In the middle of the day Solomon happened to awake. He was sorry that he hadn't slept until sunset, because he was very hungry. Knowing that it was light outside his hollow tree, he didn't want to leave home to find something to eat.  
Then, suddenly, he remembered that he had brought Benjamin Bat to his house early that morning, so Benjamin might escape the storm.... Why not eat Benjamin Bat?
 
As soon as the thought occurred to him, Solomon Owl liked it. And he moved stealthily over to the bed of leaves he had made for his guest just before daybreak.
 
 
But Benjamin Bat was not there. Though Solomon looked in every nook and cranny of his one-room house, he did not find him.
 
“He must have left as soon as it stopped raining,” said Solomon Owl to himself. “He might at least have waited to thank me for giving him a day's . It's the last time I'll ever bring any worthless vagabond into my house. And I ought to have known better than to have anything to do with a crazy person like Benjamin Bat.”
 
Anybody can see that Solomon Owl was . But it was not at all astonishing, if one stops to remember how hungry he was, and that he had expected to enjoy a good meal without the trouble of going away from home to get it.
 
Solomon Owl went to the door of his house and looked out. The sun was shining so brightly that after blinking in his for a few minutes he that he would go to bed again and try to sleep until dusk. He never liked bright days. “They're so !” he used to say. “Give me a good, dark night and I'm happy, for there's nothing more cheering than gloom.”
 
In spite ............