wootles.

"Oh, Judy!"

"Wootle?" she said inquiringly.

"Rather! But hush- you'll wake the echoes."

"And why not? They ought to be up and about by now."

I shook my head.

"They're a sleepy folk," I said; "they get so little rest. The
day is noisy enough, but at night, what with dogs baying the
moon, and the nightjars calling, when owls do cry- "

"When owls do cry- "

"- and the earnest but mistaken chanticleer, they have a rotten
time. Poor echoes! And they wake very easily here."

"Don't they everywhere?"

"Oh, no! I know some that are very heavy sleepers. In fact,
it's hopeless to try and wake them without the welkin."

"The welkin?"

"Yes, you make him ring, you know. They nearly always hear
him. And if they don't the first time, you make him ring again."