But it was doubtful whether they would be able to reach the bushes in time, for when the owl hooted again, they could hear that he was very much nearer to them than before.
"Don't be afraid," said the rat, who now seemed to be quite enjoying the adventure. But Fuzz and Buzz, who could neither swim nor dive like the water-rat, were not able to help being afraid.
Again and again the owl hooted, and each time the cry sounded nearer.
"Never you mind," said the rat, as he dived right underneath their raft and came up on the other side, "he sha'n't catch you."
But Fuzz and Buzz did mind, and they thought as they crept close to each other in a great fright, that it would be sad indeed if the owl had them for his supper that night.
"He wouldn't look at you if he thought there was a chance of his getting me," said the rat. "You see, I am so much bigger that I would do for his breakfast next morning as well. Hullo! There he is, right overhead. Now, you watch, and you will see some fun."
And the rat suddenly swam about two or three yards in front of the raft, and made such a loud splashing with his paws and his tail that the owl could not help seeing him. In a moment he swooped down upon the water, and Buzz and Fuzz squeaked with terror. For they thought that their friend must have been caught. But not a bit of it. Just as the owl made that quick swoop the rat dived beneath the water, and the owl rose again without having caught him.
But the owl had heard their squeak, and he said to himself, that if he could not get a rat for his supper a mouse would do just as well. So down he flew again, and Fuzz and Buzz thought that their last moment had come. But when the owl was so close to them that they could see his sharp beak and his cruel claws quite plainly, their tails, which were floating in the water, were suddenly pulled, and they tumbled backwards head over heels into the stream.