Summary

“Owl” by Jackie Key begins with Barn and Tawny, who become close friends during a holiday together with their parents. During the holiday the two girls become fascinated with a screeching owl, which inspires their nicknames. But they also discover that Barn’s father likes Tawny’s mother, and that Barn’s mother likes Tawny’s father. One night they even see Tawny’s father kiss Barn’s mother.

When they return from the holiday, Barn brags about the owl to another friend, Sandra, who will later be known as Feathers to the girls. Barn lies about feeding the owl frogs and rabbits only to make Sandra jealous. When Tawny reminds Barn that they didn’t feed a rabbit to the owl, Barn claims that even events that one imagines in detail can be true.

Forty ...