four o'clock
I found that Beauty was happy only when admiring himself , or deep in mischief . His chief delight was to mount the stone wall , and utter his raucous note , again and again , as a carriage passed , often scaring the horses into dangerous antics , and causing severe , if not profane criticism . Or he would steal slyly into a neighbor 's barn and kill half a dozen chickens at a time . He was awake every morning by four o'clock , and would announce the glories of the coming dawn by a series of ear-splitting notes , disturbing not only all my guests , but the various families within range , until complaints and petitions were sent in . He became a nuisance -- but how could he be muzzled ? And he was so gloriously handsome ! Visitors from town would come expressly to see him .