64 



OUR BACKDOOR NEIGHBORS 



mate mournfully. Mr. Screech Owl then be- 

 gan snapping his bill at the Naturalist in an 

 angry manner, as if having decided that, being 

 a creature of the day, he had no business to be 



They lived very near to the Naturalist's house in the woods. 



abroad after night. After a time the owls 

 went on about their own affairs and left the 

 Naturalist to fall asleep with no cover over his 

 head but the summer stars. As time passed 

 and these evening visits were often repeated, 

 the screech owls became better acquainted 

 with their strange visitor and came to regard 

 him as a harmless fellow. They even per- 



