Jeff and the Parakeet

The man who shared our back fence had an aviary of budgeregars (parakeets) and other pet birds.  Jeff, then in first grade, was fascinated with them, and said he would like to have one. We pointed out that there was some care involved, but he assured us that he was up to it.

I saw how serious Jeff was, so I arranged that he could have one, if he earned the price.  He nodded vigorously, and a series of tasks was arranged for which he would receive credits toward the purchase of a bird and its cage.  He made good on his pledge and earned the fee.  Our neighbor invited Jeff over to select a bird and receive instructions on care.  Then we went to a pet store and collected a cage, seed, and sundries that parakeets are supposed to have.

Shortly, the bird owned the house.

It used the cage for night sleep, but little else. Mostly, it perched on Jeff's shoulder, attacked his books, ate cereal from his breakfast bowl, competed with the radio and t.v., and took naps on the ceiling lamp of the living room.  It thought every guest had come to see him personally.

He aged well, too, but began gradually to have some problems that come with advanced bird seasons.  He developed a lump.

A family discussion concluded that a vet trip was in order. The vet said, yes, he could remove the lump. He was not sure how much it would extend the bird's life, though.

His fee would be seven dollars.

       

Jeff said, "Seven dollars!  I only paid one for him!"

The vet said, "Would you rather lose this fellow and buy six more?"

 

Jeff said, "No, we only have one cage."  But one of the other children observed that the bird didn't use its cage anyway.

The operation was successful, and Jeff's parakeet spent several more years not using its cage, even to sleep. The bird preferred sneaking into the bathroom and spending the night on the shower head. In the morning it would challenge anyone who wanted a shower.