“Oh, if you could, Bumper!” exclaimed Mr. Beaver.
There were tears in Mr. Beaver’s eyes, for he was terribly frightened, and when Bumper began gnawing at the log he watched him anxiously.
It was a long, hard job, but Bumper finally gnawed away enough of the wood for Mr. Beaver to get out. When he finally stood on the top of the log, he was so shaken by the experience that his teeth chattered.
“Tell your people that they can cross my dam”
“Bumper, you were right,” he said. “Everybody needs friends, and the time to make them is before you’re in danger. I won’t be so selfish again. Tell your people that they can cross my dam, and when they come ask them to speak a friendly word to me. I want to be their friend.”
All of which delighted Bumper, and when he finally left Mr. Beaver his heart was singing for gladness.
In the next story there will be an account of how the Birds brought terrible news to the rabbits.