The owl laughed again. “Poor little squirrel,” he continued, “you are much in need of an education, and I will help you to realize your wish. An old loon lives two hundred yards from here in some dry muck on the ruins of an old muskrat house. Whenever she tries to avoid danger, she always runs the wrong way and jumps into it. Her legs are placed so far back beneath her body that she cannot walk very long at a time without toppling over. When she swims, she makes more noise than a family of beavers. She screeches all the time, and consequently gets no opportunity to think. You know that to be wise one must be a quiet thinker. No, the loon is as dull as the donkey.”
“Then who is the wisest of all creatures?” asked Tiny, growing more and more interested.
“Have you never heard that the owl is the symbol of wisdom?” asked the curious creature. “There is nothing I do not know.”
“Then perhaps you can tell me where Squirreltown is situated,” said Tiny, eagerly.
“I do not know,” replied the owl, glaring at Tiny until he again lost courage. “I do not fill my mind with useless knowledge, since there are so many important things to know. How ridiculous of you to ask me such a question! You might just as well ask why the moon, although not so large as a pumpkin, can light up this great world of ours. There are many things that learned students cannot explain so ordinary creatures can understand. I believe, however, that if you live long enough and keep traveling all the time, you may find Squirreltown one of these days.”
“This is no time for jesting,” burst forth Tiny, his heart sinking. “I greatly desire to get home. I started out to gather our winter store in this hunting-bag, but I got lost. Mother must be quite tired looking for me.”
“Your mother need not wear her eyes out looking for you, since you are surely old enough to see for yourself,” retorted the owl.
Tiny said that he must hasten on.
“Do not be in a hurry, my restless quadruped,” said the owl. “Squirrels are always in a hurry. You are very nervous animals. It makes me dizzy to look at you. I am the wisest creature of the forest, yet you do not choose to tarry long enough to get some useful information. Do you still desire an education, or have you changed your mind?”