Owls in the Family

Toward the end of the school year, Billy spends his class time daydreaming of his owls and longing to be outside. At the end of each school day, he jumps on his bike and gets home as fast as he can, letting out “owl-whoops” as he gets closer so his owls know he is coming. He then lets them out of their cage, and the three spend the rest of the evening together. Wol typically jumps onto Billy’s shoulder, while Weeps waits until Billy picks him up and places him there. Billy remarks that Weeps seems too afraid to do things on his own. Billy carries the owls on his shoulder when he goes to play with the other kids. Because everyone except Bruce and Murray is afraid of the owls, Billy never has to worry about being bothered by bullies when his owls are there to protect him.

The owls continue to grow and reach their full size by mid-June, although neither owl has learned to fly. Billy reasons that this is because they have no parents to model the art of flight for them. However, Wol does eventually teach himself to fly when he gets stuck high in a tree and falls, spreading his wings instinctively and surprising both the humans and himself by experimenting with the art of flight.