Owls in the Family

Wol and Weeps are well-known in Saskatoon. Wol, in particular, enjoys being with people, so Billy and his parents are eventually unable to keep him from entering the house. He is well-behaved for the most part, although he does like being on people’s shoulders and enjoys gently nibbling on their ears. One day, the new minister comes to visit, and when Wol lands on his shoulder, the man’s resulting fear causes enough chaos that Wol becomes offended and goes back outside.

When Billy returns to school, the owls follow him and cause him to be late. One day, Billy locks the owls in their pen and goes to school without them, but Wol manages to get out and follow him. With no time to take him back, Billy ties the owl to his handlebars, but Wol escapes and shows up at the classroom window. He flies in and ends up in the teacher’s lap, creating a huge disruption and upsetting Billy’s teacher. Billy gets sent to the principal’s office, but he just gets a warning. Then, Billy and his parents come up with a way to keep the owls at home: by feeding them bacon rinds as Billy sneaks off in the morning.