“Mr. Owl, I know that it would not be prudent for me to get closer to you,” said Tiny, without moving a step. “I want everyone to like me, but I do not want them to like me well enough to eat me.”
“Well spoken!” cried the owl, clapping his wings and screeching loudly. “A fairy told me, Tiny, that you were coming to my castle. I promised her that I would not hurt you. Tell me what gift you desire above all things else.”
“A good education,” replied Tiny promptly.
“Fine!” exclaimed the owl. “Of course, squirrels cannot expect to know very much. Red squirrels are too mischievous to learn a great deal. They worry robins in their nests, frighten field mice, steal from the farmer’s granary, and spring the traps that hunters set for martens. Can you tell me who is the wisest of all living creatures?”
“I think it must be the donkey,” said Tiny after hesitating a few moments.
“The donkey is as stupid as a stump,” said the owl impatiently. “What makes you think that the donkey is the wisest of all creatures?”
“An animal that makes so much noise must be very wise,” answered the innocent squirrel.
“When you are older, you will learn that the wisest creatures seldom make any noise at all,” said the owl with a sage toss of his head. “The donkey is most unlike the animal that represents wisdom, and he—”
“Perhaps the wisest animal is the loon,” interrupted the squirrel.
Tiny had never heard the expression “crazy as a loon,” or he would not have made such an absurd guess.