Atalapha, a Winged Brownie 
the victim pursued was Fawn-eyes, his friend and 
den mate. It takes but little to make a Bat swoop 
for a foeman’s face, even though he turn before he 
strike it, and the combination brought the big Bat 
like an arrow at the Owl’s great head. He ducked 
and blinked, and Fawn-eyes reached the hollow 
tree, to scramble in and hide in a far small crack, 
the Owl in close pursuit. Again Atalapha swooped 
at the big bird’s head, rebounding as Old Fire-eyes 
ducked, but rebounding—alas! right into the very 
claws of the second Owl who had hurried when she 
heard the snapping of her partner’s bill. And down 
she struck! Had Atalapha been ten times as big 
he would have been riddled, crushed, and torn; 
but his body, small and sinewy, was over-reached. 
Not the claws but the heel had struck, and drove 
him down, so he dropped into the hollow tree, 
and scrambling quickly found a sheltering cranny 
in the wall. 
Now was there a strange state of siege. Two 
huge Owls, one out, one in the hollow trunk, and 
in two lesser passages the Bat and the Flying 
Squirrel. The Owls had never lost sight of their 
prey, but they could not get their claws into the 
holes. Again and again they forced in one armed 
toe, but the furred ones crouching in their refuges 
could by shrinking back keep just beyond the 
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