ho is very hospitable. Cocky must be humoured. Often he hides in the tree and will not come when called, then only our sister can prevail upon him to come home. She calls, “Come along, Cocky, all good old gentlemen arc in bed now; come along.” Coeky is unmoved. “Won’t,” he says. ‘ ‘ Oh, do, do come home, Cocky; be a good bird, and you shall have a peanut,” she continues. “Won’t,” says 'Cocky once more, but weakly, peering down. If she stops talking to him he retreats to the farthest point 'of the limb and stares stolidly into space. lie will not be trifled with. Eventually, however, he comes, and insists on “kissing Cocky” just to show there’s no ill-will.

An old .sailor taught them both to dance, but they are getting rather old for youthful sports. Cocky is becoming more somnolent every day—perhaps he dreams of the gum trees —and Joey is not so garrulous, though he still passes the time of the day with the tradesmen and calls the eat and the chickens.

After all, 15 years is a long time, and perhaps it will not be very long before they go to the happy hunting ground for poor birds who have never known the freedom of the bush. And this-1 know, that when one goes the other will soon follow, for they are two good friends who have never been parted since the day they came to us, almost featharless, and very ugly and afraid.