146 KNOWING BIRDS THROUGH STORIES 



the mother settled down content with the present, glad 

 that she had selected for their home the great hollow 

 tree that grew on the very bank of the river where she 

 could always pnt its watery breadth between her and her 

 enemies should danger appear. 



In the meantime her husband, wounded and sore, was 

 trying to find a way of escape from the corn crib in a 

 neighbor's barn. On the night when he left home he had 

 flown directly to a barnlot where past experience taught 

 him that he would find white chickens roosting in trees. 

 Alighting in the top of a great elm, he looked about for 

 the chickens, but they were nowhere to be seen. Knowing 

 he could not see colored fowls unless they moved, he sent 

 forth his mighty challenge, but nothing moved except a 

 mouse in the edge of the straw sack. His wonderfully 

 acute ear caught the sound and there being no intimation 

 of larger game, he flew directly to the spot and caught the 

 mouse. Great horned owls prefer larger game than mice, 

 but on a cold winter^s night nothing that will do to eat is to 

 be despised, especially when there is a hungry family at 

 home. Hastily swallowing the mouse, he flew back to the 

 tree and again gave his challenge. Still nothing stirred. 

 Seeing and hearing nothing, he flew directly to the top of 

 the pole in the middle of the haystack, where he felt that 

 he could get a nearer view of the house which the man had 

 made for his chickens; but as he alighted, he was startled 

 by a snapping noise and something caught his leg that 

 burned like fire. Hastily taking flight, he was jerked 

 back by the chain of a steel trap and each time he tried to 

 escape he succeeded only in hurting his leg. 0, the agony 

 of the hours that followed ! Over and over he tugged and 

 strained, sometimes flying this way, sometimes that, and 



