Not so long ago, in a cozy little town, lived three army doctors. They had traveled far and wide, helping soldiers, and they were very proud of their skills. One evening, they arrived at an inn, tired and hungry.

"We need a room for the night," said the first doctor to the innkeeper. "And we'd like to show you how clever we are!"

The innkeeper, a friendly fellow with a round belly, was curious. "Oh? And what can you do?"

The first doctor grinned. "I can cut off my own hand and, with my special healing cream, stick it right back on by morning, good as new!"

The second doctor puffed out his chest. "That's nothing! I can take out my own heart, and with my special cream, put it back in, beating perfectly by sunrise!"

The third doctor adjusted his spectacles. "Impressive, but I can take out my own eyes! And with my cream, I'll have them back in place, seeing clearly, before breakfast!"

The innkeeper's jaw dropped. He’d never heard of such things! "Alright," he said, "Show me!"

So, the first doctor carefully took a sharp knife, and snip! Off came his hand. He placed it on a plate. The second doctor, just as carefully, made an opening and pop! Out came his heart. He placed it next to the hand. The third doctor, very gently, took out his two eyes and put them beside the heart.
"Now," said the first doctor, "Innkeeper, please put these on a high shelf in the cupboard and make sure no one touches them. We'll use our special healing cream in the morning."

The innkeeper, amazed, did as he was told. He then asked his serving girl, Lily, to make sure the cupboard stayed locked and to bring the doctors their supper.

Lily was a bit forgetful. After serving supper, she went to the kitchen. A little later, the inn's fluffy ginger cat, Whiskers, smelled something interesting. Tip-toe, tip-toe, Whiskers went to the cupboard. The door wasn't quite latched! He nudged it open, hopped up, and sniff, sniff… Oh! A tasty hand, a juicy heart, and two shiny eyes! Gobble, gobble, gobble, Whiskers ate them all up!

Later, Lily remembered the doctor's things. She rushed to the cupboard. "Oh no!" she whispered when she saw the empty plate. "The cat! What will I do?"

She panicked. Then, she had an idea. There was a thief who had been caught that very day, and his hand was… well, available. She quickly got it. Then, she heard a pig oinking outside. She managed to get a fresh pig's heart. And for the eyes? She looked at Whiskers, who was purring innocently. "Sorry, Whiskers," she thought, and very, very carefully, she managed to get the cat's eyes. She placed the thief's hand, the pig's heart, and the cat's eyes on the plate and put it back in the cupboard.

The next morning, the three doctors came down, ready for their amazing reattachments. The innkeeper brought them the plate.
The first doctor took the hand, spread his special cream, and stuck it on. "Perfect!" he declared, wiggling the fingers.
The second doctor took the heart, applied his cream, and popped it in. "Thump-thump, good as new!" he announced.
The third doctor took the eyes, used his cream, and placed them in. "I can see wonderfully!" he said.

They paid the innkeeper and went on their way.
But soon, strange things started happening.
The first doctor's hand kept trying to pick people's pockets! Whenever they passed someone, his hand would twitch and try to sneak into their bags. "Stop that, hand!" he'd hiss.

The second doctor started oinking softly. When they passed a muddy puddle, he had a strong urge to roll in it and snuffle for truffles. "What is wrong with me?" he wondered.

And the third doctor? He couldn't stop staring at mice! Every time a little mouse scurried by, his eyes would follow it, and he felt like pouncing. At night, instead of snoring, he'd sometimes let out a little "meow."

They finally realized what must have happened. They marched right back to the inn.
"Innkeeper!" boomed the first doctor, his hand trying to snatch a silver spoon from the table. "You let something happen to our parts!"
"Oink! Yes! Oink!" grunted the second doctor.
"We know you did! We can see it in your shifty eyes... and those mice in the corner look delicious!" meowed the third.

The poor innkeeper, seeing the thieving hand, hearing the oinks, and noticing the cat-like stare, knew he was in trouble. Lily confessed what she had done.
To make them go away and not cause more trouble, the innkeeper gave them a big bag of gold coins.

And so, the three doctors continued their journey, a little stranger than before. One always struggling not to steal, one trying very hard not to oink in public, and one developing a surprising talent for catching mice. They were still good doctors, just a bit… unusual.

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