He looked around for inspiration. There was Jolly Solly’s cheerful open-top car, parked across the street! Surely the clown would know how to solve this difficult problem. Mr. Faigelbaum crossed the street and knocked on number 100. He smiled as he heard a voice screeching, “Bang! Pop! Pop goes the weasel!” Tuki the parrot must be staying with him for a few days. He often did when Eli the animal trainer went away.

The clown listened sympathetically to Mr. Faigelbaum’s story.

“Oh, dear,” he observed. “We have a double problem. Mr. Krankowitz waits all year for his outing. He must be terribly disappointed. And of course you want to fix your bird feeders.”

That afternoon Jolly Solly paid a visit to the old man. He found Mr. Krankowitz looking even grumpier than usual. Jolly Solly saw that he was disappointed over the canceled outing.

“How about coming to the beach with me in my car tomorrow?” Jolly Solly said.

“Car shmar,” muttered the old man dismissively. “It’s not the same as going in a big bus.”

Jolly Solly remembered how the old man always spent weeks before the outing grumbling. He grumbled about the uncomfortable big bus. He grumbled about the drivers who drove like maniacs. Jolly Solly decided not to mention this.

“I understand,” he responded softly.

“I’d like to know which fool made the stupid decision to cancel the outing!”

The old man was increasingly upset. Jolly Solly cast around for another idea. What did Mr. Krankowitz like? It came to him in a flash. Kippers!

“I say! Why don’t we go fishing tomorrow?” the clown offered. “We’ll catch some fish, and you can grill them fresh. That’s just the way you like them. What do you say to that?”

“What do I say? Hmm. Well, I suppose if you’re going fishing, you’ll need some help from an expert like me,” he replied. Mr. Krankowitz made it sound as though he was doing the clown a great favor. But Jolly Solly saw the gleam in the old man’s eye. He knew Mr. Krankowitz was hooked!

The next morning Mr. Krankowitz was muffled up to the eyeballs despite the sunny weather. In case of unexpected weather conditions, of course. He climbed slowly into Jolly Solly’s car. Mr. Faigelbaum watched from the window as the clown made sure the old man was comfortable. At Mr. Krankowitz’s request, he opened the car windows because it was too stuffy. He then closed them because it was too chilly. At last the yellow car pulled away.

Mr. Faigelbaum quickly grabbed his tools, and went out to the garden. There he banged away to his heart’s content, making sure the feeders were securely attached.

By the time the old man came home, Sunny Lane was quiet once more. Mr. Faigelbaum made sure all his tools were out of sight. “Gotta make sure things don’t look too fishy,” he murmured to himself.

R.Atkins’s book Around the Year with Jolly Solly contains 50 fabulous stories. For information about a personalized version, contact junior@mishpacha.com

(Originally featured in Mishpacha Jr., Issue 824)