` And I am much too sleepy at dawn after a long night 's hunting to begin to sweep and dust , ' answered the owl . And they both made up their minds that wives they must have . They flew about in their spare moments to the young ladies of their acquaintance , but the girls all declared they preferred one husband to two . The poor birds began to despair , when , one evening , after they had been for a wonder hunting together , they found two sisters fast asleep on their two beds . The eagle looked at the owl and the owl looked at the eagle . ` They will make capital wives if they will only stay with us , ' said they . And they flew off to give themselves a wash , and to make themselves smart before the girls awoke . For many hours the sisters slept on , for they had come a long way , from a town where there was scarcely anything to eat , and felt weak and tired . But by-and-by they opened their eyes and saw the two birds watching them . ' I hope you are rested ? ' asked the owl politely . ` Oh , yes , thank you , ' answered the girls . ` Only we are so very hungry . Do you think we could have something to eat ? ' ` Certainly ! ' replied the eagle . And he flew away to a farmhouse a mile or two off , and brought back a nest of eggs in his strong beak ; while the owl , catching up a tin pot , went to a cottage where lived an old woman and her cow , and entering the shed by the window dipped the pot into the pail of new milk that stood there . The girls were so much delighted with the kindness and cleverness of their hosts that , when the birds inquired if they would marry them and stay there for ever , they accepted without so much as giving it a second thought . So the eagle took the younger sister to wife , and the owl the elder , and never was a home more peaceful than theirs ! All went well for several months , and then the eagle 's wife had a son , while , on the same day , the owl 's wife gave birth to a frog , which she placed directly on the banks of a stream near by , as he did not seem to like the house .
The children both grew quickly , and were never tired XXXXX playing together , or wanted any other companions .
So after as at before from if of on without