University of Virginia Library

O owl , O owl ,
You have taken my young ones ;—
Do not [also] destroy my nest .
With love and with toil ,
I nourished them . — I am to be pitied .

Before the sky was dark with rain ,
I gathered the roots of the mulberry tree ,
And bound round and round my window and door .
Now ye people below ,
Dare any of you despise my house ?

With my claws I tore and held .
Through the rushes which I gathered ,
And all the materials I collected ,
My mouth was all sore ;—
I said to myself , ' I have not yet got my house complete . '

My wings are all-injured ;
My tail is all-broken ;
My house is in a perilous condition ;
It is tossed about in the wind and rain :—
I can but cry out with this note of alarm .