The Three Friends of River Bend

“Do you want to go out and look at the moon in the sky?”  Otter asked his friend Beaver.

“It is night now, and outside it is dark.”  Replied Beaver.  “I feel like sitting in my chair and listening to the river run by.”

Otter, who had been invited by Beaver to visit him at his new home, felt frustrated.  “But the moon is only out at night, when it is dark out!  We should go and see what the moon looks like!”

Beaver chewed his hand, thinking.  “Okay.  But we shouldn’t stay out long.  We will miss listening to the river run by.”

Otter jumped up in glee from the ottoman, and clapped his paws together.  “Yes, yes.  Now is a good time to see it.  Sometimes it rains and the clouds cover the sky and the moon too.”

Both Beaver and Otter waddled their fat behinds and walked to the front door.  “Careful, there.  I still have to fix the uneven door jam and the floor.  Don’t trip while you walk out!”  And the two of them walked through the door without mishap and climbed up on top of the sticks and mud that Beaver had used to build his dam, which was his new home.

They looked up at the sky, craning their necks like owls who can turn their necks without moving their body, but Beaver and Otter had to turn themselves to face the back.

“Oh!  Oh!  There is the moon!  Do you see it Beaver?”  Otter asked.

“Yes!  Yes!  There it is!  It is bright!”  replied Beaver.  “I am glad I did come out.  Thank you for asking me out to see the moon!”

They stood on top of the dam and enjoyed the brightness.  They had scared the crickets when they came out making so much chattering noise, and now that they were quiet again, the crickets began to chirp again.  Beaver took a deep breath, like a sigh, and whispered to Otter that the song of the crickets was beautiful.

“You can listen to the music that the crickets make, and at any time, because this is your home now.”  Stated Otter.  The two friends stood in awe of the night.  They both gave a sigh and suggested that the night was cooling down.  “We should go inside again.  We will catch cold, standing on the dam and getting wet from the flowing river.”  Stated Beaver.

The two friends went back inside the dam and talked until they were tired.  Then, Otter swam into the cool river and swam home, just up the stream, where he lives.

Beaver heard a sudden banging on the door.  He was still asleep and felt startled by the sudden noise.  It was coming from outside, on top of the roof of sticks and mud.  “Coming!” yelled Beaver.  “I am coming!”

When Beaver got to the door and looked out, on the shore of the river stood Dog.  He was black and furry, and very eager.

“Oh, hi Dog!  It is early, this morning!  Were you banging on my door?”  asked Beaver.

“Yes!  Hello, Beaver!  I am glad I was able to see you!  I heard you have a new home, and I wanted to come and visit!  I am glad I found it!  Dog excitedly panted out.

“Oh, Dog!  It is very early!  Could you not have come by a little later?  I am still half asleep, and I am tired!” complained Beaver.

“But, Beaver, I wanted to see you and your new home!  And I heard you invited Otter over for dinner and to see where you now live!  So, I am excited to be here and to see you!”  Dog said.

“I am glad you have come over! But how did you know about my new dam?”  asked Beaver.

“I went for a walk with Otter this morning, and he told me about visiting you last night.”  Dog replied.

“Well, then, you are a very eager guest.  I am also glad you have come by.”  Beaver said.  “Why don’t you come in and have some breakfast.  I have toast and jam, and would gladly share my breakfast with you.”  invited Beaver.

Dog agreed and the two of them went inside the dam to have breakfast.

As the two friends were eating their toast and jam, there came a flurry of knocking on the wooden front door.  “Now, who can that be, knocking on the door now?”  asked Beaver to Dog, as they were enjoying a quiet breakfast.

“I don’t know.”  replied Dog.  “Do you want me to open the door?”

“No, no.  I can go and see who it is.”  replied Beaver.  So, Beaver got up from the kitchen table and walked to the front door.

“Oh, hello, Otter!  It is nice to see you again!  Dog and I were just having breakfast.  I was showing him around my new home!”  Beaver greeted Otter.

“I cam here because after our walk, I left Dog at the corner of the River Bend.  Then, I went to market, and went home to put away all the food.  I was thinking you would like to share some of the food I bought there!”  Otter explained to Beaver.

“What a nice coincidence!  Dog must’ve walked from the River Bend to here!” replied Beaver.  As he finished explaining, Dog poked his head out from behind Beaver, where the door was.

“Yes!  I am glad I found Beaver this morning!  I went looking after our walk.  You gave a very good description of where Beaver is.  Beaver, is it alright Otter join us for breakfast, as well?” stated Dog.

The three friends all greeted each other and laughed.  After taking a last look at the beauty of the river and shore, and the field around them, as it was all under sunshine that morning, the three friends went inside and enjoyed their breakfast of jam and toast.