Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole

ground at one time, and they would not arouse suspicion from any Pure Ones who might be keeping watch. They figured it wouldn’t take them more than one night to get the word out to everyone. While the other owls were relaying the information, Tavis and Cletus would begin excavating. With their powerful talons, they reckoned they could dig through the earth pretty fast. They would dig a tunnel from their burrow to just beyond the earthen ridge of the Broken Egg’s crater, near the border of Ambala. Then all the desert dwellers would escape through this tunnel and into the forest, hidden by the ridges from any aerial patrols, before the Pure Ones knew they were gone.
    Neither Tavis nor Cletus wanted to think about what might happen if the plan went awry. Nor did they have the time. They had to act immediately for it all to work. They flew as fast as they could to deliver the first warnings. Then they returned to their burrow and began excavating. The plan was in motion.
    Excavating was not as simple as the two Great Grays thought it would be. It looked easy enough when they watched Burrowing Owls do it, but it was hard work! They dug with all their might, and still it seemed they were just inching forward in the earth. As the night went on, a few of their Burrowing Owl neighbors showed up to help. Even then, progress was slower than either Tavis or Cletus expected. They excavated into the next day, and then into the next night.
    Across the desert, two Burrowing Owls had just gotten the news that they would have to leave their home, or else.
    “Should we really leave, Dill?” Jacy asked.
    “I don’t know, Jacy,” Dill replied. “Odell sounded awfully scared. But he hadn’t seen any of these Pure Ones, just got the word from those two Great Grays who live up north.”
    “He said we had to leave tonight.” Jacy bobbed her head nervously.
    Jacy and Dill had been living in the desert for years, ever since the two became mates. Because leaving their home was a big decision, they decided that they needed to think about it and talk it over. They knew that they had to pass the warning on to their neighbors—that nice young couple sitting their eggs—but that would have to wait until they came to a decision. The two owls talked and talked; they just didn’t know what to do. They were in such a tizzy, they didn’t even notice the sound of digging coming from just beyond their burrow. Suddenly, the two Burrowing Owls were thrown off their feet. There was dirt and sand every where. The last thing that either owl saw before they died was the gray face of a Sooty Owl.
    The sun had lit up the desert in a soft pink light. Tavis and Cletus emerged from the long tunnel they had been digging for the past two nights. Behind them the ridges of the Broken Egg rose into the sky. Across the desert to the north, a smear of dark marked the Forest Kingdom of Ambala. They had checked a few nights ago for signs of the Pure Ones in this area, and couldn’t find any. They checked again. The coast was clear. The first of the desert dwellers began to exit the tunnel behind the brothers. One by one, the owls filed out of the tunnel, a little frazzled, but mostly relieved.
    “We’ve done it!” Tavis said to Cletus, elated. “We’ve done it, brother!”
    The two Great Grays rose straight into the air and did mirror-image spiral dives in celebration. They couldn’t believe they pulled it off. They had discovered the Pure Ones’ secret plan, formulated a plan of their own to save their neighbors, and carried it out without so much as a hiccup. They were proud of all their neighbors, too. They delivered the warning relay just as the brothers had hoped they would, and many of them helped by taking turns excavating. Cletus and Tavis bumped talons triumphantly.
    As the last of the owls began to trickle out of the tunnel, Cletus and Tavis began to think about what to do next. They had to find a new home, obviously—all the owls did. Cletus reflected that it should be easy for him and Tavis. Being two grown owls, they could nest almost anywhere. But many of the Burrowing Owls from the desert had hatchlings, and that made finding safe, comfy nests all the more important. Cletus suddenly thought of something.
    “Hey, Tavis?”
    “Yes, brother?”
    “Have you seen Saul and Trixie?”
    Tavis looked at Cletus, dread growing in his eyes. “Not since a few days ago,” he answered fretfully.
    Cletus wilfed to what seemed like half his usual