An episode appeared twice a month
in The Michigan Farmer magazine.
Flattail Learns About Beaver Dams
"What did the beavers do about the hole in their dam?" Jerry
asked the next day.
"Well, now , that's quite a story," Uncle Joe said as he
seated himself at the table in the tower house. "The beavers had
quite a time repairing the dam. It had been built over a number of years.
There was a pair of beavers then, the ancestors of Flattail, and they
started the dam and the big lodge. A little was added each year until
the dam, the creek, and the lodge were as large as they are today."
Uncle Joe paused. Then he looked at both of us. "Do you know how
we got that expression 'working like beavers'?" he asked.
Jerry said that he hadn't the slightest idea unless it was the way
beavers worked. I knew by the tone of Uncle Joe's voice that there was
something more than that to it.
Uncle Joe nodded. "You're partly right, Jerry, and you're partly
wrong. We get the expression from the way they work but they don't work
like that all the time. They work hard until their work is done and
then they play and rest the remainder of the time."
"That would be a nice way to work, wouldn't it?" I interrupted.
Jerry looked at me and frowned. Then he said to Uncle Joe, "Won't
you tell us about the beavers repairing the dam?"
Uncle Joe laughed. "You didn't forget, did you?" he replied,
"and I don't blame you, because it makes a very interesting story.
I didn't see all of it, for I left almost immediately with the man who
had tried to capture Flattail. Mrs. Spence stayed in the tower while
I was gone and she told me about it.
"For some time the beavers stayed out of sight. All this time
the water was going through the hole in the dam making it larger and
larger. Then cautiously, one by one, the beavers appeared and took up
the work of repairing the dam. Beavers, like other animals of the wild,
do not have tools of steel or wood. They use only their paws and their
mouths for carrying material and putting it in place."
Uncle Joe paused a moment. "It was late in the afternoon when
I returned," he continued. "I knew that Mrs. Spence was in
the tower and I decided to stop by the beaver dam to see how much they
had done. I crept up to the bank where we were the other day and very
cautiously parted the cattails.
"I was very much surprised to see what they had done. They were
swimming back and forth, busily carrying materials. Sticks and larger
pieces of wood they held between their jaws as they swam. Mud was carried,
held tightly against the body by the front paws. The back legs and tail
are used for swimming.
"As I lay there watching, one old fellow paused and sniffed and
was I thankful that the wind was blowing from the other direction. He
sniffed again, and then apparently satisfied, went on with the small
log he was carrying. Flattail was out, too. He carried small sticks,
and as he placed them on the dam he seemed very pleased with his work.
"Little by little the hole grew smaller. The sticks and mud rose
higher. The stream of water running through the hole died to a trickle
and then stopped altogether. The beavers worked on as I quietly left.
I felt that now the beavers were safe and that Flattail could grow up
in peace. I didn't know how wrong I was, for he came close to not growing
up at all."
"Tomorrow?" Jerry asked knowingly.
Uncle Joe nodded. "I'll tell you of a journey Flattail made."
Click HERE to read "Flattail
Makes a Little Trip by Himself"
If you have questions or comments
about this Web page or site, e-mail: mary@vanmeer.com
© 2004 Leo VanMeer
|
