“‘I will do anything for you, if you will only take me down,’ begged the Beaver, in great distress.
“The Porcupine, paying no attention to his friend, hurried away. Then a Squirrel, another friend of the Beaver, brought a number of his colony and helped the frightened Beaver down safely to the ground.
“‘Where is my partner, the Porcupine?’ asked Beaver of the Squirrels, after he had thanked them for their aid.
“‘We saw him scurry away to a hole in the rocks where lives a family of Porcupines. He was telling them of the trick he had played on you and when they laughed so loudly I heard about the trouble you were in,’ said the friendly Squirrel.
“The Beaver said nothing, but went his way and resumed work on the dam. He swam up and down the stream, and cut or carried the alders as he needed them for the repairs. Then one day the Porcupine came back.
“Beaver saw him coming and called out: ‘Come down to the house and enjoy yourself.’
“But Porcupine was afraid of getting wet.
“‘Oh, just climb upon my back and I will swim with you,’ suggested Beaver.
“Then Porcupine climbed upon his host’s back and held on firmly. The Beaver flapped his broad tail on the water and made a dive, then came to the surface again. The Porcupine shivered and shook in fear for he did not like being submerged that way. The Beaver laughed and said, ‘Oh, that’s nothing! I consider it great fun to dive.’
“Again he went under the water and when he arose to the surface he flapped his tail energetically so that the water flew over everything. Finally he swam to an island in the lake and put the Porcupine ashore, then went flapping away.