One warm, sunny afternoon, Mama and Papa Bird had a very exciting announcement.
"Chi Chi," said Papa Bird, "guess what we're doing today?"
"What? What?! TELL ME!" Chi Chi hopped so fast she nearly fell right off the branch.
"Ice cream!" said Mama Bird, and Chi Chi let out a squeal so loud that three sparrows toppled off a nearby branch in fright.
Down by the big banyan tree lived Moti the Elephant, who scooped the most delicious mango ice cream in the whole forest, right out of a giant wooden barrel, using his very own trunk.
"One scoop each!" Moti announced grandly, curling his trunk around a golden dollop and plopping it into three little leaf-bowls.
Chi Chi's scoop disappeared in about four seconds flat. Slurp, slurp, gulp — gone!
"Mmmmore?" she asked, eyes huge and hopeful, orange mango dribbling down her chin.
Papa Bird chuckled and shook his head. "One scoop is just right for today, little feather. Too much ice cream on a tiny tummy makes for a very grumpy, very achy night."
"But Papaaaa—"
"One scoop," said Mama Bird gently, wiping Chi Chi's chin with a leaf. "It's still delicious even when it's just one."
Chi Chi pouted. But while Mama and Papa were busy chatting with Moti about the weather — grown-ups do that, you know — Chi Chi's eyes wandered... straight to the barrel. It was right there. Practically calling her name.
"Just a teeny tiny peek," she whispered to herself.
She hopped closer. Moti was mid-sentence about rainclouds, not looking her way at all.
Chi Chi dipped her beak in. Scoop one — gone in a blink. She checked over her shoulder. Nobody noticed. Scoop two! Scoop three! By scoop four, mango ice cream was smeared across her whole face, down her neck, and — oh no — right onto her once snow-white feathers.
"This," she giggled to herself, sticky and satisfied, "is the BEST secret ever."
But then...
A cold, prickly, achy feeling zoomed straight through her head. "OW! OWOWOW!" Chi Chi grabbed her head with both wings and hopped in a circle, eyes squeezed shut.
"Chi Chi?" Mama Bird spun around. "What's wrong?!"
"My — my head! It's FREEZING inside!" Chi Chi wailed.
Papa Bird rushed over — and stopped dead. "Chi Chi... why are you orange?"
"And sticky! And why do you smell like mangoes?!" Mama Bird gasped, patting her down frantically, checking her over from beak to tail. "Are you hurt? Are you sick? Tell us right now!"
Chi Chi's face went as red as it could get under all that orange. "It's not — I mean — " she mumbled. "It's ice cream, Mama. I had more. A lot more. Without telling you."
The forest went very quiet.
"Oh, Chi Chi," Papa Bird sighed — not angrily, just tired, the way grown-ups get.
And that's when Chi Chi's tummy, which had been suspiciously silent this whole time, decided to speak up. It gurgled. Then it grumbled. Then it made a sound like a bullfrog falling down a well.
"I don't feel so good," Chi Chi whimpered, turning a bit green under all the orange. Her wings drooped. Even her feet felt wobbly.
Mama Bird scooped her up gently. "That, little one, is what happens when a tiny tummy eats a HUGE amount of ice cream in one sitting."
"I'm sorry," Chi Chi mumbled, feeling thoroughly queasy. "I just wanted more. And I didn't want to ask, because I knew you'd say no."
"So instead of asking," said Papa Bird softly, "you snuck off and did it anyway. And now your tummy hurts, your head hurts, and on top of it all, you feel guilty. That's an awful lot of hurting for four extra scoops, don't you think?"
Chi Chi nodded miserably, eyes brimming with tears. "I should have just asked."
"And what would we have said?" Mama Bird asked gently.
"...Probably no," Chi Chi admitted.
"Probably no," Mama Bird agreed, smiling despite herself. "But at least it would have been an honest no, and your tummy would still be happy."
Moti the Elephant, who had been listening to every word with great interest, ambled over with a large banana leaf full of warm water. "Sip this slowly," he rumbled kindly. "It always helps. I should know — I once ate an entire barrel all by myself. Ask me how THAT went."
"How did it go?" Chi Chi asked weakly.
"Worst three days of my life," said Moti solemnly, and even Chi Chi managed a small giggle through her tummy ache.
That night, tucked into the nest with a very full, very sleepy, very sorry tummy, Chi Chi looked up at her parents.
"Next time," she said, "can I just ask for a second scoop? Even if you say no?"
Papa Bird smiled and tucked the blanket of leaves around her. "Every single time, little feather. A question is always better than a secret."
Mama Bird kissed her forehead — orange smudge and all. "And who knows? Ask nicely enough, on the right day... maybe the answer won't always be no."
Chi Chi grinned sleepily. "Really?"
"Really," said Mama Bird. "But NOT tomorrow. Tomorrow, we're having soup."
Chi Chi groaned — but she was smiling as she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of mango ice cream. Just one scoop, thank you very much.