sat on the top of the hillock to let her feelings calm down. The pair
of owls, well satisfied to have forced themselves upon the Little
Villager's hospitality, huddled together in their own corner, and
resumed the nap which had been so unpleasantly interrupted in their
previous residence."

"What was it that interrupted?" broke in the Child, glad that it was
not he that could be accused of it, _that_ time. "What was it that
drove them out of their own burrow in such a hurry?"

"It was a big rattlesnake," answered Uncle Andy, quite politely,
remembering that he himself had recently been guilty of an
interruption. "I ought to have explained that before, but I was
interested in the Little Villager and forgot it. It was a big
rattlesnake which had got tired of its old hole and taken a fancy to
that of the owls. So the owls had had nothing to do but get out,
without even a half-minute to talk over the matter. And hating to stay
out in the full glare of the sun, which was very hard on their eyes,
they had invited themselves to live with the Little Villager just
because his house was the first they came to.

"All the rest of the day the Little Villager and his companion were
extremely discontented. Their burrow was a very roomy and comfortable
one, but it was spoiled for them by the presence of those two
moon-eyed, hook-beaked, solemn persons sitting side by side in the
opposite corner. So they spent most of their time outside on the
hillock, gossiping about it to their neighbors, who were extremely
interested and full of suggestions, but showed no inclination whatever
to come and help turn the intruders out. That was a thing which had
never been attempted in their village, and the prairie dogs were not