The second story: Once, the Gods and Goddesses were touring the earth. As they traveled, the creatures they created came before them. Seeing their creators, the animals and birds were delighted and decided to be of service by offering themselves as vehicles to the moving deities. When paying gratitude, they conveyed their wish. The deities agreed to this idea, and selection ensued. All animals and birds wished to become vehicles for Lakshmi. There arose confusion among them. Then Lakshmi declared that she would come to the earth for touring on every Kartik Amavasya, and whoever came before her first would become her vehicle. On the Kartik Amavasya night, all creatures waited eagerly. As promised, Lakshmi descended to earth that night. From a distance, the owl, with its keen sight, saw Lakshmi and rushed to request Lakshmi to accept it as her vehicle. Looking around, Lakshmi noticed that no other creatures had arrived yet. Hence, she chose the owl as her vehicle. From then on, the owl became Lakshmi’s vehicle. Some beliefs about owls: It is believed that owls have the extraordinary ability to foresee the future. Seeing an owl’s face before 8 a.m. is considered auspicious, while seeing it by 1 p.m. is deemed inauspicious. Hearing an owl’s hoot is believed to be ominous according to Dharmaraja. It is said that if an owl hoots three times from the right side of the house, it is a bad omen. To catch sight of an owl’s face in the morning, they are often clandestinely kept. Owls are thus smuggled for this purpose. Owls can see in the dark but not during the day, which is why they hide during the day and navigate at night. This quality was needed for Lakshmi. Mahalakshmi moves unpredictably from place to place with no fixed pattern, making the owl suitable as her vehicle. Its round eyes resemble the round golden coins, which denote wealth—representing Lakshmi’s association with fortune. There are other stories explaining how the owl became Lakshmi’s vehicle.