"In the middle of the night they were roused by the sound of flapping
wings, followed by a whispering voice, saying, 'whish--ish,' which soon
broke out into a loud 'Whoo--hoo! whoo--hoo!' They popped their heads
out of the hole to see what was the matter, and they perceived a great
owl sitting on a stump, flapping its wings up and down, and rolling its
great round eyes about, which glared like red-hot coals in its head.
"'Mice here! Mice here! Whoo--hoo!' it shrieked.
"On hearing this the cocks nudged one another, and said, 'We are in
luck's way at last.' Then as the owl still continued to call for mice,
one of them plucked up courage and addressed it: 'If you will only come
with us, sir, you shall have as many mice as you can eat--a whole
house-full, if you like.'
"'Who may you be?' hissed the owl, and glared with its fiery eyes into
the cleft.
"'We come from Hencastle, where there are hundreds of mice, who devour
our corn day and night.
"'Whoo--hoo! I'll come, I'll come,' screamed the owl, snapping its beak
with pleasure.
"In the grey of the dawn the fowls sat on the roof-tree, listening to
Mark, the watchman, who stood on the top of, his chimney, and cried,
"'What do I see?
Here come the three!
And with them, I reckon,
A bird with no neck on.
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