“Contrary ‘No,’” shrieked the Eagle.
Silence from everybody, for they were quite used to public meetings now, and the wiser birds and beasts always watched the foolish ones and cuffed them if they made a sound.
“The motion is carried,” said the Eagle. “The Owl will now send a telegram to admit them. The message will reach the Sandpiper and all will be right in ten minutes.”
The Owl, being a wise old bird, had the telegram prepared beforehand. It said:
ACCEPT TERMS. SEND MESSAGE TO SANDPIPER AND COME AT ONCE.
If you will count, you will see that this telegram has exactly ten words. Wasn’t that very clever of the Owl?
The ten minutes passed very quickly, as everybody was talking in little groups about telegrams. Many tried to write them. You could hear a group of young crows counting the words, “Caw, caw, caw.”
The oldest Bat in the world appeared
Suddenly, without a word of warning, the oldest Bat in the world appeared with four or five foolish moth millers. Of course no butterflies came.