BILLYS WEDDING

One evening the beaver family was sitting around the dinner table when Lizzie began to snicker. "What's the matter?"  Asked Mama Beaver.

"Oh, nothing," said Lizzie.

"Come on now, I know you want to tell us something," insisted Mama Beaver.

Lizzie cleared her throat. "Billy has a girlfriend," she blurted out. Billy blushed and nudged her with his forehead.

"What is her name," asked Randy.

I think her name is Bevy, said Lizzie  "I think she  lives near the tall birch tree."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," said Papa Beaver. "You are old enough to start noticing girls."

2

As time went by, Billy spent more and more time with Bevy. They tried to keep it a secret by meeting in tall grass where nobody could see them. The day came when Billy and Bevy started to talk about getting married. Lizzie was concerned about where they would live. Billy had not given it much thought. "As long as I am with you, I don't care where we live," said Billy. But Lizzie wanted a nice lodge. Nothing too big, but big enough for them and maybe three or four kits they might have sometime in the future.

3

Both Bevy's parents and Billy's parents were excited about the idea of them getting married. Building a lodge for them was now foremost on their minds. Billy and Bevy spent a lot of time looking for a suitable site for their lodge. At last they found the perfect spot along the river bank with a nice view of the pond. What they loved most about the site was the many red-winged blackbirds making their home around the pond. "Imagine relaxing along the river bank and listening to the beautiful songs of all the red-winged blackbirds," Bevy said.

"I know," said Billy. "We will see not only red-winged blackbirds but also a lot of other birds. Even big birds like swans and blue herons."

4

Everybody was excited about building the lodge for Bevy and Billy. "You picked the perfect site for a lodge," Billy's dad told them. "There are enough trees nearby to build the lodge."

Construction had started. The industrious beavers were really busy felling trees and hauling branches to the site. Billy and Bevy discovered a hole in the ground along the river bank. Billy talked Bevy into joining him in the shallow cave for a bit of necking.  Nobody could see them there. Just then the other beavers were ready to fell another tree. "This tree is leaning already and all we need to do is sever  a few roots," said Papa Beaver.

5

It didn't take long and the tree was ready to fall. "Timber!" yelled Papa Beaver, as he watched the tree go down.

"Oh no," shrieked Bevy. "The tree has fallen smack across our cave and sealed us in." They cried out for help.

"What were you doing in this hole?" asked Mama Beaver.

"Sorry about that," said Billy.  "We just wanted to see how deep the hole is." But the other beavers all knew better. They knew Billy and Bevy had climbed in there to do some hugging and kissing.

"We are in big trouble," said Papa Beaver. "We can't chew the log because there is wire mesh around it and we can't dig you out because there are big rocks in the ground. What will we do?"

6

Some beavers had ideas, but none were too practical.

"We have to think of something because how long can they go without food and water," Randy observed. Randy swam over to the beaver Search and Rescue squad and asked them for help. They came quickly, but after studying the situation, even they had no solution.

"We don't have a shovel and even if we did, we would not know how to use it," they said.

"There is only one thing we can do," volunteered Lizzie.  "I will call on Shay to help us out." Shay is the girl who had helped them out before and the beavers were her friends. Lizzie ran to Shay's house as fast as she could. Luckily Shay was outside in the garden.   After Lizzie explained the situation, Shay grabbed a shovel and crow  bar and followed Lizzie.

7

It was hard work but Shay managed to remove the rocks and dig a whole big enough for Bevy and Billy to crawl out. It was a big relief for all of them. They all  hugged each other but they were especially grateful to Shay for having rescued them. "We will never forget what you did for us," they all said. Papa Beaver had a stern talk with Billy and told him to stay  out of holes while they are felling trees. Of course, no one really believed it would be the last time Billy got in trouble.

8

When the lodge was finished, all were very excited.  Billy and Bevy were very proud of their new home. They could not wait to get married. The day of the wedding came and it was a big affair with many guests showing up. Shay was the guest of honour. The beavers had prepared a special place for her along the river bank, lined with twigs and grass, where she could sit and watch the ceremony. Shay called it her beaver throne and she would sit there often in days to come and watch the activities of the beavers.

The End

Author Erwin Schalm

Illustrations Shayla Schalm