Nevertheless, he sought society; for on Sunday, when the ladies
Rochefeuille, Monsieur de Houppeville and the new habitues, Onfroy, the
chemist, Monsieur Varin and Captain Mathieu, dropped in for their game
of cards, he struck the window-panes with his wings and made such a
racket that it was impossible to talk.

Bourais' face must have appeared very funny to Loulou. As soon as he
saw him he would begin to roar. His voice re-echoed in the yard, and
the neighbours would come to the windows and begin to laugh, too; and
in order that the parrot might not see him, Monsieur Bourais edged along
the wall, pushed his hat over his eyes to hide his profile, and entered
by the garden door, and the looks he gave the bird lacked affection.
Loulou, having thrust his head into the butcher-boy's basket, received
a slap, and from that time he always tried to nip his enemy. Fabu
threatened to ring his neck, although he was not cruelly inclined,
notwithstanding his big whiskers and tattooings. On the contrary, he
rather liked the bird, and, out of devilry, tried to teach him oaths.
Felicite, whom his manner alarmed, put Loulou in the kitchen, took off
his chain and let him walk all over the house.

When he went downstairs, he rested his beak on the steps, lifted his
right foot and then his left one; but his mistress feared that such
feats would give him vertigo. He became ill and was unable to eat. There
was a small growth under his tongue like those chickens are sometimes
afflicted with. Felicite pulled it off with her nails and cured him.
One day, Paul was imprudent enough to blow the smoke of his cigar in his
face; another time, Madame Lormeau was teasing him with the tip of her
umbrella and he swallowed the tip. Finally he got lost.

She had put him on the grass to cool him and went away only for a