Song of the Beaver

A Story by Heather L

Who knew that beavers liked music so much that they'd steal your iPod?

Song of the Beavers

Daniel leaned back against the log and let out a satisfied belch. It was the weekend after he'd graduated from high school and he and his best friend, Craig, had decided to celebrate by going camping near the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin. They'd spent the day canoeing and fishing and had caught a large amount of fish, which they'd cooked for a very large supper. As they finished, Craig turned to Daniel and said, “Dude, let's hear some tunes.”

Daniel reached into his pocket and rummaged around for the shiny new iPod that that he'd received as a graduation present from his aunt and uncle. A frown crossed his face as he failed to find the music device. “It's not here,” he told Craig and he got up and began searching the campground.

“Did you forget it at the fishing spot?” Craig asked, as he stood up to help Daniel search.

Daniel stopped looking through his backpack and groaned, “Oh crap, you're right. I think I left it on the bank.”

“That sucks!” Craig glanced at his watch and added, “But hey, there's still some time left before sunset. We can probably get back there before it gets too dark.”

Daniel nodded in agreement and the two friends scurried down the bank towards their battered metal canoe. Within moments, they had launched the boat and were paddling downstream, their paddles slicing smoothly through the cool green water of the river. Daniel cursed himself for being so thoughtless. How could he have forgotten his iPod? He figured that he must have misplaced it when they were loading all their supplies and enormous catch into the boat, or maybe that it had slipped out of his pocket. A feeling of panic gripped him. What if the iPod had fallen into the water? He dismissed that thought, knowing that he would have heard a splash if that had happened.

Both boys were strong paddlers and they arrived back at the fishing spot in record time. They jumped out of the canoe, dragged it onto the shore, and began scouring the ground for the missing iPod. Several minutes of searching resulted in nothing. “My aunt's going to kill me,” Daniel complained, as he plopped down onto a log.

Craig was opening his mouth to answer when he was distracted by the faint sound of music. “Do you hear that?” he asked Daniel.

“Hear what?”

“Music! Listen.”

Daniel strained his ears and, sure enough, in the distance he heard the tinny sound of music. “That's the stupid “Beaver Song” that my cousin loaded onto the iPod!” he exclaimed, standing up in a hurry. “Come on!” He rushed down the bank and Craig followed him. From the fishing spot, the bank curved around a sharp bend of the river. As the boys rounded the bend, they spotted a huge mound of logs and branches that were piled up haphazardly in the middle of the water. It was a beaver lodge and the music was coming from inside it.

The two friends stopped abruptly and stared at the lodge, then at each other. The “Beaver Song” was louder now, coming from somewhere within the lodge. Beaver one, beaver all, let's all do the beaver call. Beaver two, beaver three, let's all climb the beaver tree...

Daniel quirked an eyebrow at Craig. “What the hell?”

“Yeah, I was just thinking the same. Do beavers like iPods?”

“You got me. But you know, I remember my uncle telling me that beavers are kind of like magpies. They like shiny objects and maybe they took it.”

“There's only one way to find out,” Craig replied, looking back at the lodge. “Though it doesn't look very safe to me.”

Daniel agreed with his friend. He wasn't so keen on climbing onto the lodge to retrieve his iPod and it was starting to get dark, but he didn't see that he had much choice if he was going to get it back. “Maybe only one of us should go,” he suggested. “I'm not sure that pile of sticks will hold us both.”

“Ok,” Craig agreed, then grinned and stuck his hands in his pocket. “You go. It's your iPod and you're smaller.”

“Gee, thanks,” Daniel grumbled before he clambered up the lodge. The wood swayed under his weight and he moved cautiously, following the sound of the rap music. He reached the top and the music was louder now, but it was coming from down inside the lodge. Go beaver, go beaver... Daniel sighed, knowing he was going to have to dig for the iPod. He quickly began chucking pieces of branches and logs off the pile until he reached the center of the lodge. The iPod lay in a hollow. He picked it up and examined it for damage, but it seemed to be unharmed. He held it up and showed it to Craig, who grinned and flashed him a thumb-up. Sighing in relief, he shut the annoying song off. Blessed silence filled the air as Daniel descended from the top of the lodge.

Just as his feet hit the bank, two furry brown heads popped up from the water next to the lodge and stared at the boys with beady, menacing little eyes. Daniel and Craig stared back, sensing that maybe the beavers weren't so thrilled with losing their new toy. The tension in the air was palpable. “Daniel,” Craig muttered from the side of his mouth. “Run for it.”

Daniel and Craig took off down the bank and leaped into the canoe as the two beavers exploded from the water in a giant splash and started after them. Realizing the human thieves were going for the boat, the beavers performed a rapid u-turn and dove back into the water, intent on pursuit. The boys wasted no time in grabbing up their paddles and frantically began paddling upriver away from the crazed animals. They reached their camping spot and jumped from the canoe, racing for their car. The beavers were still after them, their long, sharp teeth clicking in anticipation of biting the flesh of the people who'd dared to take their music away. Craig fumbled for his keys, unlocking the car in just enough time for the boys to climb in before getting bitten. The engine roared to life and they tore out of the campground as the angry beavers chirruped and squealed in fury.

“What the heck are we going to do now?” Daniel asked Craig as he struggled to regain his breath after the frantic chase.

“We'll go back tomorrow and get our stuff,” Craig snapped, annoyed at the abrupt end to their camping trip. “We can stay at a motel tonight.”

Daniel sighed in agreement, thinking that had been the most surreal experience that he'd ever had in his eighteen years. When they returned the next morning, they found a bunch of fallen trees had destroyed their campsite and wrecked the canoe. All of the tree trunks surrounding the campsite bore the tell-tale conical shape of beaver teeth gnawing to fell the trees.

As they surveyed the wreckage, Craig turned to Daniel and declared, “Maybe you should have just let them keep the iPod.”

The End

© 2012 Heather L

Author's Note

This is pretty rough as it was written in about 45 minutes for a Creative Writing class assignment, so not up to my usual anal retentive standards. I had to keep it under 1,500 words. However, my classmates seemed to really have enjoyed it, so I thought I'd share! Also, "The Beaver Song" is real...you can find it on Youtube.