The Capture

moment. It was indeed unimaginable. Or was it? He remembered what Auntie Finny had said about some birds not destined for flight. But Soren had another question. "Does this owlet just not know the word or does she really not know what the sky is?" Gylfie blinked. Soren truly was a deep thinker. He continued, "Mrs. Plithiver, our nest-maid snake, I told you about her, well, she is blind, but she knows about the sky. She says
    that all snakes, whether they are blind or not, call the sky 'the Yonder' because it is so far away for snakes. It is about as far as anything can be for a snake and that is why she loved working for our family -
    - because she felt close to the Yonder."

    "No, Soren, I think this owlet truly has been completely and perfectly moon blinked. She does not know the word, nor does she have any idea of sky."

    "That's so sad," Soren said softly.

    "It is sad, but you know it makes our job of escaping easier. Maybe the monitors have been moon blinked about words. But I have to tell you the other thing I discovered when I stopped at this place."

    "What's that?"

    "Well, down a side crack I saw a place that was guarded by an owl who looked familiar. As a matter of fact, I don't know how I didn't recognize him instantly. It was Grimble, the owl who snatched me. I've thought a lot about him. Do you remember what he said when we were flying here, something about it hardly seeming worth the effort and how the owl who snatched you warned him that he might get a demerit if Spoorn heard him talking that way?"

    "Yes," Soren said slowly. He was not sure where Gylfie was going with this.

    "Well, I think Grimble has perhaps not been perfectly moon blinked and that could be really good, too."

    "Wait! One time you say it will be helpful to us if someone is perfectly moon blinked and the next minute you say someone like Grimble, who might not be, can be helpful, too."

    "Grimble might be one of us, don't you see, Soren? He might be pretending to be moon blinked the way we have. As a matter of fact, I am almost sure he is."

    "Why?"

    "Because I went down that side crack and I found out what he was guarding."

    "You did?"

    "Yes. And do you know how hard it is to find out information when it's against the rules to ask a question?"

    "Oh, yes!" Soren said.

    'A couple of times I almost did ask questions, and Grimble seemed to sense it."

    "What did you find out?"

    "Have you ever heard of books?"

    "Of course I have," Soren said indignantly. "Books and Barn Owls go very far back." These were the exact words that his parents often said when they took out their few books to read aloud to the owlets.
    "Especially since so
    many of us once lived in churches. My parents had a book of psalms."

    "Psalms?" Gylfie was truly impressed. "What are psalms?"

    "Like songs, sort of, I think." Soren had not really heard that many. But when his mother read him the psalms it seemed that she sang the words more than spoke them. "But what about books? What did you find out from Grimble?"

    "The place he guards is a book place. They call it a library. Have you ever heard of that -- a library?"

    "Never. How did you find out all this? You certainly didn't ask questions."

    "No, of course not. You see, it is off-limits. Only Skench and Spoorn are allowed in. That's how I sensed he might be one of us. He seemed to know the question before I ever had to think of a way of asking it. I want to get in."

    "Why? I think we just need to get out of here."

    "I want to know about the flecks," Gylfie said.

    "Flecks? What flecks?"

    "The flecks we're always singing about -- the bright flecks at the core, the ones the first-degree pickers pick for."

    "Are you yoicks, Gylfie? You want to stay around this place long enough to become a first-degree picker?"

    "Soren, something worse than just moon blinking
    young owls is going on here. I just sense it. Something very bad. Something that could destroy all the kingdoms of all the owls on all the earth." Gylfie paused. "Something deadly." The word seemed to hang in the air, and Gylfie stared ahead unblinkingly

    "These owlets are the walking dead. I think it would be better to be dead than be like 47-2, but you said all the kingdoms of all the owls on all the earth?"

    "Total destruction," Gylfie said. Her voice was like ice. "Look, Soren. I want to get out as much as you do.
    I think Grimble might be helpful, but we'll have to be very careful, and that library with those books holds secrets, secrets I