The Owl (Grimm)
Division into chapters is editorial.
The owls arrival and the servants terror
Two or three hundred years ago, when people were far from being so crafty and cunning as they are now-a-day, an extraordinary event took place in a little town.
A great horned owl had accidentally flown from the neighboring woods into a townsperson's barn during the night. When daybreak came, the frightened bird did not dare venture out again, fearing the terrible outcry that other birds would raise upon seeing her.
In the morning, when the manservant went to the barn to fetch straw, he was terrified by the sight of the owl sitting in a corner. He ran away immediately and rushed to his master with alarming news.
...a monster, the like of which he had never set eyes on in his life, and which could devour a man without the slightest difficulty, was sitting in the barn, rolling its eyes...
The masters alarm and the towns mobilization
The master initially mocked his servant's cowardice, comparing him to someone who needed a stick to approach even a dead hen. However, when he boldly entered the barn to investigate, he became equally terrified upon seeing the strange, grim creature with his own eyes.
With two bounds, he sprang out of the barn and ran to his neighbors. He begged them desperately for assistance against what he believed was an unknown and dangerous beast that could threaten the entire town if it broke loose from the barn.
...the townsmen came armed with spears, hayforks, scythes, and axes, as if they were going out against an enemy; finally, the senators appeared with the burgomaster at their head.
A great commotion arose throughout the streets as the armed citizens gathered in the marketplace. The senators and burgomaster led the procession to the barn, which they surrounded on all sides in preparation for battle.
The heros failed confrontation with the owl
Several brave men attempted to enter the barn with lowered spears, but each emerged immediately afterward, pale as death and unable to speak. Finally, one man stepped forward - a great strong warrior famous for his military deeds.
You will not drive away the monster by merely looking at him... I see that you have all turned into women, and not one of you dares to encounter the animal.
He demanded armor, sword, and spear, and armed himself while the crowd praised his courage. The barn doors were opened, revealing the owl perched on a great crossbeam. A ladder was brought, and as he prepared to climb up, the townspeople commended him to St. George, the dragon slayer.
When he had just got to the top, and the owl perceived that he had designs on her... she rolled her eyes, ruffled her feathers, flapped her wings, snapped her beak, and cried, 'Tuwhit, tuwhoo'
The crowd screamed for him to strike, but the hero's courage failed him. He managed only one more rung before trembling and retreating half-fainting down the ladder, declaring that anyone in his position would not cry 'strike home.'
The final solution: burning down the barn
With no one else willing to face the perceived danger, the townspeople concluded that the monster had poisoned and mortally wounded their strongest man merely by snapping at him and breathing on him. They feared for their own lives and sought a different solution.
After much deliberation, the burgomaster proposed that they pay the barn owner from the common purse for his building and its contents, then burn down the entire structure with the terrible beast inside. This would eliminate the threat without endangering anyone's life.
So they set fire to the barn at all four corners, and with it the owl was miserably burnt. Let anyone who will not believe it, go thither and inquire for himself.