Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3 The door of an oversize wheeled birdcage slammed shut. Ruben had slipped out early in the morning, while Merle and Pearl were still sleeping, to purchase a macaw cage from a nearby pet store and had brought it back to the hotel. "It's a lot roomier than your luggage!" Merle said, rocking happily back and forth on a bird swing hanging from the top of the cage above Pearl, who was lounging on a folded fluffy hotel towel lining the floor of the coop. "Much more natural light!" Pearl added. "And much better security!" Ruben said, clicking a padlock over the door. "Good luck escaping from here!"

"You'll be rolling us all the way to Ein Karem, will you?" Pearl wondered. "Not a chance!" Ruben replied. "We're taking a taxi." Or so he thought. "No way!" the cab driver complained, waving Ruben off. "I'm not driving you 150 kilometers, unless you pay me double— I have to drive all the way back, you know!" "But I don't have double!" Ruben pleaded. "Then I suggest you and your little bird-squirrels take the bus," the driver said, then she sped away from the hotel carport. The bus also turned out not to be an option. "Absolutely not!" the ticket agent exclaimed. "No pets on the bus!" "They're emotional support animals," Ruben begged.

"Give me a break," the agent scoffed. "Unless they are Seeing Eye squirrels, they don't get on the bus!" He slammed the ticket window shut. "We're back to walking, then?" Merle said casually as he continued swinging to and fro. "Take your time. No rush!" "I'm not walking, er... rolling you all that way!" Ruben huffed. "I guess we'll just have to stay here, then!" Pearl said brightly. Ruben opened his mouth to reply, but then he saw something across the street. It was a gravelly lot surrounded by a short chain-link fence, populated by half a

dozen donkeys and an elderly man dressed for the first century. On the fence hung a sign reading Donkey Depot.