ment, the young beavers grew at an astonish¬ 
ing rate, and by the end of their fifth week 
were as large as collie puppies of that age. 
They were as fat as any puppies, too, and 
even clumsier, for their legs developed con¬ 
siderably more slowly than did their bodies. 
Had there been opportunity for such a thing, 
they would have been as friendly as puppies 
also, as nothing had as yet happened to teach 
them the lesson of fear. 
For a while now, they had added play to 
their list of activities, and had had a glorious 
time, not caring at all when they happened 
to roll into the tunnel, but scrambling out at 
once to resume their sport. Mother Beaver 
played with them, and was better at the game 
than they were, for when it was her turn to 
be chased, she could dive down the tunnel 
and come up outside. 
A dozen or more times this happened. Then 
in his eagerness in the game, O-Go followed 
right after her, and found himself outside the 
lodge and swimming in the cold water of 
Patou Pond. But the water did not seem cold 
to O-Go, because the thick, soft fur beneath 
his coarse outer hair kept out all the damp 
and chill. For a few moments he swam beside 
his mother. Then, as she returned to the lodge, 
he dived after her, not yet caring to be out 
alone. It had been a real adventure for O-Go 
21 
