M?j Utile (hrls. 
185 
could only fly a few yaids. A few days aftci- her aiiiva! sIm 
took a imich-neodod bath - the (irst and only real i>a(li in 
which I hav known a Little Owl indulge. U'hcn shown her 
int(Midcd mate;, Mrs. Peeps, as we aftei'wai'ds called licf. iiiani- 
feslcd. Init one (losin>, viz.: to seize and d(>voui' him. He, on his 
))ai-l, was oidy mildly interested .in her and showed ( whieh, per- 
haps, wa> noi surprising) no joy at liei' aiiix'ai anec. Hut although 
her attitud(> towards Peeps was frankly mui'dei'ous, she was 
hy no means as savage with me a.s I ex|)ec-,ted . Although 
>he snajrped hei' heak lej-oeiously whenevcj- I ajipi-oached, she 
made no attem])t to bite or u.se her claws wIkju f touched her 
and onl.v tried to escape. nel'Dre long, under the infhience of 
a little eoa.xing and reassured, no doubt, by the example of 
l'e(^l)s' tea rle >sne ,s, she grew liiddei' and would take food I'l'om 
m,v hand, and latei' .junij) on to my arm. It took a. little time 
to teach lun- not to grab evei'V eatable I oll'erred her w ith her 
foot, a paintui and uni)leasant hal>it possessed by all Owls 
which have caught pre,v foi- them.selves, Init in the end he]' man- 
ners im]ji'oved, and her behavioui' at meals became uncxeep- 
tion'able. As time went on she learm;d to lly on to my arm or 
sliouldcr for food from any part of the room, to answer when I 
spoke f/O liei- and to allow me to sprinkle Ihm' with water when 
she wanted a lialh (like Peeps she restricted hci- ablutioirs to 
(jue wash j)er month)- Put there were limits to her tamene.ss, 
sh(! nex'ci epiite liked me to walk up to hei- when she wa.S' 
loose in the i-oom. and she Avould shi'iid< awa.\' uei'\-ously if I 
l>egan to stroke her head. W hen not feeling (piitc at her easo 
she had an amushig habit of shifting from one foot to another, 
like a little child saying a lesson which has not been properly 
learned. She was, however, always extremely gentle (even 
wben friglitenedj, and most obedient, and would return to her 
cage directly she was told to do so. Peeps also understood the 
meajiing of the order to go home, but he pleased himself about 
obeying. 
After some weeks 1 began to let the pair out together, 
though not very often, as Mrs. i*eeps attacked lier future 
mate .so savagely that he was afraid to venture on to thei 
Iloor. In spite of her age and experience of free life, she was 
nearly as inquisitive and quite as playful as Peeps, and she 
enjtyed her outings to the full. In the autumn I went to 
