ITisaveryfunnythingthatthesleepieryouare,thelongeryoutakeaboutgettingtobed;especiallyifyouareluckyenoughtohaveafireinyourroom。Jillfeltshecouldn’tevenstartundressingunlessshesatdowninfrontofthefireforabitfirst。Andonceshehadsatdown,shedidn’twanttogetupagain。Shehadalreadysaidtoherselfaboutfivetimes,“Imustgotobed”,whenshewasstartledbyataponthewindow。
Shegotup,pulledthecurtain,andatfirstsawnothingbutdarkness。Thenshejumpedandstartedbackwards,forsomethingverylargehaddasheditselfagainstthewindow,givingasharptapontheglassas。itdidso。Averyunpleasantideacameintoherhead—“Supposetheyhavegiantmothsinthiscountry!Ugh!”Butthenthethingcameback,andthistimeshewasalmostsureshesawabeak,andthatthebeakhadmadethattappingnoise。“It’ssomehugebird,”thoughtJill。“Coulditbeaneagle?”Shedidn’tverymuchwantavisitevenfromaneagle,butsheopened
thewindowandlookedout。Instantly,withagreatwhirringnoise,thecreaturealightedonthewindow-sillandstoodtherefillingupthewholewindow,sothatJillhadtostepbacktomakeroomforit。ItwastheOwl。
“Hush,hush!Tu-whoo,tu-whoo,”saidtheOwl。“Don’tmakeanoise。Now,areyoutworeallyinearnestaboutwhatyou’vegottodo?”
“AboutthelostPrince,youmean?”saidJill。“Yes,we’vegottobe。”FornowsherememberedtheLion’svoiceandface,whichshehadnearlyforgottenduringthefeastingandstory-tellinginthehall。
“Good!”saidtheOwl。“Thenthere’snotimetowaste。Youmustgetawayfromhereatonce。I’llgoandwaketheotherhuman。ThenI’llcomebackforyou。You’dbetterchangethosecourtclothesandputonsomethingyoucantravelin。I’llbebackintwotwos。Tu-whoo!”Andwithoutwaitingforananswer,hewasgone。
IfJillhadbeenmoreusedtoadventures,shemighthavedoubtedtheOwl’sword,butthisneveroccurredtoher:andintheexcitingideaofamidnightescapesheforgothersleepiness。Shechangedbackintosweaterandshorts—therewasaguide’sknifeonthebeltoftheshortswhichmightcomeinuseful—andaddedafewofthethingsthathadbeenleftintheroomforherbythegirlwiththewillowyhair。Shechoseashortcloakthatcamedowntoherkneesandhadahood(“justthething,ifitrains,”shethought),afewhandkerchiefsandacomb。Thenshesatdownandwaited。
ShewasgettingsleepyagainwhentheOwlreturned。
“Nowwe’reready,”itsaid。
“You’dbetterleadtheway,”saidJill。“Idon’tknowallthesepassagesyet。”
“Tu-whoo!”saidtheOwl。“We’renotgoingthroughthecastle。Thatwouldneverdo。Youmustrideonme。Weshallfly。”
“Oh!”saidJill,andstoodwithhermouthopen,notmuchlikingtheidea。“Shan’tIbetooheavyforyou?”
“Tu-whoo,tu-whoo!Don’tyoubeafool。I’vealreadycarriedtheotherone。Now。Butwe’llputoutthatlampfirst。”
Assoonasthelampwasout,thebitofthenightwhichyousawthroughthewindowlookedlessdark—nolongerblack,butgrey。TheOwlstoodonthewindow-sillwithhisbacktotheroomandraisedhiswings。Jillhadtoclimbontohisshortfatbodyandgetherkneesunderthewingsandgriptight。Thefeathersfeltbeautifullywarmandsoftbuttherewasnothingtoholdonby。“IwonderhowScrubblikedhisride!”thoughtJill。Andjustasshewasthinkingthis,withahorridplungetheyhadleftthewindow-sill,andthewingsweremakingaflurryroundherears,andthenightair,rathercoolanddamp,wasflyinginherface。
Itwasmuchlighterthansheexpected,andthoughtheskywasovercast,onepatchofwaterysilvershowedwherethemoonwashidingabovetheclouds。Thefieldsbeneathherlookedgrey,andthetreesblack。Therewasacertainamountofwind—ahushing,rufflingsortofwindwhichmeantthatrainwascomingsoon。
TheOwlwheeledroundsothatthecastlewasnowaheadofthem。Veryfewofthewindowsshowedlights。Theyflewrightoverit,northwards,crossingtheriver:theairgrewcolder,andJillthoughtshecouldseethewhitereflectionoftheOwlinthewaterbeneathher。Butsoontheywereonthenorthbankoftheriver,flyingabovewoodedcountry。
TheOwlsnappedatsomethingwhichJillcouldn’tsee。
“Oh,don’t,please!”saidJill。“Don’tjerklikethat。Younearlythrewmeoff。”
“Ibegyourpardon,”saidtheOwl。“Iwasjustnabbingabat。There’snothingsosustaining,inasmallway,asaniceplumplittlebat。ShallIcatchyouone?”
“No,thanks,”saidJillwithashudder。
Hewasflyingalittlelowernowandalarge,blacklookingobjectwasloominguptowardsthem。Jillhadjusttimetoseethatitwasatower—apartlyruinoustower,withalotofivyonit,shethought—whenshefoundherselfduckingtoavoidthearchwayofawindow,astheOwlsqueezedwithherthroughtheiviedcobwebbyopening,outofthefresh,greynightintoadarkplaceinsidethetopofthetower。Itwasratherfustyinsideand,themomentsheslippedofftheOwl’sback,sheknew(asoneusuallydoessomehow)thatitwasquitecrowdedAndwhenvoicesbegansayingoutofthedarknessfromeverydirection“Tu—whoo!Tu-whoo!”sheknewitwascrowdedwithowls。Shewasratherrelievedwhenaverydifferentvoicesaid:
“Isthatyou,Pole?”
“Isthatyou,Scrubb?”saidJill。
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