self. For at night his queer eyes are
wonderfully strong and bright. All day long he sits in his hollow tree,
but when the other feathered folk are drowsing upon their roosts, or are
snugly rolled up in their little nests, with their heads tucked under
their downy wings, old Mr. Owl puts on his round spectacles and goes
a-prowling up and down the world through the woods and meadows (like
Haroun-al-Rashid in the streets of Bagdad), spying all sorts of queer
doings.

And this is how old Mr. Owl happened to see the fair Princess Putri
Balan, smiling down from her moon upon the sleeping world of birds who
had never seen her and never would see her in all her loveliness.

How beautiful she was! How bright and wonderful! Old Mr. Owl stared up
in wide-eyed astonishment, and then and there fell in love with her,
and resolved to ask her to be his wife.

Cramming on his spectacles more tightly and ruffling the feathers about
his neck, he flew up and up and up, as high as ever he dared to go,
until he was within hailing distance of the moon. Then he called out in
his softest tones,--which were harsh enough to any ears,--

"O fair Moon-Maiden, O beautiful Princess, will you marry me? For I love
you very dearly."

The Princess Putri Balan stopped chewing her betel-nut for a moment and
looked down to see what daring creature might thus be addressing her.
Soon she spied Mr. Owl with his goggle-eyes looking up at her adoringly.
He was such a ridiculous old creature, and his spectacles glinted so
queerly in the moonlight, that Putri Balan began to laugh and answered
him not at all. She laughed so hard that she almost swallowed her
betel-nut, which might have been a serious matter.

Mr. Owl continued to stare, for he saw nothing funny in the situation.
Again he repeated in his hoarse voice, "O fair Moon-Maiden, O beautiful
Princess, will you marry me? For I love you very dearly."

Again the Princess laughed, for she thought it a tremendous joke; and
again she nearly choked. Mr. Owl waited, but she made him no other
answer. However, he was a persistent lover. All night long he went on
asking the same question, over and over again, until the Princess Putri
Balan was quite worn out trying not to choke with laughter while she
chewed the betel-nut. At last she said impatiently,--

"O Mr. Goggle-Eyes! Do give me a moment's peace! You make me laugh so
that I cannot chew my betel-nut. Yes, I will say _yes_, if you will only
leave me to