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will repeat it. The Pretty Bird Pet Shop will never sell wild animals or birds. Never. I’ll trust you to make sure they are safely gone to the zoo by next week,” Mrs. Tweedy said. “I have to go home now to pack for the convention. Are we agreed?”
    “Agreed,” Mr. Fowler answered, ripping open a cardboard box with his hands instead of cutting off the top with scissors.
    Mrs. Tweedy called the children to the bird room. Her voice was calm again now. “I’m off for a few days, children. I’ve been meaning to show you something you’ll enjoy doing while I’m gone. I’m going to teach you how to train young parakeets to come out onto your finger.”
    Violet followed Mrs. Tweedy’s directions. “Just put your index finger in front of the bird over and over. Each time say, ‘Hop up. Hop up.’ Soon the bird will think your finger is a safe perch.”
    Violet held her finger very still in front of Milo. “Hop up. Hop up,” she said. “It tickles,” she said softly when Milo hopped onto her finger.
    “What if the parakeets fly around?” Jessie wanted to know. “How would we catch them?”
    “One way is to take a small lightweight cloth, like a handkerchief. I keep a few right here on this shelf. Toss the cloth gently but quickly over the bird, then pick it up. It’s a very safe way to catch the bird. Then I always give them a treat when I return them to their cages.”
    Jessie showed Mrs. Tweedy her checklist of jobs the children had finished. “This is how I organized everything. We’ll be doing the pet care jobs for Mr. Fowler on Sunday, since that’s his day off.”
    Mrs. Tweedy nodded. “Wonderful. Now, when you go to Jerry’s Gas Station to feed their two guard dogs, don’t be frightened. Buster and Beau sound more dangerous than they are. Jerry built a special dog run for them in back that connects to the station. There’s a hatch door where you can leave their food. Buster and Beau are used to this. There’s no need for you to go in at all.”
    “Do Buster and Beau bite people?” Soo Lee asked Mrs. Tweedy.
    “Not unless someone is trying to get into the gas station who shouldn’t be there,” Mrs. Tweedy said. “Anyway, the dogs are always in the dog run. Not to worry.”
    “We won’t,” Jessie said. “The only thing I am worried about is how to get supplies. Your shop is closed on Sundays.”
    Mrs. Tweedy patted Jessie’s hand. “No problem. Here’s an extra key to the back door. Come in for anything you need. Make sure to leave the shade down on the front door so no one thinks the shop is open.”
    “Sure thing, Mrs. Tweedy,” Henry said. “Is there anything extra you want us to do?”
    “See if you can get Mr. Fowler to smile,” Mrs. Tweedy whispered. “I wish he enjoyed his job as much as you children enjoy yours. He’s on the grumpy side. Maybe you can cheer him up.”
    “We’re good at cheering up animals,” Benny said after Mrs. Tweedy left. “Milo and Magic like us, and so do Lizzie and Doughnut. Even Rainbow and George like us better than Mr. Fowler does.”
    This was true. Already the big macaw and the little monkey seemed to enjoy having the children around. Benny and Soo Lee played monkey games with George. When they tilted their heads, George tilted his. When Soo Lee hid some food in the palm of one hand, George tried to guess which hand had a treat for him.
    “He’s pretty smart,” Benny said to Soo Lee.
    “So is Rainbow. Listen,” Violet said.
    “Food, food,” Rainbow said when Violet came around to fill up the seed dish. “She’s already learned to say ‘food.’”
    “Too bad they have to leave,” Violet said. “This might be the last time we see them before they go to the zoo.”
    The children spent extra time with George and Rainbow. The smaller birds in the bird room seem excited, too. The whole bird room was filled with twittering, chattering, whistling bird talk and bird song. That is until the back door banged and everybody