48 STORIES OF BIItDS AND BEASTS 



" Come to think of it, I am very fond of eating one 

 bird that, so the Wise Men say, is as bad as a mouse for 

 mischief. I eat English Sparrows ! 



" One thing I wish the Wise Men would tell me. Why 

 am I, without season or reason, sometimes rusty-red 

 and sometimes mottled gray ? It confuses my brain so 

 that I hardly know my own face in the pond." 



" Acquitted ! " said Judge Eagle. " Long-eared Owl, 

 what have you to say ? " 



The Long-eared Owl was about fifteen inches high. 

 He had, as his name implied, long ear-tufts that stood 

 up very straight over his yellow eyes, and thick tawny 

 stockings on his feet and legs. He was finely mottled 

 above with brown, black, and dark orange, had long 

 brown streaks on his buff breast, and dark-brown bands 

 on his wings and tail. He gave a hoot and spoke very 

 quickly. 



" I'm a good Citizen, too. I do not eat many birds, 

 and those I do eat are not the useful ones who kill 

 insects ; moles, mice, rats, and beetles are my daily 

 food. But House People do not know this, and hunt 

 me until I am almost discouraged ; for though I am 

 a Night Owl I do not live in such wild places as some 

 of my brethren, and so I am more easily caught. I live 

 and nest anywhere I like, from the Atlantic to the 

 Pacific. I rear my young equally well in an old 

 Crow's nest in a high tree, or one I build for myself 

 in a bush. I mean well and am a Wise Watcher. I 

 know my voice frightens House People, but let them 

 pity me and point their guns at something else." 



" Short and to the point ! Acquitted ! " said the 

 Eagle. " Snowy Owl, it is your turn." 



