XXVI 



THE BEAVER'S STORY 

 (as told by himself) 



^EAVERS are strangely wise animals," 

 said Dr. Roy, the evening that Nat 

 chose a Beaver picture, "and the 

 best' way to give you a glimpse of 

 their habits and homes will be to read 

 you a Beaver's story of himself." 

 So saying the Doctor took some 

 gv sheets of paper from the table 

 and asked Nat to bring a lamp, 

 for they usually listened to the 

 stories by the fire-light alone. 



" Who wrote this story ? " asked Dodo, " for of course 

 a Beaver can't write, at least, I mean, in our lan- 

 guage," for she had come to believe that animals can 

 do almost everything. " Is it your writing, Uncle Roy, 

 or is it daddy's ? " 



" Come and see for yourself." 



" It is nobody's writing ; it is printed with a type- 

 writing machine," said Olive. "I suppose Olaf would 

 say that the Dream Fox did it." 



" No questions answered," laughed the Doctor. " No 

 matter how the story found its way into words, or if it 

 sounds like a fairy tale, I can promise that every word 



365 



