3327. Pretty Scuttlebutt © Bruce Goodman 13 September 2025

Cornelius’s seventh birthday was coming up. He had always wanted a pet parrot. His father thought it would be good to give him a parrot for his birthday so he went to a pet shop. Could he pick the parrot up on the actual birthday? He didn’t want to ruin the surprise by having a squawking parrot hidden under the bed for a week. The parrot was beautiful; domestically bred, but it’s species originated far beyond the Australian black stump. The pet shop owner estimated the parrot may have been about fifty years old. It’s previous owner had died. The Birthday Day arrived! The parrot was picked up. Cornelius was over the moon. “Pretty Polly,” he said. “Pretty Polly.” His father suggested he find a better name than Polly. Half the world’s pet parrots were called Polly. “Scuttlebutt!” said the parrot. “Scuttlebutt!” “It can talk!” said Cornelius. “I’m going to call it Scuttlebutt. Pretty Scuttlebutt! Pretty Scuttlebutt!” The parrot seemed to like the name and said… Oh dear. I can’t say. The previous owner had been an Australian sailor. Contact Author Back to Index Next Story Previous Story