When it rains, there’s a lot of water everywhere. Lakes rise, rivers swell, and streams form on sidewalks. One time, the river in our village rose to such level that it nearly spilled out of its banks. The beavers and their friends the birds saved the day then. And they achieved it by helping each other. So what exactly happened?
It had been raining for several days and the only thing you could see in the sky were dark, grey clouds. Everyone was hiding inside their homes and the animals in their dens in the forest. The river which flows through our village was rising and rising. Its edges were widening, and the water kept increasing. Beavers were pacing up and down the river. They were watching the water, wondering how to prevent the river from spilling over. They had to think very fast because the water kept on coming. But then one of the beavers thought of a solution.
“I have an idea!” he exclaimed. “If we dam the river on the correct side, it will only spill on the other side and all the water will flow into the sea. Then the water will decrease, and the village will be saved. Quickly. Let’s go build a dam!”
The beavers set to work. As quickly as possible, they brought logs, chewed them into the right shapes, and stacked them on top of one another. The work went nice and quick. Soon, the dam was built. The water stopped when it reached the dam, but it kept rising. And the beavers couldn’t build it any higher. And thus, they could only watch as the water kept on increasing.
“We need the rain to stop, or the water will spill over the dam as well!” the beavers were shouting at one another. Things were looking hopeless. The beavers were running back and forth, trying to place several more logs. But it kept on raining and the water kept on rising.
When the danger was imminent that the village would be flooded, suddenly one beaver had an idea: “We need the wind to blow the clouds apart and chase them all over the sky. Then it will stop raining. And we need it to happen now. We don’t have any time left. We’ll call the birds and ask them to convince the wind to start blowing. The wind can’t hear us from the ground because of the rain but the birds can fly all the way up into the sky to speak to it.”
And so the beavers started calling: “Birds, please come help us. Fly all the way into the sky and tell the strongest wind to blow. We need the clouds to be chased apart so that it would stop raining. Otherwise, the water will spill over the dam and the village will be flooded. Please help us!”
“Alright, alright, we will try,” the birds replied. They flew as high as they could and started calling out to the wind. They called with all their might, flying all over the sky. It was difficult for them because the rain was soaking their feathers. But they wouldn’t give up.
Finally, the wind heard them. And when it saw the beavers trying to build a dam and the birds trying to fly around in the rain and call out, it started to blow. It blew so strongly that the clouds were torn apart and the rain stopped. After a while, blue sky started peeking through here and there and the water in the river calmed down. It stopped right at the top of the dam. Gradually, it started to flow to one side and then into the sea.
The village was saved. The beavers and the birds were both happy that they’d made this happen and that the wind had helped them. And they realized that if they’d been trying to save the village on their own, they wouldn’t have succeeded. It’s good to help each other.
