"He’s a great friend of mine, and I think the world of him — but what does he know about sick parrots?”

Eli’s animal center was bustling on a Sunday afternoon. Manny the monkey was a big hit as usual. (Eli gave him a stern warning not to throw banana peels at any visitors.) Gimpel the goat was another popular draw, but too bad for anyone who ignored the signs warning visitors not to lean against his cage. Quick as a wink, Gimpel would take a bite of the person’s skirt or trousers.

Eli was, however, somewhat surprised that nobody was crowding around Tuki’s cage. Usually there were many guests watching the lively parrot. As Eli drew near, he was dismayed to see the parrot looking droopy and out of sorts. Oh, dear!

“Sick as a parrot, are we?” he asked. “What’s up, old fellow?”

Tuki just looked at him dully.

“I’d better get him checked out,” muttered Eli. “I’ll call Mr. Faigelbaum. He’s sure to know what to do.”

Mr. Faigelbaum arrived just as the animal center was closing for the day. Eli quickly led the bird expert to Tuki.

Mr. Faigelbaum checked him and asked Eli lots of questions.

“What’s he got?” asked Eli at last. “I hope it isn’t anything serious.”

“It’s very odd,” replied Mr. Faigelbaum. “Tuki doesn’t seem to have any of the usual bird illnesses. Have you changed his diet recently?”

“No, it’s exactly the same as always,” replied Eli.

Mr. Faigelbaum scratched his head.

“Baffling. Either this is a new, unknown type of bird illness — or there’s something else going on!”

“What do you suggest? I can’t bear to see Tuki looking so sad.”