Well, after the dishes were dried Grandpa Whackum, the old beaver gentleman, said:

"I think I will go out and take a look at the dam. It may have some holes in it, where a bear or wolf tried to tear it down last night, and if the dam breaks, and all the water runs out of our pond, we will have a hard time, for it will not rain much more this year."

So Grandpa Whackum started out, but just as he was going to dive down through the front door, which was under water so no bad animals could get in, the old beaver gentleman cried:

"Oh, dear me, suz dud! There's a button off my overcoat right where it goes around my neck. I must have it sewed on, or the cold wind will come in, and I'll have the epizootic, and the sniffle-snuffles, too."

"I'll sew it on for you, Grandpa Whackum," said Crackie, kindly.

So sitting down on her tail, which was like a stool, you know, the little beaver girl used a thorn from the bramble briar bush for a needle, and some strong strings of dried grass for thread, and so she sewed the button on her grandpa's coat.

Then he went out to look at the dam, that kept the water in the pond from running off—maybe to a moving picture show—and Mrs. Flat-tail said:

"Well, I do declare! It's almost ten o'clock, and I promised I'd go over to Mrs. Wibblewobble's house, and show her how to make corn-meal fritters. Would you mind staying alone a little while, Crackie?"

"Oh, no, mamma, of course not," answered the little beaver girl. "I'll just make a new dress for my doll Anna Jane Huckelberry Puddingstick. She needs a new dress very badly."

Mrs. Flat-tail went out and that left Crackie all alone in the beaver house. But still she did not mind. She was sewing away, and wondering whether she should put a thing-a-ma-bob on the skirt, with three rows of lace inserted on the bias, or whether the dress would look nicer with some apple pie frosting, trimmed with cocoanut macaroons, on the what-you-may-call-it. She had just about decided to use the ice cream puffs on the sleeves, when, all of a sudden, Crackie heard a terrible noise outside.