The Burrowing Owl 



to greet us. Somehow he seems to be very much excited and he'll 

 bow and scrape and say "How d'ye do?" over and over again. And 

 then he'll turn around and say "How d'ye do?" backward; and then 

 he'll say it frontward again. But he won't stay to shake hands. 

 No, not he. Why? Because he's afraid. Think of that! And he 

 doesn't need to be afraid, either, because he has finger-nails as sharp 

 as pins; and if he did stay and shake hands — well, I'm glad he doesn't 

 want to, that's all. 



No, if we come too close, this funny, silly bird will fly away 

 where we can't see him any more, or else he'll pop down into his hole 

 again. It we had a spade we'd dig down and find him, but it would 

 be a lot of work tor daddy or somebody. It we could get down we 

 would find Mrs. Burrowing Owl sitting on some round white eggs 

 (oh, almost round, not quite) about as many eggs as you have fingers. 

 And right beside Mrs. Owl would be a lot ot cunning field mice (no, 

 not live mice, but almost alive mice) that Billy had brought in tor her 

 to eat. And besides that there is, let me see, a part ot a trog and a 

 halt-eaten snake and a — and a — oh, dear, I don't believe this is a 

 nice place tor us at all. Let's get out. 



The tarmer likes to have these Owls about his place, just because 

 they catch mice and gophers. One Owl is better than two cats, just 

 to catch mice; and, besides, you don't have to feed him milk. Per- 

 haps that's why he catches mice all the time — because he has to. 



This funny Billy Owl can be serious when he wants to, and he 

 wants to be very serious at night in the springtime. Then he goes 

 about singing coo coo oo, coo oo oo, in a sweet melancholy voice that 

 makes the shivers go up and down your back — unless you happen to 

 be a poet; and it you are, you say, "How perfectly beautitul!" And 

 you mean it, too. 



But I want to tell you about Billy Owl's babies, the babies which 

 hatch out ot the round white eggs — tor I think they are the most 

 delightful and perfectly behaved children I ever saw. Of course when 

 they are tiny babies they have to stay down in the ground with their 

 mama. But when they get big enough to walk, then Billy takes 

 them out for an airing — one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, 

 nine, ten! My! the ground is just boiling over with Owl babies. 



II2J 



