A Three Sided Question by Oliver Herford
In a hollow tree on a December evening, Mr. Owl wakes and prepares to seek breakfast, believing that night is the proper time to be awake. Mr. Sparrow arrives on his way home and insists that night is for sleep, provoking an argument. Each bird calls the other foolish: Sparrow regards daytime as the time for activity, while Owl maintains that day is the proper time for sleeping. Their disagreement grows into insults and threats of a fight, though Sparrow keeps safely higher on the branches. Mr. Bear, disturbed by their quarrel, emerges from the hollow tree. He complains that he has not been able to sleep and declares that winter, rather than either day or night, is the proper season for three months of sleep. Sparrow, overwhelmed by this third and incompatible answer, flies away. Owl decides that everyone in the neighbourhood is mad and leaves for another wood. With both birds gone, Bear is finally able to sleep.
By Oliver Herford · First published 1899 · Genre: Animal Fantasy, Children's Literature, Verse Drama · 775 words
Editions
First lines
Scene: _A hollow tree in the woods_.
Time: _December evening_.
What this Textopian page supports
A Three Sided Question is listed on Textopian as a fable by Oliver Herford, dated 1899 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Fable
- Author: Oliver Herford
- Date: 1899 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Animal Fantasy, Children's Literature, Verse Drama, Comedy, Literary Nonsense
- Length: 775 words
- Structure: 1 section, 54 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for A Three Sided Question by Oliver Herford
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Animal Fantasy — The work presents an owl, sparrow, and bear as speaking, reasoning, quarrelling characters with distinct human-like personalities.
- Children's Literature — Its brief length, comic animal characters, clear situation, and playful lesson about differing natural habits suit a young audience.
- Verse Drama — The piece is written as a staged scene with named speakers, entrances and exits, directions, and predominantly rhymed verse dialogue.
- Comedy — Humor arises from the animals' incompatible ideas of proper sleeping hours, their escalating indignation, and the bear's final desire for quiet.
Tags
humor · satire · light verse · poetry · literary parody · whimsy · nonsense literature · comic writing · illustrated book · caricature · epigrams · social commentary