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The Adventures of Paddy the Beaver ................................................................................................................1

Thornton W. Burgess ...............................................................................................................................1

CHAPTER I Paddy the Beaver Begins Work. ........................................................................................1

CHAPTER II Paddy Plans a Pond. .........................................................................................................2

CHAPTER III Paddy Has Many Visitors...............................................................................................3

CHAPTER IV Sammy Jay Speaks His Mind .........................................................................................4

CHAPTER V Paddy Keeps His Promise. ...............................................................................................5

CHAPTER VI Farmer Brown's Boy Grows Curious.............................................................................6

CHAPTER VII Farmer Brown's Boy Gets Another Surprise. ................................................................7

CHAPTER VIII Peter Rabbit Gets a Ducking. ......................................................................................8

CHAPTER IX Paddy Plans a House......................................................................................................9

CHAPTER X Paddy Starts His House.................................................................................................10

CHAPTER XI Peter Rabbit and Jerry Muskrat Are Puzzled...............................................................11

CHAPTER XII Jerry Muskrat Learns Something...............................................................................12

CHAPTER XIII The Queer Storehouse. ...............................................................................................14

CHAPTER XIV A Footprint in the Mud. .............................................................................................15

CHAPTER XV Sammy Jay Makes Paddy a Call. ................................................................................16

CHAPTER XVI Old Man Coyote is Very Crafty................................................................................17

CHAPTER XVII Old Man Coyote is Disappointed. ............................................................................18

CHAPTER XVIII Old Man Coyote Tries Another Plan......................................................................19

CHAPTER XIX Paddy and Sammy Jay Become Friends. ...................................................................20

CHAPTER XX Sammy Jay Offers To Help Paddy. .............................................................................21

CHAPTER XXI Paddy and Sammy Jay Work Together.....................................................................22

CHAPTER XXII Paddy Finishes His Harvest. .....................................................................................23

This little rhyme Paddy the Beaver made up as he toiled at building the dam which was to make the pond he

so much desired deep in the Green Forest. Of course it wasn't quite true, that about working all night and all

day. Nobody could do that, you know, and keep it up. Everybody has to rest and sleep. Yes, and everybody

has to play a little to be at their best. So it wasn't quite true that Paddy worked all day after working all night.

But it was true that Paddy had no time to play. He had too much to do. He had had his playtime during the

Now, of all the little workers in the Green Forest, on the Green Meadows, and in the Smiling Pool, none can

compare with Paddy the Beaver, not even his cousin, Jerry Muskrat. Happy Jack Squirrel and Striped

Chipmunk store up food for the long, cold months when rough Brother North Wind and Jack Frost rule, and

Jerry Muskrat builds a fine house wherein to keep warm and comfortable, but all this is as nothing to the

As I said before, Paddy had had a long playtime through the summer. He had wandered up and down the

Laughing Brook. He had followed it way up to the place where it started. And all the time he had been

studying and studying to make sure that he wanted to stay in the Green Forest. In the first place, he had to be

sure that there was plenty of the kind of food that he likes. Then he had to be equally sure that he could make

a pond near where this particular food grew. Last of all, he had to satisfy himself that if he did make a pond

and build a home, he would be reasonably safe in it. And all these things he had done in his playtime. Now he

was ready to go to work, and when Paddy begins work, he sticks to it until it is finished. He says that is the

Now Paddy the Beaver can see at night just as Reddy Fox and Peter Rabbit and Bobby Coon can, and he likes

the night best, because he feels safest then. But he can see in the daytime too, and when he feels that he is

perfectly safe and no one is watching, he works then too. Of course, the first thing to do was to build a dam

across the Laughing Brook to make the pond he so much needed. He chose a low, open place deep in the

Green Forest, around the edge of which grew many young aspen trees, the bark of which is his favorite food.

Through the middle of this open place flowed the Laughing Brook. At the lower edge was just the place for a

dam. It would not have to be very long, and when it was finished and the water was stopped in the Laughing

Brook, it would just have to flow over the low, open place and make a pond there. Paddy's eyes twinkled

when he first saw it. It was right then that he made up his mind to stay in the Green Forest.

So now that he was ready to begin his dam he went up the Laughing Brook to a place where alders and

willows grew, and there he began work; that work was the cutting of a great number of trees by means of his

big front teeth which were given him for just this purpose. And as he worked, Paddy was happy, for one can

Paddy the Beaver was busy cutting down trees for the dam he had planned to build. Up in the woods of the

North from which he had come to the Green Forest, he had learned all about treecutting and dambuilding

and canaldigging and housebuilding. Paddy's father and mother had been very wise in the Beaver world,

and Paddy had been quick to learn. So now he knew just what to do and the best way of doing it. You know,

a great many people waste time and labor doing things the wrong way, so that they have to be done over

again. They forget to be sure they are right, and so they go ahead until they find they are wrong, and all their

But Paddy the Beaver isn't this kind. Paddy would never have leaped into the spring with the steep sides

without looking, as Grandfather Frog did. So now he carefully picked out the trees to cut. He could not afford

to waste time cutting down a tree that wasn't going to be just what he wanted when it was down. When he

was sure that the tree was right, he looked up at the top to find out whether, when he had cut it, it would fall

clear of other trees. He had learned to do that when he was quite young and heedless. He remembered just

how he had felt when, after working hard, oh, so hard, to cut a big tree, he had warned all his friends to get

out of the way so that they would not be hurt when it fell, and then it hadn't fallen at all because the top had

caught in another tree. He was so mortified that he didn't get over it for a long time.

So now he made sure that a tree was going to fall clear and just where he wanted it. Then he sat up on his

hind legs, and with his great broad tail for a brace, began to make the chips fly. You know Paddy has the

most wonderful teeth for cutting. They are long and broad and sharp. He would begin by making a deep bite,

and then another just a little way below. Then he would pry out the little piece of wood between. When he

had cut very deep on one side so that the tree would fall that way, he would work around to the other side.

Just as soon as the tree began to lean and he was sure that it was going to fall, he would scamper away so as

to be out of danger. He loved to see those tall trees lean forward slowly, then faster and faster, till they struck

Just as soon as they were down, he would trim off the branches until the trees where just long poles. This was

easy work, for he could take off a goodsized branch with one bite. On many he left their bushy tops. When

he had trimmed them to suit him and had cut them into the right lengths, he would tug and pull them down to

There he placed the poles side by side, not across the Laughing Brook like a bridge, but with the big ends

pointing up the Laughing Brook, which was quite broad but shallow right there. To keep them from floating

away, he rolled stones and piled mud on the bushy ends. Clear across on both sides he laid those poles until

the water began to rise. Then he dragged more poles and piled them on top of these and wedged short sticks

And all the time the Laughing Brook was having harder and harder work to run. Its merry laugh grew less

merry and finally almost stopped, because, you see, the water could not get through between all those poles

and sticks fast enough. It was just about that time that the little people of the Smiling Pool decided that it was

time to see just what Paddy was doing, and they started up the Laughing Brook, leaving only Grandfather

Frog and the tadpoles in the Smiling Pool, which for a little while would smile no more.

Paddy the Beaver knew perfectly well that he would have visitors just as soon as he began to build his dam.

He expected a lot of them. You see he knew that none of them ever had seen a Beaver at work unless perhaps

it was Prickly Porky the Porcupine, who also had come down from the North. So as he worked he kept his

ears open, and he smiled to himself as he heard a little rustle here and then a little rustle there. He knew just

what those little rustles meant. Each one meant another visitor. Yes, Sir, each rustle meant another visitor,

Paddy chuckled. "Seems to me that you are dreadfully afraid to show yourselves," said he in a loud voice,

just as if he were talking to nobody in particular. Everything was still. There wasn't so much as a rustle after

Paddy spoke. He chuckled again. He could just feel ever so many eyes watching him, though he didn't see a

single pair. And he knew that the reason his visitors were hiding so carefully was because they were afraid of

him. You see, Paddy was much bigger than most of the little meadow and forest people, and they didn't know

what kind of a temper he might have. It is always safest to be very distrustful of strangers. That is one of the

Of course, Paddy knew all about this. He had been brought up that way. "Be sure, and then you'll never be

sorry" had been one of his mother's favorite sayings, and he had always remembered it. Indeed, it had saved

him a great deal of trouble. So now he was perfectly willing to go right on working and let his hidden visitors

watch him until they were sure that he meant them no harm. You see, he himself felt quite sure that none of

them was big enough to do him any harm. Little Joe Otter was the only one he had any doubts about, and he

felt quite sure that Little Joe wouldn't try to pick a quarrel. So he kept right on cutting trees, trimming off the

branches, and hauling the trunks down to the dam he was building. Some of them he floated down the

Now when the little people of the Smiling Pool, who were the first to find out that Paddy the Beaver had

come to the Green Forest, had started up the Laughing Brook to see what he was doing, they had told the

Merry Little Breezes where they were going. The Merry Little Breezes had been greatly excited. They

couldn't understand how a stranger could have been living in the Green Forest without their knowledge. You

see, they quite forgot that they very seldom wandered to the deepest part of the Green Forest. Of course they

started at once, as fast as they could go, to tell all the other little people who live on or around the Green

Meadows, all but Old Man Coyote. For some reason they thought it best not to tell him. They were a little

doubtful about Old Man Coyote. He was so big and strong and so sly and smart that all his neighbors were

afraid of him. Perhaps the Merry Little Breezes had this fact in mind, and knew that none would dare go to

call on the stranger if they knew that Old Man Coyote was going too. Anyway, they simply passed the time

of day with Old Mr. Coyote and hurried on to tell everyone else, and the very last one they met was Sammy

When Sammy Jay reached the place deep in the Green Forest Where Paddy the Beaver was so hard at work,

he didn't hide as had the little fourfooted people. You see, of course, he had no reason to hide, because he

felt perfectly safe. Paddy had just cut a big tree, and it fell with a crash as Sammy came hurrying up. Sammy

was so surprised that for a minute he couldn't find his tongue. He had not supposed that anybody but Farmer

Brown or Farmer Brown's boy could cut down so large a tree as that, and it quite took his breath away. But he

got it again in a minute. He was boiling with anger, anyway, to think that he should have been the last to

learn that Paddy had come down from the North to make his home in the Green Forest, and here was a

Paddy the Beaver looked up with a twinkle in his eyes. "Hello, Mr. Jay. I see you haven't any better manners

"Meaning yourself, I suppose," said Paddy. "I never did see an honest Jay, and I don't suppose I ever will."

"Oh, how do you do, Mr. Rabbit? I'm very glad you have called on me this morning," said Paddy, just as if he

hadn't known all the time just where Peter was. "Mr. Jay seems to have gotten out of the wrong side of his

Peter laughed again. "He always does," said he. "If he didn't, he wouldn't be happy. You wouldn't think it to

look at him, but he is happy right now. He doesn't know it, but he is. He always is happy when he can show

Sammy Jay glared down at Peter. Then he glared at Paddy. And all the time he still shrieked "Thief!" as hard

as ever he could. Paddy kept right on working, paying no attention to Sammy. This made Sammy more angry

than ever. He kept coming nearer and nearer until at last he was in the very tree that Paddy happened to be

"They're not your trees," retorted Paddy. "They belong to the Green Forest, and the Green Forest belongs to

all who love it, and we all have a perfect right to take what we need from it. I need these trees, and I've just as

much right to take them as you have to take the fat acorns that drop in the fall."

"No such thing!" screamed Sammy. You know he can't talk without screaming, and the more excited he gets,

the louder he screams. "No such thing! Acorns are food. They are meant to eat. I have to have them to live.

But you are cutting down whole trees. You are spoiling the Green Forest. You don't belong here. Nobody

"Don't you mind him," said he, pointing at Sammy Jay. "Nobody does. He's the greatest troublemaker in the

Green Forest or on the Green Meadows. He would steal from his own relatives. Don't mind what he says,

Now all this time Paddy had been working away just as if no one was around. Just as Jerry stopped speaking,

Paddy thumped the ground with his tail, which is his way of warning people to watch out, and suddenly

scurried away as fast as he could run. Sammy Jay was so surprised that he couldn't find his tongue for a

minute, and he didn't notice anything peculiar about that tree. Then suddenly he felt himself falling. With a

frightened scream, he spread his wings to fly, but branches of the tree swept him down with them right into

the Laughing Brook. You see, while Sammy had been speaking his mind, Paddy the Beaver had cut down the

Sammy wasn't hurt, but he was wet and muddy and terribly frightenedthe most miserablelooking Jay that

ever was seen. It was too much for all the little people who were hiding. They just had to laugh. Then they all

Paddy the Beaver kept right on working just as if he hadn't any visitors. You see, it is a big undertaking to

build a dam. And when that was done there was a house to build and a supply of food for the winter to cut

and store. Oh, Paddy the Beaver had no time for idle gossip, you may be sure! So he kept right on building

his dam. It didn't look much like a dam at first, and some of Paddy's visitors turned up their noses when they

first saw it. They had heard stories of what a wonderful dambuilder Paddy was, and they had expected to

see something like the smooth, grasscovered bank with which Farmer Brown kept the Big River from

running back on his low lands. Instead, all they saw was a great pile of poles and sticks which looked like

"Pooh!" exclaimed Billy Mink, "I guess we needn't worry about the Laughing Brook and the Smiling Pool, if

that is the best Paddy can do. Why, the water of the Laughing Brook will work through that in no time."

"Just look at the way he has laid those sticks!" continued Billy Mink. "Seems as if anyone would know

enough to lay them across the Laughing Brook instead of just the other way. I could build a better dam than

"Yes, Sir," Billy boasted. "I could build a better dam than that. Why, that pile of sticks will never stop the

"Is something the matter with your eyesight, Billy Mink?" inquired Jerry Muskrat.

"Oh, nothing much, only you don't seem to notice that already the Laughing Brook is over its banks above

Paddy's dam," replied Jerry, who had been studying the dam with a great deal of interest.

Billy looked a wee bit foolish, for sure enough there was a little pool just above the dam, and it was growing

Sammy was terribly put out to think that anything should be going on that he didn't know about first. You

know he is very fond of prying into the affairs of other people, and he loves dearly to boast that there is

nothing going on in the Green Forest or on the Green Meadows that he doesn't know about. So now his pride

was hurt, and he was in a terrible rage as he started after the Merry Little Breezes for the place deep in the

Green Forest where they said Paddy the Beaver was at work. He didn't believe a word of it, but he would see

Paddy still kept at work, saying nothing. He was digging in front of the dam now, and the mud and grass he

dug up he stuffed in between the ends of the sticks and patted them down with his hands. He did this all along

the front of the dam and on top of it, too, wherever he thought it was needed. Of course this made it harder

for the water to work through, and the little pond above the dam began to grow faster. It wasn't a great while

before it was nearly to the top of the dam, which at first was very low. Then Paddy brought more sticks. This

was easier now, because he could float them down from where he was cutting. He would put them in place on

the top of the dam, then hurry for more. Wherever it was needed, he would put in mud. He even rolled a few

So the dam grew and grew, and so did the pond above the dam. Of course, it took a good many days to build

so big a dam, and a lot of hard work! Every morning the little people of the Green Forest and the Green

Meadow would visit it, and every morning they would find that it had grown a great deal in the night, for that

By this time, the Laughing Brook had stopped laughing, and down in the Smiling Pool there was hardly water

enough for the minnows to feel safe a minute. Billy Mink had stopped making fun of the dam, and all the

little people who live in the Laughing Brook and Smiling Pool were terribly worried.

To be sure, Paddy had warned them of what he was going to do, and had promised that as soon as his pond

was big enough, the water would once more run in the Laughing Brook. They tried to believe him, but they

couldn't help having just a wee bit of fear that he might not be wholly honest. You see, they didn't know him,

for he was a stranger. Jerry Muskrat was the only one who seemed absolutely sure that everything would be

all right. Perhaps that was because Paddy is his cousin, and Jerry couldn't help feeling proud of such a big

So day by day the dam grew, and pond grew, and one morning Grandfather Frog, down in what had once

been the Smiling Pool, heard a sound that made his heart jump for joy. It was a murmur that kept growing

and growing, until at last it was the merry laugh of the Laughing Brook. Then he knew that Paddy had kept

Now it happened that the very day before Paddy the Beaver decided that his pond was big enough, and so

allowed the water to run in the Laughing Brook once more, Farmer Brown's boy took it into his head to go

fishing in the Smiling Pool. Just as usual he went whistling down across the Green Meadows. Somehow,

when he goes fishing, he always feels like whistling. Grandfather Frog heard him coming and dived into the

little bit of water remaining in the Smiling Pool and stirred up the mud at the bottom so that Farmer Brown's

Nearer and nearer drew the whistle. Suddenly it stopped right short off. Farmer Brown's boy had come in

sight of the Smiling Pool or rather, it was what used to be the Smiling Pool. Now there wasn't any Smiling

Pool, for the very little pool left was too small and sickly looking to smile. There were great banks of mud,

out of which grew the bulrushes. The lily pads were forlornly stretched out toward the tiny pool of water

remaining. Where the banks were steep and high, the holes that Jerry Muskrat and Billy Mink knew so well

were plain to see. Over at one side stood Jerry Muskrat's house, wholly out of water.

Somehow, it seemed to Farmer Brown's boy that he must be dreaming. He never, never had seen anything

like this before, not even in the very driest weather of the hottest part of the summer. He looked this way and

looked that way. The Green Meadows looked just as usual. The Green Forest looked just as usual. The

Laughing Brookha! What was the matter with the Laughing Brook? He couldn't hear it and that, you

know, was very unusual. He dropped his rod and ran over to the Laughing Brook. There wasn't any brook.

No, sir, there wasn't any brook; just pools of water with the tiniest of streams trickling between. Big stones

over which he had always seen the water running in the prettiest of little white falls were bare and dry. In the

Farmer Brown's boy scratched his head in a puzzled way. "I don't understand it," said he. "I don't understand

it at all. Something must have gone wrong with the springs that supply the water for the Laughing Brook.

They must have failed. Yes, Sir, that is just what must have happened. But I never heard of such a thing

happening before, and I really don't see how it could happen. He stared up into the Green Forest just as if he

thought he could see those springs. Of course, he didn't think anything of the kind. He was just turning it all

over in his mind. "I know what I'll do, I'll go up to those springs this afternoon and find out what the trouble

is," he said out loud. "They are way over almost on the other side of the Green Forest, and the easiest way to

get there will be to start from home and cut across the Old Pasture up to the edge of the Mountain behind the

Green Forest. If I try to follow up the Laughing Brook now, it will take too long, because it winds and twists

With that, Farmer Brown's boy went back and picked up his rod. Then he started for home across the Green

Meadows, and for once he wasn't whistling. You see, he was too busy thinking. In fact, he was so busy

thinking that he didn't see Jimmy Skunk until he almost stepped on him, and then he gave a frightened jump

and ran, for without a gun he was just as much afraid of Jimmy as Jimmy was of him when he did have a gun.

Jimmy just grinned and went on about his business. It always tickles Jimmy to see people run away from

"I should think that they would have learned by this time that if they don't bother me, I won't bother them, he

muttered as he rolled over a stone to look for fat beetles. "Somehow, folks never seem to understand me."

Across the Old Pasture to the foot of the Mountain back of the Green Forest tramped Farmer Brown's boy.

Ahead of him trotted Bowser the Hound, sniffing and snuffing for the tracks of Reddy or Granny Fox. Of

course he didn't find them, for Reddy and Granny hadn't been up in the Old Pasture for a long time. But he

did find old Jed Thumper, the big gray Rabbit who had made things so uncomfortable for Peter Rabbit once

upon a time and gave old Jed such a fright that he didn't look where he was going and almost ran headfirst

"Hi, there, you old cottontail!" yelled Farmer Brown's boy, and this frightened off Jed still more, so that he

Farmer Brown's boy kept on his way, laughing at the fright of old Jed Thumper. Presently he reached the

springs from which came the water that made the very beginning of the Laughing Brook. He expected to find

them dry, for way down on the Green Meadows the Smiling Pool was nearly dry, and the Laughing Brook

was nearly dry, and he had supposed that of course the reason was that the springs where the Laughing Brook

But they were! The clear cold water came bubbling up out of the ground just as it always had, and ran off

down into the Green Forest in a little stream that would grow and grow as it ran and became the Laughing

Brook. Farmer Brown's boy took off his ragged old straw hat and scowled down at the bubbling water just as

Of course, he didn't think just that. The fact is, he didn't know just what he did think. Here were the springs

bubbling away just as they always had. There was the little stream starting off down into the Green Forest

with a gurgle that by and by would become a laugh, just as it always had. And yet down on the Green

Meadows on the other side of the Green Forest there was no longer a Laughing Brook or a Smiling Pool. He

felt as if he ought to pinch himself to make sure that he was awake and not dreaming.

"I don't know what it means," said he, talking out loud. "No, Sir, I don't know what it means at all, but I'm

going to find out. There's a cause for everything in this world, and when a fellow doesn't know a thing, it is

his business to find out all about it. I'm going to find out what has happened to the Laughing Brook, if it takes

With that he started to follow the little stream which ran gurgling down into the Green Forest. He had

followed that little stream more than once, and now he found it just as he remembered it. The farther it ran,

the larger it grew, until at last it became the Laughing Brook, merrily tumbling over rocks and making deep

pools in which the trout loved to hide. At last he came to the edge of a little open hollow in the very heart of

the Green Forest. He knew what splendid deep holes there were in the Laughing Brook here, and how the big

trout loved to lie in them because they were deep and cool. He was thinking of these trout now and wishing

that he had brought along his fishing rod. He pushed his way through a thicket of alders and thenFarmer

Brown's boy stopped suddenly and fairly gasped! He had to stop because there right in front of him was a

He rubbed his eyes and looked again. Then he stooped down and put his hand in the water to see if it was

real. There was no doubt about it. It was real watera real pond where there never had been a pond before. It

was very still there in the heart of the Green Forest. It was always very still there, but it seemed stiller than

usual as he tramped around the edge of this strange pond. He felt as if it were all a dream. He wondered if

pretty soon he wouldn't wake up and find it all untrue. But he didn't, so he kept on tramping until presently he

came to a dama splendid dam of logs and sticks and mud. Over the top of it the water was running, and

down in the Green Forest below he could hear the Laughing Brook just beginning to laugh once more.

Farmer Brown's boy sat down with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. He was almost too

Farmer Brown's boy sat with his chin in his hands staring at the new pond in the Green Forest and at the dam

which had made it. That dam puzzled him. Who could have built it? What did they build it for? Why hadn't

he heard them chopping? He looked carelessly at the stump of one of the trees, and then a still more puzzled

look made deep furrows between his eyes. It looked yes, it looked very much as if teeth, and not an axe,

had cut down that tree. Farmer Brown's boy stared and stared, his mouth gaping wide open. He looked so

funny that Peter Rabbit, who was hiding under an old pile of brush close by, nearly laughed right out.

But Peter didn't laugh. No, Sir, Peter didn't laugh, for just that very minute something happened. Sniff! Sniff!

That was right behind him at the very edge of the old brushpile, and every hair on Peter stood on end with

"Bow, wow, wow!" It seemed to Peter that the great voice was right in his very ears. It frightened him so that

he just had to jump. He didn't have time to think. And so he jumped right out from under the pile of brush and

of course right into plain sight. And the very instant he jumped there came another great roar behind him. Of

course it was from Bowser the Hound. You see, Bowser had been following the trail of his master, but as he

always stops to sniff at everything he passes, he had been some distance behind. When he came to the pile of

brush under which Peter was hiding he had sniffed at that, and of course he had smelled Peter right away.

Now when Peter jumped out so suddenly, he had landed right at one end of the dam. The second roar of

Bowser's great voice frightened him still more, and he jumped right up on the dam. There was nothing for

him to do now but go across, and it wasn't the best of going. No, indeed, it wasn't the best of going. You see,

it was mostly a tangle of sticks. Happy Jack Squirrel or Chatterer the Red Squirrel or Striped Chipmunk

would have skipped across it without the least trouble. But Peter Rabbit has no sharp little claws with which

to cling to logs and sticks, and right away he was in a peck of trouble. He slipped down between the sticks,

scrambled out, slipped again, and then, trying to make a long jump, he lost his balance andtumbled heels

Poor Peter Rabbit! He gave himself up for lost this time. He could swim, but at best he is a poor swimmer

and doesn't like the water. He couldn't dive and keep out of sight like Jerry Muskrat or Billy Mink. All he

could do was to paddle as fast as his legs would go. The water had gone up his nose and down his throat so

that he choked, and all the time he felt sure that Bowser the Hound would plunge in after him and catch him.

And if he shouldn't why Farmer Brown's boy would simply wait for him to come ashore and then catch him.

But Farmer Brown's boy didn't do anything of the kind. No, Sir, he didn't. Instead he shouted to Bowser and

called him away. Bowser didn't want to come, but he long ago learned to obey, and very slowly he walked

"You know it wouldn't be fair, old fellow, to try to catch Peter now. It wouldn't be fair at all, and we never

want to do anything unfair, do we?" said he. Perhaps Bowser didn't agree, but he wagged his tail as if he did,

It seemed to Peter as if he never, never would reach the shore, though really it was only a very little distance

that he had to swim. When he did scramble out, he was a sorrylooking Rabbit. He didn't waste any time, but

started for home as fast as he could go, lippertylippertylip. And Farmer Brown's boy and Bowser the

"Well, I never!" exclaimed Sammy Jay, who had seen it all from the top of a pine tree. "Well, I never! I guess

Paddy the Beaver sat on his dam, and his eyes shone with happiness as he looked out over the shining water

of the pond he had made. All around the edge of it grew the tall trees of the Green Forest. It was very

beautiful and very still and very lonesome. That is, it would have seemed lonesome to almost anyone but

Paddy the Beaver. But Paddy never is lonesome. You see, he finds company in the trees and flowers and all

It was still, very, very still. Over on one side was a beautiful rosy glow in the water. It was the reflection from

jolly, round, red Mr. Sun. Paddy couldn't see him because of the tall trees, but he knew exactly what Mr. Sun

was doing. He was going to bed behind the Purple Hills. Pretty soon the little stars would come out and

twinkle down at him. He loves the little stars and always watches for the first one.

Yes, Paddy the Beaver was very happy. He would have been perfectly happy except for one thing. Farmer

Brown's boy had found his dam and pond that very afternoon, and Paddy wasn't quite sure what Farmer

Brown's boy might do. He had kept himself snugly hidden while Farmer Brown's boy was there, and he felt

quite sure that Farmer Brown's boy didn't know who had built the dam. But for this reason he might, he just

might, try to find out all about it, and that would mean that Paddy would always have to be on the watch.

"But what's the use of worrying over troubles that haven't come yet, and may never come? Time enough to

worry when they do come," said Paddy to himself, which shows that Paddy has a great deal of wisdom in his

little brown head. "The thing for me to do now is to get ready for winter, and that means a great deal of

work," he continued. "Let me see, I've got to build a house, a big, stout, warm house, where I will be warm

and safe when my pond is frozen over. And I've got to lay in a supply of food, enough to last me until gentle

Sister South Wind comes to prepare the way for lovely Mistress Spring. My, my, I can't afford to be sitting

With that Paddy slipped into the water and swam all around his new pond to make sure of just the best place

to build his house. Now, placing one's house in just the right place is a very important matter. Some people

are dreadfully careless about this. Jimmy Skunk, for instance, often makes the mistake of digging his house

(you know Jimmy makes his house underground) right where everyone who happens along that way will see

it. Perhaps that is because Jimmy is so independent that he doesn't care who knows where he lives.

But Paddy the Beaver never is careless. He always chooses just the very best place. He makes sure that it is

best before he begins. So now, although he was quite positive just where his house should be, he swam

around the pond to make doubly sure. Then, when he was quite satisfied, he swam over to the place he had

"There mustn't be the least chance that the ice will ever get thick enough too close up my doorway, said he,

"and I'm sure it never will here. I must make the foundations strong and the walls thick. I must have plenty of

mud to plaster with, and inside, up above the water, I must have the snuggest, warmest room where I can

sleep in comfort. This is the place to build it, and it is high time I was at work."

With that Paddy swam over to the place where he had cut the trees for his dam, and his heart was light, for he

Jerry Muskrat was very much interested when he found that Paddy the Beaver, who you know, is his cousin,

was building a house. Jerry is a housebuilder himself, and down deep in his heart he very much doubted if

Paddy could build as good a house as he could. His house was down in the Smiling Pool, and Jerry thought it

a very wonderful house indeed, and was very proud of it. It was built of mud and sod and little alder and

willow twigs and bulrushes. Jerry had spent one winter in it, and he had decided to spend another there after

he had fixed it up a little. So, as long as he didn't have to build a brandnew house, he could afford the time

But Paddy did nothing of the kind. He had seen Jerry Muskrat's house, and he had smiled. But he had taken

great pains not to let Jerry see that smile. He wouldn't have hurt Jerry's feelings for the world. He is too polite

and goodnatured to do anything like that. So Jerry sat on the end of an old log and watched Paddy work.

The first thing to build was the foundation. This was of mud and grass with sticks worked into it to hold it

together. Paddy dug the mud from the bottom of his new pond. And because the pond was new, there was a

great deal of grassy sod there, which was just what Paddy needed. It was very convenient.

Jerry watched a little while and then, because Jerry is a worker himself, he just had to get busy and help.

Rather timidly he told his big cousin that he would like to have a share in building the new house.

"All right," replied Paddy, "that will be fine. You can bring mud while I am getting the sticks and grass."

So Jerry dived down to the bottom of the pond and dug up mud and piled it on the foundation and was happy.

The little stars looked down and twinkled merrily as they watched the two workers. So the foundation grew

and grew down under the water. Jerry was very much surprised at the size of it. It was ever and ever so much

bigger than the foundation for his own house. You see, he had forgotten how much bigger Paddy is.

Each night Jerry and Paddy worked, resting during the daytime. Occasionally Bobby Coon or Reddy Fox or

Unc' Billy Possum or Jimmy Skunk would come to the edge of the pond to see what was going on. Peter

Rabbit came every night. But they couldn't see much because, you know, Paddy and Jerry were working

But at last Peter was rewarded. There, just above the water, was a splendid platform of mud and grass and

sticks. A great many sticks were carefully laid as soon as the platform was above the water, for Paddy was

very particular about this. You see, it was to be the floor for the splendid room he was planning to build.

Jerry puzzled and puzzled over this. Where was Paddy's room going to be, if he piled up the mud that way?

But he didn't like to ask questions, so he kept right on helping. Paddy would dive down to the bottom and

then come up with double handfuls of mud, which he held against his chest. He would scramble out onto the

platform and waddle over to the pile in the middle, where he would put the mud and pat it down. Then back

"Now," said Paddy, "I'll build the walls, and I guess you can't help me much with those. I'm going to begin

"I certainly will," replied Jerry, still puzzling over that pile of mud in the middle.

Jerry Muskrat was more and more sure that his big cousin, Paddy the Beaver, didn't know quite so much as

he might about housebuilding. Jerry would have liked to offer some suggestions, but he didn't quite dare.

You see, he was very anxious not to displease his big cousin. But he felt that he simply had got to speak his

mind to someone, so he swam across to where he had seen Peter Rabbit almost every night since Paddy

began to build. Sure enough, Peter was there, sitting up very straight and staring with big round eyes at the

"Why, it's a house, you stupid. It's Paddy's new house," replied Jerry, wiping the tears of laughter from his

"I'm not stupid!" retorted Peter. "How was I to know that that pile of mud and sticks is meant for a house? It

"To tell you the truth, I don't think it is much of a house myself," replied Jerry. "It has got a door, all right. In

fact it has got three. You can't see them because they are under water, and there is a passage from each right

up through that platform of mud and sticks, which is the foundation of the house. It really is a very fine

foundation, Peter; it really is. But what I can't understand is what Paddy is thinking of by building that great

pile of mud right in the middle. When he gets his walls built, where will his bedroom be? There won't be any

room at all. It won't be a house at alljust a big useless pile of sticks and mud.

Peter scratched his head and then pulled his whiskers thoughtfully as he gazed out at the pile in the water

"It does look foolish, that's a fact," said he. "Why don't you point out to him the mistake he is making, Jerry?

You have built such a splendid house yourself that you ought to be able to help Paddy and show him his

Jerry had smiled a very selfsatisfied smile when Peter mentioned his fine house, but he shook his head at the

"II don't just like to," he confessed. "You know, he might not like it andand it doesn't seem as if it

Jerry shook his head, "No, I don't believe it would," he replied, "but it does trouble me andandwell, I

Now all this time Paddy had been hard at work. He was bringing the longest branches which he had cut from

the trees out of which he had built his dam, and a lot of slender willow and alder poles. He pushed these

ahead of him as he swam. When he reached the foundation of his house, he would lean them against the pile

of mud in the middle with their big ends resting on the foundation. So he worked all the way around until by

and by the mud pile in the middle couldn't be seen. It was completely covered with sticks, and they were

Jerry Muskrat will tell you that is as true as true can be. Jerry knows. He found it out for himself. Now he is

very careful what he says about other people or what they are doing. But he wasn't so careful when his

cousin, Paddy the Beaver, was building his house. No, Sir, Jerry wasn't so careful then. He though he knew

more about building a house than Paddy did. He was sure of it when he watched Paddy heap up a great pile of

mud right in the middle where his room ought to be, and then build a wall of sticks around it. He said as

Now it is never safe to say anything to Peter Rabbit that you don't care to have others know. Peter has a great

deal of respect for Jerry Muskrat's opinion on housebuilding. You see, he very much admires Jerry's snug

house in the Smiling Pool. It really is a very fine house, and Jerry may be excused for being proud of it. But

that doesn't excuse Jerry for thinking that he knows all there is to know about housebuilding. Of course

Peter told everyone he met that Paddy the Beaver was making a foolish mistake in building his house, and

So whenever they got the chance, the little people of the Green Forest and Green Meadows would steal up to

the shore of Paddy's new pond and chuckle as they looked out at the great pile of sticks and mud which

Paddy had built for a house, but in which he had forgotten to make a room. At least they supposed that he had

forgotten this very important thing. He must have, for there wasn't any room. It was a great joke. They

laughed a lot about it, and they lost a great deal of the respect for Paddy which they had had since he built his

Jerry and Peter sat in the moonlight talking it over. Paddy had stopped bringing sticks for his wall. He had

dived down out of sight, and he was gone a long time. Suddenly Jerry noticed that the water had grown very,

very muddy all around Paddy's new house. He wrinkled his brows trying to think what Paddy could be doing.

Presently Paddy came up for air. Then he went down again, and the water grew muddier than ever. This went

on for a long time. Every little while Paddy would come up for air and a few minutes of rest. Then down he

At last Jerry could stand it no longer. He just had to see what was going on. He slipped into the water and

"Hello, Cousin Jerry!" said he. "I was just going to invite you over to see what you think of my house inside.

Paddy dived, and Jerry dived after him. He followed Paddy in at one of the three doorways under water and

up a smooth hall right into the biggest, nicest bedroom Jerry had ever seen in all his life. He just gasped in

sheer surprise. He couldn't do anything else. He couldn't find his tongue to say a word. Here he was in this

splendid great room up above the water, and he had been so sure that there wasn't any room at all! He just

"IIthink it is splendid, just perfectly splendid! But I don't understand it at all, Cousin Paddy.

IIWhere is that great pile of mud I helped you build in the middle?" Jerry looked as foolish as he felt

"Why, I've dug it all away. That's what made the water so muddy," replied Paddy.

"Because I had to have something solid to rest my sticks against while I was building my walls, of course,"

replied Paddy. When I got the tops fastened together for a roof, they didn't need a support any longer, and

then I dug it away to make this room. I couldn't have built such a big room any other way. I see you don't

Everybody knew that Paddy the Beaver was laying up a supply of food for the winter, and everybody thought

it was queer food. That is, everybody but Prickly Porky the Porcupine thought so. Prickly Porky likes the

same kind of food, but he never lays up a supply. He just goes out and gets it when he wants it, winter or

summer. What kind of food was it? Why, bark, to be sure. Yes, Sir, it was just barkthe bark of certain

Now Prickly Porky can climb the trees and eat the bark right there, but Paddy the Beaver cannot climb, and if

he would just eat the bark that he can reach from the ground, it would take such a lot of trees to keep him

filled up that he would soon spoil the Green Forest. You know, when the bark is taken off a tree all the way

around, the tree dies. That is because all the things that a tree draws out of the ground to make it grow and

keep it alive are carried up from the roots in the sap, and the sap cannot go up the tree trunks and into the

branches when the bark is taken off, because it is up the inside of the bark that it travels. So when the bark is

Now Paddy the Beaver loves the Green Forest as dearly as you and I do, and perhaps even a little more

dearly. You see, it is his home. Besides, Paddy never is wasteful. So he cuts down a tree so that he can get all

the bark instead of killing a whole lot of trees for a very little bark, as he might do if he were lazy. There isn't

a lazy bone in himnot one. The bark he likes best is from the aspen. When he cannot get that, he will eat

the bark from the poplar, the alder, the willow, and even the birch. But he likes the aspen so much better that

he will work very hard to get it. Perhaps it tastes better because he does have to work so hard for it.

There were some aspen trees growing right on the edge of the pond Paddy had made in the Green Forest.

These he cut just as he had cut the trees for his dam. As soon as a tree was down, he would cut it into short

lengths, and with these swim out to where the water was deep, close to his new house. He took them one by

one and carried the first ones to the bottom, where he pushed them into the mud just enough to hold them.

Then, as fast as he brought more, he piled them on the first ones. And so the pile grew and grew.

Jerry Muskrat, Peter Rabbit, Bobby Coon, and the other little people of the Green Forest watched him with

the greatest interest and curiosity. They couldn't quite make out what he was doing. It was almost as if he

"I don't exactly know," replied Jerry. "He said that he was going to lay in a supply of food for the winter, just

as I told you, and I suppose that is what he is doing. But I don't quite understand what he is taking it all out

"Do, and then come tell us," begged Peter, who was growing so curious that he couldn't sit still.

So Jerry swam out to where Paddy was so busy. "Is this your food supply, Cousin Paddy?" he asked.

"Yes," replied Paddy, crawling up on the side of his house to rest. "Yes, this is my food supply. Isn't it

"I guess it is," replied Jerry, trying to be polite, "though I like lily roots and clams better. But what are you

"This pond is my storehouse," replied Paddy. "I will make a great pile right here close to my house, and the

water will keep it nice and fresh all winter. When the pond is frozen over, all I will have to do is to slip out of

one of my doorways down there on the bottom, swim over here and get a stick, and fill my stomach. Isn't it

Very early one morning Paddy the Beaver heard Sammy Jay making a terrible fuss over in the aspen trees on

the edge of the pond Paddy had made in the Green Forest. Paddy couldn't see because he was inside his

house, and it has no window, but he could hear. He wrinkled up his brows thoughtfully.

"Seems to me that Sammy is very much excited this morning," said he, a way he has because he is so much

alone. "When he screams like that, Sammy is usually trying to do two things at oncemake trouble for

somebody and keep somebody else out of trouble; and when you come to think of it, that's rather a funny way

of doing. It shows that he isn't all bad, and at the same time he is a long way from being all good. Now, I

should say from the sounds that Sammy has discovered Reddy Fox trying to steal up on someone over where

my aspen trees are growing. Reddy is afraid of me, but I suspect that he knows that Peter Rabbit has been

hanging around here a lot lately, watching me work, and he thinks perhaps he can watch Peter. I shall have to

After a while he heard Sammy Jay's voice growing fainter and fainter in the Green Forest. Finally he couldn't

hear it at all. "Whoever was here has gone away, and Sammy has followed just to torment them," thought

Paddy. He was very busy making a bed. He is very particular about his bed, is Paddy the Beaver. He makes it

of fine splinters of wood which he splits off with those wonderful great cutting teeth of his. This makes the

driest kind of a bed. It requires a great deal of patience and work, but patience is one of the first things a little

Beaver learns, and honest work well done is one of the greatest pleasures in the world, as Paddy long ago

found out for himself. So he kept at work on his bed for some time after all was still outside.

At last Paddy decided that he would go over to his aspen trees and look them over to decide which ones he

would cut the next night. He slid down one of his long halls, out the doorway at the bottom on the pond, and

then swam up to the surface, where he floated for a few minutes with just his head out of water. And all the

time his eyes and nose and ears were busy looking, smelling, and listening for any sign of danger. Everything

was still. Sure that he was quite safe, Paddy swam across to the place where the aspen trees grew, and

Paddy looked this way and looked that way. He looked up in the treetops, and he looked off up the hill, but

most of all he looked at the ground. Yes, Sir, Paddy just studied the ground. You see, he hadn't forgotten the

fuss Sammy Jay had been making there, and he was trying to find out what it was all about. At first he didn't

see anything unusual, but by and by he happened to notice a little wet place, and right in the middle of it was

something that made Paddy's eyes open wide. It was a footprint! Someone had carelessly stepped in the mud.

"Ha!" exclaimed Paddy, and the hair on his back lifted ever so little, and for a minute he had a prickly feeling

all over. The footprint was very much like that of Reddy Fox, only it was larger.

"Ha!" said Paddy again. "That certainly is the foot print of Old Man Coyote! I see I have got to watch out

more sharply than I had thought for. All right, Mr. Coyote; now that I know you are about, you'll have to be

smarter than I think you are to catch me. You certainly will be back here tonight looking for me, so I think I'll

Paddy the Beaver was hard at work. He had just cut down a good sized aspen tree and now he was gnawing

it into short lengths to put in his food pile in the pond. As he worked, Paddy was doing a lot of thinking about

the footprint of Old Man Coyote in a little patch of mud, for he knew that meant that Old Man Coyote had

discovered his pond, and would be hanging around, hoping to catch Paddy off his guard. Paddy knew it just

as well as if Old Man Coyote had told him so. That was why he was at work cutting his food supply in the

"He'll try to catch me then," thought Paddy, "so I'll do my working on land now and fool him."

The tree he was cutting began to sway and crack. Paddy cut out One more big chip, then hurried away to a

"Hello, Sammy Jay! I see you don't feel any better than usual this morning," said Paddy. "Don't you want to

Sammy grew black in the face with anger, for he knew that Paddy was laughing at him. You remember how

only a few days before he had been so intent on calling Paddy bad names that he actually hadn't noticed that

Paddy was cutting the very tree in which he was sitting, and so when it fell he had had a terrible fright.

"You think you are very smart, Mr. Beaver, but you'll think differently one of these fine days!" screamed

Sammy. "If you knew what I know, you wouldn't be so well satisfied with yourself."

"I'm not going to tell you what I know," retorted Sammy Jay. "You'll find out soon enough. And when you do

find out, you'll never steal another tree from our Green Forest. Somebody is going to catch you, and it isn't

Paddy pretended to be terribly frightened. "Oh, who is it? Please tell me, Mr. Jay," he begged.

Now to be called Mr. Jay made Sammy feel very important. Nearly everybody else called him Sammy. He

swelled himself out trying to look as important as he felt, and his eyes snapped with pleasure. He was actually

"No, Sir, I won't tell you," he replied. "I wouldn't be you for a great deal, though! Somebody who is smarter

than you are is going to catch you, and when he gets through with you, there won't be anything left but a few

"Oh, Mr. Jay, this is terrible news! Whatever am I to do?" cried Paddy, all the time keeping on at work

"There's nothing you can do," replied Sammy, grinning wickedly at Paddy's fright. "There's nothing you can

do unless you go right straight back to the North where you came from. You think you are very smart, but"

Sammy didn't finish. Crack! Over fell the tree Paddy had been cutting and the top of it fell straight into the

alder in which Sammy was sitting. "Oh! Oh! Help!" shrieked Sammy, spreading his wings and flying away

Paddy sat down and laughed until his sides ached. "Come make me another call someday, Sammy!" he said.

"And when you do, please bring some real news. I know all about Old Man Coyote. You can tell him for me

that when he is planning to catch people he should be careful not to leave footprints to give himself away."

Sammy didn't reply. He just sneaked off through the Green Forest, looking quite as foolish as he felt.

There is nothing in the world more true than that. Old Man Coyote has the craftiest brain of all the little

people of the Green Forest or the Green Meadows. Sharp as are the wits of old Granny Fox, they are not quite

so sharp as the wits of Old Man Coyote. If you want to fool him, you will have to get up very early in the

morning, and then it is more than likely that you will be the one fooled, not he. There is very little going on

around him that he doesn't know about. But once in a while something escapes him. The coming of Paddy the

Beaver to the Green Forest was one of these things. He didn't know a thing about Paddy until Paddy had

finished his dam and his house, and was cutting his supply of food for the winter.

You see, it was this way: When the Merry Little Breezes of Old Mother West Wind first heard what was

going on in the Green Forest and hurried around over the Green Meadows and through the Green Forest to

spread the news, as is their way, they took the greatest pains not to even hint it to Old Man Coyote because

they were afraid that he would make trouble and perhaps drive Paddy away. The place that Paddy had chosen

to build his dam was so deep in the Green Forest that Old Man Coyote seldom went that way. So it was that

But after awhile Old Man Coyote noticed that the little people of the Green Meadows were not about as much

as usual. They seemed to have a secret of some kind. He mentioned the matter to his friend, Digger the

Digger had been so intent on his own affairs that he hadn't noticed anything unusual, but when Old Man

Coyote mentioned the matter he remembered that Blacky the Crow headed straight for the Green Forest every

morning. Several times he had seen Sammy Jay flying in the same direction as if in a great hurry to get

Old Man Coyote grinned. "That's all I need to know, friend Digger," said he. "When Blacky the Crow and

Sammy Jay visit a place more than once, something interesting is going on there. I think I'll take a stroll up

With that, off Old Man Coyote started. But he was too sly and crafty to go straight to the Green Forest. He

pretended to hunt around over the Green Meadows just as he usually did, all the time working nearer and

nearer to the Green Forest. When he reached the edge of it, he slipped in among the trees, and when he felt

that no one was likely to see him, he began to run this way and that way with his nose to the ground.

Pretty soon he found another trail. "So," said he, "Peter Rabbit has been over here a good deal of late, and his

trail goes in the same direction as that of Reddy Fox. I guess all I have to do now is to follow Peter's trail, and

So Old Man Coyote followed Peter's trail, and he presently came to the pond of Paddy the Beaver. "Ha!" said

he, as he looked out and saw Paddy's new house. "So there is a newcomer to the Green Forest! I have always

heard that Beaver is very good eating. My stomach begins to feel empty this very minute." His mouth began

It was just then that Sammy Jay saw him and began to scream at the top of his lungs so that Paddy the Beaver

over in his house heard him. Old Man Coyote knew that it was of no use to stay longer with Sammy Jay

about, so he took a hasty look at the pond and found where Paddy came ashore to cut his food. Then, shaking

his fist at Sammy Jay, he started straight back for the Green Meadows. "I'll just pay a visit here in the night,"

But with all his craft, Old Man Coyote didn't notice that he left a footprint in the mud.

Old Man Coyote lay stretched out in his favorite napping place on the Green Meadows. He was thinking of

what he had found out up in the Green Forest that morningthat Paddy the Beaver was living there. Old

Man Coyote's thoughts seemed very pleasant to himself, though really they were very dreadful thoughts. You

see, he was thinking how easy it was going to be to catch Paddy the Beaver, and what a splendid meal he

"He doesn't know I know he's here," thought Old Man Coyote. "In fact, I don't believe heaven knows that I

am anywhere around. Of course he won't be watching for me. He cuts his trees at night, so all I will have to

do is to hide right close by where he is at work, and he'll walk right into my mouth. Sammy Jay knows I was

up there this morning, but Sammy sleeps at night, so he will not give the alarm. My, my, how good that

Beaver will taste!" He licked his chops once more, then yawned and closed his eyes for a nap.

Old Man Coyote waited until jolly, round red Mr. Sun had gone to bed behind the Purple Hills, and the Black

Shadows had crept out across the Green Meadows. Then, keeping in the blackest of them, and looking very

much like a shadow of himself, he slipped into the Green Forest. It was dark in there, and he made straight

for Paddy's new pond, trotting along swiftly without making a sound. When he was near the aspen trees

which he knew Paddy was planning to cut, he crept forward very slowly and carefully. Everything was still as

"Good!" thought Old Man Coyote. "I am here first, and now all I need do is to hide and wait for Paddy to

So he stretched himself flat behind some brush close beside the little path Paddy had made up from the edge

of the water and waited. It was very still, so still that it seemed almost as if he could hear his heart beat. He

could see the little stars twinkling in the sky and their own reflections twinkling back at them from the water

of Paddy's pond. Old Man Coyote waited and waited. He is very patient when there is something to gain by

it. For such a splendid dinner as Paddy the Beaver would make, he felt that he could well afford to be patient.

So he waited and waited, and everything was as still as if no living thing but the trees where there. Even the

At last, after a long, long time, he heard just the faintest splash. He pricked up his ears and peeped out on the

pond with the hungriest look in his yellow eyes. There was a little line of silver coming straight toward him.

He knew that it was made by Paddy the Beaver swimming. Nearer and nearer it drew. Old Man Coyote

chuckled way down deep inside, without making a sound. He could see Paddy's head now, and Paddy was

Almost to the edge of the pond swam Paddy. Then he stopped. In a few minutes he began to swim again, but

this time it was back in the direction of his house, and he seemed to be carrying something. It was one of the

little food logs he had cut that day, and he was taking it out to his storehouse. Then back he came for another.

And so he kept on, never once coming ashore. Old Man Coyote waited until Paddy had carried the last log to

his storehouse and then, with a loud whack on the water with his broad tail, had dived and disappeared in his

Then Old Man Coyote arose and started elsewhere to look for his dinner, and in his heart was bitter

For three nights Old Man Coyote had stolen up through the green Forest with the coming of the Black

Shadows and had hidden among the aspen trees where Paddy the Beaver cut his food, and for three nights

Paddy had failed to come ashore. Each night he had seemed to have enough food logs in the water to keep

him busy without cutting more. Old Man Coyote lay there, and the hungry look in his eyes changed to one of

doubt and then to suspicion. Could it be that Paddy the Beaver was smarter than he thought? It began to look

very much as if Paddy knew perfectly well that he was hiding there each night. Yes, Sir, that's the way it

looked. For three nights Paddy hadn't cut a single tree, and yet each night he had plenty of food logs ready to

"That means that he comes ashore in the daytime and cuts his trees," thought Old Man Coyote as, tired and

with black anger in his heart, he trotted home the third night. "He couldn't have found out about me himself;

he isn't smart enough. It must be that someone has told him. And nobody knows that I have been over there

but Sammy Jay. It must be he who has been the tattletale. I think I'll visit Paddy by daylight tomorrow, and

Now the trouble with some smart people is that they are never able to believe that others may be as smart as

they. Old Man Coyote didn't know that the first time he had visited Paddy's pond he had left behind him a

footprint in a little patch of soft mud. If he had known it, he wouldn't have believed that Paddy would be

smart enough to guess what that footprint meant. So Old Man coyote laid all the blame at the door of Sammy

Jay, and that very morning, when Sammy came flying over the Green Meadows, Old Man Coyote accused

him of being a tattletale and threatened the most dreadful things to Sammy if ever he caught him.

Now Sammy had flown down to the green Meadows to tell Old Man Coyote how Paddy was doing all his

work on land in the daytime. But when Old Man Coyote began to call him a tattletale and accuse him of

having warned Paddy, and to threaten dreadful things, he straightway forgot all his anger at Paddy and turned

it all on Old Man Coyote. He called him everything he could think of, and this was a great deal, for Sammy

has a wicked tongue. When he hadn't any breath left, he flew over to the Green Forest, and there he hid where

That afternoon Old Man Coyote tried his new plan. He slipped into the Green Forest, looking this way and

that way to be sure that no one saw him. Then very, very softly, he crept up through the Green Forest toward

the pond of Paddy the Beaver. As he drew near, he heard a crash, and it make him smile. He knew what it

meant. It meant that Paddy was at work cutting down trees. With his stomach almost on the ground, he crept

forward little by little, little by little, taking the greatest care not to rustle so much as a leaf. Presently he

reached a place where he could see the aspen trees, and there, sure enough, was Paddy, sitting up on his hind

Old Man Coyote lay down for a few minutes to watch. Then he wriggled a little nearer. Slowly and carefully

he drew his legs under him and made ready for a rush. Paddy the Beaver was his at last! At just that very

It was Sammy Jay, who had followed him all the way. Paddy the Beaver didn't stop to even look around. He

knew what that meant, and he scrambled down his little path to the water as he never had scrambled before.

And as he dived with a great splash, Old Man Coyote landed with a great jump on the very edge of the pond.

Paddy the Beaver floated in his pond and grinned in the most provoking way at Old Man Coyote, who had so

nearly caught him. Old Man Coyote fairly danced with anger on the bank. He had felt so sure of Paddy that

time that it was hard work to believe that Paddy had really gotten away from him. He bared his long, cruel

Now, of course this wasn't a nice thing for Paddy to do, for it only made Old Man Coyote all the angrier. You

see, Paddy knew perfectly well that he was absolutely safe, and he just couldn't resist the temptation to say

some unkind things. He had had to be on the watch for days lest he should be caught, and so he hadn't been

able to work quite so well as he could have done with nothing to fear, and he still had a lot of preparations to

make for winter. So he told Old Man Coyote just what he thought of him, and that he wasn't as smart as he

thought he was or he never would have left a foot print in the mud to give him away.

When Sammy Jay, who was listening and chuckling as he listened, heard that, he flew down where he would

be just out of reach of Old Man Coyote, and then he just turned that tongue of his loose, and you know that

some people say that Sammy's tongue is hung in the middle and wags at both ends. Of course this isn't really

so, but when he gets to abusing people it seems as if it must be true. He called Old Man Coyote every bad

name he could think of. He called him a sneak, a thief, a coward, a bully, and a lot of other things.

"You said I had warned Paddy that you were trying to catch him and that was why you failed to find him at

work at night, and all the time you had warned him yourself!" screamed Sammy. "I used to think that you

Paddy the Beaver laughed till the tears came at Sammy's foolish verse, but it made Old Man Coyote angrier

than ever. He was angry with Paddy for escaping from him, and he was angry with Sammy, terribly angry,

and the worst of it was he couldn't catch either one, for one was at home in the water and the other was at

home in the air and he couldn't follow in either place. Finally he saw it was of no use to stay there to be

"Mr. Jay," said he, knowing how it pleased Sammy to be called mister. "Mr. Jay, you have done me a mighty

good turn today, and I am not going to forget it. You can call me what you please and scream at me all you

please, but you won't get any satisfaction out of it, because I simply won't get angry. I will say to myself, 'Mr.

Now this made Sammy feel very proud and very happy. You know it is very seldom that he hears anything

nice said of him. He flew down on the stump of one of the trees Paddy had cut. "Let's be friends," said he.

Paddy sat looking thoughtfully at the aspen trees he would have to cut to complete his store of food for the

winter. All those near the edge of his pond had been cut. The others were scattered about some little distance

"What don't you know?" asked Sammy Jay, who, now that he and Paddy had become friends, was very much

"Why," replied Paddy, "I don't know just how I am going to get those trees. Now that Old Man Coyote is

watching for me, it isn't safe for me to go very far from my pond. I suppose I could dig a canal up to some of

the nearest trees and then float them down to the pond, but it is hard to work and keep watch for enemies at

the same time. I guess I'll have to be content with some of these alders growing close to the water, but he bark

"A canal? Why a canal is a kind of ditch in which water can run," replied Paddy.

Sammy nodded. "I've seen Farmer Brown dig one over on the Green Meadows, but it looked like a great deal

of work. I didn't suppose that anyone else could do it. Do you really mean that you can dig a canal, Paddy?"

"Of course I mean it," replied Paddy, in a surprised tone of voice. "I have helped dig lots of canals. You ought

"I'd like to," replied Sammy. "I think it is perfectly wonderful. I don't see how you do it."

"It's easy enough when you know how," replied Paddy. "If I dared to, I'd show you."

Sammy had a sudden idea. It almost made him gasp. "I tell you what, you work and I'll keep watch!" he cried.

"Will you?" cried Paddy eagerly. "That would be perfectly splendid. You have the sharpest eyes of anyone

whom I know, and I would feel perfectly safe with you on watch. But I don't want to put you to all to that

"Of course I will," replied Sammy, "and it won't be any trouble at all. I'll just love to do it." You see, it made

Sammy feel very proud to have Paddy say that he had such sharp eyes. "When will you begin?"

"Right away, if you will just take a look around and see that it is perfectly safe for me to come out on land."

Sammy didn't wait to hear more. He spread his beautiful blue wings and started off over the Green Forest

straight for the Green Meadows. Paddy watched him go with a puzzled and disappointed air. "That's funny,"

thought he. "I thought he really meant it, and now off he goes without even saying goodby."

In a little while back came Sammy, all out of breath. "It's all right," he panted. "You can go to work just as

Paddy looked more puzzled than ever. "How do you know?" he asked. "I haven't seen you looking around."

"I did better than that," replied Sammy. "If Old Man Coyote had been hiding somewhere in the Green Forest,

it might have taken me some time to find him. But he isn't. You see, I flew straight over to his home in the

Green Meadows to see if he is there, and he is. He's taking a sun bath and looking as cross as two sticks. I

don't think he'll be back here this morning, but I'll keep a sharp watch while you work."

Paddy made Sammy a low bow. "You certainly are smart, Mr. Jay," said he. "I wouldn't have thought of

going over to Old Man Coyote's home to see if he was there. I'll feel perfectly safe with you on guard. Now

Jerry Muskrat had been home at the Smiling Pool for several days. But he couldn't stay there long. Oh, my,

no! He just had to get back to see what his big cousin, Paddy the Beaver, was doing. So as soon as he was

sure that everything was all right at the Smiling Pool he hurried back up the Laughing Brook to Paddy's pond,

deep in the Green Forest. As soon as he was in sight of it, he looked eagerly for Paddy. At first he didn't see

him. Then he stopped and gazed over at the place where Paddy had been cutting aspen trees for food.

Sammy Jay dropped down to the top of an alder tree and fluffed out all his feathers in a very important way.

"Yes, me!" snapped Sammy angrily. "That's what I said; Paddy and I are building something."

Jerry had begun to swim across the pond by this time, and Sammy was flying across. "Why don't you tell the

truth, Sammy, and say that Paddy is building something and you are making him all the trouble you can?"

Sammy's eyes snapped angrily, and he darted down at Jerry's little brown head. "It isn't true!" he shrieked.

Jerry ducked under water to escape Sammy's sharp bill. When he came up again, Sammy was over in the

little grove of aspen trees where Paddy was at work. Then Jerry discovered something. What was it? Why a

little waterpath led right up to the aspen trees, and there, at the end of the little waterpath, was Paddy the

Beaver hard at work. He was digging and piling the earth on one side very neatly. In fact, he was making the

waterpath longer. Jerry swam right up the little waterpath to where Paddy was working. "Good morning,

Sammy Jay looked down at Jerry in triumph, and Jerry looked at Paddy as if he thought that he was joking.

"A whole lot," replied Paddy. "You see, he keeps watch while I work. If he didn't, I couldn't work, and there

wouldn't be any canal. Old Man Coyote has been trying to catch me, and I wouldn't dare work on shore if it

wasn't that I am sure that the sharpest eyes in the Green Forest are watching for danger."

"So you see, it takes both of us to make this canal; I dig while Sammy watches. So we are building it

"I see," said Jerry slowly. Then he turned to Sammy Jay. "I beg your pardon, Sammy," said he. "I do indeed."

And indeed it was a very fine canal, straight, wide, and deep enough for Paddy to swim in and float his logs

When Sammy overheard Paddy the Beaver say that to Jerry Muskrat, it made him swell up all over with pure

pride. You see, Sammy is so used to hearing bad things about himself that to hear something nice like that

pleased him immensely. He straightway forgot all the mean things he had said to Paddy when he first saw

himhow he had called him a thief because he had cut the aspen trees he needed. He forgot all this. He

forgot how Paddy had made him the laughingstock of the Green Forest and the Green Meadows by cutting

down the very tree in which he had been sitting. He forgot everything but that Paddy had trusted him to keep

watch and now was saying nice things about him. He made up his mind that he would deserve all the nice

things that Paddy could say, and he thought that Paddy was the finest fellow in the world.

Jerry Muskrat looked doubtful. He didn't trust Sammy, and he took care not to go far from the water when he

heard that Old Man Coyote had been hanging around. But Paddy worked away just as if he hadn't a fear in

"The way to make people want to be trusted is to trust them" said he to himself. "If I show Sammy Jay that I

don't really trust him, he will think it is of no use to try and will give it up. But if I do trust him, and he knows

And this shows that Paddy the Beaver has a great deal of wisdom, for it was just as he thought. Sammy was

on hand bright and early every morning. He made sure that Old Man Coyote was nowhere in the Green

Forest, and then he settled himself comfortably in the top of a tall pine tree where he could see all that was

Paddy had finished his canal, and a beautiful canal it was, leading straight from his pond up to the aspen

trees. As soon as he had finished it, he began to cut the trees. As soon as one was down he would cut it into

short lengths and roll them into the canal. Then he would float them out to his pond and over to his

storehouse. He took the larger branches, on which there was sweet, tender bark, in the same way, for Paddy is

After a while he went over to his storehouse, which, you know, was nothing but a great pile of aspen logs and

branches in his pond close by his house. He studied it very carefully. Then he swam back and climbed up on

"No," replied Paddy. "Enough is always enough, and I've got enough to last me all winter. I want those trees

for next year. Now I am fixed for the winter. I think I'll take it easy for a while."

Sammy looked disappointed. You see, he had just begun to learn that the greatest pleasure in the world comes

from doing things for other people. For the first time since he could remember, someone wanted him around

land it gave him such a good feeling down deep inside! Perhaps it was because he remembered that good

feeling that the next spring he was so willing and anxious to help poor Mrs. Quack. What he did for her and