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Children's Stories
by Margo Fallis
Real Friends Help Each Other


Real Friends Help Each Other

A frog croaked noisily outside the beaver’s lodge. The loch, surrounded by reeds and cattails, was still, aside from a few small ripples caused by the gentle breeze. "I can’t sleep," complained Digger. "That frog has been croaking for hours. Flap, go out there and make it stop."

"Why should I do that? You do it yourself. I’m comfortable right now and don’t want to go outside," Flap replied.

"I’ll do it," sighed Castor. He slipped through the hole into the icy water and swam over to the frog. "Do you mind keeping it down? We’re trying to sleep in there," he said, pointing to the lodge of sticks and mud. The frog croaked and leapt away. "Good riddance."

The sun was shining high in the sky. "Hey, chaps, come outside for a while. It’s a lovely day. The cattails are golden brown and the grass is ever so pretty," Castor suggested.

Digger and Flap came swimming out and climbed on top of the lodge next to Castor. "You’re right, it’s a lovely day. Perhaps today’s a good day to make repairs on the lodge. I noticed a small leak this morning," Digger announced.

"Sounds good to me. Let’s go and get some wood. I saw a bunch of new saplings over on the other side of the loch the other day," Flap said.

Real Friends Help Each Other

The three beavers swam away to find the wood. "Here we are," Castor said. "I’ll gnaw this tree down. You two go and find us some twigs."

He had just finished with the tree when Flap and Digger came running towards him. "It’s an eagle!" Digger shouted. "He’s after a meal and I don’t want it to be me."

"Quiet chaps. Don’t make a sound. He might not see us. We’re safe hiding in these reeds," Castor urged.

Just then a frog began to croak. CROAK! CROAK! CROAK!

"Not you again," Castor shouted, seeing the same frog that had been outside their lodge that morning.

The eagle, hearing the frog, glided closer to the ground. "Quick, back into the water," Digger cried. The three beavers slipped into the cold loch.

"What about the tree? We need the wood," Flap reminded them.

"We’ll have to get it later. I’m not going out there with that huge bird flying around," Digger said. The beavers swam back to the lodge, went inside and stayed in there the rest of the day.

When morning came, rays of sunlight shone through a hole in the lodge. "See, we do have a leak. We’d better do those repairs today, no matter what, or soon the whole lodge will collapse," Flap said.

"We’ll have to go to another place for wood. It’s not safe over on the other side of the loch. It’s much too close to the hills and the eagle," Castor added.

The beavers climbed out of the water and headed into the woods. An otter and a mouse were standing in the grass, looking into the trees. "What are you looking at?" Flap asked.

CROAK! CROAK! CROAK!

"Not that frog again," Castor said.

The frog hopped out of the reeds and stood next to the mouse.

"We’re watching a squirrel. It can fly," the mouse squealed.

"Nonsense. Squirrels can’t fly," Digger said.

"This one can. Just watch," the otter said.

They stared up at the trees. Just then a gray squirrel leapt from a high branch and flew threw the air, landing next to the other animals. "You can fly," Digger said.

"What are you chaps doing in the woods?" the squirrel asked.

"We have to find some wood. Our lodge is falling apart. I don’t suppose you want to help us find some twigs and wood for repairs, do you?" Flap asked.

"We’ll help," the others said.

CROAK! CROAK! CROAK!

Real Friends Help Each Other

The frog, the otter, the mouse, and the flying squirrel all gathered twigs while the beavers gnawed down a few trees. They carried them to the lodge and helped patch it up with mud. They had just finished when the eagle came flying above. "Yikes!" shouted the mouse. "The eagle will eat all of us!"

"No he won’t. Come into the lodge and stay for a while," Flap invited.

It was a bit crowded, but the three beavers and all their new friends fit inside the lodge. They stayed in there all day and didn’t leave until they knew it was safe. "From now on, chaps, if you’re out and about and the eagle comes, you have a safe place with us," Castor told his new friends. That night the three beavers slept safely and quietly in their repaired lodge.

CROAK! CROAK! CROAK! They didn’t even complain when the frog croaked because at least they knew the eagle wasn’t about.


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