Charles Dickens owned a pet raven called Grip, which he kept at his London home where it roamed freely like a cat or dog. The bird annoyed his wife, harassed the servants, bit the children’s ankles and was at last relegated to the horse barn, where it drank lead-based paint and died. Dickens, who loved the animal, ordered a necropsy fearing it had been poisoned by the local butcher who hated it. She knew several phrases, her favourite being "halloa old girl". She also said, "Polly, put the kettle on, we'll all have tea”, "keep up your spirits” and "Bow, wow, wow". Grip buried halfpence coins and cheese in the garden, as well as raw potatoes, a brush and a large hammer thought to have been stolen from a carpenter. A repeat offender, the bird routinely grabbed the dog’s dinner which, as you can imagine, created quite the ruction. Grip went on to literary immortality in not one, but two ways.
© 2024 John Oliver
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