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Whether Owl is inviting Winter in on a snowy night or welcoming a new friend he meets while on a stroll, Owl always has room for visitors!
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OWL AT HOME by ARNOLD LOBEL For Grandma Contents The Guest 5 Strange Bumps 15 Tear-Water Tea 24 Upstairs and Downstairs 32 Owl and the Moon 39 About I Can Read Books Credits Cover Copyright About the Publisher THE GUEST Owl was at home. “How good it feels to be sitting by this fire,” said Owl. “It is so cold and snowy outside.” Owl was eating buttered toast and hot pea soup for supper. Owl heard a loud sound at the front door. “Who is out there, banging and pounding at my door on a night like this?” he said. Owl opened the door. No one was there. Only the snow and the wind. 5 Owl sat near the fire again. There was another loud noise at the door. “Who can it be,” said Owl, “knocking and thumping at my door on a night like this?” Owl opened the door. No one was there. Only the snow and the cold. “The poor old winter is knocking at my door,” said Owl. “Perhaps it wants to sit by the fire. Well, I will be kind and let the winter come in.” 6 Owl opened the door very wide. “Come in, Winter,” said Owl. “Come in and warm yourself for a while.” 7 Winter came into the house. It came in very fast. A cold wind pushed Owl against the wall. 8 Winter ran around the room. It blew out the fire in the fireplace. 9 The snow whirled up the stairs and whooshed down the hallway. “Winter!” cried Owl. “You are my guest. This is no way to behave!” But Winter did not listen. It made the window shades flap and shiver. It turned the pea soup into hard, green ice. 10 Winter went into all the rooms of Owl’s house. Soon everything was covered with snow. “You must go, Winter!” shouted Owl. “Go away, right now!” The wind blew around and around. Then Winter rushed out and slammed the front door. “Goodbye,” called Owl, “and do not come back!” 11 Owl made a new fire in the fireplace. The room became warm again. The snow melted away. The hard, green ice turned back into soft pea soup. Owl sat down in his chair and quietly finished his supper. 12 13 14 STRANGE BUMPS Owl was in bed. “It is time to blow out the candle and go to sleep,” he said with a yawn. Then Owl saw two bumps under his blanket at the bottom of his bed. “What can those strange bumps be?” asked Owl. Owl lifted up the blanket. He looked down into the bed. All he could see was darkness. Owl tried to sleep, but he could not. “What if those two strange bumps grow bigger and bigger while I am asleep?” said Owl. “That would not be pleasant.” 15 Owl moved his right foot up and down. The bump on the right moved up and down. “One of those bumps is moving!” said Owl. Owl moved his left foot up and down. The bump on the left moved up and down. “The other bump is moving!” cried Owl. 16 Owl pulled all of the covers off his bed. The bumps were gone. All Owl could see at the bottom of the bed were his own two feet. “But now I am cold,” said Owl. “I will cover myself 17 with the blankets again.” As soon as he did, he saw the same two bumps. “Those bumps are back!” shouted Owl. “Bumps, bumps, bumps! I will never sleep tonight!” 18 Owl jumped up and down on top of his bed. 19 “Where are you? What are you?” he cried. With a crash and a bang the bed came falling down. 20 Owl ran down the stairs. He sat in his chair near the fire. “I will let those two strange bumps sit on my bed all by themselves,” said Owl. “Let them grow as big as they wish. I will sleep right here where I am safe