CHAPTER FOUR A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS（第1页）
CHAPTERFOURAPARLIAMENTOFOWLS
ITisaveryfunnythingthatthesleepieryouare，theloakeaboutgettingtobed;especiallyifyouareluoughtohaveafireinyourroom。Jillfeltshe'tevenstartundressingudowninfrontofthefireforabitfirst。Andodown，shedidn'twaupagain。Shehadalreadysaidtoherselfaboutfivetimes，“Imustgotobed“，wheartledbyataponthewindow。
&up，pulledthe，andatfirstsawnothingbutdarkhenshejumpedandstartedbackwards，forsomethingverylargehaddasheditselfagainstthewindow，givingasharptapontheglassas。itdidso。Averyuideatoherhead—“Supposetheyhavegiantmothsinthistry!Ugh!”Butthehingcamebadthistimeshewasalmostsureshesawabeak，andthatthebeakhadmadethattappi'ssomehugebird，”thoughtJill。“Coulditbeaneagle?”Shedidn'tverymutavisitevenfromasheopehewindowa。Instantly，withagreatwhirrihecreaturealightedonthewindow-sillandstupthe，sothatJillhadtostepbaakeroomforit。ItwastheOwl。
“Hush，hush!Tu-whoo，tu-whoo，”saidtheOwl。“Don'tmakeanoise。woreallyiwhatyou'vegottodo?”
“AboutthelostPrinean?”saidJill。“Yes，we'vegottobe。”FornowsherememberedtheLion'svoidface，whichshehadnearlyfthefeastingandstinthehall。
“Good!”saidtheOwl。“Thenthere'se。
Youmustgetawayfromhereatonce。I'llgoaherhuman。ThenI'llebackforyou。You'dbettergethosecourtdputohingyoutravelin。I'llbebathoo!”Andwithoutwaitingforananswer，hewasgone。
IfJillhadbeeoadventures，shemighthavedoubtedtheOwl'sword，butthisneveroccurredtoher:aingideaofamidnightescapeshefothersleepiness。Shegedbatosweaterandshuide'skhebeltoftheshortswhichmighteinuseful—andaddedafewofthethingsthathadbeeheroirlyhair。Shechoseashortcloakthattoherkneesandhadahood（“justthething，ifitrai），afewhandkerdab。Thedo>
&ingsleepyagaiurned。
“Nowwe'reready，”itsaid。
“You'dbetterleadtheway，”saidJill。“Idon'tknowallthesepassagesyet。”
“Tu-whoo!”saidtheOwl。“We&#hthecastle。Thatwouldneverdo。Youmustrideonme。Weshallfly。”
“Oh!”saidJill，andstoodwithhermouthopen，notmugtheidea。“Shan'tIbetooheavyforyou?”
“Tu-whoo，tu-whoo!Don'tyoubeafool。I'vealreadycarriedtheotherone。Now。Butwe'llputoutthatlampfirst。”
Assoonasthelampwasout，thebitofthenightwhichyhthewindowlookedlessdark—nolongerblack，butgray。TheOwlstoodontheithhisbaandraisedhiswings。Jillhadtotohisshortfatbodyaherkhetight。Thefeathersfeltbeautifullywarmandsoftbuttherewasnothingtoholdonby。“IwonderhowScrubblikedhisride!”thoughtJill。Andjustasshewasthinkingthis，luheyhadleftthewindow-sill，andthewingsweremakingaflurryroundherears，aair，ratherp，wasflyinginherface。
Itwasmuchlighterthaed，andthoughtheskyatchofwaterysilvershowedwherethemoonwashidiheclouds。Thefieldsbehherlookedgray，areesblack。Therewasaamountofwind—ahushing，rufflingsortofwindwhitthatrainwasingsoon。
TheOwlwheeledroundsothatthecastlewashem。Veryfesshowedlights。Theyflewrightoverit，northwards，gtheriver:theairgrewdJillthoughtshecouldseethewhiterefleoftheOwlihher。Butsoohenorthbankoftheriver，flyingabovewoodedtry。
TheOedatsomethingwhichJill'tsee。
“Oh，don't，please!”saidJill。“Don'tjerklikethat。Youhrewmeoff。”
“Ibegyourpardon，”saidtheOwl。“Iwasjustnabbingabat。There'snothingsosustaining，inasmalllumplittlebat。ShallIcate?”
“No，thanks，”saidJillwithashudder。
Hewasflyingalittlelowernowandalarge，blagobjeinguptowardthem。Jillhadjusttimetoseethatitwasatoartlyruihalotofivyo—whenshefoundherselfdugtoavoidthearch，astheOwlsqueezedwithherthroughtheiviedcobwebbyopening，outraynightintoadarkplasidethetopofthetower。ItwasratherfustyihemomentsheslippedofftheOwl'sbaew（asoneusuallydoessomehow）thatitwasquitedwhenvoisayingoutofthedarknessfromeverydire“Tuwhoo!Tu-whoo!”shekithowls。Shewasratherrelievedwhenaverydifferentvoicesaid:
“Isthatyou，Pole?”
“Isthatyou，Scrubb?”saidJill。
“Now，”saidGlimfeather，“Ithinkwe'reallhere。Letusholdaparliamentofowls。”
“Tu-whoo，tu-whoo。Trueforyou。That'stherightthingtodo，”saidseveralvoices。
“Halfamoment，”saidScrubb'svoice。“There'ssomethingIwanttosayfirst。”
“Do，do，do，”saidtheowls;andJillsaid，“Fireahead。”
“Isupposeallyouean，”saidScrubb，“IsupposeyouallknowthatKingtheTenth，inhisyoungdays，sailedtotheeasterheaswithhimonthatjourhhimaheMouse，andtheLordDrinianandallofthem。Iknowitsoundshardtobelieve，butpeopledon'tgrowolderinourworldatthesamespeedastheydoinyours。AndwhatIwanttosayisthis，thatI'mtheKing'sman;andifthisparliamentofowlsisanysortofplotagainsttheKing，I'mhavingnothingtodowithit。”
“Tu-e'realltheKing'sowlstoo，”saidtheowls。
“What'sitallaboutthen?”saidScrubb。
“It'sonlythis，”saidGlimfeather。“ThatiftheLerumpkin，hearsytolookforthelostPrin'tletyoustart。He'dkeepyouunderlodkeysooner。”
&!”saidScrubb。“Youdon'tmeanthatTrumpkinisatraitor?Iusedtohearalotabouthimintheolddays，atsea。—theKiedhimabsolutely。”
“Ohno，”saidavoice。“Trumpkin'snotraitor。Butmorethanthirtys（kaurs，goodgiants，andallsorts）haveatohersetouttolookforthelostPrinohemhaveeverebadatlasttheKigoihebravestNarroyedinthesearchforhisson。Andnownobodyisallowedtogo。”