As he finished saying this the owl heard a loud crackling of twigs and a rustling of leaves behind him. He turned around just in time to face Shaggy Bear.
“What, ho, Friend Owl!” cried the bear. “What are you about this evening? Are you looking for wee mice or for tender little bunnies?”
“No,” said Great Gray Owl, “not to-night. I am keeping watch so that Father Thrift may not be disturbed in his sleep.”
“And who, pray, may Father Thrift be?” asked Shaggy Bear.
“To-morrow, at ten o’clock in the morning, if you will come back here, you may learn who Father Thrift is. For the present I will say that the cave in which you have been in the habit of sleeping will be Father Thrift’s home in the future.”
“So, so!” growled Shaggy Bear. “So, so!” (He spoke this last rather crossly.)
“Yes,” said Great Gray Owl, “that, at least, has been decided.”
Then he went on: “Aren’t you glad it was your cave that was chosen for Father Thrift? Aren’t you glad? Think of the honor it will be to you to have him use it! Just think of it!”
What a fine fellow the owl was, to be sure, to give other people’s things away so generously!