Parrot for the Bird-Mistresses: Modern Fantasy

The glint in the small girl's eyes was disconcerting enough that the parrot hopped two feet away on its perch, tilted its head, and eyed her with a warning glare. "Polly wanna cracker!" the parrot threatened. The small girl did not look impressed. "Mommy," she insisted, "I want a parrot!" "Now then," sue Ellen said, stepping forward and smiling winningly down at the little girl, "wouldn't you much rather have one of those pretty lovebirds over there?" she pointed to a far corner of her store, where the lovebirds did their best to look adorable, endearing, and much easier to take care of than the parrot. They knew that their time was numbered, and they wished to be useful while they were still around to be useful. They had all served out their periods with their bird-mistresses, and--

Inspiration: None.
Story Potential: Low.
Notes: Bird-mistresses? What the fuck was I thinking?