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diff --git a/old/62794-0.txt b/old/62794-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index de39b33..0000000 --- a/old/62794-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3260 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Toto, the Bustling Beaver, by Richard Barnum - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Toto, the Bustling Beaver - His Many Adventures - -Author: Richard Barnum - -Illustrator: Walter S. Rogers - -Release Date: July 31, 2020 [EBook #62794] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOTO, THE BUSTLING BEAVER *** - - - - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Right on top of the bark cabin crashed the tree.] - - - - - _Kneetime Animal Stories_ - - - TOTO - THE BUSTLING BEAVER - - HIS MANY ADVENTURES - - - BY - RICHARD BARNUM - - Author of “Squinty, the Comical Pig,” “Tum Tum, the - Jolly Elephant,” “Sharp Eyes, the Silver Fox,” - “Tamba, the Tame Tiger,” “Nero, - the Circus Lion,” Etc. - - - _ILLUSTRATED BY - WALTER S. ROGERS_ - - - NEW YORK - BARSE & HOPKINS - PUBLISHERS - - - - -KNEETIME ANIMAL STORIES - -By Richard Barnum - -_Large 12mo. Illustrated._ - - - SQUINTY, THE COMICAL PIG. - SLICKO, THE JUMPING SQUIRREL. - MAPPO, THE MERRY MONKEY. - TUM TUM, THE JOLLY ELEPHANT. - DON, A RUNAWAY DOG. - DIDO, THE DANCING BEAR. - BLACKIE, A LOST CAT. - FLOP EAR, THE FUNNY RABBIT. - TINKLE, THE TRICK PONY. - LIGHTFOOT, THE LEAPING GOAT. - CHUNKY, THE HAPPY HIPPO. - SHARP EYES, THE SILVER FOX. - NERO, THE CIRCUS LION. - TAMBA, THE TAME TIGER. - TOTO, THE BUSTLING BEAVER. - - BARSE & HOPKINS - Publishers New York - - Copyright, 1920 - by - Barse & Hopkins - - - _Toto, the Bustling Beaver_ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I TOTO HELPS MILLIE 7 - II TOTO LEARNS TO GNAW 17 - III TOTO MEETS DON 26 - IV TOTO AND THE TRAMPS 35 - V TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER 46 - VI TOTO AND THE BURGLARS 54 - VII TOTO AND THE BOY 64 - VIII TOTO MEETS BLACKIE 71 - IX TOTO IN A TRAP 81 - X TOTO ON A BOAT 89 - XI TOTO GETS HOME AGAIN 98 - XII TOTO IN A STORM 108 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS - - - Right on top of the bark cabin crashed the tree _Frontispiece_ - - PAGE - - And he slipped down, tail first through the hole 23 - - Crash! Bang! went the big tree 41 - - Everybody in the beaver colony had work to do 59 - - “I’ll help you down out of the tree,” said Toto cheerfully 79 - - And then, through the bushes, came a boy 95 - - A tree had fallen on Toto’s back, pinning him to the ground 113 - - - - -TOTO, THE BUSTLING BEAVER - - - - -CHAPTER I - -TOTO HELPS MILLIE - - -“Toto! Toto! Where are you?” - -There was no answer to this call, which Mrs. Beaver, the mother of -Toto, sounded as she climbed up on the ice and looked around for her -little boy. Mrs. Beaver sat on her broad, flat tail, which really made -quite a good seat, and with her sharp eyes she looked up and down -Winding River for a sight of Toto. Then she called again, in beaver -animal language of course: - -“Toto! Toto! Come home this minute! You’ve been out on the ice long -enough! And goodness knows we’ve had plenty of ice and snow this -winter,” went on Mrs. Beaver, and she kept on looking up and down the -frozen river. “I’ll be glad when spring comes so we beavers can gnaw -down trees, eat the soft bark, and make dams for our houses,” she -added. - -But though she called as loudly as she could, and looked sharply up -and down the river, which was covered with a sheet of smooth ice, Mrs. -Beaver could see nothing of her little boy, Toto. - -“What’s the matter?” asked an old gentleman beaver, who came along just -then. “Has Toto run away?” - -“I don’t know that I’d call it exactly running away, Mr. Cuppy,” -answered Mrs. Beaver. “I said he could go out of the house and play on -the ice a little while, but I told him to come back and get his willow -bark lunch. But he hasn’t come, so I walked out to call him.” - -“And he doesn’t answer,” said Mr. Cuppy, the old beaver gentleman, with -a laugh――of course he laughed animal fashion, and not as you do. “I -guess Toto is off playing tag, or something like that, on the ice with -the other beaver boys,” added Mr. Cuppy. “I’m going down the river to -call on some friends of mine. If I see Toto I’ll tell him you want him.” - -“I wish you would,” said Mrs. Beaver. “Please tell him to come straight -home.” - -“I will,” answered Mr. Cuppy, and then he got up from the ice, where -he had sat down on his broad, flat tail to talk to Toto’s mother, and -walked slowly down the ice-covered river which ran into Clearwater Lake. - -That is, the river ran in summer time. In winter it was frozen over, -though of course the water ran under the ice, where boys and girls -could not see it. But Toto, Mr. Cuppy, and the other beavers could see -it, for they could dive under the ice and swim in the water that flowed -beneath it. In fact, they would rather swim in the water, cold as it -was, than walk on the ice. - -For a beaver can not very well walk on the ice――it is too slippery. Nor -can a beaver walk very fast even on dry ground. But, my! how fast they -can swim in water. So, though beavers very often come out on the land, -or shore, they always run for the water, dive down, and swim away as -soon as there is the least sign of danger. - -Mrs. Beaver walked back toward the hole in the ice through which she -intended getting into her house, where she lived with her husband, Mr. -Beaver, Toto, and another little beaver boy named Sniffy. - -Mrs. Beaver’s home looked just like a bundle of sticks from the -woodpile, laid together criss-cross fashion. In fact, if you had seen -it from the outside you would have said it was only a heap of rubbish. - -This heap of sticks was built out near the middle of Winding River, -which was not a very large stream. And now that the river was frozen, -the pile of sticks, which made the beaver house, was heaped up above -the frozen ice. - -The front door to the beaver home was under water――so far under that -it did not freeze――and when Toto or any of the family wanted to come -out, they had to dive down, swim under water, and come out on top some -distance away. When the river was not frozen they could come out of the -water wherever they pleased. But when Jack Frost had made the river a -solid, hard sheet of ice, the beavers had to come out of it just where -a hole had been made for them. Sometimes they made the hole themselves -by blowing their warm breath on the underside of the ice, and sometimes -they used an airhole such as you often see when you are skating. - -Mrs. Beaver found the hole through the ice, dived down into the water, -swam along a short distance until she reached the front door of her -house of sticks and frozen mud, and then she went up inside. - -The house was nicely lined inside with soft grass, and there were a -number of short pieces of sticks scattered about. It was the bark from -these sticks that the beavers lived on in winter. - -“Did you find Toto?” asked Mr. Beaver, who was taking a little nap in -the house. - -“No, I didn’t,” answered Mrs. Beaver. “But I met Mr. Cuppy, the old -grandfather beaver, you know, and he said if he saw Toto he’d send our -little boy home.” - -“That is very kind of Mr. Cuppy.” Mr. Beaver stretched himself. “Well, -I think I’ll gnaw a little more bark.” - -“I want some, too!” called Sniffy, the other little beaver boy. - -“Here you are!” said his mother, and she took some of the bark-covered -sticks from a pile at one side of the house. - -Of course it was dark inside the house, for mud was plastered thickly -over the crossed sticks to keep out the cold and snow. But beavers can -see well enough in the dark, just as owls can, or cats. - -After Mr. Cuppy had watched Mrs. Beaver dive down through the ice and -swim away, he walked on down the frozen river. He looked from side to -side as he waddled slowly along, hoping to see Toto. But the beaver boy -was not in sight. - -And now, so that you may wonder no longer what had become of the little -beaver boy, I’ll tell you where he was and some of the wonderful -adventures that happened to him. - -Toto had asked his mother if he might go out on the ice and play, and -she had said he might. Toto was about a year old, having been born -the previous spring, and he knew that in winter there was not much to -eat outside the beaver house. But he had gnawed a number of sticks of -poplar, and of willow, with the sweet, juicy bark on, and now he was -not hungry. He was tired of being cooped up in the dark house, frozen -fast in the river. So Toto had gone out, and had walked along the ice -until he was quite a long way from home. - -“But I guess I can easily find my way back,” thought Toto to himself. -“It’s pretty slippery walking, and I’d a good deal rather swim, but if -I walk slowly I won’t slip.” - -So he had walked along the ice until he was out of sight of his home, -around one of the many curves in Winding River. That was the reason -Mrs. Beaver could not see her little boy, and also why Toto could not -hear his mother calling to him. He did not really mean to stay out when -his mother did not want him to. - -“Ah, that looks like something good to eat!” said Toto to himself, -as he saw some straggly bushes growing on the bank of the river. The -bushes had no leaves on, of course, for this was March, and winter was -still king of the land. But Toto thought there might be bark on some of -the twigs of the bushes, and bark was what the beavers mostly ate in -winter. He was not hungry, but Toto, like other boys, was always ready -to eat. - -Toto walked slowly over the ice, and, standing up on his hind legs and -partly sitting on his broad, flat tail, which was almost like the -mortar trowel a mason uses, the little beaver boy began to gnaw the -bark. - -But he had not taken more than a bite or two before he stopped suddenly. - -“Ouch!” cried Toto. “Something bit me!” - -He looked about――there were no bees or wasps flying, which might have -stung him. Still something had pricked him on his tongue. Then he -looked more closely at the twig he had been gnawing. - -“Oh, ho!” exclaimed Toto. “No wonder! This is a blackberry bush, and -the thorns pricked me. I won’t gnaw any more of this bark.” - -Toto backed away and started over the ice again, but he had not moved -more than a few feet from the thick clump of blackberry bushes, growing -on the edge of the river, when, all of a sudden, the little beaver boy -heard a queer noise――several noises, in fact. - -One was a tinkly sound, a sound Toto remembered to have heard when in -summer a farmer was hoeing corn in a field near the river, and his hoe -struck on a stone in the dirt. Then came the noise of a thud, as if -something heavy had fallen on the ice. And after that sounded the voice -of a little girl saying: - -“Oh dear! There goes my skate!” - -Of course Toto did not understand man, girl, or boy talk. But he knew -what it was, for in the summer, as he played around his stick-home in -the river, he had often heard the farmer and his hired men talking in -the fields not far away. So, though Toto did not know what the little -girl said, he knew it was the same sound the farmer and his men had -made when they talked to one another. And Toto was afraid of men, and -boys and girls, too, though I don’t believe any girl would have tried -to hurt or catch the beaver, nice as is their fur. - -But this particular little girl, whose name was Millie Watson, did not -even know Toto was near her. She had been skating on the ice when one -of her skates suddenly came off, and she fell down. - -The tinkly sound the beaver heard was the loose steel skate sliding -over the ice and striking a stone near the bush under which Toto was -hidden. The thudding sound was that made by Millie when she fell. But -she was not hurt. - -“Oh, dear!” she said again. “I wonder where my skate slid to. I can’t -get along on only one skate, and it’s slow walking on the ice. Where is -it?” - -She slowly arose to her feet. One skate was still on her foot, but on -the other shoe was only a loose strap. Millie, who had skated from -her home to take a little pail of soup to her grandmother, who lived -farther down the river, was on her way back when she lost her skate. - -“I don’t see where it can be,” mused the little girl, looking here and -there on the ice. The reason she could not see the skate was because it -had slid under the edge of the overhanging berry bush. - -“I hope she doesn’t see me!” thought Toto, as he crouched down under -the twigs. “I wish it were summer, and there were leaves on this bush. -I could hide better then, and the river wouldn’t be frozen, so I could -swim away very fast if this girl comes after me. Dear me! I wonder what -she is doing here, anyhow.” - -Toto did not know much about skating. But as he peered out at the -little girl he saw her pushing herself along on one foot, and on that -foot was something long, thin and shiny. It sparkled in the sun, just -as the blade of the farmer’s hoe sometimes sparkled. - -Toto looked on either side of him, and there, close to him, was another -shiny thing, just like the one the girl had on one foot. Toto could see -the girl moving slowly along, and looking from side to side. - -“She must be looking for me!” thought Toto, and his heart began to beat -very fast, for his father and mother had told him always to keep away -from men and boys; and this girl was probably just like a boy, the -little beaver thought. He had seen boys along the river bank in summer -trying to catch muskrats, and sometimes trying to catch beavers, too. -Toto did not want to be caught. - -So he crouched lower and lower under the bush, and then, all of a -sudden, his feet slipped on the ice and they struck the long, shiny -thing that was like the object the girl had on one foot. - -Instantly there was another tinkly sound, and the shiny thing slid -across the ice, out from under the overhanging bush and straight toward -the little girl. - -“Oh! Oh!” cried Millie, clapping her mittened hands. “Here is my lost -skate! It was under the bush, but I wonder what pushed it out! There -must be something there! I’m going to look!” - -Toto heard this talk, but did not know what it was. However, he -could see the little girl stoop down and pick up the skate he had -accidentally knocked over the ice to her. Then he saw Millie come -straight toward the bush under which he was hiding! - - - - -CHAPTER II - -TOTO LEARNS TO GNAW - - -Toto, the little beaver boy, was a bright, bustling chap. He was what -is called a “hustler” or a “bustler”――that is, some one always ready -for work or play. But just now, as Toto saw the little girl coming -toward the bush where he was hidden, he did not know what to do. - -“But I’m going to do something!” thought the beaver boy. “I’m not going -to let her catch me! Maybe that’s a trap she tried to get me in――maybe -that shiny thing is a trap!” - -Toto knew what traps were, for his father and mother had told him about -them, and how to keep away from their sharp teeth that caught beavers -and muskrats by the legs. - -Millie came closer and closer. With bright, eager eyes, almost as -bright and eager as those of Toto himself, she looked at the bush. - -Toto was all ready to run, and he wished, more than ever, that the -river was not frozen, since he would not have been a bit afraid if -he could have jumped in the flowing stream to swim away. He was not -afraid of any creature in the water, and the fishes were friends of his. - -Then, all at once, just as Toto was going to start to run and do his -best on the slippery ice, he felt himself falling. He had been standing -on the edge of the frozen river, where the ice was very thin, and it -had given away, letting him down through a hole into the water. - -“Oh, now I’m all right!” said Toto to himself when he felt the water -wetting his thick fur, though it could not wet his skin beneath. - -And so he was. He was in water now, where he felt much more at home -than on the ice. And as he slipped down, tail first through the hole -that had broken, he had a glimpse of the little girl. - -The little girl saw Toto, too, and as soon as she had seen him she -clapped her red-mittened hands again and cried: - -“Oh, it’s a little beaver! He knocked my skate out to me! Oh, don’t go -away, little beaver!” cried Millie. “I won’t hurt you!” - -But of course Toto did not know that, and he did not know what the -little girl was saying. He just wanted to get away from her, and back -to his own stick house. So he dived down under the water, his fur being -so thick and warm that he was not a bit cold. And away he swam beneath -the ice that covered Winding River. - -“Oh, he’s gone!” cried Millie, when she saw the beaver disappear. “I -wish I could have him to take home! Maybe I’ll see him again! Anyhow, -he was nice to shove my skate out to me!” - -Millie sat down on the bank and began putting on the skate that had -slipped off, causing her to fall. And, though she never guessed it, she -was to see Toto again, and the beaver was to see how Millie and her -grandmother were made happy. - -“Well, Toto, where have you been?” asked his mother, when, some little -time later, the beaver boy swam up to the front door of the stick -house. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” - -“I didn’t mean to stay away so long, Mother,” answered Toto, in beaver -talk, of course. “But it was so slippery on the ice that, when I got to -going, it was hard to stop. I tried to eat some bark, but it was full -of stickers, and then I had an adventure.” - -“What’s an adventure?” asked Sniffy, who was not quite so bold and -daring as was Toto. - -“It’s something that happens to you,” Toto answered. - -“And what happened to you?” asked Mr. Beaver. - -Toto told them about Millie’s skate coming off, though of course he did -not call it a skate. He said it was a “trap.” - -“You did well to hurry away,” said his father. “It’s lucky for you that -you fell through the hole in the ice and could swim. Always, when you -are in danger, get in the water if you can. Very few animals can swim -as fast as we beavers swim. The water is the place for us, even though -we have to go on land to gnaw down the trees for the dams we make.” - -“Why do we have to make dams?” asked Sniffy. - -“To make the water deep enough for our houses in places where it is -otherwise too shallow,” answered Mr. Beaver. “By putting a lot of -trees, sticks, clumps of grass, and mud across a stream the water -backs up, and gets deep behind the dam, over which it flows, making a -waterfall. We need to build our houses behind the dam, so as to have -our doors under water. If we didn’t, other animals from the land would -come in and get us. But land animals can not get into our houses as -long as the front doors are under water, though it is easy for us -to dive down and come up inside where the water does not reach. Did -anything else happen to you, Toto?” asked his father. - -“Well, I swam home under the ice as fast as I could,” answered the -little beaver boy. - -“Did you see anything of Mr. Cuppy?” asked Mrs. Beaver. - -“No, I didn’t,” Toto answered. “Did some one try to catch him in a -trap, too?” - -“No. But he said he’d send you home if he met you,” replied Mrs. -Beaver. “Of course he didn’t meet you. I’ll go out and tell him he -needn’t look for you any more, as you are now at home.” - -“Yes, and I’m hungry, too,” said Toto. “The bark on the bush under -which I hid was full of thorns. I couldn’t eat it.” - -“Here is some nice aspen bark,” said Mr. Beaver. “Let me see your -teeth, Toto?” - -“What for?” the little beaver boy wanted to know. - -“To see if they are going to be strong enough to help us gnaw down -trees this summer,” went on Mr. Beaver. - -Toto opened his mouth. His teeth were strong and white, that is all -except the four front, or gnawing teeth. Two of these in his upper jaw -and two in his lower jaw were a sort of red, or orange, color. All -beavers have orange-colored gnawing teeth, and the rest are white, like -yours. - -“Humph! Yes, I think you’ll be big enough to help us gnaw down trees -this summer,” said Daddy Beaver, as he looked at Toto’s orange teeth, -which were almost as sharp and strong as the chisels the carpenter uses -to smooth wood with which to build a house. - -“Is it very hard to gnaw trees down?” Toto wanted to know. - -“It must be easy,” said Sniffy, who was eating some aspen bark in the -stick house. “See how easy I can strip this bark off this piece of log.” - -“Gnawing bark is much easier than gnawing through the wood of a big, -hard tree,” said Mr. Beaver. “You boys will learn that soon enough. But -here, Toto, try some of this bark.” - -So Toto and Sniffy gnawed the bark, and Toto told his brother more -about the little girl he had seen. He thought she had tried to trap -him, but we know Millie had done nothing of the sort. Only her skate -had come off. - -“And what do you think!” the little girl said, after she had reached -home and was telling her mother about it that night at supper. “My -skate slid right over the ice, under a bush, and a little beaver that -was there pushed it out to me.” - -“So the beavers are around here, are they?” asked Millie’s father. “I -wondered what made a part of Winding River flow so slowly this fall. -The beavers must have dammed it up. Well, the beavers are hard-working -animals and do little harm. We won’t disturb them.” - -The rest of that winter Toto lived in the stick house with the other -beavers. He did not go out very often, for there is not much beavers -can do until the ice and snow are gone. Toto went out on the frozen -river a few times, however, but he did not again see the little girl on -skates. And though Millie went out skating, she did not see Toto until -later in the season. I’ll tell you about that after a while. - -[Illustration: And he slipped down, tail first through the hole.] - -Meanwhile the sun climbed higher and higher in the sky. It warmed the -earth, the snow and ice melted, the banks of Winding River became -green, as the leaves came out on the trees and bushes, and one day Mr. -Beaver said: - -“Come with me, Toto and Sniffy. You are going to learn how to gnaw down -trees.” - -“Are we going to help build the dam bigger?” asked Toto. - -“Yes, that’s what you are,” his father said. - -He dived down in the water, to slip out of the front door, and the -two beaver boys followed him. Their noses closed, and they kept their -mouths tightly shut while under water. But they had their eyes open -to see where to swim. They came out on top of the water not far from -their own house. But almost as soon as they had poked up their noses to -take long breaths, Toto and Sniffy heard a booming, whacking noise, and -their father cried: - -“Back! Back, boys! Dive down! There’s danger!” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -TOTO MEETS DON - - -You may well believe that Toto and Sniffy did not lose any time diving -down under water as soon as they heard their father tell them to do -so. Many times before, when they were first learning to swim, they had -dived down quickly like this just after they had poked up their noses -to get a breath of air. And always their father or mother had swum with -them out of danger. - -“What was that whacking noise, Dad?” asked Sniffy, when they were once -more safely back in their stick and mud house. - -“That was Mr. Cuppy banging his flat tail on the water to let us know -there was some danger,” answered Mr. Beaver. “Cuppy, or some of the -older beavers, are always on guard at or near the dam. If they hear, -see or smell danger they whack with their tails. And whenever you hear -that whacking sound you little fellows must dive into the water and -swim away just as fast as you can.” - -“Oh, now I remember about Mr. Cuppy whacking with his tail!” exclaimed -Toto. “You told us that last summer, didn’t you, Dad?” - -“Yes. But the winter has been long, and all that time you have had no -chance to hear Mr. Cuppy bang his tail on the water, so I was afraid -you had forgotten,” said Mr. Beaver. - -“I did forget,” answered Sniffy. - -“And I did, too,” said Toto. “But now I’m always going to listen for -Mr. Cuppy’s tail.” - -“And run and dive into the water as fast as you can when you hear him -whacking and banging,” advised Mr. Beaver. “Now we’ll wait a little -while and then we’ll swim up again. The danger may have passed.” - -Toto and his brother waited with their father perhaps five minutes in -the beaver house. Then, once more, they dived down, out of the front -door, and up into the river, a little farther away. Mr. Beaver went -ahead, and poked up his nose first to look about. He saw a number of -beavers working on the dam, among them Mr. Cuppy. - -“Is it all right?” called Mr. Beaver to the old gentleman. - -“Yes, come along. We need lots of help to make the dam bigger and -stronger,” answered Mr. Cuppy. “Where are your two boys?” - -“Right here,” answered their father. “It’s all right! Bob up your -heads!” he called to Toto and Sniffy. - -Up they swam, and soon they were among their friends on the dam, -which was made of a number of trees laid crosswise over the narrow -part of the river. Sticks had been piled back of the trees, and mud, -grass-hummocks, and leaves were piled back of the sticks, so that very -little water could run through. Back of the dam the water was quite -deep, but in front it was very shallow. The beavers all had their -houses back of the dam. - -“What was the danger?” asked Mr. Beaver of Mr. Cuppy, as the two animal -gentlemen walked along on top of the dam. “Did you see a bear or some -other big animal?” - -“No,” answered Mr. Cuppy. “The reason I whacked my tail was because I -saw five or six men over in the woods where the trees are that we are -going to cut down for our dam.” - -“Were they hunter men, with guns?” asked Mr. Beaver. - -“No, they didn’t seem to be hunters,” answered Mr. Cuppy. “They were -rough-looking men, and not dressed as nicely as most hunters are. These -men had old rusty cans in their hands――cans like those we sometimes -find in our river. I thought they were coming over to our dam to catch -us, but they didn’t. However I gave the danger signal.” - -“Yes, it’s best to be on the safe side,” returned Mr. Beaver. “Well, -now we are here――my two boys and myself――and we are ready to help gnaw -down trees for you. My wife will be here in a little while. She has -gone to see if she can find some aspen bark for our dinner.” - -“My wife has gone to look for some, too,” said Mr. Cuppy. “Well, now, -let’s see! Have Toto and Sniffy ever cut down any trees?” - -“No, this will be the first time for them,” said their father. - -“Well, take them over to the little grove and show them how to work,” -advised Mr. Cuppy. “We shall need many trees this spring. How are you, -boys? Ready to gnaw with your red teeth?” - -“Yes, sir,” answered Toto and Sniffy. - -“Come along!” called their father, and into the water they jumped from -the top of the dam, to swim to where the trees grew beside the river. - -Beavers always swim, if they can, to wherever they want to go. They -would much rather swim than walk, as they can swim so much better and -faster. So, in a little while, Toto and Sniffy stood with their father -beside a tree which, near where the tree trunk went into the ground, -was as large around as your head. - -“We will cut down this tree,” said Mr. Beaver. - -“What! That big tree?” cried Toto. “We can never gnaw that down, Dad! -It will take a year!” - -“Nonsense!” laughed Mr. Beaver. “We can gnaw down larger trees than -this. Before you boys are much older you’ll do it yourselves. But now -come on, let’s start. I’ll watch you and tell you when you do things -the wrong way. That’s the way to learn.” - -“I guess I know how to gnaw a tree down!” boasted Sniffy. “I’ve often -watched Mr. Cuppy do it.” This little beaver boy stood up on his hind -legs, using his tail as a sort of stool to sit on, and he began cutting -through the bark of the tree, using his four, strong orange-colored -front teeth to gnaw with. - -“Here! Hold on! Wait a minute!” cried Mr. Beaver to his son, while -Toto, who was just going to help his brother, wondered what was the -matter. - -“Isn’t this the tree you want gnawed down, Dad?” asked Sniffy. - -“Yes, that’s the one,” his father answered. “But if you start to gnaw -on that side first the tree will fall right on top of those others, -instead of falling flat on the ground as we want it to. You must begin -to gnaw on the other side, Sniffy. Then, as soon as you have nearly cut -it through, the tree will fall in this open place.” - -“Oh, I didn’t know that,” said Sniffy. - -“Nor I,” added his brother. - -“Always look to see which way a tree is going to fall,” advised Daddy -Beaver, “and be careful you are not under it when it falls. If you do -as I tell you then you will always be able to tell just which way a -tree will fall to make it easier to get it to the dam.” - -Then Mr. Beaver told the boys how to do this――how to start gnawing on -the side of the tree so that it would fall away from them. Lumbermen -know which way to make a tree fall, by cutting or sawing it in a -certain manner, and beavers are almost as smart as are lumbermen. - -How they do it I can’t tell you, but it is true that beavers can make -a tree fall almost in the exact spot they want it. Of course accidents -will happen now and then, and some beavers have been caught under the -trees they were gnawing down. But generally they make no mistakes. - -“How are we going to get the tree to the dam after we gnaw through the -trunk?” asked Toto, as he and Sniffy began cutting through the outer -bark with their strong, red teeth. “We can’t carry it there.” - -“We could if we could bite it into short pieces, as we bite and gnaw -into short pieces the logs we gnaw bark from in our house all winter,” -said Sniffy. - -“We don’t want this tree cut up into little pieces,” said Daddy Beaver. -“It must be in one, long length, to go on top of the dam.” - -“We never can drag this tree to the dam after we have gnawed it down!” -sighed Toto. “It will be too hard work!” - -“You won’t have to do that,” said his father with a laugh. “We will -make the water float the tree to the dam for us.” - -“But there isn’t any water near here,” said Sniffy. - -“No, but we can bring the water right here,” went on Mr. Beaver. - -“How?” Toto wanted to know, for he and his brother were young beavers. - -“We can dig a canal through the ground, and in that the water will come -right up to where we want it,” said Mr. Beaver. “We’ll dig out the dirt -right from under the tree, after we have cut it down, and bring the -canal to it. The canal will fill with water. The tree, being wood, will -float in the water, and a lot of us beavers, getting together, can swim -along and push and pull the tree through the canal right to the place -where we need it for the dam.” - -“Are we going to learn how to dig canals, too?” - -“Yes, building dams and canals and cutting down trees are the three -main things for a beaver to know,” said his father. “But learn one -thing at a time. Just now you are to learn how to cut down this tree. -Now gnaw your best――each of you!” - -So Toto and Sniffy gnawed, taking turns, and their father helped them -when they were tired. Soon a deep, white ridge was cut in the side of -the tree. - -“The tree is almost ready to fall now,” said Mr. Beaver. “You boys may -take a little rest, and I’ll finish the gnawing. But I want you to -watch and see how I do it. Thus you will learn.” - -“May I go over there by the spring of water and get some sweet bark?” -asked Toto. - -“Yes, I’ll wait for you,” answered his father. “I won’t finish cutting -the tree down until you come back.” - -“Bring me some bark,” begged Sniffy, as he sat down on his broad, flat -tail. - -“I will,” promised Toto. - -The little beaver boy waddled away, and soon he was near an aspen tree. -Beavers like the bark from this tree better than almost any other. Toto -was gnawing away, stripping off some bark for his brother, when, all at -once, he heard a rustling sound in the bushes, and a big animal sprang -out and stood in front of Toto. - -“Oh, dear me! It’s a bear!” cried Toto. - -“No, I am not a bear,” answered the other animal. “Don’t be afraid of -me, little muskrat boy. I won’t hurt you.” - -“I’m not a muskrat! I’m a beaver!” said Toto. “But who are you?” - -“I am Don,” was the answer. “And I am a dog. Once I was a runaway dog, -but I am not a runaway any longer. But what are you doing here, beaver -boy?” - -“Helping my father cut down a tree for the dam,” Toto answered. “What -are you doing, Don?” - -“I am looking for a camp of tramps,” was the answer, the dog and beaver -speaking animal talk, of course. “A dog friend of mine said there was a -camp of tramps in these woods, and I want to see if I can find them,” -went on Don. - -“What are tramps?” asked Toto. - -“Ragged men with tin cans that they cook soup in,” answered Don. “Have -you seen any around here?” - -“No, but Cuppy, the oldest beaver here, saw some ragged men over in the -woods,” began Toto. “Maybe they are――” - -But before he could say any more he heard a loud thumping sound, and -Toto knew what that meant. - -“Look out! There’s danger!” cried Toto. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -TOTO AND THE TRAMPS - - -Toto, the bustling beaver, ran as fast as he could and took shelter -under a big rock that made a place like a little cave on the side of -the hill. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Don, the dog. “Are you afraid because I told -you about the tramps?” - -“Oh, no,” answered Toto. “But didn’t you hear that thumping sound just -now?” - -“Yes, I heard it,” answered Don. “What was it――somebody beating a -carpet?” - -“I don’t know what a carpet is,” replied Toto. “We don’t have any at -our house. But, whatever it is, it wasn’t that. The noise you heard was -one of my beaver friends thumping his tail on the ground.” - -“Oh, you mean wagging his tail!” barked Don. “Well, I do that myself -when I feel glad. I guess one of your beaver friends must feel glad.” - -“No, it isn’t that,” went on Toto. “Whenever any of the beavers thumps -his tail on the ground it means there’s danger around, and all of us -who hear it run and hide. You’d better come under this rock with me. -Then you’ll be out of danger.” - -Once more the thumping sound echoed through the woods. - -“Better come under here with me,” advised Toto. - -“Well, I guess I will,” barked Don. - -No sooner was he under the big rock with Toto than, all of a sudden, -there was a loud crash, and a great tree fell almost on the place in -the woods where Toto and Don had been standing talking. - -“My goodness!” barked Don, speaking as dogs do. “It’s a good thing we -were under this rock, Toto, or else that tree would have fallen on us! -Did you know it was going to fall?” - -“Well, no, not exactly. My brother and I have been practicing on -gnawing a tree this morning, but ours isn’t cut down yet. My father is -going to finish cutting it, and show Sniffy and me how it is done. But -he promised not to cut all the way through until I got back. So I don’t -believe it was our tree that fell.” - -“Is it all right for us to come out now?” asked Don. Though he was -older than the beaver boy, he felt that perhaps Toto knew more about -the woods――especially when tree-cutting was going on. - -Toto sat up on his tail under the big rock and listened with his little -ears. He heard the beavers, which were all about, talking among -themselves, and he and Don heard some of them say: - -“It’s all right now. Cuppy and Slump have cut down the big tree for the -dam. It has fallen, and now it is safe for us to come out.” - -The dog and the little beaver came out from under the overhanging rock, -and Don noticed the pieces of bark Toto had stripped off. - -“What are you going to do with them?” asked Don. “Make a basket?” - -“A basket? I should say not!” exclaimed Toto. “I’m going to eat some -and take the rest to my father and brother. They are farther back in -the woods, cutting down a tree. Don’t you like bark?” - -“Bark? I should say not!” laughed Don in a barking manner. “I like -bones to gnaw, but not bark, though I bark with my mouth. That is a -different kind, though. But I suppose it wouldn’t do for all of us to -eat the same things. There wouldn’t be enough to go around. But tell -me: Do you always hear a thumping sound whenever there is danger in the -woods?” - -“Yes, that’s one of the ways we beavers have of talking to one -another,” answered Toto. “Whenever one of us is cutting a tree down, -and he sees that it is about to fall, he thumps on the ground as hard -as he can with his tail. You see our tails are broad and flat, and -they make quite a thump.” - -Don turned and looked at Toto’s tail. - -“Yes, it’s quite different from mine,” said the dog. “I sometimes thump -my tail on the floor, when my master gives me something good to eat or -pats me on the head. But my tail doesn’t make much noise.” - -“Well, a beaver’s tail does,” explained Toto. “So whenever any of us -hear the thumping sound we know there is danger, and we run away or -hide.” - -“I’m glad to know this,” said Don. “When I’m in the woods, from now on, -and hear that thumping sound, I’ll look around for danger, and I’ll -hide if I can’t get out the way. Well, I’m glad to have met you,” went -on Don. “I don’t suppose you have seen Blackie, have you?” - -“Who is Blackie?” asked the beaver boy. “Is he another dog?” - -“No, she’s a cat!” explained Don, with a laugh. “She’s quite a friend -of mine. She has a story all to herself in a book, and I have one, too. -I don’t suppose you were ever in a book, were you, Toto?” - -“Did you say a _brook_?” asked the beaver boy. “Of course I’ve been in -a brook many a time. I even built a little dam across a brook once――I -and my brother Sniffy.” - -“Ho, I didn’t say _brook_――I said _book_,” cried Don. “Of course I -don’t know much about such things myself, not being able to read. But a -book is something with funny marks in it, and boys and girls like them -very much.” - -“Are they good to eat?” asked Toto. - -“Oh, no,” answered Don, laughing. - -“Then I don’t believe they can be very good!” said Toto, “and I don’t -care to be in a book.” - -But you see he is in one, whether he likes it or not, and some day he -may be glad of it. - -“Well, I must be going,” barked Don. “I want to see if I can find -that camp where the tramps live. Tramps are no good. They come around -the house where I live, near Blackie, the cat, and take our master’s -things. If I see the tramps I’m going to bark at them and try to drive -them away.” - -Then he trotted on through the woods, and Toto, after eating a little -more bark, gathered some up in his paws, and, walking on his hind legs, -brought it to where his father and Sniffy were waiting for him. - -“Here’s Toto,” said Sniffy. - -“Where have you been?” asked Mr. Beaver. - -“Oh, getting some sweet bark,” answered Toto, and he laid down on some -clean moss the strips he had pulled off. “I met a dog, too.” - -“A dog!” cried Mr. Beaver. “My goodness, I hope he isn’t chasing after -you!” and he looked through the trees as if afraid. - -“Oh, this was Don, a good dog,” explained Toto. “He’s only looking for -some tramps. He won’t hurt any beavers.” - -“Well, if he’s a good dog, all right,” said the beaver daddy. “But -hunters’ dogs are bad――they’ll chase and bite you. I suppose they don’t -know any better.” - -“Where were you when Cuppy whacked with his tail just before the big -tree fell?” asked Sniffy, as he nibbled at some of the tender bark his -brother had brought. - -“Oh, Don and I hid under a big rock,” answered Toto. “I told him the -whacking sound meant danger. He didn’t know it. And it’s a good thing -we hid when we did, for the tree would have crushed us if we hadn’t -been under the rock. Is our tree ready to finish gnawing down, Daddy?” - -“Yes,” answered Mr. Beaver. “You and Sniffy may start now, and cut a -little more. I’ll tell you when to stop.” - -“But I thought you were going to finish, Dad,” said Sniffy. - -“He will, Sniffy, if he said so. But he’s letting us help a little more -first so we can learn faster!” - -[Illustration: Crash! Bang! went the big tree.] - -So the beaver boys sat up on their tails again, and gnawed at the big -tree――the largest one they had ever helped to cut down. They gnawed and -gnawed and gnawed with their orange-colored front teeth, and then Mr. -Beaver said: - -“That’s enough, boys. I’ll do the rest. But you may whack on the ground -with your tails to warn the others out of the way.” - -So Toto and Sniffy, much delighted to do this, found a smooth place -near a big rock, and then they went: - -“Whack! Whack! Whack!” - -“Danger! Danger!” cried a lot of other beavers who were working near -by. “A tree is going to fall! Run, everybody! Danger!” - -“See!” exclaimed Toto to his brother. “We can make the old beavers run -out of the way just as Cuppy made Don and me run.” - -“Yes, you beaver boys are growing up,” said Mr. Beaver, who had waited -to see that his two sons gave the danger signal properly. “You are -learning very well. Now here goes the tree.” - -He gave a few more bites, or gnaws, at the place where the tree was -almost cut through, and then Mr. Beaver himself ran out of the way. - -“Crash! Bang!” went the big tree down in the forest. It broke down -several other smaller trees, and finally was stretched out on the -ground near the waters of Winding River. - -“We helped do that!” said Toto to Sniffy, when the woods were again -silent. - -“Yes, you have learned how to cut down big trees,” said their father. -“You are no longer playing beavers――you are working beavers. Now we -must dig the canal to float the tree nearer the dam, as it is too heavy -for us to roll or pull along, and we do not want to cut it.” - -I will tell you, a little farther on, how the beavers cut canals to -float logs to the places where they want to use them. Just now all -I’ll say about them is that it took some time to get the tree Toto and -Sniffy had helped cut to the place where it was needed for the dam. The -two beaver boys and many others of the wonderful animals were busy for -a week or more. - -Then, one day, when the tree was in place, Toto asked his mother if he -might go off into the woods and look for some more aspen bark, as all -that had been stored in the stick house had been eaten. - -“Yes, you may go,” said Mrs. Beaver. “But don’t go too far, nor stay -too long.” - -“I won’t,” promised Toto. Then he waddled off through the woods, after -having swum across the beaver pond, made by damming the river, and soon -he found himself under the green trees. - -“I wonder if I’ll meet Don, the nice dog, or Whitie, the cat?” thought -Toto. “Let me see, was Whitie her name? No, it was Blackie. I wonder -if I’ll meet her, or that little girl who scared me so that day on the -ice?” - -Toto looked off through the trees, but he saw neither Don nor Blackie. - -Toto found a place where some aspen bark grew on trees, and he gnawed -off and ate as much as he wanted. Then he walked on a little farther -and, pretty soon, he saw something in the woods that looked like a big -beaver house. It was a heap of branches and limbs of trees, and over -the outside were big sheets and strips of rough bark. - -“But that can’t be a beaver house,” thought Toto. “It isn’t near water, -and no beavers would build a house unless it had water near it. I -wonder what it is.” - -Toto sat up on his tail and looked at the queer object. Then all at -once he heard rough voices speaking, and he saw some ragged men come -out of the pile of bark. One or two of them had tin cans in their -hands, and another was holding a pan over a fire that blazed on a flat -rock. - -“Oh, I know who they are!” said Toto to himself. “These must be the -tramps Don was looking for. This is the tramp camp! I’ve found the bad -men. I wish I could find Don to tell him!” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -TOTO SEES SOMETHING QUEER - - -Crouching down behind a green bush, Toto, the bustling beaver, kept -very quiet and watched the tramps. He was not at all bustling now, -however. He was not doing any work. Instead he was watching to see if -the tramps were going to do any work. - -But you know better what tramps are than did Toto. Tramps, as a rule, -are men who don’t like to work. They are lazy, and wander about like -gypsies, living as best they can, putting up an old shack or a bark -cabin in the woods, as these tramps had done, boiling soup or stewing -something in a tomato can over a fire in the woods. Those are tramps. - -“I wish I could find Don to tell him,” thought Toto. “These must be the -very tramps for whom he was looking.” - -But though the beaver boy peered around among the trees he could not -see Don. The dog was not in that part of the woods just then. - -The tramps, however, were in plain sight. Some were stretched out -on the soft moss beneath the trees. Others sat in the doorway of -the rough, bark house they had built, and still others were cooking -something over a fire. - -“What a lot of hard work they have to do to get something to eat,” -thought Toto. “They have to make a fire, and fires are dangerous. I -don’t like them!” - -Well might Toto say that, for he had heard his father and Cuppy tell of -fires in the forest that, in dry seasons, burned beaver dams and beaver -houses. - -“We never have to make a fire when we are hungry,” thought Toto. “And -we don’t have to hunt for tin cans, to put in them our things to eat. -When I’m hungry all I have to do is to gnaw a little bark from a tree, -or eat some grass or some lily roots from the pond. I wouldn’t like to -be a tramp. That would be dreadful. I’d rather be a beaver.” - -So Toto watched the tramps. He saw them make the fire bigger, and -noticed many of the ragged men holding over it tin cans which, later, -they ate from. - -Then, as the day was warm and sunny, all the tramps stretched out under -the trees and went to sleep. - -“Now would be a good time for Don to come along and scare them away,” -thought Toto. “I wish he would. It isn’t good to have a camp of tramps -so near our beaver dam. They may come and try to catch some of us.” - -But Don, the dog, did not come, and after watching the ragged men for -a while Toto thought he had better start back home. He stripped off -some bark to take to his mother, who liked it very much, and then the -bustling beaver waddled along until he came to a stream of water. Into -this he jumped and swam the rest of the way, as that was easier than -walking, or “waddling” as I call it, for Toto was rather fat, and he -sort of “wobbled” as he walked. - -“Well, did anything happen to you this time?” asked Mrs. Beaver, when -Toto reached home. - -“It didn’t exactly happen to me,” he said. “But I saw the camp of -tramps Don was looking for.” - -“Tramps! In our woods!” exclaimed Mr. Beaver, who came along just then. -He was coming home to supper, having been at work with Cuppy and the -others on the big dam. “Where did you see the tramps, Toto?” - -The little beaver boy told his father, and that evening after they had -eaten all the beavers gathered out on the big dam which held back the -waters of the pond. It was a sort of meeting, and though it took place -nearly every night, it was not always as serious as was this one. - -On other nights the beavers gathered to talk to one another, the older -ones looking to see that the dam was all right, and the younger ones, -like Toto and Sniffy, playing about. - -But this evening there was very little playing. After a few holes in -the dam had been plastered shut with mud, which the beavers carried in -their forepaws, and not on their tails, as many persons think, Cuppy -whacked his tail on the ground. Every beaver grew silent on hearing -that. - -“There is no special danger just now,” said Cuppy, speaking to all the -others. “I mean no tree is going to fall, or anything like that. But -there is likely to be trouble. Toto, tell us about the tramp camp you -saw in the woods.” - -You may easily believe that Toto was quite surprised at being called -on to sit up and speak before all the other beavers in the colony. But -he was a smart little chap, and he knew that each one must help the -others. So he told what he had seen. - -“And now,” said Cuppy, “what is to be done? We do not want these tramps -around here. Some of them may be hunters, and may try to catch us. -Others may tear out our dam, and that would be very bad for us, as the -water would all run out of our pond and our houses would be of no use. -Now we must either drive these tramps away, or else make our dam so big -and strong that they will not want to try to tear it apart.” - -“How can we drive the tramps away?” asked Toto’s father. - -“I don’t believe we can,” answered Cuppy. “If we were bears or wolves -we might, but, being beavers, we can’t very well do it. The next best -thing to do is to make our dam stronger. So to-morrow morning we must -all――young and old who can gnaw trees――we must all cut down as many -as we can and build the dam bigger. In that way we may be safe from -the tramps. Now remember――everybody come out to cut down trees in the -morning.” - -“We can cut trees now, can’t we, Dad?” asked Toto of his father. - -“Yes, you and Sniffy must do your share,” replied Mr. Beaver. “We must -all help one another.” - -The woods around the dam were a busy place next morning. All the -beavers who were able began cutting down trees. Later the trees would -be floated in canals to the big pond and made a part of the wall that -held back the waters. - -“Sniffy, do you want to come with me?” asked Toto of his brother, when -the two boys had, together, cut down a pretty good-sized tree. - -“Where are you going?” asked Sniffy. - -“Farther off into the woods,” answered Toto. “I know where there is -a nice, smooth, straight tree that we can cut down. It stands all -by itself, and when it falls it won’t lodge in among other trees, so -it will be easy to get out for the dam. Come, and we’ll cut it down -together.” - -“All right, I will,” said Sniffy. - -Now Toto did not tell his brother that the tree he intended gnawing -down was close to the camp of the tramps. Toto thought if he told his -brother that, Sniffy might be afraid to go. - -“But we can keep hidden from the tramps,” thought Toto, “and our teeth -do not make much noise when we gnaw. The tramps will not hear us. -Besides, I want to see if they are still there. Maybe Don has barked at -them and driven them away.” - -But when Toto and Sniffy reached the place in the woods where the tall -tree grew, there was the bark shack in the same place, and some of the -ragged men were still in and about it. - -“Oh, look!” exclaimed Sniffy, catching sight of the tramps. “Who are -the ragged men, Toto? Are they hunters?” - -“No,” answered Toto. And then he told his brother who the men were. -“But don’t be afraid,” went on Toto. “We’ll gnaw very silently, and the -tramps won’t know we are here. These are the ragged men I told about at -the meeting. But don’t be afraid, Sniffy.” - -“All right. I won’t be afraid if you’ll stay with me,” said Sniffy. -“Now which tree are we going to cut, Toto?” - -The other beaver showed his brother the tree he meant, and Sniffy said -it was a fine one. - -“If we cut that down all by ourselves, it will help make the dam much -bigger,” he said. “But we can’t cut it in one day, Toto.” - -“No, nor in two days,” answered the other. “It may take us a week. But -we can do it.” - -After that, each day, Toto and Sniffy slipped off by themselves and -went to the place near the camp of the tramps. There the two beaver -boys gnawed and gnawed and gnawed away at the tree they were cutting -down. And they worked so quietly that none of the tramps heard them. - -One day the big tall tree was almost cut through. - -“We shall finish gnawing it down in about an hour,” said Sniffy. - -“Yes,” agreed Toto, “it will soon fall.” - -“And shall we whack on the ground with our tails to signal for danger?” -Sniffy wanted to know. - -“We had better; yes,” agreed Toto. “We can’t tell but what some of the -other beavers may be around here, though I haven’t seen any.” - -So the two boy animals gnawed and gnawed some more, and soon the tree -began to topple slowly to one side. - -“There it goes!” cried Sniffy. - -“Yes, it’s going to fall,” agreed Toto. “Whack with your tail as hard -as you can! Whack your tail!” - -Toto and Sniffy banged their flat tails on the ground. It was the -beavers’ signal for danger. Then Toto and Sniffy ran and hid in a -hollow place under a big stump. But they could look out and see the -tree leaning over farther and farther as it toppled to the earth. - -Suddenly Toto cried: - -“Look! The tree is going to fall right on the place where the tramps -live! It is going to fall on their house and it will be smashed!” - -And so it was. The beaver boys had forgotten about the shack of the -tramps when they gnawed at the tree. Now it was toppling over directly -on the bark cabin. Toto and his brother were going to see something -very queer happen. - -“Bang with your tail! Bang with your tail, and give the danger signal -to the tramps!” cried Toto. - -And he and Sniffy whacked away as hard as they could. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -TOTO AND THE BURGLARS - - -Now, the tramps who had built the shack of bark in the woods knew -nothing about beavers and their ways. The tramps did not know that when -a beaver whacks his tail on the ground it means danger from a falling -tree, or from something else. - -But the tramps in the shack, toward which was falling the tree Toto and -Sniffy had gnawed down――these tramps heard the queer whacking sounds, -and they knew they had never heard them before. So some of them, who -were not as lazy as the others, ran out to see what it meant. - -One tramp looked up and saw the tall tree swaying down toward the bark -shelter. The tramp did not know that two little beaver boys had, all -alone, gnawed down the big tree. But the tramp could see it falling. - -“Come on! Get out! Everybody out of the shack!” cried the tramp who saw -the falling tree. “Everybody out! The whole woods are falling down on -us!” - -Of course that wasn’t exactly so. It was only one tree that was -falling, and the same one which Toto and Sniffy had gnawed down. But -the tramp who called out was so excited he hardly knew what he was -saying. - -And as soon as the other tramps, some of whom were sleeping in the -bark shack, heard the calls, they came running out, some rubbing their -eyes, for they were hardly awake. They had been asleep in the daytime, -too――the daytime when all the beavers were busy. - -“Come on! Come on! Get out! Everybody out!” yelled the tramp who had -first caught sight of the falling tree. - -As soon as the others knew what the danger was, out they rushed also, -and then they all stood outside the shack and to one side and watched -the tree crash down. - -Right on top of the bark cabin crashed the tree. There was a -splintering of wood, a breaking of branches, a big noise, and then it -was all over. - -For a few minutes the tramps said nothing. They all stood looking at -the fallen tree that had crushed their home in the woods. - -“Well!” exclaimed several of the men. - -“It’s a good thing we got out in time,” growled one tramp. - -“I should say so!” exclaimed another. “Lucky you saw it coming,” he -added to the tramp who had called the warning. - -“Did some one chop the tree down?” asked a third tramp. - -“No, I guess the wind blew it,” said a fourth. - -“There isn’t enough wind to blow a tree down,” decided the first tramp, -who had red hair. - -Of course we know it wasn’t the wind that blew the tree down. It was -Toto and Sniffy who gnawed it and made it fall. But the tramps were too -lazy to go and see what had caused the tree to topple over. They just -stood there and looked at their crushed house. - -“It will be a lot of work to build that up again,” said one tramp. -“She’s smashed flat.” - -“Build it up again! I’m not going to help build it up!” said another. -“It’s too hard. I’m tired of this place, anyhow. Let’s move off to -another woods. Maybe we can find a place near a chicken yard, and we -can have all the chickens we want. Let’s move away, now that our house -is smashed.” - -“Yes, let’s do that!” cried some of the other tramps. - -And those ragged men were so lazy that they did not want to go to the -trouble of building a home for themselves! Perhaps they thought they -could go off into the woods and find another already built. Anyhow, -they stood around a little while longer. One or two of them picked up -ragged coats and hats that were in the ruins of the hut, and some took -old cans in which they heated soup. That was all they had to move. - -“Well, come on! Let’s hike along!” said the red-haired tramp. - -With hardly a look back at what had been a home for some of them for a -long time, the tramps walked away through the woods. Toto and Sniffy, -hiding in the bushes, watched the ragged men go. - -“Look what we did!” said Sniffy to his brother. - -“Yes, we cut down a tree, but we didn’t mean to make it fall on the -house where the tramps lived,” said Toto. - -“Anyhow, they’re going away, and that’s a good thing for us,” went on -Sniffy. “Now we won’t have to make the dam so strong, nor move away -ourselves.” - -“That’s so,” agreed Toto. “I didn’t think about that. Why, Sniffy, we -really drove the tramps away, didn’t we?” - -“Yes,” answered his brother, “we did.” - -“Don, the dog, will be glad to know this,” went on Toto. “I guess -he’ll wish he had helped drive the tramps away himself. Come on! let’s -go back and tell Dad and Mr. Cuppy about cutting down the tree and -smashing the tramps’ cabin.” - -Mr. Beaver, Cuppy, and all the others in the colony were much surprised -when Toto and Sniffy told what had happened. Almost all the grown -animals, and certainly every one of the boys and girls, went out to -see the fallen tree and the smashed cabin. - -“Well, you did a lot to help us,” said Cuppy to the two brothers; “but -we can’t use that tree in the dam.” - -“Why not?” asked Toto. - -“Because it fell the wrong way. It would be too much work to dig a -canal to it and float it to the dam. It will be easier to cut down -another tree. But I don’t know that we shall need any more as long as -the tramps have moved away. We need not make our dam any bigger now.” - -“Are all the tramps gone?” asked Toto’s mother. - -“Yes, every one,” answered Cuppy. He was a wise old beaver, and he knew -none of the ragged men were left near what had once been their shack of -bark. - -So that was another adventure Toto had――driving away the tramps. And if -I had told you, at first, that two little beavers, not much bigger than -small puppy dogs, could make a number of big, lazy men move, you would -hardly have believed me. But it only goes to show in what a strange way -things happen in the woods. - -[Illustration: Everybody in the beaver colony had work to do.] - -Now that it was not needful to make the dam bigger, the beavers turned -to other work. Some of the canals they had dug had become filled up at -a time when there was too much rain and the banks had caved in. Some -of the beavers began to clear out these canals. Others mended holes in -the dam, and still others cut down, and brought to the pond, tender -branches of trees on which grew soft bark for the small beaver children -to eat. - -Everybody in the beaver colony had work to do. There was not a lazy one -among them, and Toto and Sniffy worked as hard as any. They had time to -play, too, and I’ll tell you about that in another chapter or two. Just -now I want to speak about another wonderful adventure that happened to -Toto. - -The little beaver boy was growing larger now. He was quite strong for -his size, and he was growing wiser every day. Often he went off in the -woods alone to hunt for tender bark, or perhaps for some berries he -liked to eat. - -One day Toto was walking along near a canal he had helped to dig. He -was thinking of Don, and wishing he might meet the nice dog again, and -tell him about the tramps being driven away. And Toto was also thinking -of the little girl with the red mittens, whose skate had come off on -the ice. - -Then, as Toto stepped from the woods into a little clearing, or place -where no trees grew, he saw something big――bigger than a thousand -beaver houses made into one. - -“I wonder what that is?” thought Toto. “It looks something like the -shack the tramps had in the woods, but it is much nicer. I wonder if it -is a house?” - -And then as Toto, hidden behind a bush, watched, he saw a little girl -and an old lady come out of the house (for such it was) and walk away -through the woods on a path. - -“Why! Why!” exclaimed Toto to himself. “That’s the same little girl I -saw on the ice! Only she’s different now. She hasn’t any red things on -her paws.” - -Of course, Toto thought the little girl’s hands were her paws. And the -“red things” were her mittens. But, as it was summer now, she did not -wear mittens. It really was the little girl who had been skating that -Toto now saw come out of the house in the woods. The little girl had -come to get her grandmother and take her for a visit to the little -girl’s house. - -Toto stayed hiding under the bush until the little girl and her -grandmother were out of sight. Then, just as he was about to travel on, -he heard some voices coming from behind a big stump. And, somehow or -other, Toto seemed to know those voices. Carefully he looked up over -the top of the bush. - -“Now’s our chance!” said one of the voices, though of course Toto did -not know what the words meant. “Now’s our chance! The old lady and the -little girl have gone out! Now we can break into the house and take -whatever we want!” - -“Yes, we might as well be burglars while we’re at it,” said another -voice. “We can’t get any work, so we’ll take things that other people -work for!” - -And then, to the surprise of Toto, he saw, bobbing up from behind the -stump, some of the very same ragged tramps that had gone away when -the tree smashed their shack. They were now near the home of Millie’s -grandmother. - -“I heard there was some jewelry in that house,” said the red-haired -tramp. “We can take it and sell it and then we can buy good things to -eat.” - -“That’s right,” said a black-haired one. “We’ll break in and get the -jewelry. Nobody is at home to stop us.” - -And then and there, as Toto watched, the bad tramps went toward the -house to take the little girl’s grandmother’s jewelry. - -“Oh, if Don were only here now!” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -TOTO AND THE BOY - - -Toto, being only a beaver, did not know very much about the different -things that men do. Toto knew how to gnaw down trees, how to strip off -bark when he was hungry, how to dig canals for the water to run in and -float logs for the dam, and he knew how to help make dams. But he never -thought of going into another beaver’s house and taking the bark which -that beaver had stored away. - -And now these men were going into the house of the little girl’s -grandmother, and they were going after jewelry which had been hidden -by the old lady when she went away on a little visit with her -granddaughter. But Toto knew nothing of this. All he knew was that he -was hiding behind a bush, watching the tramps steal softly toward the -lonely house. - -One of the tramps, the red-haired one, broke open the door of the -grandmother’s house. It was just the same as if Sniffy and Toto should -break into the house of Mr. Cuppy, when that kind old gentleman beaver -was out working on the dam. Into the house went the tramps――four of -them, big, ragged men. - -“I hope they don’t see me,” thought Toto, for he knew it was dangerous -to be where he was. His father and mother had told him to keep away -from men who had traps and guns. And though these tramps were too lazy -to do any hunting or shooting, Toto did not know that. - -Really he ought not to have been so far away from home, but you know -how it is with boys――even animal boys. Beavers sometimes don’t do the -right thing, any more than real boys do. So, though he felt that there -was danger, Toto wanted to stay near and watch. - -He saw the tramps break into the house, but of course he did not see -what they did when they got inside, so I shall have to tell you that -part of the story myself. - -The tramps easily broke open the door and got inside. The first thing -they did was to look for something to eat, for, being lazy men, they -did not work, and all the food they had was what they stole or begged. -And as Millie’s grandmother was a good cook, there was plenty in her -house to eat. The tramps had a fine meal, and they then looked about -for something to take away with them. - -Millie’s grandmother was not rich, but she had some gold and silver -jewelry put away in a box in her home. Some of the rings and pins were -those Millie’s grandmother had had since she was a little girl herself, -and there was one pretty bracelet that Mrs. Norman (which was the -grandmother’s name), had promised to give Millie. - -Mrs. Norman had hidden her box of jewelry under the bed when she went -out, thinking that would be a safe place. But, would you believe it? -That was one of the first places the tramps looked when they finished -their meal. - -“Ho! Ho!” laughed the tramps. “Here it is!” - -With their coarse, rough hands they broke open the box, for the lock -was not strong. Inside glittered the gold and silver jewelry of Mrs. -Norman, and the sun sparkled on the pretty bracelet that was to be -Millie’s. - -“Ho! Ho!” laughed the tramps. “This will bring us money when we sell -it!” - -The tramps were looking at the jewelry in the box when, all at once, -the red-haired one cried: - -“Hark! I hear some one coming! We’d better run!” - -“Come on!” exclaimed another. - -So the next thing Toto, the watching beaver, saw was tramps come -rushing from the house. Toto did not know what the tramps had done -in the house, but he saw them come rushing out, the red-haired one -carrying a small box. Of course Toto did not know what was in the box. -Beavers have no use for jewelry. - -“Come on!” cried the red-haired tramp. “Come on! Maybe the police are -after us!” - -And so the tramps ran across the fields towards the woods where they -had built themselves another shack. And these woods were not far from -those where Toto and the other beavers lived, near the dam. - -Now the noise which had scared the tramps was made by a boy knocking at -the side door of the house where Millie’s grandmother lived. This boy, -whose name was Bobbie Thompson, had been sent by his mother to borrow -a cup of sugar from Mrs. Norman. Bobbie’s mother lived almost half a -mile from Millie’s grandmother, and as there were very few stores in -that part of the country the neighbors used to borrow things from one -another. So Bobbie’s mother had sent him to borrow some sugar. - -Bobbie did not know that Millie and her grandmother had gone out, and -he did not know that tramps were in the house, when he knocked at the -side door. And it was his knocking that had scared the ragged men. - -Out of the front door of the house they rushed, and, as they hurried -away, Bobbie, who was a sturdy little chap, saw them go. - -“Hello there! What’s this?” cried Bobbie, who was very much surprised. -“What’s this?” - -Then, as he saw what kind of men they were and that one of them had the -box of jewelry under his arm, Bobbie understood. - -“Tramps! Tramps!” cried Bobbie. “I wish I had my dog with me now! Those -tramps have been robbing Mrs. Norman!” - -Bobbie stood on the side steps a few seconds, watching the tramps run -across the field. Then, being a brave boy, he decided to run after -them. I don’t believe Bobbie really thought he could catch the tramps, -nor that he hoped he could get the box of jewelry away from them if he -did catch them. He just wanted to see where they went, so he could tell -the police. - -“Hi there! Come back with that box!” called Bobbie, and then he began -to run. Off the steps he jumped, dropping the cup which he had come to -get filled with sugar. He had forgotten all about that now. - -After the tramps he ran, shouting and calling to them, and the queer -part of it was that the tramps did not look back to see who was after -them. They were too frightened, as they knew they had done wrong and -could be arrested for it. - -“Are the police after us?” asked one tramp. - -“Yes, I guess so,” answered the red-haired one who had the jewel box. -“We’d better hide this stuff, too! If they catch us with it we’ll have -to go to jail. We’ll hide it as soon as we get to the woods!” - -And so the tramps ran on, never once looking back. If they had looked -back they would have seen it was only a small boy chasing them, and not -two or three policemen. But that is often the way with persons who do -wrong. Their own fears scare them. - -“Hi there! Hold on! Stop!” cried Bobbie. But the tramps did not stop. -They only ran the faster toward the woods. And, finally reaching the -forest, the red-haired tramp looked around for a place to hide the box -of jewelry. - -“I’ll put it in this hollow tree!” he said to the other tramps, as, -reaching a big chestnut tree, he saw a hole in the trunk. “I’ll hide -the jewelry here and, when the police go, we can come back and get it -out again.” - -So he thrust the box of gold and silver jewelry, with Millie’s bracelet -in it, into the hollow of the tree. Then the tramps ran on through -the woods, and scattered, some going one way and some another, still -thinking the police were after them. - -But it was only Bobbie, and the little boy, seeing that the tramps were -fast running away from him, soon gave up the chase. - -“I guess I’ll go back to Millie’s grandmother’s house,” said Bobbie -to himself. “Maybe she’s come back. If she has I’ll get the sugar and -tell her about the tramps. If she isn’t at home I’ll go and tell my -mother.” - -Now all this time Toto was wondering what it all meant. He had seen the -bad, ragged tramps break into the house, and he had seen them rush out, -and Bobbie chasing after them. But the beaver did not know what it was -all about. However, being very curious, as are most wild animals, Toto -wanted to find out. So when Bobbie began to run Toto slowly followed -after, taking care, however, to keep in the shadow of the bushes and -trees. - -Thus it happened that when Bobbie turned back, after he had lost sight -of the tramps in the woods, he saw Toto ambling along. - -“Hello! A beaver!” cried Bobbie. “I haven’t seen one of them for a long -while! I’m going to get him! I’ll take him home for a pet!” - -And then, running as fast as he could, Bobbie chased after Toto, -wishing to catch our little friend with the broad, flat tail. - -“My goodness!” thought Toto as he saw Bobbie coming. “I’d better run!” - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -TOTO MEETS BLACKIE - - -By this time Bobbie had forgotten all about the tramps who took the -jewelry. He was thinking only of catching Toto. - -“Oh ho! You’re a fine, fat one!” laughed Bobbie. “I’d like you for a -pet!” - -“I’ve got to get away as fast as I can!” thought Toto. “I wish I had -not come so far from the dam and the water back of it. If I could find -some deep water now I’d dive into it and this boy chap couldn’t find -me. I’d stay under a long time.” - -But, just then, Toto could see no water near him, though he remembered -he had swum in a brook almost up to the house into which the tramps had -broken to get food and the box of jewelry. - -“If I could only find that brook now!” thought poor Toto. - -“I’ll get you! I’ll get you!” cried the boy. Of course Toto did not -know what these words meant any more than the boy could understand -beaver talk. But Toto knew he was in danger, and the boy knew the -little animal, with the flat tail, was trying to get away. - -Now Toto could smell water even when he could not see it. His nose was -very good for smelling, and, as he ran along――or rather “waddled,” as I -call it――he kept sniffing to see if he could not smell water somewhere. -And at last he did. Off to his left he caught the smell he so much -wanted, and he turned sharply to one side. - -“I wonder where he’s going now,” said the boy, aloud. “Maybe he has a -nest over there. No, beavers don’t live in nests, so Jake told me. They -have their houses in the water near a dam. I wish I could find a beaver -dam. Then I could get two beavers for pets.” - -Bobbie did not know how hard it was to capture beavers once those busy -animals are in the water. - -“I’ll get him! I’ll get that beaver!” cried the boy. - -“If I can only get to the water I’ll be all right!” thought poor Toto, -whose heart was beating very fast, both in fear and because he had to -hurry along so quickly. - -Just as the beaver reached the edge of the little stream Bobbie got -there too, and made a grab for Toto. So close was Bobbie to Toto that -the boy could almost touch the flat tail of our friend. But Toto gave -a jump, and into the water he landed, making a great splash. Down, down -toward the bottom dived Toto, and at once he began to swim under water, -for beavers can do that, just as muskrats can. Of course they are not -like a fish, who has to stay under water all the while, and can not -breathe in the open air. Beavers, and animals like that, can hold their -breath a long while under water, and so can stay hidden and out of -sight. - -“Oh, there he goes!” cried Bobbie, much disappointed as he saw Toto -dive into the stream. “But maybe I can get him!” - -The boy ran along the bank of the stream, but Toto knew better than -even to stick out so much as the tip of his nose. The beaver did not -need to do this. He could swim under water for quite a long time, and -that’s what he was doing now. His hind feet were webbed, like those -of a duck, and his broad, flat tail helped him, too. It was like the -propeller of a boat. In a half minute he was far enough away from -Bobbie to be safe, and, though the boy ran along the stream for several -minutes, he did not again see Toto――that is not for some days. Toto had -got safely away, and, half an hour later, he was back at the dam, where -he found his father and his mother and Sniffy waiting for him. - -“Where have you been?” asked Mr. Beaver. “You were gone so long that I -thought something had happened.” - -“Something did happen,” answered Toto. “A boy chased me, and I saw the -ragged men――the tramps as Don, the dog, called them!” - -“My goodness!” exclaimed Mrs. Beaver. “Chased by a boy! Did he catch -you?” - -“No, I got away just in time,” answered Toto. - -“I hope those tramps aren’t coming to our woods again,” said Mr. Beaver. - -“Well, they ran in among the trees,” said Toto, “and they stopped at a -hollow one, put something in there, and then they ran on.” - -“Maybe they hid a lot of bark in the hollow tree,” said Sniffy. For a -beaver, you know, bark is the best thing there is in the world. It is -better to him than jewelry ever could be. - -“I don’t know what it was they hid,” said Toto. “But the boy chased -them and then he chased me.” - -“You must always be careful,” warned his father. “These woods are too -often visited by hunter men and boys these days. Watch out for traps.” - -Toto and Sniffy said they would, and then the beaver boys went out on a -little hill, near the pond back of the dam, to have some fun. And the -fun they had was sliding downhill! - -I suppose it may sound odd to you to be told that beavers slide -downhill, but they really do, and other wild animals in the woods do -the same thing. They don’t wait for snow and ice to cover the hill, -either, as you boys and girls do. In fact, most animals do not like -snow and ice――unless perhaps it is polar bears――and when winter comes -many animals take a long sleep until warm weather comes again. - -Of course Toto and the other beavers have to stand the cold, and -perhaps be out in the ice and snow, and that is why they have such a -thick, warm coat of fur. - -But the sliding downhill fun I am going to tell you about took place -in the summer, and I suppose you are wondering how any one can slide -downhill when there is no snow or ice. - -Well, the beavers slide down on mud. You know how slippery mud is when -it is wet. And there is a kind of mud, called “clay,” which is very -slippery indeed. If you have ever been near a brickyard, and have seen -the clay dug out and wet, you know how slippery it is. It is even more -slippery than snow or ice. - -Now near the beaver pond was a hill of clay, and some of it had been -taken by Cuppy and the older animals to plaster up holes in the dam. -This digging out of the clay, made a bare place on the hill, where the -grass was torn away, leaving the soil exposed. - -This clay slide was where Toto, Sniffy and the other beavers had their -fun. And not only the young beavers, but the old ones as well, even -Cuppy, took their turns going down the slide. Otters also make slippery -slides to coast down, and I have even heard that big bears, when they -can find a place, like to slide downhill. - -The animals do this not only for fun, but to keep their muscles and -legs limber and strong. It is their exercise, just as you raise your -arms and bend your bodies in school when you take your exercise. - -Now to be slippery, clay has to be wet. And, as it would not do to wait -for a rain to come to wet the slide, the beavers, otters, and other -animals wet the slides themselves. They go into the water at the foot -of the slide, get themselves soaking wet, climb out and go to the top -of the hill. There they sit down and the water, dripping from their -bodies, makes the hill slippery. Down they go, splashing into the -stream or the pond at the foot. Almost all the slides end in water. - -“Come on out and slide down!” called Toto to Sniffy, and away they ran. -They climbed up the hill at a place where it was not slippery and, -taking turns, sat down at the top of the slide. Then, giving themselves -a little push with their paws, as you give yourself a push with your -feet when you sit on your sled, down they went. - -Sometimes the beavers slid down on their tails, and sometimes on their -backs. Some even slid down on their stomachs, or went down sideways. -Down they went, any way to get a slide, and into the water they -splashed. - -“Hi there! Look out!” cried Toto to Dumple, a little fat beaver boy who -lived in the stick house next to him. “Look out! I’m coming!” - -But Dumple did not get out of the way quickly enough, and when Toto -slid down he bumped right into him, and the beaver chaps went down the -slide together and into the water with a splash. - -“Ho! Ho! That was fun! Let’s do it again,” cried Dumple. - -“All right!” agreed Toto. “But did I hurt you?” - -“Not a bit!” laughed Dumple. “Come on, Sniffy! Let’s bump into one -another on the slide!” he called. - -So Toto’s brother joined the fun, and many other beavers played on the -slide, climbing up and coasting down. - -When supper time came Toto and the others had very good appetites for -the bark which was waiting for them. Darkness came, and the beavers -went to sleep. The night settled down on the beaver pond and dam. -As Toto went to sleep perhaps he thought of the adventures of that -day――how he had seen the boy chase the tramps, and how the ragged men -had hidden something in the hollow tree. But Toto did not think much -about that. He was too tired and sleepy after playing on the mud slide. - -It was two or three days after this that, as our beaver friend was -walking through the woods, looking for some soft bark for his mother, -he heard a funny little noise up in a tree. The noise went: - -“Mew! Mew! Meaouw!” - -“Hello! what’s that?” called Toto, looking here and there. “Is anything -the matter?” he asked. - -“I should say there was!” came the answer. “A bad dog chased me up this -tree and now I’m afraid to come down.” - -“Who are you?” asked Toto. - -“I am Blackie, and once I was a lost cat,” was the answer. “I guess I’m -pretty nearly lost now. Oh, dear! what shall I do?” - -[Illustration: “I’ll help you down out of the tree,” said Toto -cheerfully.] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -TOTO IN A TRAP - - -Toto looked up in the tree from which the mewing noise came. There he -saw a black cat. The cat sat in a place where a branch joined the main -trunk of the tree, and Toto wondered why, if she got up there, she -could not get down. - -“What happened to you?” asked the beaver boy. - -“A dog chased me,” was the answer. “I was out walking in the fields, -and a dog ran along after me. I was so frightened that I scampered as -fast as I could. Then I ran up this tree. I hardly knew what I was -doing, or how I got up so high. But here I am, and though it seemed -easy to get up, I’m afraid to try to get down. I might slip and fall.” - -“Did you walk up the tree?” asked Toto, wondering why she couldn’t walk -down again. - -“No, I stuck my claws into the bark and pulled myself up,” answered the -black cat. “But it’s harder to go down. I don’t know what to do! I wish -that dog had let me alone.” - -“Was the dog who chased you named Don?” asked Toto. “I know him.” - -“Do you? Why, so do I!” exclaimed Blackie. “No, it wasn’t Don who -chased me. He and I are good friends. This was a strange dog, and I -don’t like him. He has made a lot of trouble for me. Maybe I’ll never -get out of this tree, and I’ll never again see the kind lady and little -girl I live with.” - -“Oh, yes, you will!” said Toto cheerfully. “I’ll help you get down out -of the tree.” - -“Can you climb up here?” asked Blackie. - -“No, I can’t climb trees, but I can gnaw them down,” answered the -beaver boy. “You just wait. This is a poplar tree, and the bark is very -good to eat. You just wait up there. I’ll gnaw through the tree, it -will fall, and you can then easily get to the ground.” - -“But when the tree falls won’t I get hurt?” asked Blackie. - -“No, for I’ll cut the tree so it will fall in among the bushes,” -answered Toto, who, by this time, could make a tree fall in any -direction he liked. “The bushes will be a sort of cushion, like the -cushion of soft grass and chips in our stick house.” - -Toto took his position at the foot of the tree, half way up in which -was Blackie, the cat. Propping himself up on his tail, and clasping his -forepaws around the trunk of the tree, which was about as large around -as a rolling pin, Toto began to gnaw. - -In a few minutes Toto had almost cut through the trunk. - -“Oh, the tree is beginning to fall!” mewed Blackie. - -“That’s what I want it to do,” answered Toto. “Don’t be afraid. Sit -tight! You will not be hurt.” - -The tree was swaying slightly, for the trunk had almost been cut -through by the hard-working beaver boy. But he had cut it in the proper -way, and it was falling toward a clump of thick bushes. - -Blackie dug her claws into the soft bark and held on as tightly as -she could. She was a little afraid, but she need not have been, for -Toto knew what he was about. Very slowly and gently the tree swayed -over. It fell among the bushes with hardly a crash, the boughs and the -underbrush making a cushion. And now the trunk was so close to the -ground that Blackie easily leaped down. - -“Oh, thank you, very much, for helping me,” she mewed to Toto. “I -thought I’d never get down, or see my kind lady mistress again. She is -very sad these days, and if she lost me she would be more sad.” - -“What is she sad about?” asked Toto. - -“Because her house was broken into the other day by some bad men, she -thinks,” explained Blackie. “They took away a box of jewelry she had -hidden under the bed. And in the box was a bracelet for a nice little -girl. This little girl pets me and gives me milk when she comes to see -her grandmother, with whom I now live. And sometimes I go to stay at -the little girl’s house.” - -“Why, how surprising!” exclaimed Toto. “I think I know the house you -mean! I saw some ragged men go in there and come out with a box. A boy -chased them and then the boy chased me.” - -“What did the men do with the box?” asked Blackie. “Oh, how exciting! -Maybe we can find it and make my mistress happy again.” - -Toto slowly flapped his flat tail. - -“The men went into the woods with the box,” he said. “That is all I -know.” - -“What woods?” asked Blackie. - -“Well, the woods not very far from here,” answered the beaver. - -“I wish I could find the box,” mewed Blackie. “I don’t care for jewelry -myself, though I like a red ribbon tied on my neck, as the little girl -sometimes ties it. But if I could find the box of jewelry it would make -Millie and her grandmother happy.” - -“I wish I could help you,” said Toto. “But I don’t know where the box -is. But tell me about Don. Have you seen him lately? He wanted to -catch the tramps.” - -“No, I haven’t seen Don for some time,” explained Blackie. “He lives in -another house with a boy, and sometimes this boy comes to see Millie’s -grandmother. The old lady is his grandmother, too. Don and I are good -friends.” - -“He is a nice dog,” said Toto. “Well, as long as I have cut down this -tree I may as well eat some of the bark. Will you have some?” - -“No, thank you,” answered Blackie. “I don’t eat bark, I drink milk.” - -“Bark is better,” said the beaver. “But I suppose it wouldn’t do for us -all to eat the same thing. There wouldn’t be enough. Now, do you know -your way home?” - -“Oh, yes, I can find my way back across the fields to the house where I -live,” said the cat. “I hope the tramps don’t come again. But call and -see me sometime.” - -“Thank you,” answered Toto. “I will. But I don’t go out in the fields -much. It is safer for us beavers in the woods near the water.” - -“I don’t like water,” said the black cat. “But thank you once more for -getting me down out of the tree. I’ll tell Don, the next time I see -him, how kind you are to me.” - -“Remember me to him,” begged Toto. - -“I will!” mewed Blackie. Then she walked off toward the field, and -Toto began to eat some of the poplar bark. - -You remember I told you I would put in this story something about how -beavers dig canals to float the logs they cut down to the dam. And I -guess this is a good place for that. - -With their paws the beavers dig a ditch in the dirt, starting it from -the place where the fallen tree lies, and heading it toward the waters -of their pond. The beavers are fast diggers, too, almost as fast as -they are gnawers, and many of them, working together, will dig a little -canal in a few days. They take out the dirt and stones, placing them -to one side. They carry the dirt and stones out of their way in their -front paws. - -Foot by foot the canal, which is yet only a dry ditch in the ground, -is brought to the edge of the beaver pond. Then the little animals cut -through the remaining wall of earth, so the water from the pond flows -into the canal. The water goes all the way back to where the big tree -trunk lies on the bank of the little canal. The beavers now, pushing -all together, roll the heavy log into the canal which, after this, can -easily be floated through the canal to the beaver pond, and used to -make the dam bigger and stronger. - -One day Mr. Beaver called out and said: - -“Come on, Toto and Sniffy. You must help Cuppy and some of the others -dig canals to-day. It will soon be winter again, and we want to get a -lot of wood and bark stored away before cold weather comes.” - -Beavers do not sleep all through the winter as bears, and some other -animals, do. The beavers stay awake, move about, and have to eat. So -they need plenty of food. - -“Digging canals is fun!” laughed Toto. “I like it; don’t you, Sniffy?” - -“Yes,” answered his brother, “I do. Here comes Dumple!” he added. -“Let’s have some fun with him!” - -So the three beaver boys tumbled about on the ground as they went along -to where the canal was being dug. There they found Cuppy and many other -animals at work, for several large trees had been cut down, and they -must be floated in canals to the dam. - -Each of the beaver boys was given a certain part of the work to do, and -Toto was soon busy with the others. Foot by foot the canal was dug. - -Now of course beaver boys don’t like to work all the while, any more -than real boys do, and Toto was a real beaver boy. So, after he had -dug a bit, he looked around, and, seeing no one near him, he said to -himself: - -“I’m going to see if I can’t find some willow bark to eat. Somehow -to-day I seem to want a bit of willow bark.” - -He climbed out of the canal, which had no water in as yet, and walked, -or waddled, off through the woods. And soon Toto was going to have an -adventure that was not a nice one. - -He was walking along, thinking of what fun he would have that evening -on the mud slide, when, all at once, he seemed to smell something very -good. It was a piece of apple, and Toto had not eaten an apple for many -days, as none grew in the woods. - -“Oh, how good that is!” he exclaimed. “Some one must have dropped it -here under the trees.” - -Toto looked about and sniffed until he saw a small, red apple. It -seemed to be on top of a little pile of leaves. - -“Oh, how good!” cried Toto. He walked up to the apple, and then, all of -a sudden, something happened! There was a clicking sound, and Toto felt -a pain in his leg. Then he knew what it was. - -“Oh, dear, I’m caught in a trap!” cried the beaver boy. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -TOTO ON A BOAT - - -True enough, Toto, the bustling beaver, was caught in a trap. Some one -had set the trap in the woods, covering it over with dried leaves so -it could not be seen. And an apple had been put near the trap, so that -it would attract, or call by its smell, some animal. And Toto was that -animal. - -“Snap!” had gone the jaws of the trap, closing together on Toto’s leg, -and the beaver boy was in great pain. - -“Oh, dear! Ouch! Oh, let me go!” cried Toto, in beaver talk. But the -trap did not let him go, and, pull as he did, Toto could not get loose. - -After struggling for a while, pulling this way and that, and still -feeling himself held fast, Toto grew quiet and lay down on the dried -leaves. - -He had pulled the trap out into plain view now, and he could see where -the steel jaws were shut fast on his leg. Toto was glad of one thing, -and this was that the jaws of the trap were not sharp and jagged like a -barbed wire fence. Some traps, Toto knew, were made with iron teeth in -them, and when they fastened on an animal’s leg they cut into it. This -trap was an easier kind. - -“If the trap wasn’t fast to a chain, and the chain fast to a stump, I -could pull the trap along with me, and maybe Cuppy and my father could -get it loose from my leg,” thought Toto. But the boy who had set the -trap had known that any animal which got caught in it would try to pull -it away, so he had made it fast to a stump. All the pulling Toto did -would not loosen the trap. - -“Well, I’m caught, and that’s all there is to it,” thought poor Toto. -“I can’t get loose, but maybe if I could call some of the other -beavers they could help me,” he went on. He knew that to call the -other beavers, or to warn them of danger, he must flap his tail on -the ground. If he had been near water he would have flapped it on the -water, and it would have made a louder sound. But he was away from the -water and had to do the best he could. - -Thump! Thump! Thump! went Toto’s tail on the ground. His tail was not -caught in the trap, and he was glad of that. Thump! Thump! Thump! went -his tail again. Then Toto listened. But none of the other beavers came -to help him. - -After a while the pain in his leg was not quite so bad. He was sure the -bone was not broken, and he was glad of that. - -“But what is going to happen to me?” thought Toto. “Dad always told me -to be careful and keep away from traps, and here I have gone and walked -right into one! - -“But that apple did smell so good!” went on Toto. “I just couldn’t help -wanting it!” He had managed to get one bite of the apple before the -trap snapped shut on his leg. And now, as he saw the fruit lying near -him, Toto thought he might as well eat the rest of it, which he did. - -Hardly had he finished eating when he heard a noise in the bushes and -among the leaves, and he knew some one was coming. Toto’s heart beat -very fast, and, as any wild animal would have done, he tried to get -away, forgetting, for the moment, that he was held fast by the trap. A -tug at the chain and a pain in his leg brought to his mind that he was -still a prisoner, and he fell back among the leaves. - -And then through the bushes came a boy. In an instant he saw Toto in -the trap. - -“Oh, I’ve caught a beaver! I’ve caught a beaver!” cried the boy, -jumping up and down. - -The boy walked toward Toto. Once again the little animal tried to get -away, but the chain and trap held him. The beaver crouched down in the -leaves and the boy put out his hand to stroke his fur. - -Toto showed his orange-colored teeth, opening his lips as a dog does -when he snarls. Toto knew he could bite and bite hard, and that was all -he thought of now. - -“Oh ho! showing your teeth, are you?” exclaimed the boy, as he drew -back his hand. “Well, I must be careful! But I won’t hurt you, poor -fellow. I’m sorry you are caught in my trap, but I am glad I didn’t use -one with sharp teeth. - -“And I want a beaver for a pet, or else I’d let you go. But I’ll be -good to you. I’ll take you home with me and you can have a nice little -cage to live in, and I’ll give you apples and bark to eat every day. I -guess you like apples, ’cause you ate the one I used to bait my trap,” -went on the boy. - -Toto looked at this boy. For a moment the beaver thought he might be -the same one who had chased the tramps, but of this Toto could not be -sure. He did not know much about boys or men. - -“Yes, I’ll take you home to our houseboat and treat you kindly,” went -on the boy. “Dad said I couldn’t catch anything in my trap, but I did. -And now I wonder how I can get you home without having you bite me? I -guess I can put you in a bag.” - -The boy had a cloth bag in his pocket, and, opening this, he poked -Toto into it, using a stick. The beaver tried not to go in, for he was -afraid the bag was a worse trap than the one in which he was already -caught. But the chain held the beaver fast and he had to do just as the -boy wanted. - -And so, a little later, Toto found himself shut up in a bag, trap, -chain and all, and being carried away over the boy’s shoulder. The trap -was still fast to the beaver’s leg, and he wished it would be loosened, -for it hurt. - -Then, if Toto had been a boy or a girl, he would have cried. But -beavers don’t do that. - -Toto did not know where the boy was taking him, but it seemed a long -way through the woods, and, after a while, the beaver felt himself -being set down, inside the bag as he was. - -“Where have you been?” asked some one of the boy. - -“Oh, I’ve been off in the woods, Dad!” answered the boy. “And, what do -you think? I caught a beaver in my trap! A beaver!” - -Of course Toto did not understand these words, but he could hear the -boy and his father talking. Then the bag was opened, and Toto tried -to jump out. But some one caught him round the middle of his body, in -strong hands, and Toto could not turn his head to bite. Toto saw that -a man was holding him, and the boy was standing near. And all around -was water. Toto could see it and smell it. - -At first he thought he was back at the dear old beaver pond, and he -looked for the dam, for Cuppy, for his father and the others. But -a second look showed him that this was not the beaver pond. It was -another body of water――much larger. But still Toto wished, with all his -heart, that he was in that water. - -“I’d soon get away from them by swimming, if they’d let me go and would -take this trap off my leg,” thought Toto. - -But the man was not going to let him go. He held tightly to Toto, and -the beaver could not bite. - -“Take the trap off his leg, Donald,” said the boy’s father. “It must -hurt him. I hope the leg isn’t broken. If you want a beaver for a pet -you should have used a box trap, that would not have hurt him.” - -“I didn’t know I was going to catch a beaver,” replied the boy. “But -I’m glad I did. I’ll make a little cage for him, and feed him bark and -apples. You hold him, Dad, while I take off the trap.” - -So while the man held Toto, with his hands on the middle of the fat -beaver’s body, the boy opened the trap and slipped it from the animal’s -leg. And you can well guess that Toto was very glad of this. The pain -stopped when the trap was taken off, and, aside from a little sore -place on his leg, the beaver was not hurt. - -[Illustration: And then, through the bushes, came a boy.] - -“We’ll put him in a box, and then we must start the boat,” said the man. - -Toto did not know what a boat was, but a little later he found himself -in a box, with a wire screen over the side which was open. Toto could -look out, he could smell the air and the water, and he could see the -water itself, but he could not get out. And then, by the way the wind -blew and by the manner in which the sun sparkled on the little waves, -Toto knew that he was moving along. - -“But it’s queer I’m not swimming,” thought the beaver. “I am moving -along on the water, and yet I am not wet. How is that, I wonder?” - -The truth was that Toto had been brought on board a houseboat――that is, -a boat made somewhat like a house. Donald, his father and his mother -were traveling down the river on a houseboat, and when they “tied -up” for a day Donald had gone on shore and set his trap. And he had -caught Toto. Now Toto was on the boat and more adventures were going to -happen. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -TOTO GETS HOME AGAIN - - -Shut tightly in the cage on the deck of the houseboat, Toto looked -across the water. The boat was moving slowly along. It was near the -bank of the river, and some of the trees were so close that the boat -brushed the branches as it moved along. - -Suddenly Toto heard a voice speaking to him in the beloved animal -language he knew so well. - -“Hello there, beaver boy!” called the voice. “What are you doing on -that boat?” - -“Oh, I don’t know what you mean by ‘boat,’” answered Toto, “but I don’t -want to be on it, whatever it is. But who are you? Can’t you help me?” - -“No, I am sorry to say I can not,” was the answer. “Don’t you remember -me? I am Slicko, the jumping squirrel, and I live in one of the trees -near your beaver pond.” - -“Oh, Slicko, see what’s happened to me!” cried Toto, looking from his -cage and seeing the squirrel frisking about in the trees on shore near -the boat. “I was caught in a trap, and now I’m in a cage.” - -“Yes, I see you are,” answered Slicko. “I wish I could help you, but I -can’t. I was caught in a trap once, myself, and I lived in a funny cage -with a wheel. But I got away, after I had had many adventures, and now -I am back in the woods again. A man wrote a book about me, too.” - -“Well, I wouldn’t care how many books they wrote about me if I could -only get out of this cage,” sighed Toto. “I don’t know what a book is, -and I don’t much care. I heard Don and Blackie talk about them, though.” - -“Oh, do you know Don and Blackie?” asked Slicko, as she kept running -along in the trees, chattering away to Toto and keeping up with the -slowly moving houseboat. - -“Yes, I know them a little,” answered the beaver. - -“And do you know Squinty, the comical pig, and Mappo, the merry -monkey?” asked Slicko. - -“I haven’t met them yet, but maybe I shall,” answered Toto. “But I’d -rather be back at the beaver dam and hear my mother tell me to come in -and get some poplar bark.” - -“I am sorry for you,” chattered Slicko, who had once lived near the -dam. “I’m going back to the beaver pond now, and I’ll tell your father -and mother what’s happened to you.” - -“Oh, thank you!” said Toto. “Maybe they can come and take me away.” - -“I hope so,” said Slicko. - -Then the river grew wider, the boat moved out farther from shore, and -Toto and the squirrel could no longer talk to one another. But Slicko -waved her bushy tail at the beaver boy in the cage on the deck of the -houseboat. - -For several days Toto was kept a prisoner in the cage on the houseboat. -It was not a fast boat, and did not go very far any day. Only a mile or -two would it move down the river, and then it would be tied up to the -shore, while the man and his wife and Donald went walking in the woods. -The man painted pictures, and he would stop at every pretty scene he -came to. So, though a week had passed since Toto was caught in the -trap, he really was not carried very far away from his own home at the -beaver dam in Winding River. - -The boy who had caught the beaver in a trap was kind to Toto. He -brought bits of bark, potatoes, apples and sweet water-plant roots to -the little prisoner each day. At first Toto would not eat, but finally -he grew so hungry that he had to. His leg was not sore any longer, and -he could have waddled on the ground, or he could have paddled through -the water if he could only have gotten loose. But he was kept shut up -in a tin-lined wooden box with wire in front. This was his cage. - -Slicko had kept her word. She had gone back through the woods, and, -reaching the beaver pond, she had told Cuppy and the others how she had -seen Toto in a cage on the houseboat. - -Mrs. Beaver and her husband and Sniffy wanted to go right away and -rescue Toto, and they started with Cuppy and some of the others. For -beavers are animals that help one another when they can. They are all -like one big family. But the houseboat had gone down the river, and -even Cuppy, wise old beaver that he was, could not find it. - -“I guess Toto is gone forever,” sighed Mother Beaver. “Well, it is sad, -but it can not be helped. I hope he has a happy home.” - -And so, after a few days, Toto was almost forgotten by all who lived in -the beaver pond. His mother and father did not forget him, though, even -when they were busy gnawing down trees or working on the dam. - -One day, about two weeks after he had been caught in the trap and put -in the cage, Toto, still on the houseboat, saw, from the deck, that -they were coming to a very wide part of the river. It was a stretch -of water much larger than the beaver pond. And there were not so many -trees near the river now. - -“Are we going to stop at the big city, Dad?” asked Donald, the boy, of -his father, as they stood on deck, looking around. - -“Yes, I think we shall tie up there for a day or so,” was the answer. -“I have painted some pictures of the woods, and I may sell them in the -big city.” - -“I like the city and I like the woods,” said the boy. “They are -going to have a circus here at this city. I saw the pictures on the -billboards. I want to see the elephants and the lions and the tigers.” - -“The wild animals in the woods are better than those in a circus, my -boy,” said the man. “But still if there were no circuses many people -would never see a wild animal. We shall all go to the circus.” - -And so, a little later, the boat was tied up near the shore of the -river, and Toto, looking out from his cage, could see a number of big, -white objects. At first he thought they were white clouds that had come -down to earth, as happens in a fog. But when he looked again he knew -they were not clouds. - -“There are the circus tents!” cried the boy. - -And a little later Toto saw the boy and his father and mother leave the -boat, going on shore. - -But while he was lying stretched out in his cage on the deck of the -houseboat, being all alone, now that the man and lady and boy had gone -to the circus, Toto heard voices talking, and he heard the tramp of -heavy feet. - -“Here is a good place to water the elephants,” said a man. “Come on, -Tum Tum, take a drink and go in and take a bath if you want to. There -is plenty of water. But don’t splash any on this houseboat. The people -who own it might not like it.” - -Toto looked from his cage. He saw, entering the water, a number of big -animals, many hundred times as large as the largest beaver. And the -animals seemed to have two tails, one in front and one behind. But -the one in front was larger and could be curled and twisted in a very -strange way. - -“Take a drink, Tum Tum!” called one of the men with the big animals. - -Then Toto saw one of the big beasts stick his front tail down into the -river, suck up a lot of water and squirt it over his back. - -“Is your name Tum Tum?” asked Toto of the big beast who was nearest the -houseboat. - -“That’s what it is,” was the answer. “But who are you and why are you -there?” - -“I am a beaver, and my name is Toto,” was the answer. “I was caught in -a trap and now I am in a cage, and I wish I could get out. But what -kind of animal are you? I never saw one like you before. And why have -you two tails? I have only one.” - -“I have not two tails,” answered Tum Tum, the jolly elephant. “The one -in front is my trunk, or nose. But I am sorry for you if you don’t like -it in your cage. I live in a circus, and some of our animals like to be -in cages, while others do not. - -“We had a tiger named Tamba in the circus, but he isn’t with us any -more. He got away, and I heard he went back to the jungle where he -first lived. But Nero, our circus lion, is still in his cage, or he was -when I came from the circus grounds a little while ago. Nero seems to -like it in his cage.” - -“Well, I don’t like it here,” said Toto. “I don’t believe I’d like it -in a circus, either, though I never tried that. I wish I could get -away.” - -“Do you really want to get loose?” asked Tum Tum, the jolly elephant, -coming close to the houseboat, on the open deck of which stood Toto’s -cage. - -“Of course I want to get loose. I want to go back to the beaver dam!” - -“Then keep very still and I will set you free,” said Tum Tum, in what -would be an animal whisper. “I can reach over, with my trunk, and tear -the wire loose from the front of your cage. Then you can get out.” - -“Oh, thank you! Please do that!” begged Toto. - -So, when none of the other elephants were looking, and when the circus -men were busy farther down the river, Tum Tum reached his trunk over -the low rail about the deck of the houseboat. - -On the end of Tum Tum’s trunk was a sort of finger and thumb. You have -seen elephants use them in picking up peanuts. Tum Tum with his trunk -now quickly tore the wire off the front of Toto’s cage. In another -minute the beaver was loose and out on deck. - -“Oh, thank you!” he called to Tum Tum. “Now I am free!” - -“Yes, you may go anywhere you like,” said Tum Tum. “Don’t you want to -come to the circus and see me and Nero do tricks? We are said to be -quite smart, and a man who wrote about Blackie, Don, Mappo and some -other animals, has written a book about me and about Nero. Better come -and see us.” - -“No, thank you,” answered Toto. “I want to swim back to my beaver -friends as soon as I can. Thank you for setting me free.” - -“Don’t mention it! Glad I could help you!” said Tum Tum, speaking in a -rumbly voice, for his trunk was under water just then. - -It did not take Toto long to jump off the boat into the river. And, oh! -how good it felt to him to be in water again where he had room enough -to swim. He knew he had come down stream, so he began to swim up, as -his home was in that direction. - -I am sorry I have not room to tell you the many adventures Toto had as -he swam up the river, and along the other streams that branched from -it. How he knew his way back to the beaver dam I don’t know, but Toto -did. Cats and dogs find their way back home when they have been taken -many miles away, in trains or automobiles, so it is not strange that -Toto could find his way back. - -It took him more than a week, though, and he had to be careful not to -be caught again, for many times he was chased by dogs and boys. But he -was pretty safe as long as he kept in the water. And at last, one day, -Toto found himself back again in the very woods where he knew he lived. - -He swam as near to the pond as he could, and then he crawled out and -waddled along through the woods, taking care not to get into any more -danger. - -Suddenly, as Toto traveled along, stopping now and then to nibble a bit -of bark, he heard some voices talking――the voices of men. By this time -Toto was quite well acquainted with men’s voices. The voices of Donald -and his father were kind, but the voices the beaver boy now heard were -harsh and angry. - -“Well, you hid the jewelry away, and you ought to know where you put -it!” said one voice. - -“Yes, I put it in a hollow tree, but now I can’t find the tree,” -growled another voice. “You all saw me hide it!” - -“Yes, but maybe you came and took it away when we didn’t know it,” said -another. “Where is that jewelry?” - -“In the hollow tree, I tell you! But I don’t know which one. We hid it -in such a hurry that I have forgotten!” - -Then the voices grew more harsh and angry, and Toto, looking through a -bush, saw the same ragged men, one of them red-haired, that he had seen -before when they robbed the home of the little girl’s grandmother. - -“I guess I’d better not let them see me,” thought Toto. “I don’t want -to be caught again!” So he slipped around the tramps sitting in the -woods, and a little later Toto came within sight of the beaver pond. He -saw his brother Sniffy on top of the dam, mending a hole with some clay -and grass roots. - -“Sniffy! Sniffy! Here I am!” called Toto. “I’m home again!” - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -TOTO IN A STORM - - -Sniffy, the other little beaver boy, who was plastering up a hole in -the dam with some mud, was so surprised at hearing Toto call that for a -moment he did not answer. Then, when he had looked up and had seen his -brother walking toward him, Sniffy cried: - -“Is it really you, Toto? Have you come back to us? Where have you been -and what happened to you?” - -“Well, I really have come back, as you can see,” answered Toto. “And -as for where I have been and what happened to me, it will take a long -time to tell. I have had many adventures, but perhaps the most strange -of all was when Tum Tum broke open the cage where I was held on the -houseboat and set me free.” - -“Who is Tum Tum?” asked Sniffy. “Is he a beaver?” - -“Tum Tum is a jolly elephant, and he lives in a circus,” said Toto. -“He’s in a book, too, and he said maybe a man might put me in a book.” - -Sniffy sat down on his tail. - -“I do declare, Toto!” exclaimed the little stay-at-home beaver, “since -you went away you use so many strange words that I don’t know what you -are talking about. Adventures, book, circus, Tum Tum, and the like of -that! Goodness, but you must know a lot!” - -“Oh, not so very much,” answered Toto. “I didn’t know enough to keep -out of a trap.” - -“Is that how you were caught?” asked Sniffy. “In a trap?” - -“That’s just how,” answered Toto. “I ate a piece of apple, as Slicko -must have told you, and was caught. But come on, I want to see my -father and mother, and Cuppy and Dumple and all the rest.” - -“Yes, and I guess they’ll be glad to see you!” said Sniffy. - -And you may be sure the other beavers were glad to see Toto again. -He had to tell them all about his adventures, and how he met Slicko, -the squirrel, and Tum Tum, the elephant, and also what he heard about -Tamba, the tame tiger, and Nero, the circus lion. - -“Did anything happen after I was away?” asked Toto. - -“Not very much,” answered his father. “We had one storm and the dam was -broken a little. We are mending it now.” - -“Yes, and I think we are going to have another storm,” said Cuppy. “We -must hurry and cut down more trees to make the dam stronger. We must be -busy, bustling beavers for a time now.” - -So, almost as soon as he had returned home, Toto had to go to work. But -he liked it. In fact beavers like work more than any other animal in -the world, I think. - -“Did you see anything of the tramps while I was gone?” asked Toto of -his brother one day, when they were off in the woods, gathering bark -for supper. - -“No, I haven’t seen them,” Sniffy replied. “Have you?” - -“Yes, on my way back home,” Toto answered. “They were talking loud in -the woods, but they didn’t see me. I guess they don’t live around here.” - -It was a day or so after this when Toto was off among the poplar trees, -getting some bark for himself and some for his mother, that he heard -talking among the bushes. - -“Maybe the tramps are here again!” thought Toto, crouching down among -the leaves. Then, as he peered out, with only his head showing, the -little beaver boy saw a lady and a little girl walking in the woods. - -“Do you think we’ll ever find that box of jewelry, Grandmother?” asked -the little girl. - -“I’m afraid we never shall,” was the answer. - -“Well, you know Bobbie said, when he chased after the tramps, that -they ran to the woods. Maybe they dropped the box of jewelry, with my -bracelet, somewhere among the trees. Or maybe they hid it.” - -“I hardly think so, Millie,” answered her grandmother. “Since you first -told me that I have been looking among the trees, but I have not found -even so much as a tiny ring――one I used to wear when I was a little -girl. I guess my box is gone forever.” - -Then the little girl and her grandmother walked on. - -When Toto went back to the dam that afternoon he found all the beavers -very busy. His father, his mother, Sniffy, Dumple and all the rest were -cutting down trees, and Cuppy was hurrying here, there, and everywhere, -keeping watch of the work. - -“What’s the matter?” asked Toto. “Are the bad tramps coming?” - -“No, but a storm is coming,” answered Cuppy, “and it may rain hard and -make our pond so deep that the water will wash away our dam. So we are -making the dam stronger. You must help too, Toto.” - -Toto was very glad to do his share of the work, and soon he and Sniffy -were together gnawing down a big tree. All the afternoon the beavers -worked at making their dam stronger. As the sun began to go down the -wind blew harder and the sky was black with clouds. Cuppy banged his -tail on the ground, and all the other beavers stopped work to see what -the matter was. - -“Stop gnawing trees, everybody!” called Cuppy. “Don’t gnaw any more. -Finish those you have started, and then we will stop work.” - -“Why?” asked Toto. “We can see to gnaw in the dark almost as well as in -daylight.” - -“Yes, I know,” answered Cuppy. “But there is a big wind storm coming. -If a tree is half gnawed through it may blow over before you know it -and hurt you. Whole trees, which we have not bitten into, will not so -easily blow over. So finish what you are doing, my friends, and then do -not gnaw any more until after the storm.” - -Every one did as Cuppy said, for he was the oldest and wisest beaver of -them all, and when darkness came the last of the half-gnawed trees was -cut through, and Toto and all the rest went to their houses. - -In the night the storm came. My, how the wind did blow! But there was -not much rain, and the beavers were glad of that, for their dam was -safe. - -In the morning the wind was still blowing very hard, and Cuppy, who -looked out, said: - -[Illustration: A tree had fallen on Toto’s back, pinning him to the -ground.] - -“No tree cutting to-day!” - -So the beavers had a sort of holiday, and, after he had eaten his -breakfast, Toto went for a walk in the woods. He did not mind the rain -nor the wind, and he was going to be very careful about traps. - -The little beaver boy was walking along, thinking of his many -adventures and wishing he could see Tum Tum the jolly elephant again, -when, all at once, there came a strong puff of wind, there was a -crashing sound, and Toto suddenly felt himself held fast. - -“Dear me, I’m in a trap again!” said the poor little beaver, as he -noticed something pressing heavily on his back. “But I didn’t see any -apple, or anything like that.” - -Then he looked around him, turning as well as he was able, and he found -out he was not in a trap set by a man. But he was in almost as bad a -plight. - -For a tree in the woods had been blown over in the storm and had fallen -on Toto’s back, pinning him down to the ground. - -Twist and turn as he did, he could not get loose. His tail was caught, -too, so he could not pound with it and call the other beavers to his -aid. Poor Toto did not know what to do. - -“This is worse than being in a man-trap,” he said. “No boy will come to -take me out for a pet now. Oh, if only Tum Tum were here he could lift -this heavy tree off my back!” - -But no Tum Tum came. Toto was held down by the tree, but he was in no -pain. He couldn’t get loose; that was all. And there he had to stay, -alone in the woods, with the wind blowing all about him. - -But, after a while, the storm passed. The rain stopped, the sun came -out, and the wind died away. Still poor Toto was held fast, and he -could not wiggle loose. - -As he was held there, thinking of many things, and sadly wondering if -he would ever see his home again, he heard a crackling of wood, as if -some one were walking among the trees. - -“Oh, maybe it is Tum Tum come to save me again!” thought Toto, not -knowing that circuses never come to the forest, but show only in towns -and cities. “Maybe it is Tum Tum!” - -But no jolly elephant came. Instead Toto heard voices talking, but the -voices were gentle, and not the rough ones of the tramps. - -“Oh, look, Grandma!” cried the little Millie. “There is a tree blown -down.” - -“Yes, it was a terrible storm,” said the old lady. - -“And, oh, Grandma! Look!” cried Millie. “There is a little brown puppy -dog caught under this tree!” - -“That is not a puppy dog――it is a beaver,” said the old lady. “I heard -there was a colony of them in these woods, but this is the first one I -have seen. Beavers are very shy animals.” - -“Oh, but Grandma! do you think we could save this little one that is -caught under the tree?” asked Millie, who had come to walk in the woods -with her grandmother after the storm. “Maybe he isn’t hurt much and I -could take him home for a pet. He’s like the little beaver that helped -find my skate. Maybe it’s the same one.” - -“Well, we can try to see if we can lift the tree off his back,” said -the old lady. “If we both take hold I think we can raise it.” - -Millie and her grandmother took hold of the fallen tree. Once, twice, -three times they pulled at it, and finally they lifted it off Toto’s -back. As soon as the little beaver boy found himself free he ran away -as fast as he could. - -“Oh, there he goes!” cried Millie, much disappointed. - -“Yes, I didn’t think you could get him,” said her grandmother. “Beavers -are too shy to make good pets. You would have to keep this one in a -cage all the while, I’m afraid. It is better that he should live free -in the woods.” - -If Toto had been a dog or a cat he might have stayed to thank, in his -own way, Millie and her grandmother for having saved him. But being a -shy beaver all he wanted to do was to get away. - -But though beavers are shy they, like most animals, are curious. They -like to see what is going on. So when Toto had run off a little way -among the trees he stopped, crouched down among the leaves, and looked -back. - -He saw something very curious, though he did not quite know what it -meant. Millie and her grandmother went close to the broken stump of the -tree that had blown over on Toto. - -“This tree was hollow and rotten――that is why it toppled over so -easily,” said the old lady. “Look, Millie, there is quite a hole down -inside this stump.” - -“Did the little beaver have his nest there?” asked Millie. - -“No, beavers always live near water,” answered the old lady. “But -perhaps a squirrel had a nest here, though I hardly think so, for they -like to live higher up in trees, out of danger.” - -The little girl put her hand and arm down in the hollow stump. As she -did so she uttered a cry of surprise. - -“Did you find a squirrel, after all?” asked her grandmother. - -“No, but look what I found!” cried the little girl. “It’s a box, -Grandmother. A box and――” - -“Why――why, it’s my box of jewelry!” exclaimed the old lady. “Oh, it’s -my box of jewelry that the tramps took! They must have hidden it in -the hollow tree, and then either forgotten about it, or they couldn’t -find it again. But here it is. The storm blew the tree over, and we -came along and found it.” - -“Isn’t it wonderful?” cried Millie. “Is my bracelet in there, Grandma?” - -The old lady opened the box, took out a pretty gold bracelet and gave -it to Millie. The little girl looked happy. - -“All my jewelry is here,” said the grandmother. “The tramps must have -been in such a hurry that they didn’t have time to take out a single -piece. Oh, how happy I am!” - -“So am I!” said Millie, and her bracelet sparkled in the sun. - -Toto looked at the girl and her grandmother. He did not know the share -he had had in helping them find the jewel box. For if the tree had not -fallen on him Millie and Mrs. Norman might not have stopped to lift it -off, and if they had not done that they would not have found the box. - -“Well, I guess I had better go home,” said the little beaver boy to -himself. “Another tree might fall on me.” - -So back to the dam he went, and there he told Sniffy and the others -what had happened to him, though of course Toto knew nothing about -bracelets, jewelry and things like that. - -“It seems to me you have lots of adventures,” said Sniffy to Toto that -night. “You have had almost as many as Tamba, the tiger, or Tum Tum, -the elephant. Maybe you’ll be in a book, Toto.” - -“Oh, I hardly think so,” answered the beaver boy. - -But you can see, for yourself, that he is. - -And that night, as Millie petted Don, the dog, who came over with her -cousin who lived near by, and with Bobbie, the boy who had chased the -tramps, the little girl was very happy because she had her bracelet. -And the grandmother was happy, too. And Blackie, the cat, was happy -also, when her little girl mistress petted her. - -And back in the beaver house, in the waters of the pond behind the dam, -Toto was likewise happy, as he gnawed some sweet poplar bark. - -Toto had many more adventures after that, but none of them quite as -exciting as the ones I have written about here. And now let us say -good-bye to the little beaver boy. - - -THE END - - - - - Transcriber’s Notes: - - ――Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_). - - ――Punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected. - - ――Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved. - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Toto, the Bustling Beaver, by Richard Barnum - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOTO, THE BUSTLING BEAVER *** - -***** This file should be named 62794-0.txt or 62794-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/6/2/7/9/62794/ - -Produced by Donald Cummings and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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