4
THE BATTALION'.
So he simply fiys off through the
woods and leaves them. They may
follow awhile but the crowd can’t
keep up, so they soon fall out and rest.
Each one finding fault with another for
losing sight of “Old Man Owl.’’ “Why
didn't you cut him off from that tree
and I would have knocked a pound of
feathers out of him, at a blow,” says
one. “Why didn’t you do it, you’re so
swift?” is the reply. So it all breaks
up in a falling out.
Now dear reader,perhaps you wonder
what stirred up Brer Crow’s enmity so.
Well one day many years ago, one
of Brer Owl’s ancestors was tak
ing a midday nap when a smooth-look
ing dude of a Crow came upon him.
“Wake up!” yelled the big mouthed
Dude. “What do you mean by sleep
ing here in midday? I always thought
you were very stupid, now I know it.
If you had half the intellect I have
you might do. Why, no one ever will
get smart enough to catch me at an>
thing. I’ve broken into ten water
melon gardens already to-day, and
was shot at by four farmers and they
never touched me, and two foolish boys
set steel traps on tops of posts near
the watermelons, thinking I’d light on
them. Why, there ' never was anci
never will be a man smart enough to
catch me in a trap.” By this time the
Dude’s chum flew up and lit by the side
of him and began enjoying himself in
a boisterous laugh at the wonderful
yarns of the Dude, and .the stupidity
of the “Old Man Owl.’-
Meanwhile Brer Owl was appearing
as tho’ very much embarrassed in the
presence of such a wonderful, wise and
sporty fellow as Young Mr. Crow.
But out of the corner of his eye Brer
Owl saw a man. a wolf trapper, set
ting a s^eel trap at a distance, and he
understood it all. This man set his
traps and covered them with dirt in
day-light. After dusk when birds of
earon were asleep he came around and
baited them with meat to lure wolves
into them. When Brer Owl saw the
man was most ready to leave he called
the sport’s attention to the fact that
the man was down there scratching
around in the dirt at something, he
didn't know what. Says he to Sport
Crow, if I was wise like you I’d go
down there and scratch around with
my feet and see if he didn’t bury
something there. Sport Crow’s heart
fairly leaped to think he had convinced
“Old' Man Owl” of his acuteness. And
says Sport Crow: “That’s the man
who tried to shoot me this morning.
I’ll go down and just tear up the dirt
all around there and if he has buried
any thing there I’ll unearth it in a
minute. I’m bad when I get started
and you want to look out for me, ‘Old
Man Owl.’ ” With these words Sport
Crow beckoned to his laughing chum
and away he went to tear up things.
Brer Owl was glad to be rid of the
bigoted young scamp and he laughed to
himself when he thought of the pre
dicament he knew Sport Crow would
be in presently.
By this time Sport Crow was knock
ing the freshly laid dirt all about and
wondering if there was another such
a wise personage as he, alive. His
companion stood by, laughing in great
glee. “Click!” went the big trap all
of a sudden and its heavy jaws closed
on Sport Crow’s leg, and my! how
Young Crow did yell. The hunter
hearing the noise, came to the trap
and angrily took Young Crow out
and picked every feather off him ex
cept the wing feathers, then let him
go. About this time, a flock of per-