Loud Mouth

This flash fiction is a little late. The prompt: It was as if she didn't understand the concept of "shut up."

        The zookeeper’s day began before dawn, but the birds were already active in the free-flight aviary. Blue and gold macaws, bright yellow parakeets, and white cockatoos darted among the branches. The loudest bird was Gabby, a green Amazon parrot.

        She had become the zookeeper’s favorite, squawking to greet him each morning.

         “Shut up!” he’d yell.

        And she answered back, “Shut up!” It was as if she didn’t understand the concept of “shut up.”

        This morning the zookeeper had woken up with a headache. He yelled, “Be quiet!” and waited, expecting Gabby to mimic his words.

        Finally, she answered, “Shut up!”