Mother West Wind 'Why' Stories Part 12

"He thought about this a great deal, but instead of going to Old Mother Nature and complaining, as most of his neighbors would have done in his place, he studied and studied to find some way to make the work easier. One day he noticed that a lot of sticks had caught in the stream where he made his home, and that because the water could not work its way between them as fast as where nothing hindered it, it made a little pool just above the sticks. That made him think harder than ever. He brought some of the logs and sticks from which he had gnawed the bark and fastened them with the others, and right away the pool grew bigger. The more sticks he added, the bigger the pool grew.

Mr. Beaver had discovered what a dam is for and how to build it.

"'Why,' thought he, 'if I make a pond at the place nearest to my food trees, I can carry the water to the trees instead of the trees to the water; and that will be easier and ever so much safer as well.'

"So Mr. Beaver built a dam at just the right place, while all the other little people laughed at him and made fun of him for working so hard. Just as he had thought it would do, the dam made a pond, and the pond grew bigger and bigger, until it reached the very place where his food trees grew. Mr. Beaver built him a big, comfortable house out in the pond, and then he went to work as hard as ever he could to cut down trees and then cut them up into the right sized pieces to store away in his big food pile for the winter.

"Now cutting down trees is hard work. Yes, Siree, cutting down trees is the hardest kind of hard work. Mr. Beaver had to sit up on his hind legs to do it, and his legs grew very, very tired. In those days he had a tail very much like the tail of Jerry Muskrat. It was very useful when he was swimming, but it was of no use at all at any other time. Sometimes he tried to brace himself with it--when he was sitting up to cut trees, and found it of no help. But he didn't complain; he just kept right on working, and only stopped to rest when his legs ached so that he had to.

"He was working just as usual one day when Old Mother Nature came along to see how he was getting on. She saw the new dam and the new pond, and she asked Mr. Beaver who had made them. He told her that he had and explained why. Old Mother Nature was greatly pleased, but she didn't say so. She just pa.s.sed the time of day with him and then sat down to watch him cut a tree. She saw him try to brace himself with his useless tail, and she saw him stop to rest his tired legs.

"'That looks to me like pretty hard work,' said Old Mother Nature.

"'So it is,' replied Mr. Beaver, stretching first one leg and then another. 'But things worth having are worth working for,' and with that he began cutting again.

"'You ought to have something to sit on,' said Old Mother Nature, her eyes twinkling.

"Mr. Beaver grinned. 'It would be very nice,' he confessed, 'but I never waste time wis.h.i.+ng for things I haven't got and can't get,' and went right on cutting.

"The next morning when he awoke, he had the greatest surprise of his life. He had a new tail! It was broad and thick and flat. It wasn't like any tail he had ever seen or heard of. At first he didn't know how to manage it, but when he tried to swim, he found that it was even better than his old tail for swimming. He hurried over to begin his day's work, and there he made another discovery; his new tail was just the most splendid brace! It was almost like a stool to sit on, and he could work all day long without tiring his legs. Then was Mr. Beaver very happy, and to show how happy he was, he worked harder than ever.

Later, he found that his new tail was just what he needed to pat down the mud with which he covered the roof of his house.

"'Why,' he cried, 'I believe it is the most useful tail in all the world!'

"And then he wished with all his might that Old Mother Nature would return so that he might thank her for it. And that," concluded Grandfather Frog, "is how Mr. Beaver came by his broad tail. You see, Old Mother Nature always helps those who help themselves. And ever since that long-ago day, all Beavers have had broad tails, and have been the greatest workers in the world."

BOOKS BY THORNTON W. BURGESS

BEDTIME STORY-BOOKS

1. THE ADVENTURES OF REDDY FOX

2. THE ADVENTURES OF JOHNNY CHUCK

3. THE ADVENTURES OF PETER COTTONTAIL

4. THE ADVENTURES OF UNC' BILLY POSSUM

5. THE ADVENTURES OF MR. MOCKER

6. THE ADVENTURES OF JERRY MUSKRAT

7. THE ADVENTURES OF DANNY MEADOW MOUSE

8. THE ADVENTURES OF GRANDFATHER FROG

9. THE ADVENTURES OF CHATTERER, THE RED SQUIRREL

10. THE ADVENTURES OF SAMMY JAY

11. THE ADVENTURES OF BUSTER BEAR

12. THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MR. TOAD

13. THE ADVENTURES OF p.r.i.c.kLY PORKY

14. THE ADVENTURES OF OLD MAN COYOTE

15. THE ADVENTURES OF PADDY THE BEAVER

16. THE ADVENTURES OF POOR MRS. QUACK

17. THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY c.o.o.n

18. THE ADVENTURES OF JIMMY SKUNK

19. THE ADVENTURES OF BOB WHITE

20. THE ADVENTURES OF OL' MISTAH BUZZARD

MOTHER WEST WIND SERIES

1. OLD MOTHER WEST WIND

2. MOTHER WEST WIND'S CHILDREN

3. MOTHER WEST WIND'S ANIMAL FRIENDS

4. MOTHER WEST WIND'S NEIGHBORS

5. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHY" STORIES

6. MOTHER WEST WIND "HOW" STORIES

7. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHEN" STORIES

8. MOTHER WEST WIND "WHERE" STORIES

GREEN MEADOW SERIES

1. HAPPY JACK 2. MRS. PETER RABBIT 3. BOWSER THE HOUND 4. OLD GRANNY FOX