CHAPTER XII
TOTO IN A STORM
Sniffy, the other little beaver boy, who was plastering up a hole in the dam with some mud, was so surprised at hearing Toto call that for a moment he did not answer. Then, when he had looked up and had seen his brother walking toward him, Sniffy cried:
“Is it really you, Toto? Have you come back to us? Where have you been and what happened to you?”
“Well, I really have come back, as you can see,” answered Toto. “And as for where I have been and what happened to me, it will take a long time to tell. I have had many adventures, but perhaps the most strange of all was when Tum Tum broke open the cage where I was held on the houseboat and set me free.”
“Who is Tum Tum?” asked Sniffy. “Is he a beaver?”
“Tum Tum is a jolly elephant, and he lives in a circus,” said Toto. “He’s in a book, too, and he said maybe a man might put me in a book.”
Sniffy sat down on his tail.
“I do declare, Toto!” exclaimed the little stay-at-home beaver, “since you went away you use so many strange words that I don’t know what you are talking about. Adventures, book, circus, Tum Tum, and the like of that! Goodness, but you must know a lot!”
“Oh, not so very much,” answered Toto. “I didn’t know enough to keep out of a trap.”