BENJAMIN BEAVER, THE BUILDER. 



What queer little things beavers are! What strange houses 

 they can build ! They make a sort of cabin of branches of trees 

 and mud. The mud answers nicely for mortar. 



They have large, strong teeth. AVhen they are cutting the 

 branches for use they gnaw them off with their teeth. They make 

 the sticks just as nearly the same length as they can. They dig up 

 the mud with .their paws, for they are great diggers. When they 

 are ready to build their cabin they use their flat tails just as masons 

 use a trowel. With it they spat and smooth the coat of mud as 

 they put it on. 



The beaver's tail is very short, and well adapted to this purpose. 

 As the wall of the cabin rises higher it is hard for the builder to 

 reach the top. What do you think he does? Why, he props him- 

 self up on it and goes on with his work. 



These little creatures lead an idle sort of life during most of the 

 summer months, and keep by themselves ; but the last of August 

 they form into companies and begin to cut down their timber. 



The beavers always select a place for building ciose to a stream 

 of water. To get to the entrance they must go down under the 

 water. In order to keep the water over the doors just high enough 

 they make a perfect dam. This dam is also built of branches and 

 mud. For fear the branches might move and get out of place they 

 fix stones upon them, sometimes of large size, to keep them down. 



Do you see how they can xmderstand all this? If they did not 

 have a dam the door of the cabin might be closed up with ice if 

 the water got low in the stream in winter. 



In this cabin there are two little rooms. They are shaped like 

 an oven. The beavers live in the ujjper one, and in the lower they 

 t-tore away their food. They eat the roots and branches of differ- 



