It was a very clever and cunning plan, for Blacky
is a very clever and cunning rascal, but of course
it didn’t deserve success because nothing that
means needless worry and trouble for others deserves
to succeed.
When Blacky cries “Caw, caw, caw, caw!”
As if he’d dislocate his jaw, His relatives
all hasten where He waits them with a crafty air.
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 and even more
fierce than Hooty, and Blacky didn’t want to
frighten any of the more timid of his relatives.
What he hoped down deep in his crafty heart was that
when they got to teasing and tormenting Hooty and
making the great racket which he knew they would,
Mrs. Hooty would lose her temper and fly over to join
Hooty in trying to drive away the black tormentors.
Then Blacky would slip over to the nest which she
had left unguarded and steal one and perhaps both
of the eggs he knew were there.
