“Oh, do tell us which ones do this and which took Rap’s Chickens,” said Dodo, forgetting her disappointment for the time.

“I am going to make a play for you.  Some of the Owls and Hawks shall speak for themselves, and tell you about their own habits and customs.  In fact, the most familiar of these cannibals shall have a hearing this morning in the wonder room.  The American Eagle is to be the judge, and I think that, as you cannot go to the woods, you will like to come into my room to hear what they have to say.”

“Birds talking about themselves in the wonder room!” said Dodo in a puzzled way.

“What is a hearing?” asked Nat.

“I know what a hearing is,” said Rap.  “It is where people are accused of doing something wrong and they go down to the courthouse, and the judge hears what they have to say about it; and, if he thinks they have done the things, he binds them over for trial.  They often have hearings down in the town hall in the East Village.”

“You are quite right, my boy; and at this hearing of ours, as the birds are stuffed and cannot speak, I shall speak for them.  Even if they could talk, we could not understand them, unless we borrowed Tommy-Anne’s magic spectacles.  Now, if you will come into the study, you will find them all ready.”

The children did not wait to be asked twice; Nat and Dodo rushed along the hall, followed by Rap.

In the study two tables were put together, making a sort of platform at the end of the room.  On this platform a dozen stuffed birds sat in solemn silence.  The Owls were on one side, with a row of Hawks facing them on the other.  A big Golden Eagle was at the foot, and a White-headed American Eagle held the place of honor at the head, on a pile of books.  Each bird was mounted on a wooden perch; and, as they were all set up in very natural positions, the effect was quite startling to the children.

[Illustration:  Golden Eagle.]

“Where did all these big birds come from?” asked Nat.  “They were not in the glass cases.”

“No, they were in the attic.  You must excuse them if their feathers look a little shabby, for it is a long time since they flew about in the woods, and took a bath or plumed themselves.”

“The judge ought to wear spectacles!  May I cut him a pair out of paper?” asked Dodo.  “See how wise he looks,” she said, as she put the make-believe glasses on the Eagle’s nose.

“Order!” called the Doctor, rapping on the table with his knuckles.  “The American Eagle makes the first speech, which I will translate to you.”

The Eagle looked very fierce as he sat there.  His head, neck, and tail were white, but the rest of his body was dark brown.  The upper part of his great yellow beak was hooked; his yellow feet were bare and scaly; and his four sharp claws, or talons as they are often called, were black.  He was nearly three feet tall, and if he had spread his powerful wings he would have measured seven feet from tip to tip.