They know that there is mischief afoot, and the Crow family is
always ready for mischief. So on this particular morning when they
heard Blacky cawing at the top of his lungs from the tallest
pine-tree in the Green Forest, they hastened over there as fast as
they could fly, calling to each other excitedly and sure that they
were going to have a good time of some kind.

Blacky chuckled as he saw them coming. "Come on! Come on! Caw, caw,
caw! Hurry up and flap your wings faster. I know where Hooty the Owl
is, and we'll have no end of fun with him, " he cried.

"Caw, caw, caw, caw, caw, caw!" shouted all his relatives in great
glee. "Where is he? Lead us to him. We'll drive him out of the Green
Forest!"

So Blacky led the way over to the most lonesome corner of the Green
Forest, straight to the tree in which Hooty the Owl was comfortably
sleeping. Blacky had taken pains to slip over early that morning and
make sure just where he was. He had discovered Hooty fast asleep,
and he knew that he would remain right where he was until dark. You
know Hooty's eyes are not meant for much use in bright light, and
the brighter the light, the more uncomfortable his eyes feel. Blacky
knows this, too, and he had chosen the very brightest part of the
morning to call his relatives over to torment poor Hooty. Jolly,
round, bright Mr. Sun was shining his very brightest, and the white
snow on the ground made it seem brighter still. Even Blacky had to
blink, and he knew that poor Hooty would find it harder still.

But one thing Blacky was very careful not to even hint of, and that
was that Mrs. Hooty was right close at hand. Mrs. Hooty is bigger