An episode appeared twice a month
in The Michigan Farmer magazine.
A Visitor
"The ice grew thicker and thicker around Flattail's home as the
winter went on." Uncle Joe continued his story of the beavers when
we visited him the next day. "The beavers were snug and warm in
their lodge with plenty to eat."
"How do the beavers keep warm when it is very cold outside?"
Jerry asked.
"Well," said Uncle Joe, "did you ever jump into bed
in a cold room?"
Jerry nodded. "It was pretty cold at first but it soon warmed
up."
"Then," Uncle Joe continued, "you know how the beavers
keep warm. In the first place they have the warmest of coats. Those
coats are enough to keep them warm without anything else.
"Then, when they get together in the lodge, the heat from their
bodies makes their home as comfortable as the living room of your home.
Sometimes, on clear, cold days, you can see the vapor coming out of
the air holes in the top of the lodge when they breathe. It was on such
a day that Flattail and the other younger beavers were very much frightened
and learned to appreciate their home more."
Jerry, sensing a story, settled more comfortably in his chair.
"As the ice and snow grew thicker in Friendly Forest it became
harder for many of the animals to find something to eat," Uncle
Joe went on with the story. "Then one day the beavers had a visitor.
A wolf trotted out of Friendly Forest and headed across the open marsh
towards Friendly Creek. Perhaps he thought he could pick himself up
a plump young beaver for dinner. Or perhaps he was just going over there
to be going someplace. He was a surly-looking fellow. His coat was shaggy
and his body was thin and gaunt, looking as if he had not enough to
eat. His breath rose in vapor clouds on the clear air as he ran in a
lope across the snow."
Uncle Joe paused. "I can just imagine the surprise on the faces
of Flattail and the other young beavers when they looked up through
the ice and saw the wolf so close to them.
"The wolf paused outside the lodge and sniffed. He was a large
animal, a lone wolf, and undoubtedly dangerous. Wolves usually run in
packs, but occasionally there is one who cannot get along with the pack.
He goes off to live by himself.
"The wolf spent many minutes just running around looking for fresh
tracks. Then he climbed up on top of the lodge sniffing and sniffing
as he went. At the top of the lodge were the air holes and here he could
smell beaver very plainly. Either he forgot himself or he was mad with
hunger, for he began to dig furiously with his front paws like a dog
digs a hole to bury a bone."
"Did he destroy the beaver lodge?"
Uncle Joe shook his head. "He might just as well have tried to
dig through solid concrete. The mud was frozen so solidly that in a
moment or two the wolf gave up. He sat down on his haunches, panted,
and looked around. He wasn't through yet. Cunningly he went over behind
some bushes to wait; I suppose he hoped that a beaver would come out."
"Did he get one?" Jerry asked.
"No," said Uncle Joe soberly. "You see a wolf is classed
as a predatory animal of one which lives by killing smaller animals.
I spend much of my time during the winter and early spring hunting them
so that the other animals may live."
"And you shot him?" Jerry suggested.
"Yes," said Uncle Joe, "while he waited for a beaver
for dinner."
Click HERE to read "A Visitor
From the Sky"
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© 2004 Leo VanMeer
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