Evening star., 1938-02-15
Bedtime Stories
BY THORNTON w. BURGESS
A marvel he of self-restraint
Who ne'er gives voice to 1t compla int
Old Mother Nature.

A marvel he of self-restraint
VINO neer gives v95fd %otbep N eepRla1ns Naiane
DISAPPOINTMENTS are a part of
living. They come to everybody.
It Is so with the people of the Green
Forest and the Green Meadows. big
and little. 1t is especially true Of
those who live on others. Their dis
appointments are many and hard to
bear, for often such disappointments
mean great hunger. and there is moth
ing harder to bear than this.
Hooty the Great Horned Owl was
hungry. He was very hungry. I
suspect that he thought that he was
starving. You see. for long time
he had had poor luck in his hunting.
For two days he had tasted no food.
So when he discovered Peter Rabbit
SO intent on some affair OF his own
that he had forgotten to watch for
danger Hooty was SO sure of catching
him that he could almost taste that
Rabbit dinner. And then to sWoop
and miss! You see, Peter had some
how detected his danger and had
lodged in the very nick of time.
I'll get you!" Hooty had Missed
and had turned and swooped again
so quickly that he had almost sue
ceeded.
Then Peter had crawled under a
pile of brush and was safe. He
knew it and Hooty knew it, 1t was
dreadful disappointment. Some
how he couldn't give up and go away.
He flew down on that pile of brush
and vainly tried to pull it apart.
all the time swapping his bill in a
way that was most unpleasant to
hear.
You can't get me now and you
know it, so go away and leave me
alone" said Peter. Goodness knows,
1t is hard to get enough to eat
these days without having to be
you
What dc you know about it being
hard to get enough to eat?" snapped
Hooty. You can always get some
thing. There is always bark on trees
and bushes. You don't have to try
to catch food that won't be caught
Only people who have to do that
like me, know what real hunger is
like"
Il think you're stupid. If I we're
IN your place l would eat ether kinds
OF food. kinds I didn't have to
catch" said Peter
You would, would you?" snapped
Hooty. glaring down through the
brush at Peter. why don't you fy?"
What has that got TO do with the
question? 1 can't fly, and you know
it," retorted Peter.
And you know, or ought to know,
that I can't eat food that Mother
Nature didn't intend me to eat. She
made me meat eater and meat I
must have or starve. She made a
mistake. That's what she did She
made a mistake. 1 guess she wanted
me to starve," complained Hooty.
Don't be silly. Mother Nature
doesn't make mistakes" replied Peter.
You wouldn't be SO sure if you
were starving as am" replied Hooty.
I'm not given to complaining, but
is pretty tough on a fellow to be
given an appetite for just one kind
of food and then have that food
almost impossible to get Just as
if it wasn't bad enough at best the
weather makes it twice as bad.
Hard luck" said Peter.
And that isn't ALL" continued
Hooty. Those two-legged creatures
called Men try to kill me with terrible
guns. just as if l haven't a hard
enough time hunting without being
hunted!'
DO you good replied Peter I'M
feelingly. Those who hunt others
ought to be hunted themselves so
they may learn how it feels"
Copyright, 1881