to make a skidway to the water; or to make 
repairs on the dam. His front teeth grew as 
rapidly as did those of other beavers; but he 
gave them their needed wear in as easy a man¬ 
ner as he could. He was a tremendous eater, 
and that did part of it. Besides, he spent much 
time in the idle gnawing of sticks. 
If the other members of the colony felt any 
strong disapproval of Ilg’s laziness, they did 
nothing to show the fact; they tolerated him, 
making no effort to force him to share in their 
labor. He lived in his Uncle Castor’s lodge, 
helped himself to sticks that others had placed 
in storage, and dined handsomely on the top 
branches of trees which they had felled. He 
brazenly helped himself to a full share of the 
pond lily roots, for which they had dived; yet 
they never struck him, or even attempted to 
shove him aside. Ilg lived on colony charity. 
Now, Ilg lay on the floor of Uncle Castor’s 
lodge. He was munching the bark of a stick; 
one which O-Go had brought home from the 
storage pile, intending it for his own supper. 
O-Go, who was fully as large as Ilg, and far 
more active, could easily have defended his 
property; but he had not done so. O-Go had 
never in his life fought with any beaver, and 
would not bother to do so now. It was less 
trouble to go for another supply of food. 
O-Go entered the tunnel, dived through the 
146 
