I was a vet in Yorkshire. One day I received a call from Mrs Tompkin asking me to cut the beak（喙）of her budgie's（虎皮鹦鹉）. I armed myself with a pair of clippers and stepped onto the narrow strip of pavement which separated the door from the road. A pleasant-looking red-haired woman answered my knock. "I'm Mrs Dodds from next door," she said. "I keep an eye on the old lady. She's over eighty and lives alone."
She led me into the cramped little room. "Here's Mr Herriot coming to see Peter for you," she said to the old woman who sat in a corner. Mrs Tompkin nodded and smiled, "Oh that's good. Poor little fella can hardly eat with its long beak and I'm worried about him. He's my only companion, you know."
"Yes, I understand, Mrs Tompkin." I looked at the cage by the window with the green budgie perched（栖息）inside. "These little birds can be wonderful company when they start chattering." She laughed, "Yes, but it's a funny thing. Peter never has said that much. I think he's lazy! But I just like having him with me."
"Of course you do," I said, "but he certainly needs attention now."
The beak was greatly overgrown, curving away down till it touched the feathers of the breast. I would be able to revolutionize his life with one quick snip from my clippers. The way I was feeling this job was right up my street.
I opened the cage door and slowly inserted my hand. "Come on, Peter," I wheedled（哄骗）. As I lifted him out, I felt in my pocket with the other hand for the clippers. Then I stopped. The tiny head was no longer poking cheekily from my fingers but had fallen loosely to one side. The eyes were closed. He was dead.
Mrs Dodds and I looked at each other in horror. When I turned my head towards Mrs Tompkin, I was surprised to see that she was still nodding and smiling.
I drew her neighbor to one side. "Mrs Dodds, how much does she see?"
"Oh, she's very short-sighted but she's right vain despite her age. Never would she wear glasses. She's hard of hearing, too."
"Well, look," I said. My heart was still pounding. "I just don't know what to do. If I tell her about this, the shock will be terrible. Anything could happen." Mrs Dodds nodded, stricken-faced. "Yes, you're right. She's that attached to the little thing."
注意： 续写词数应为 150 左右。
I decided to do something for her instead of telling her the truth.
It was a long time before I went to see how Mrs Tompkin got along with the bird I bought for her.
