"Certainly; I do," the owl replied sharply.
Benny Badger couldn't understand how that could be.
"But this is a prairie dog house," he protested.... "Where's the chap that built it? He must be around here somewhere."
"I don't know where he is, and I don't care where he is," the owl answered. "I drove him out of this house because I wanted to live here myself. And I didn't trouble myself to see where he went."
Benny Badger could hardly believe what the owl told him. But he noticed that the fellow had a sharp beak, and sharp claws too.
"I should think you played a joke on the prairie dog," he remarked at last.
"Should you?" said the owl. "If it was a joke, it wasn't nearly as big a one as I'll play on anybody that tries to drive me away from here.... I drove a snake away yesterday," he added. And he looked very thoughtfully at Benny Badger, as if he were picking out a soft place in which to sink his cruel beak.
"You needn't be so touchy," said Benny. "I'm not going to disturb you. I'm sure I shouldn't care to live in your house."
The owl was a peppery fellow. He grew angry at once.