The Story-Book of the Fields 



hovels inhabited by the rats and mice. Its 

 flight is silent, the soft wing cleaves the air 

 without the least noise, so as not to alarm 

 its victims. Nothing betrays its sudden 

 approach, and the prey is seized before the 

 presence of the enemy is suspected. On the 

 contrary its exceptionally sharp hearing warns 

 it of everything that goes on in the vicinity. 

 If a field mouse disturbs a blade of grass in 

 passing or stops to gnaw an oat, the sound, 

 which is imperceptible to any other ear, is 

 enough for the bird of night. A blow of the 

 beak breaks the captive's head, and the prey, 

 after being crushed by the claws, disappears 

 in the abyss of the throat. Everything, bones 

 and fur, all goes down. It is seldom that one 

 victim suffices, and so the hunt goes on. Mice 

 and field mice follow one another, always 

 slain by a blow from the beak, and always 

 swallowed whole. If he comes across any 

 large beetles the bird will not despise them. 

 When quite satisfied the nocturnal hunter 

 returns to his resting-place — the cleft of a 

 rock, a hollow trunk, or a hole in some hovel. 

 Children must not disturb the owl : above 

 all he must not be nailed to the barn door ; 

 for, far from being an evil-doer, he renders 

 the most valuable service. 



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