It was another beautiful day on Sesame Street, and Big Bird and his new friend Jimmy were just playing with a ball inside Big Bird's nest. Big Bird had invited Jimmy over to play with him that afternoon, and Jimmy, having nothing better to do, happily agreed.

"Boy Jimmy, you're really good at playing catch." Big Bird said to Jimmy.

"Aw, thanks, Big Bird." Said Jimmy. "I spend a lot of time playing with my dad. But, if it's okay with you, I'd like to take a break. I'm really tired."

"Aw sure thing, buddy." Said Big Bird, as he put the ball away. "You wanna sit in my nest?"

"Uuuuuh, I'm not sure." Said Jimmy who was concerned. "I mean, your nest is awfully big and so are you. There may not be room for the two of us."

Big Bird laughed. "Don't be silly! There's plenty of room!"

And Big Bird was right. Soon the two friends were just sitting in Big Bird's nest. Not doing anything. Well, Jimmy was doing something, he was admiring all the stuff surrounding Big Bird's nest area.

"Wow, Big Bird." Said Jimmy in amazement. "You sure have a lot of cool stuff."

"Thanks." Said Big Bird.

As Jimmy looked around he spotted a certain picture of a man. Curious, Jimmy asked Big Bird "Hey Big Bird, who's that picture of?"

Big Bird looked. "Oh, that picture? That's a picture I drew myself."

"You drew that yourself?" Jimmy asked in surprised. Big Bird nodded. "Wow, it's really great." Jimmy said.

"Thanks." Said Big Bird. "It's of my friend, Mr. Hooper."

"Mr. Looper?" Asked Jimmy in surprise. "Who's Mr. Looper?"

"N-No, it's Hooper, Jimmy. Hooper." Corrected Big Bird.

"Oh, Oh, sorry, Big Bird." Apologized Jimmy, hoping he hadn't offended his new big friend.

Big Bird laughed again. "No it's okay. I used to get his name wrong all the time."

"Really?" Said Jimmy, who was really surprised by this. Big Bird nodded once again. "Oh, well how come I've never seen him before?"

"Oh, that's because he's dead." Said Big Bird.

Jimmy gasped. He realized that he might have brought up a sore subject, and he didn't want to make Big Bird feel uncomfortable, so he hastily said. "Oh, I-I-I'm sorry Big Bird. I d-didn't know that. Y-You know, we can always talk about something else."

"No, it's okay." Assured Big Bird. "I'm glad you asked. I've actually been wanting to tell you about Mr. Hooper for quite some time now."

"Really?" Asked Jimmy.

"Yeah." Said Big Bird. "Did you know he was the original owner of Hooper's Store?"

"Oooooooooh." Said Jimmy, with realization. "So THAT'S why it's called Hooper's Store." You see, ever since Jimmy moved here, he had always known Alan to be the owner of Hooper's store. So, he thought it was pretty weird that it was called Hooper's store and not Alan's store.

"Yep." Continued Big Bird. Then, David owned store, then Mr. Handford, and now Alan owns the store."

"Wait a minute." Said Jimmy. "Who's David? And who's Mr. Handford?"

Big Bird chuckled. "Don't worry, I'll tell you more about them later. Don't you want to hear more about Mr. Hooper?"

"Oh, sure!" Said Jimmy. "It sounds like he was really cool."

"Oh he was." Continued Big Bird. "He always made me birdseed milkshakes and he would also tell me stories of when he was a kid. One time we went to beach together. That was really fun. And he also taught me lots of stuff."

"Wow." Said Jimmy. That was just about all he could say: Wow.

"But then, one day, he died." Said Big Bird. "It was the day I drew the picture of him, too. All of my grown up friends told me that people die, and they don't come back. And there's nothing we can do about it. But we can still remember them, in our memories. ...I still miss him, though."

Jimmy could tell, Big Bird was start to sound sad. So he put his hand on his feathers.

"I know how you feel." Said Jimmy. "Someone I love is dead, too. He was my Great Uncle Johnny. And he was a lot like Mr. Hooper. He made me snacks, told me stories, taught me stuff, and we went places together. I miss him as well."

"Wow." Said Big Bird. "He sounds like a really great uncle. I wish I could've met him."

"Well, I wish I could've met Mr. Hooper." Said Jimmy. "I guess we were both unlucky."

"Yeah." Said Big Bird. "But, in a way we're also… kinda lucky."

"Lucky?" Asked Jimmy.

"Yeah" Big Bird went on. "Because, we met each other. And we're friends. Y-You're my friend, right Jimmy?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm your friend, Big Bird." Said Jimmy. "As long as you're my friend."

"Of course." Said Big Bird. "I'm your friend, too."

And then the two friends decided to hug. The hug lasted for a good 10 minutes. And then they let go of each other.

"You know, I never got to say this, but, thanks for inviting me to play with you, Big Bird." Said Jimmy.

"Oh, no problem. Said Big Bird. "Thanks for coming. Hey, I've got an idea. Let's go down to Hooper's store for a snack! Alan can make us bird seed milkshakes! How about that?"

"Um, I don't know about the bird seed milkshakes, but yeah, I'd love to go down to Hooper's Store." Said Jimmy.

"Great, then let's go!" Said Big Bird, as he got out of his nest.

And so the two friends went to Hooper's store, glad that they met each other.

THE END