The Tale of Solomon Owl.
by Arthur Scott Bailey.
I
SCARING JOHNNY GREEN
When Johnnie Green was younger, it always scared him to hear Solomon Owl"s deep-toned voice calling in the woods after dark.
"_Whoo-whoo-whoo, whoo-whoo, to-whoo-ah_!" That weird cry was enough to send Johnnie Green hurrying into the farmhouse, though sometimes he paused in the doorway to listen-especially if Solomon Owl happened to be laughing. His "_haw-haw-hoo-hoo_," booming across the meadow on a crisp fall evening, when the big yellow moon hung over the fields of corn-shocks and pumpkins, sounded almost as if Solomon were laughing at the little boy he had frightened. There was certainly a mocking, jeering note in his laughter.
Of course, as he grew older, Johnnie Green no longer shivered on hearing Solomon"s rolling call. When Solomon laughed, Johnnie Green would laugh, too. But Solomon Owl never knew that, for often he was half a mile from the farm buildings.
A "hoot owl," Johnnie Green termed him. And anyone who heard Solomon hooting of an evening, or just before sunrise, would have agreed that it was a good name for him. But he was really a _barred_ owl, for he had bars of white across his feathers.
If you had happened to catch Solomon Owl resting among the thick hemlocks near the foot of Blue Mountain, where he lived, you would have thought that he looked strangely like a human being. He had no "horns," or ear-tufts, such as some of the other owls wore; and his great pale face, with its black eyes, made him seem very wise and solemn.
In spite of the mild, questioning look upon his face whenever anyone surprised him in the daytime, Solomon Owl was the noisiest of all the different families of owls in Pleasant Valley. There were the barn owls, the long-eared owls, the short-eared owls, the saw-whet owls, the screech owls-but there! there"s no use of naming them all. There wasn"t one of them that could equal Solomon Owl"s laughing and hooting and shrieking and wailing-at night.
During the day, however, Solomon Owl he was quiet about it. One reason for his silence then was that he generally slept when the sun was shining. And when most people were sleeping, Solomon Owl was as wide awake as he could be.
He was a night-prowler-if ever there was one. And he could see a mouse on the darkest night, even if it stirred ever so slightly.
That was unfortunate for the mice. But luckily for them, Solomon Owl couldn"t be in more than one place at a time. Otherwise, there wouldn"t have been a mouse left in Pleasant Valley-if he could have had _his_ way.
And though he didn"t help the mice, he helped Farmer Green by catching them. If he did take a fat pullet once in a while, it is certain that he more than paid for it.
So, on the whole, Farmer Green did not wood-lot. And for a long time Solomon raised no objection to Farmer Green"s living near Swift River.
But later Solomon Owl claimed that it would be a good thing for the forest folk if they could get rid of the whole Green family-and the hired man, too.
II A NEWCOMER
Upon his arrival, as a stranger, in Pleasant Valley, Solomon Owl looked about carefully for a place to live. What he wanted especially was a good, _dark_ hole, for he thought that sunshine was very dismal.
Though he was willing to bestir himself enough to suit anybody, when it came to _hunting_, Solomon Owl did not like to work. He was no busy nest-builder, like Rusty Wren. In his search for a house he looked several times at the home of old Mr. Crow. If it had suited him better, Solomon would not have hesitated to take that it was altogether _too light_ to please him.
That was lucky for old Mr. Crow. And the black rascal knew it, too. He had noticed that Solomon Owl was hanging about the neighborhood. And several times he caught Solomon examining his nest.
But Mr. Crow did not have to worry long. For as it happened, Solomon Owl at last found exactly what he wanted. In an old, hollow hemlock, he came across a cozy, dark cavity. As soon as he saw it he knew that it was the very thing! So he moved in at once. And except for the time that he spent in the meadow-which was considerably later-he lived there for a good many years.
Once Fatty c.o.o.n thought that he would drive Solomon out of his snug house and live in it himself. But he soon changed Solomon Owl-so Fatty discovered-had sharp, strong claws and a sharp, strong beak as well, which curled over his face in a cruel hook.
It was really a good thing for Solomon Owl-the fight he had with Fatty c.o.o.n. For afterward his neighbors seldom troubled him-except when Jasper Jay brought a crowd of his noisy friends to tease Solomon, or Reddy Woodp.e.c.k.e.r annoyed him by rapping on his door when he was asleep.
But those rowdies always took good care to skip out of Solomon"s reach.
And when Jasper Jay met Solomon alone in the woods at dawn or dusk he was most polite to the solemn old chap. _Then_ it was "How-dy-do, Mr. Owl!"
and "I hope you"re well to-day!" And when Solomon Jasper, that bold fellow always felt quite uneasy; and he was glad when Solomon Owl looked away.
If Solomon Owl chanced to _hoot_ on those occasions, Jasper Jay would jump almost out of his bright blue coat. Then Solomon"s deep laughter would echo mockingly through the woods.
You see, though not nearly so wise as he appeared, Solomon Owl knew well enough how to frighten some people.
III SOLOMON LIKES FROGS
It was a warm summer"s evening-so warm that Mr. Frog, the tailor, had taken his sewing outside his tailor"s shop and seated himself cross-legged upon the bank of the brook, where he sang and sewed without ceasing-except to take a swim now and then in the cool water, "to stretch his legs," as he claimed.
He was making a new suit of blue clothes for Jasper Jay. And since Jasper was a great dandy, and very particular Mr. Frog was taking special pains with his sewing.
Usually he did his work quickly. But now after every five st.i.tches that he put into his work he stopped to take out ten. And naturally he was not getting on very fast. He had been working busily since early morning; and Jasper Jay"s suit was further than ever from being finished.
Since he was a most cheerful person, Mr. Frog did not mind that. Indeed, he was more than pleased, because the oftener he took a swim the fewer st.i.tches he lost. So he sang the merriest songs he knew.
The light was fast fading when a hollow laugh startled Mr. Frog. It seemed to come from the willow tree right over his head. And he knew without looking up that it was Solomon Owl"s deep voice.
Mr. Frog tried to leap into the brook. But when he uncrossed his legs, in his haste he tangled them up in his sewing. And all he could do was to turn a somersault backward among some bulrushes, hoping that Solomon Owl had not seen him.
It is no secret that Mr. Frog was terribly afraid of Solomon Owl. Some of Mr. Frog"s friends had mysteriously disappeared. And they had last been seen in Solomon"s company.
As it happened, Mr. Frog had hoped in vain. For Solomon Owl only laughed more loudly than before. And then he said:
"What are you afraid of, Mr. Frog?"
The tailor knew at once that he was caught. So he hopped nimbly to his feet and answered that there was nothing to be afraid of, so far as he could see.
It was a true statement, too; because Mr. Frog had not yet discovered Solomon Owl"s exact whereabouts.
But he learned them soon; for Solomon immediately dropped down from the big willow and alighted on the bank near Mr. Frog-altogether _too near_ him, in fact, for the tailor"s comfort.
Solomon looked at Mr. Frog very solemnly. And he thought that he shivered.
"What"s the matter? Are you ill?" Solomon Owl inquired. "You seem to be shaking."
"Just a touch of chills and fever, probably!" replied Mr. Frog with an uneasy smile. "You know it"s very damp here."
"You don"t look in the best of health-that"s a fact!" Solomon Owl remarked. "You appear to me to be somewhat green in the face." And he laughed once more-that same hollow, mirthless laugh.