If you want to know what's on Paulie's mind, just ask him. But you'd better be prepared for the answer. He doesn't know how to lie, and his biting wit may ruffle a few feathers...including his own. Paulie is a parrot who can speak, not mimic, but actually converse. The problem is that though he's learned to talk, he doesn't always know when to shut up, and he comes to find out that there are times when talking can get you into trouble. Paulie's first owner--and first love--is a little girl named Marie who raises him from a baby. Helping Marie overcome a painful stutter gives Paulie the gift of gab, but doesn't prevent her parents from sending him away when they feel she is becoming too attached to him. Undeterred, the loyal little parrot begins a tenacious cross-country search to find his young owner. Along the way, Paulie has some remarkable encounters with a unique cross-section of people, some who want to help and some who see the extraordinary bird as a means to their own ends.