--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I…" description: "\"“Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I am with an eagle I always pretend that I am not with an eagle; and so on down to swallows at twilight who sca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/james-thurber-1534_bird_hens-embarrass-me-owls-disturb-me-if-i-a_2357369.png" --- # Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I am with an eagle… ![“Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I am with an eagle I always pretend that I am not with an eagle; and so on down to swallows at twilight who scare the hell out of me. But pigeons have absolutely no effect on me.” quote by James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/james-thurber-1534_bird_hens-embarrass-me-owls-disturb-me-if-i-a_2357369.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/james-thurber-1534_bird_hens-embarrass-me-owls-disturb-me-if-i-a_2357369.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bbf/james-thurber-1534_bird_hens-embarrass-me-owls-disturb-me-if-i-a_2357369.png) > ““Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I am with an eagle I always pretend that I am not with an eagle; and so on down to swallows at twilight who scare the hell out of me. But pigeons have absolutely no effect on me.”” [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Personal preferences are idiosyncratic; what unsettles one may not affect another. **In simple terms:** Different animals cause different reactions. Key Takeaway Embrace your unique tolerances. Themes individuality comfort zones humor Mood lighthearted observational Type humorous philosophical When to use this quote - social gatherings - travel - work environments Key Concepts psychology personal quirks Questions to Reflect On - Which quirks define you? - How do you handle others’ discomfort? A Different Perspective Overgeneralizing can limit empathy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Pigeons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pigeons/) ## Related quotes > [I get really nervous if pigeons are flying around before shows. I can't stand them after one once flew in through my bathroom window…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-horan/i-get-really-nervous-if-pigeons-are-flying-around-before-shows-i-can/) [Niall Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-horan/) > [“...the cooing of pigeons, nesting in the wall outside; shimmering and unexpected like a first hyacinth gently tearing open its nutritious heart to release…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-proust/the-cooing-of-pigeons-nesting-in-the-wall-outside-shimmering-and/) [Marcel Proust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-proust/) > [I love the pigeons. I just raise them, period, and feed them. Pigeons go away, and they always come back. You get a touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-love-the-pigeons-i-just-raise-them-period-and-feed-them-pigeons-go/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [I don't understand why people would want to get rid of pigeons. They don't bother no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-don-t-understand-why-people-would-want-to-get-rid-of-pigeons-they/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [I hate being pigeon-holed into anything. To me, the best thing is when the next job comes and is completely different to the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-otto/i-hate-being-pigeon-holed-into-anything-to-me-the-best-thing-is-when/) [Miranda Otto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-otto/) > [I'm character-driven. If it's a great character and something different; because I find that a lot of the times you do get pigeon-holed, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-cook/i-m-character-driven-if-it-s-a-great-character-and-something/) [A. J. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-cook/) > [If you confine yourself to this Skinnerian technique, you study nothing but the learning apparatus and you leave out everything that is different in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/if-you-confine-yourself-to-this-skinnerian-technique-you-study/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [When I first came to New York, I would scream like a girl and run to the other side of the street if there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searles/when-i-first-came-to-new-york-i-would-scream-like-a-girl-and-run-to/) [John Searles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searles/) > [No not pigeon holed me as an actor, or as a character, or as to what I could do - but what I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabney-coleman/no-not-pigeon-holed-me-as-an-actor-or-as-a-character-or-as-to-what-i/) [Dabney Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabney-coleman/) > [I'm very old-fashioned. I believe that people should stay married for life, like pigeons and Catholics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-very-old-fashioned-i-believe-that-people-should-stay-married-for/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [GIRLS SAY I'M CRAZY JUST BECAUSE I SAY I AM CHEATING ON THEM & THEN GO TO THE PARK TO FEED NON-EXISTENT PIGEONS AND…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/litha/girls-say-i-m-crazy-just-because-i-say-i-am-cheating-on-them-then-go/) [Litha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/litha/) > [You have to accept the fact that sometimes you are the pigeon, and sometimes you are the statue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-chabrol/you-have-to-accept-the-fact-that-sometimes-you-are-the-pigeon-and/) [Claude Chabrol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-chabrol/) > [If pigs had wings, they would be pigeons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-c-fields/if-pigs-had-wings-they-would-be-pigeons/) [W. C. Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-c-fields/) > [Children pick up words as pigeons peas And utter them again as God shall please.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ray/children-pick-up-words-as-pigeons-peas-and-utter-them-again-as-god/) [John Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ray/) > [The English countryside is the most staggeringly beautiful place. I can't spend as much time there as I like, but I like everything about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-ritchie/the-english-countryside-is-the-most-staggeringly-beautiful-place-i/) [Guy Ritchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-ritchie/) ## More by James Thurber > [ Salvador \[Dali\] was brought up in Spain, a country colored by the legends of Hannibal, El Greco, and Cervantes. I was brought up in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/salvador-dali-was-brought-up-in-spain-a-country-colored-by-the/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“Her own mother lived the latter years of her life in the horrible suspicion that electricity was dripping invisibly all over the house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/her-own-mother-lived-the-latter-years-of-her-life-in-the-horrible/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“Against the may, the could be, and the should, folly 'tis to balance doubt or hope.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/against-the-may-the-could-be-and-the-should-folly-tis-to-balance/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Love is the strange bewilderment that overtakes one person on account of another person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/love-is-the-strange-bewilderment-that-overtakes-one-person-on-account/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“ There was an old coddle so molly, He talked in a glot that was poly, His gaws were so gew That his laps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/there-was-an-old-coddle-so-molly-he-talked-in-a-glot-that-was-poly/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“you might as well fall on your face as lean over too far backwards”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/you-might-as-well-fall-on-your-face-as-lean-over-too-far-backwards/) [james thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [I myself have known some profoundly thoughtful dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-myself-have-known-some-profoundly-thoughtful-dogs/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/he-knows-all-about-art-but-he-doesn-t-know-what-he-likes/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/all-men-should-strive-to-learn-before-they-die-what-they-are-running/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Quick, name some towns in New Jersey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/quick-name-some-towns-in-new-jersey/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Looks can be deceiving; it's eating that's believing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/looks-can-be-deceiving-it-s-eating-that-s-believing/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [“I don’t understand,” said the scientist, “why you lemmings all rush down to the sea and drown yourselves.” “How curious,” said the lemming. “The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/i-don-t-understand-said-the-scientist-why-you-lemmings-all-rush-down/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Humor does not include sarcasm, invalid irony, sardonicism, innuendo, or any other form of cruelty. When these things are raised to a high point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/humor-does-not-include-sarcasm-invalid-irony-sardonicism-innuendo-or/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Where most of us end up there is no knowing, but the hellbent get where they are going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/where-most-of-us-end-up-there-is-no-knowing-but-the-hellbent-get/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) > [Comedy has to be done en clair. You can't blunt the edge of wit or the point of satire with obscurity. Try to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-thurber/comedy-has-to-be-done-en-clair-you-can-t-blunt-the-edge-of-wit-or-the/) [James Thurber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) [Explore all 229 James Thurber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-thurber/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hens embarrass me; owls disturb me; if I am with an eagle I always pretend that I am not with an eagle; and so on down to swallows at twilight who scare the hell out of me. 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