- An old tree near Cicely seems to be on its last legs and the locals enlist Joel to make a diagnosis.
- Cicely's oldest tree is affected by a fungal disease and Maurice wants to have it cut down so he can build on the site. The townspeople, who are very attached to the tree and have even given it a name, object. It falls to Joel as the local doctor to diagnose the tree and decide if the disease is fatal. Shelly wakes up one morning and starts singing uncontrollably. Every word that comes out of her mouth is song. Holling soon finds her constant crooning irritating. Maggie has changed her hostile attitude towards Joel and is nice to him, which invariably leads to him getting injured in some way.
- While Joel is knocking a golf ball around Maurice's land with Ed as his caddie, Ed notices that Cicely's oldest tree, Ootockalockatuvik (Vicky, for short) is looking poorly. He takes a leaf in for others to look at. They agree. Ed is worried that the disease is the result of carving initials and a heart on the tree about a year ago. Maurice takes this as relatively good news. He has been wanting to have it cut down so that he can build a tractor storage shed on the site. The locals are attached to tree and have objected, especially farmer Ivory Springer. Maurice convenes a town meeting to discuss the issue. The upshot is that he assigns Joel, as the local doctor, to diagnose the tree and prescribe a course of action. Joel insists, to no avail, that he is a human doctor, not a tree doctor. Unable to squirm out of the responsibility, he consults with tree experts and concludes it is fatally infected with root rot. He estimates the tree has three months to live. With that pronouncement, Maurice orders it cut down. Meanwhile, Shelly wakes up one morning unabashedly happy, and inexplicably starts singing instead of talking. Every word that she utters comes out in song like life is one grand opera. Everyone, especially Holling, finds her constant crooning irritating. She goes to Joel for help. By the time he's finished with her, she's lost her positive outlook. Maggie has decided to change her hostile attitude towards Joel. She tells him she'll stop treating him like a jerk if he'll be a little humbler. He is distracted by trying to get some tardy blood samples ready for her transport, that he manages to break his foot in trying get a stuck cabinet open. The next time she interrupts him, he slams a drawer on his thumb and break that, too. The third time, he insists that she leave. When she doesn't, he heads out of the room and sprains his neck. Back at The Brick, the townspeople are all telling stories about Vicky. The last scene shows Maurice planting a new cottonwood tree near Vicky's broad stump.—Garon Smith
- Out caddying for Joel, Ed notices that Old Vicky, Cicely's oldest tree is dying. Whilst not a tree doctor, the Cicelians ask Joel for a diagnosis, who's put under pressure by Maurice, who wants to tear it down. Meanwhile, Shelly loses her speaking voice but is still able to sing and whilst Maggie's caring had a positive effect on Mike, her being pleasant to Joel has the adverse effect of him keeping on getting injured.
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