1826.]
The Owl.
13
THE OWL.
There sat an Owl in an old Oak Tree,
Whooping very merrily;
He was considering, as well he might,
Ways and means for a supper that night:
He looked about with a solemn scowl,
Yet very happy was the Owl,
For, in the hollow of that oak tree,
There sat his Wife, and his children three!
Whooping very merrily;
He was considering, as well he might,
Ways and means for a supper that night:
He looked about with a solemn scowl,
Yet very happy was the Owl,
For, in the hollow of that oak tree,
There sat his Wife, and his children three!
She was singing one to rest,
Another, under her downy breast,
’Gan trying his voice to learn her song,
The third (a hungry Owl was he)
Peeped slyly out of the old oak tree,
And peer’d for his Dad, and said “You’re long;”
But he hooted for joy, when he presently saw
His sire, with a full-grown mouse at his claw.
Oh what a supper they had that night!
All was feasting and delight;
Who most can chatter, or cram, they strive,
They were the merriest owls alive.
Another, under her downy breast,
’Gan trying his voice to learn her song,
The third (a hungry Owl was he)
Peeped slyly out of the old oak tree,
And peer’d for his Dad, and said “You’re long;”
But he hooted for joy, when he presently saw
His sire, with a full-grown mouse at his claw.
Oh what a supper they had that night!
All was feasting and delight;
Who most can chatter, or cram, they strive,
They were the merriest owls alive.
What then did the old Owl do?
Ah! Not so gay was his next to-whoo!
It was very sadly said,
For after his children had gone to bed,
He did not sleep with his children three,
For, truly a gentleman Owl was he,
Who would not on his wife intrude,
When she was nursing her infant brood;
So not to invade the nursery,
He slept outside the hollow tree.
Ah! Not so gay was his next to-whoo!
It was very sadly said,
For after his children had gone to bed,
He did not sleep with his children three,
For, truly a gentleman Owl was he,
Who would not on his wife intrude,
When she was nursing her infant brood;
So not to invade the nursery,
He slept outside the hollow tree.
So when he awoke at the fall of the dew,
He called his wife with a loud to-whoo;
“Awake, dear wife, it is evening gray,
And our joys live from the death of day.”
He call’d once more, and he shudder’d when
No voice replied to his again;
Yet still unwilling to believe,
That Evil’s raven wing was spread,
Hovering over his guiltless head,
And shutting out joy from his hollow tree,
“Ha—ha—they play me a trick,” quoth he,
“They will not speak,—well, well, at night
They’ll talk enough, I’ll take a flight.”
But still he went not, in, nor out,
But hopped uneasily about.
He called his wife with a loud to-whoo;
“Awake, dear wife, it is evening gray,
And our joys live from the death of day.”
He call’d once more, and he shudder’d when
No voice replied to his again;
Yet still unwilling to believe,
That Evil’s raven wing was spread,
Hovering over his guiltless head,
And shutting out joy from his hollow tree,
“Ha—ha—they play me a trick,” quoth he,
“They will not speak,—well, well, at night
They’ll talk enough, I’ll take a flight.”
But still he went not, in, nor out,
But hopped uneasily about.
What then did the Father Owl?
He sat still, until below
He heard cries of pain, and woe,
And saw his wife, and children three,
In a young Boy’s captivity.
He followed them with noiseless wing,
Not a cry once uttering.
He sat still, until below
He heard cries of pain, and woe,
And saw his wife, and children three,
In a young Boy’s captivity.
He followed them with noiseless wing,
Not a cry once uttering.
They went to a mansion tall,
He sat in a window of the hall,
Where he could see
His bewilder’d family;
And he heard the hall with laughter ring,
He sat in a window of the hall,
Where he could see
His bewilder’d family;
And he heard the hall with laughter ring,
