Apparently, there's a recording of a song called "Purple Owlet" in the Anne and Frank Warner Collection at the Library of Congress - but I can't find it in the Warner book, Traditional American Folk Songs from the Anne and Frank Warner Collection. There's an MP3 here (click) by the late Richard Marley, and the lyrics are a close match to what Kathryn posted. Can't find the song in any of the usual songbook indexes. I also checked four Jean Ritchie songbooks, three Ruth Crawford Seeger songbooks, and a stack of Girl Scout songbooks.
Tinker, please post your version to complement Kathryn's.
-Joe Offer- Here's a performance of "Baby Owlet by Slim Stevens: