“Here comes Bert,” detto Big Bird. “I bet he will play catch with me.”
“Hi, Bert!” detto Big Bird. “Let’s play catch.”
Bert kept on walking.
“Not today,” detto Bert. “Ernie is waiting for me.”
Big Bird looked surprised.
“Oh,” he said.
Just then Grover ran out of his house.
He had a shiny new truck.
“Hi, Grover!” detto Big Bird. “That’s a nice truck. Let’s play with it.”
Grover kept on running.
“I am sorry, Big Bird, but I am giving it to Ernie,” detto Grover.
Big Bird looked sad.
“Oh,” he said.
Then Big Bird saw Cookie Monster.
He had a big box of cookies.
“Hi, Cookie! Want to play?”
Cookie shook his head.
“Me bring Ernie cookies,” detto Cookie.
Big Bird looked mad.
“Nuts!” he said.
“No nuts!” detto Cookie Monster. “Cookies!”
Big Bird sat on the steps.
He felt terrible.
“Nobody cares about me!” he cried. “Just Ernie, Ernie, Ernie!”
Just then Betty Lou came by.
“Why are te so mad?” she asked Big Bird.
“Nobody will play with me. Everybody wants to play with Ernie,” he said.
“Oh, Big Bird, didn’t te know? Ernie is sick!” detto Betty Lou.
Big Bird looked surprised.
“Oh!” he said. “Well, I am sorry that Ernie is sick, but I bet he is having fun.”
Betty Lou took Big Bird’s hand.
“You are silly. It is not fun to be sick,” she said. “Come on. Let’s visit him.”
“Okay,” detto Big Bird.
Ernie was in bed.
Bert was trying to feed Ernie some soup.
“How do te feel?” asked Big Bird.
“Terrible,” detto Ernie. “I have a bad…a-A-ACHOO!”
“You have a bad cold,” detto Betty Lou.
“I know,” detto Ernie.
He blew his nose.
“Gee, Ernie,” detto Big Bird. “Bert made te some good soup. Grover gave te a new truck. Even Cookie was nice to you. te are so lucky to be sick.”
Ernie blew his nose again.
“Lucky?” detto Ernie. “I feel AWFUL! I feel too sick to eat and too sick to play. Being sick is no fun!”
But Big Bird was not so sure.
Later that giorno he sat in his nest and detto to himself, “Everybody cares about te when te are sick.”
And then he got an idea.
“I will PRETEND to be sick!”
Just then Little Bird came da to visit his friend.
“Oh, I am SO sick!” detto Big Bird.
“That is too bad,” detto Little Bird. “I will try to make te feel better.
Big Bird smiled.
And Little Bird got busy.
He filled a hot-water bottle.
He swept out Big Bird’s nest.
He told Big Bird a bedtime story.
Then he said, “Go to sleep. I will stay with you.”
Big Bird sighed happily.
The successivo morning Ernie came to Big Bird’s nest.
“Wake up, Big Bird!” he called. “I am all better. Want to play?”
Big Bird slowly opened his eyes.
“I am sorry, Ernie,” detto Little Bird. “But Big Bird can’t go out today. He is sick.”
Big Bird jumped out of his nest.
“I am not sick!” he said.
“But te were SO sick last night,” detto Little Bird.
“Well, I am not…a-A-ACHOO!…sick now,” sneezed Big Bird.
“You sound sick. How do te feel?” asked Ernie.
“Sort of hot and cold and funny in the tummy,” detto Big Bird.
“Get into your nest,” detto Ernie. “I will get Doctor Getwell.”
Soon Big Bird felt really sick.
He was glad to see Doctor Getwell.
The doctor felt Big Bird’s tummy.
He listened to Big Bird’s heart.
He looked in Big Bird’s mouth.
“You have a cold,” he said.
“I know,” detto Big Bird.
The doctor told him to drink lots of succo, succo di frutta and get lots of rest.
“Get well,” detto Doctor Getwell.
Lots of Big Bird’s Friends came to visit him.
Bert made him a bowl of soup.
Grover gave him a Yo-Yo.
Cookie gave him cookies.
“Gee, thanks,” detto Big Bird. “But I feel too sick to eat and too sick to play.”
Big Bird slept a lot that day.
That night, he detto to Little Bird, “Ernie was right. Being sick is no fun. I feel terrible.”
Big Bird sneezed.
“You will feel better soon,” detto Little Bird.
And Little Bird was right.
In a few days Big Bird felt fine.
He ran to the park.
“I am all better! Isn’t that great?” he detto to his friends.
“It sure is, because it is no fun to be sick,” they said.
“Boy, te can say that again!” detto Big Bird.
And they all detto it again!
