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"The Owl Who Was God" by James Thurber (for what it's worth)
Once upon a starless midnight there was an owl who sat on the branch of an oak tree. Two ground moles tried to slip quietly by, unnoticed. "You!" said the owl. "Who?" they quavered, in fear and astonishment, for they could not believe it was possible for anyone to see them in that thick darkness. "You two!" said the owl. The moles hurried away and told the other creatures of the field and forest that the owl was the greatest and wisest of all animals because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question. "Ill see about that, "said a secretary bird, and he called on the owl one night when it was again very dark. "How many claws am I holding up?" said the secretary bird. "Two," said the owl, and that was right. "Can you give me another expression for that is to say or namely?" asked the secretary bird. "To wit," said the owl. "Why does the lover call on his love?" "To woo," said the owl.The secretary bird hastened back to the other creatures and reported that the owl indeed was the greatest and wisest animal in the world because he could see in the dark and because he could answer any question. "Can he see in the daytime, too?" asked a red fox? "Yes," answered a dormouse and a French poodle. "Can he see in the daytime, too?" All the other creatures laughed loudly at this silly question, and they set upon the red fox and his friends and drove them out of the region. They sent a messenger to the owl and asked him to be their leader.
When the owl appeared among the animals it was high noon and the sun was shining brightly. He walked very slowly, which gave him an appearance of great dignity, and he peered about him with large, staring eyes, which gave him an air of tremendous importance. "Hes God!" screamed a Plymouth rock hen. And the others took up the cry "Hes God!" So they followed him wherever he went and when he bumped into things they began to bump into things, too. Finally he came to a concrete highway and he started up the middle of it and all the other creatures followed him. Presently a hawk, who was acting as outrider, observed a truck coming toward them at fifty miles an hour, and he reported to the secretary bird and the secretary bird reported to the owl. "Theres danger ahead," said the secretary bird. "To wit?" said the owl. The secretary bird told him. "Arent you afraid?" he asked. "Who?" said the owl calmly, for he could not see the truck. "Hes God!" cried all the creatures again, and they were still crying "Hes God" when the truck hit them and ran them down. Some of the animals were merely injured, but most of them, including the owl, were killed.
Moral: You can fool too many of the people too much of the time.
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"The Owl Who Was God" by James Thurber (for what it's worth) (Original Post)
ailsagirl
Jul 2016
OP
johnp3907
(3,735 posts)1. Love Thurber!
ailsagirl
(22,907 posts)2. So glad-- he was a very clever and insightful man.
Have you ever read Fables for Modern Times? A real treasure trove of Thurberisms
johnp3907
(3,735 posts)3. I haven't, actually.
But I will now.
ailsagirl
(22,907 posts)5. Also, of course, "My Life and Hard Times"...
is another excellent book.
Enjoy!
longship
(40,416 posts)4. Keith Olbermann read Thurber every Friday.
As homage to his deceased father. It was an amazing thing, right at the end of his MS/NBC contract.
Here's one of them.
And here's Nine Needles!
And here is The Owl who was God.