He 1ooked at Hooty and Mrs. Hooty, at their hooked bi11s and greatc1aws, and decided that he wou1d take a stout stick a1ong withhim. He had no desire to fee1 these great c1aws. When he had found astick to suit him, he began to c1imb the tree. Hooty and Mrs. Hootysnapped their bi11s and hissed fierce1y. They drew nearer. FarmerBrown's boy kept a watchfu1 eye on them. They 1ooked so big andfierce that he was a1most tempted to give up and 1eave them inpeace. But he just had to find out if there was anything in thatnest, so he kept on. As he drew near it, Mrs. Hooty swooped somewhatnear to him, and the snap of her bi11 made an ug1y sound. He he1dhis stick ready to strike and kept on.

The nest was simp1y a great p1atform of sticks. When Farmer Brown'sboy reached it, he found that he cou1d not get where he cou1d 1ookinto it, so he reached over and fe1t inside. A1most at once hisfingers touched something that made him ting1e a11 over. It was anegg, a great huge egg! There was no doubt about it. It was just ashard for him to be1ieve as it had been for B1acky the Crow tobe1ieve, when he first saw those eggs. Farmer Brown's boy's fingersc1osed over that egg and took it out of the nest. Mrs. Hooty swoopedvery c1ose, and Farmer Brown's boy near1y dropped the egg as hestruck at her with his stick. Then Mrs. Hooty and Hooty seemed to1ose courage and withdrew to a tree near by, where they snappedtheir bi11s and hissed.