The Parakeet That Praises Jehovah
“ONE DAY I decided to buy a little parakeet. It would be company for my husband, Wally, when I was at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, attending their meetings in Palm Springs, California. It was only five weeks old when we got it, and we didn’t know whether it would talk or not. Also, we couldn’t settle on a name for it, so I just called it ‘Pretty Baby.’ After one month we heard it say, ‘Pretty Baby.’ We had a talker!
“I tried to teach Pretty Baby to say, ‘Praise Jehovah.’ Wally told me I was wasting my time: ‘He’ll never be able to say “Jehovah.” That’s too hard.’ But one day it did say, ‘Praise Jehovah.’ Later it learned to say, ‘Come, you people.’ Then I taught it to put the two together: ‘Come, you people, praise Jehovah.’ Wally shook his head. ‘I never would have believed he could put the two together, since he learned them separately.’
“Next I taught Pretty Baby to say, ‘Are you Jehovah’s witness? Are you, are you?’ We manage a hotel in Palm Springs, and soon Pretty Baby was asking the people, ‘Are you Jehovah’s witness? Are you, are you?’ It also learned to say, ‘Preach the Word! Preach the Word!’ One of its most interesting proclamations was, ‘First John 4:8, God is love. Look it up! Look it up!’
“Guests come into the office to register, and when Pretty Baby talks they are startled and exclaim, ‘Is that coming out of that bird?’ Wally replies, ‘Oh, yes. He even quotes scripture and says, “First John 4:8, God is love.” My wife is one of the Witnesses and she taught him.’
“One day a woman guest came into the office and heard the bird say, ‘First John 4:8, God is love. Look it up! Look it up!’ She was so amazed that she went to her room to look it up. I had replaced the Gideon Bible in the rooms with the “New World Translation” Bible, and later at the pool she said to me: ‘I really enjoy that Bible. It’s so easy to understand. Could I leave a donation and take it with me when I leave?’
“I replied: ‘No. Leave that one in the room. Come by my home later and I’ll give you one.’ Later she came by to get the Bible, and left with 14 of the Watchtower Society’s publications that explain the beliefs of the Witnesses.
“The parakeet became the talk of all the guests. One day a woman came into the office and said that as she was by the pool she heard one man say to another: ‘Do you know that the manager has a bird that says, “Praise Jehovah”?’ The other man said: ‘You’re kidding! Do you think he would let me see it?’ Because of the bird, everyone soon learns 1 John 4:8. If Pretty Baby is quiet, Wally sometimes says to it: ‘You didn’t praise Jehovah today. Come on, say it!’
“The 148th Psalm is a call for all creation to praise Jehovah—heavens, earth, plants, animals, people, and ‘winged birds.’ (Ps 148 Verse 10) Like all creation, Pretty Baby does it by his intricate and marvelous design—a reflection of the Great Designer’s wisdom. And by its words.”—Contributed.