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by Uncle Butch

The sun was rising slowly over the pond as Frank Beaver and his mate Stacy swam sadly back to to their lodge. It had been a long night, and even though the dam was repaired, and the pond safe, nothing would ever again be the same. They had stayed with little Billy for as long as they dared. It wouldn't be long now before the trapper would come, and with a quick blow from his club, would end Billy's short life.

It had all started with a sharp "Clap". During his rounds, Fred Beaver, had found a break in the dam. Speed was important, if the dam gave way and the pond drained completely, the beaver's lodges would lose the insulation of the water, and with the outside temperature at minus ten degrees, it wouldn't take long before the beavers would die of exposure. They had to fix that dam, NOW!

What they didn't know was that a trapper had been responsible for the break. He wanted to lure the beavers to the dam. He had set his traps in key locations in the area and wanted the beavers to rush carelessly into them.

Billy was the first one to the dam, he was always first when it came to helping others, he was just that way. As soon as he saw the damage, he knew what had to be done. Looking around, he saw a small beach tree that had been gnawed almost in two. a few more bites and he would have it down. He wouldn't be able to get it to the dam alone, Not with the pond frozen, but his mom & dad were close behind. He started for the tree.

Stacy and Bill heard it before they even reached the dam. The sharp "Crack" as the steel jaws of the trap snapped shut, and the squeal of pain from little Billy. Though it didn't seem possible they swam even faster. As soon as they saw Billy was caught by his left hind leg they knew what was going to happen. Some of the beavers in the pond had been caught by one of their front paws and had managed to escape, but never any that were caught by a back leg. Stacy started to cry and try as he may Frank couldn't comfort her. Billy was their only son and comfort was out of the question.

It was Billy himself, who finally got his mother to calm down. Even though he was perfectly aware of his impending doom. He had seen, they all had, other beavers who had been caught in traps. Since before the ice had covered their pond, he had lost his aunt Megan and two of his cousins, Erika and Paula, and his Uncle Todd had lost three toes on his right forepaw. Even though he wasn't a year old yet, Billy was a brave beaver. He explained to his parents that he knew what was going to happen to him and that he could take that, but if he had to die, he couldn't stand the idea that his carelessness might put the colony in danger. So would they please leave him and fix the dam. He showed them the tree he had planned on cutting down and asked them to please say goodbye to Wendy for him and tell her he loved her.

The beavers worked frantically. Frank & Stacey had the tree down in no time at all. Fred, Cindy and Wendy had found another tree on the other side of the dam and brought it to the site of the break. Michelle & Amy had gotten mud from the bottom of the pond. In less then an hour the repairs to the dam had been completed. Thankfully, because of Billy, no other beaver had been caught. They had found other traps but were alert and managed to avoid them.

After the repairs were finished all the beavers swam over to where Billy was caught in the trap, to say goodbye. Then all but Frank, Stacy, and Wendy swam back to their lodges, cold, sad, and very tired.

Billy was glad to see everyone, especially his mom & dad. Wendy remained in the background till all the other beavers had said their goodbyes and left for their lodges. When Billy saw her, his heart filled and it was all he could do to keep from crying. Just the thought that he would never see her again, broke his heart. He knew how much it hurt her to see him like this and he was proud of the strength she showed in just being there. He managed to keep a brave front, but they could all see through it. Wendy could hardly hold back the tears as she said goodbye to Billy for the last time. She couldn't wait out the night with them, she just didn't have the strength. So after a short time she nuzzled Billy goodbye and slipped sadly into the water. Before she was out of sight of the little group, she started to miss her sweetheart and her tears added to the water of their pond all the way back to her lodge.

Frank & Stacy stayed with their son until almost sunrise, talking about the funny things Billy had done while he was growing up. There was the time he gnawed a tree on one side only and almost got hit by it when it fell., or the time he wondered too far from the pond and almost got caught by the fox. If he didn't look funny running back to the safety of the pond, tripping over his webbed feet, with the fox right on his tail. He had gotten back to the water just ahead of the fox, but he had made it. They all thought of the same thing at the same time. "That time he had made it." Silence fell over the little group, for awhile no one squealed anything.

The sky began to lighten, it was a clear sky, it would be a beautiful day, a sad but beautiful day. They had to say goodbye. After nuzzling their son and telling him how much they loved him, Frank and Stacy slipped into the water and swam slowly, sadly home.

Stacy had just about cried herself to sleep, when she heard the happy squeals of Frank & Wendy, who had come to stay with them. "Billy!" Wendy squealed. "Your safe! How in the pond did you get out of that trap?" Stacy listened, with tears of joy running down her furry face, as Billy told about the little boy who had played hooky from school to go ice skating on their pond and how gentle he had been as he removed Billy's leg from the trap and bandaged his paw.

Looking at Billy's leg, Stacy saw that the bandage that covered his paw was actually a handkerchief with the logo of the "Cousteau Society", embossed on it. Stacy started crying again. Wendy & Billy nuzzled and Frank Laughed a nervous laugh, as he thought "It was going to be a beautiful day after all."