will sleep on till nightfall, in spite of owls. And 

 he would sleep on here till dusk, in spite of my 

 rude awakening, if I gave him leave. I dropped 

 him back to the bottom of the hole, then put the 

 two owls back upon him, and went my way, 

 knowing I should find the three still sleeping on 

 my return. And it was so. The owls were just 

 as surprised and just as sleepy when I disturbed 

 them the second time that day. I left them to 

 finish their nap. But the possum was served for 

 dinner the following evening for this, too, is 

 strictly in accord with his time-for-all-things 

 philosophy. 



This pair of owls were most persistent in their 

 attachment to the apple-tree. Several times in 

 the course of the winter I found them sleeping 

 soundly in this same deep cavity, making their 

 winter lodgings in the bent, tumble-down shanty 

 which, standing not far from the woods and be- 

 tween the uplands and meadows, has been home, 

 hotel, post-office, city of refuge, and lookout for 

 many of the wild folk about the fields. 



A worn-out, gone-to-holes orchard is a very 

 city of hollows-loving animals. Not far away is 

 one such orchard with a side bordering an 

 [256] 



