THE OWL AND THE PRAIRIE DOG

This owl is a prairie owl, an engaging little creature who settles into an abandoned burrow in a busy prairie dog town, establishing a relationship that's both symbiotic and sympathetic. Her keen eyes alert the prairie dogs to a plummeting hawk; they join her in driving off a predatory rattlesnake. In moments of calm each goes about his business, almost unmindful but not unaware of the other. Little Owl's nearest neighbor mates briefly and dispatches his young with a characteristic cry; Little Owl mates for life and introduces her owlets to the scurrying prairie dogs with an equally characteristic bow. It's no prairie fire but as told and drawn it becomes a warm close-up of two natural charmers, probably most suited (because of the small type and long text) to reading aloud.