[Illustration: The owl] CHAPTER V. The owl looked very sleepy, and blinked his eyes very hard. "He must have been asleep," said Laurie to himself, "owls always do sleep in the day-time I suppose." "Who-oo!" screeched the owl, flapping his wings and ruffling up his feathers, and looking very hard at Laurie. "Oh, dear! I beg your pardon," said Laurie, feeling very much frightened indeed, "I didn't mean to be rude, but all the birds and animals on the farm here have such a curious way of knowing what I'm thinking." The owl paid no attention to him, however, but opened the door wider for them to enter, and Laurie, keeping close behind the pigeon, stepped in. The owl was evidently a bachelor, for his room was very untidy; books and papers lay piled about in the greatest confusion, and while he tried in a clumsy way to make room for them, every now and then he would upset something, as he was extremely near-sighted. He finally pushed a revolving globe on a stand toward Laurie, evidently thinking it a stool; it was very uncomfortable to sit on, and it had a way of turning round at the least little motion, and Laurie hoped that whatever the message was the pigeon would not remain long. [Illustration: The owl reads over the paper] The pigeon now brought out a folded paper from a pocket underneath his wing, and handed it to the owl, who opened it, and said he would give it due consideration on reading it over. After listening to their conversation awhile Laurie learned that the owl, because of his wisdom, was the judge who decided the serious affairs and quarrels among the other birds and animals. The room was built in the hollow of a dead tree--it was quite snug, but not half so nice as the squirrel house, for there was no pretty wall paper, and a great spider-web instead hung across one corner of the room; on one side was an oval window, out of which could be seen wood and meadow, and on a peg against the wall hung a warm winter cloak of soft moleskin. The owl now gravely folded and sealed several legal-looking documents, and gave them to the pigeon, who, tucking them away in the same pocket, flapped his wings, and, nodding to Laurie to jump on his back, flew out into the sunshine. Laurie had hardly time to wonder where the pigeon was taking him to this time, when he saw the farm below them, and they alighted on the roof of the barn. [Illustration: Laurie was standing on the top of the barn roof]