CHOOSING THE KING 17 



ce Oh, it s just lovely ! &quot; sighed Beaver. &quot; I 

 like it.&quot; 



&quot; What do you do with the logs after you Ve 

 eaten the crust?&quot; asked Black King, pretending 

 to be interested. 



&quot; Float them down against the dam, * answered 

 Beaver. &quot;They come in handy for repairing 

 breaks.&quot; 



&quot; What breaks the dam ? &quot; mumbled Blue 

 Wolf, gruffly. 



&quot; I know,&quot; screamed Jay ; &quot; the Trappers. I 

 saw Francois knock a hole in one last Winter. 

 That s how he caught your cousins, Umisk, 

 when they rushed to fix the break.&quot; 



&quot; How do you know when it s damaged, 

 Beaver ? &quot; queried Mooswa. &quot; Supposing it was 

 done when you were asleep you don t make 

 your bed in the water, I suppose.&quot; 



&quot; No, we have a nice, dry shelf all around on 

 the inside of the lodge, just above we call it 

 the second-story ; but we keep our tails in the 

 water always, so as soon as it commences to lower 

 we feel it, you know.&quot; 



&quot; That is wise,&quot; gravely assented Mooswa. 

 &quot; Have I not said that Umisk is almost as clever 

 as our King ? &quot; 



&quot; He may be,&quot; chirruped Jay ; &quot; but Fran9ois 

 never caught the Black King, and he catches 



