THE TALE OF SOLOMON OWL





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,