118 ROMANCE OF THE BEAVER 
the lodge to find their canal useless. Over half 
an inch of clear, “black” ice had formed over its 
entire length and they could not break it. So the 
aspen grove, or what was left of it, was abandoned, 
the smooth, gleaming white stumps bearing silent 
testimony to the remarkable activity of the beaver. 
The season of work was practically at an end. 
Here and there they managed to find a tree within 
their reach, but only where the streams ran into 
the pond and so kept the ice from forming could 
they bring any supplies. Around the lodge and 
wood-pile the ice was solid, except the region of 
the spring where but little formed, so that what- 
ever branches were brought had to be transported 
for a considerable distance under water. When 
they finally rested from their labours the store was 
ample for their needs, even though winter should 
last beyond its usual time. 
The months that followed were in no way 
different from those of the previous winter. But 
when spring came, instead of the father beaver 
leaving the lodge alone, he took with him his three 
older children, and lived with them in the summer 
burrow. The mother, who later gave birth to 
four kittens, lived in the lodge with the three 
survivors of the previous year. This season a 
change was decided upon. The family, now 
numbering twelve, would crowd the lodge beyond 
its capacity, so the three older ones were given to 
understand by their parents that they must seek 
