"You have an owner. I can’t just take you."
"Sigh..." Sprout’s head drooped as he sighed. "Boring."
As Ms. Dawson watched the human and bird chattering back and forth, a serious problem suddenly occurred to her.
’I can’t understand a word Sprout is saying. Who’s to say this girl can actually communicate with him? What if she’s just making it all up?’
Renee gently tapped Sprout’s head with the pad of her finger. "Can I ask you a question?"
Sprout replied in a glum tone, "What is it?"
Renee asked, "What happened to Granny Mae? Why hasn’t she been out recently?"
Hearing this, Ms. Dawson’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Sprout blinked its little black-bean eyes. "May broke her leg. She can’t walk, so she can’t go out."
Hearing this, Renee’s slender brows slowly knitted together. Her gaze fell on Ms. Dawson’s scrutinizing face. "Is Granny Mae injured?"
Ms. Dawson’s face was a picture of astonishment. "You can actually understand him?"
Renee nodded. "Sprout said Granny Mae broke her leg."
"That’s incredible." Ms. Dawson’s suspicion vanished, the scrutiny in her eyes replaced by admiration. "You really can understand Sprout."
When Goldie and its companions heard that Granny Mae had broken her leg, they all grew worried.
"WOOF~ Is Granny Mae in pain?"
"WOOF WOOF! Poor Granny Mae!"
"MEOW~ How could Granny Mae break her leg?"
"MEOW MEOW MEOW~ Can we cats go see Granny Mae?"
Hearing the cats and dogs, Sprout was more than happy to answer. "May was hurt by that rotten Auntie Webb! Her leg is broken, so of course it hurts!"
"Auntie Sterling?" Renee looked at Ms. Dawson. "Who is Auntie Sterling?"
Ms. Dawson replied, "Auntie Sterling is the caretaker we hired for my grandmother. Why are you asking about her all of a sudden?"
"Sprout said Auntie Sterling is the reason Granny Mae broke her leg."
"Auntie Sterling’s fault? But my grandmother told me she just lost her footing coming down the stairs."
Sprout immediately started squawking, "It was Auntie Webb! She cried and begged May not to tell anyone! She said she couldn’t lose this job~"
Renee relayed this to Ms. Dawson.
"I see." Ms. Dawson’s brow tightened, her expression turning grim. "In that case, I need to have a serious talk with my grandmother."