Little Owls　小猫头鹰

Who has not at one time or other of his life read fairy tales and sympathized with stories of enchanted princes and princesses?I once thought of this when a country boy offered me a nest with four of the young of the Little Owl.I put them into a large cage,where they could stare at each other and at my pigeons to their hearts'content.

Let me say that this little owl is a very useful bird,for it keeps mice,bats,beetles,and other creatures in check,which might otherwise multiply too fast.On a spring or summer evening you may hear its plaintive hoot among the apple blossoms of an orchard,or the sheaves of a cornfield.Curiously enough,this simple sound earned the little bird the name of being the harbinger of death,and peasants believed that whenever its cry was heard where sickness was in the family,the patient was sure to die.

在我们的一生中，谁没有读过童话故事？谁没有为那些被施了魔法的公主和王子伤过心？曾经有一个乡村男孩送给我一个鸟窝，窝里还有四只小猫头鹰。那个时候，我不禁产生了这样的感叹。我把小猫头鹰放进一个大笼子里。在那里，它们不仅可以相对而视，还可以细看我的鸽子，想怎么看就怎么看。

告诉你小猫头鹰是益鸟。它捕食老鼠、蝙蝠、甲壳虫还有其他坏家伙，控制它们的数量，以免它们过度繁殖。春夏两季的夜晚，你会听到它们在繁花似锦的苹果园里或者高深茂密的玉米地里哀鸣。这不过是普通的鸟鸣，可奇怪的是，猫头鹰却为此背上了死亡使者的恶名。村民们相信如果家里有病人，一旦听到猫头鹰的叫声，那个生病的人就一定会死。