BEAVERS 145 



and all the beavers scamper away until the tree has 

 fallen. Then they come back and begin to cut off 

 the branches, if there is time before the day breaks, 

 for it often takes all night to cut down the larger 

 trees, those a foot in diameter. But whatever they 

 do not finish before sunrise they are again hard at 

 work upon by sunset, and all night long they work 

 just as hard as they did the night before. If the 

 Uttle beavers are more than a year old they help, too, 

 but felHng the larger trees and dam-building seems 

 to be the work of the father and mother beavers. 



The branches of the trees they drag down to the 

 stream. Then, taking the heavy end in their mouths 

 and thi'owing the branched part over then- shoulders, 

 they swim to the place where they are to build the 

 dam. There they place the branches side by side, 

 and one above another, with the branched ends 

 pointing down stream, because they know that the 

 trees will be anchored better that way. Busily they 

 work, and hard, carrying branches and smaller 

 pieces of wood. When they have a firm, solidly 

 built dam, they fill in the spaces with stones and 

 mud. Down they dive to the bottom of the stream 

 and up they come with their two hands full of mud, 

 or with a large stone hugged up under their chins. 

 The mud and stones they put into the holes, which 

 they fill up tight. 



Does not that seem like men? Even our dogs, 

 much as they know, would not know enough to put 

 mud and stones into a hole to keep the water from 

 flowing through. 



Some of the beavers are careful enough before 



