One evening the beaver family was sitting around the  

dinner table when Lizzie began to snicker.

"What's the matter?"  Asked Mama Beaver.

"Oh, nothing," said Lizzie.

"Come on now, I know you want to tell us something,"

insisted Mama Beaver.

Lizzie cleared her throat.

"Billy has a girlfriend," she blurted out.

Billy blushed and nudged her with his forehead.

"What is her name," asked Randy.

I think her name is Bevy, said Lizzie  "I think she

lives near the tall birch tree."

"Nothing to be embarrassed about," said Papa Beaver.

"You are old enough to start noticing girls."

 - 2 -

As time went by, Billy spent more and more time with

Bevy.  They tried to keep it a secret by meeting in tall

grass where nobody could see them.  

The day came when Billy and Bevy started to talk

about getting married.   Lizzie was concerned about

where they would live.  Billy had not given it much

thought.

"As long as I am with you, I don't care where we live,"

said Billy.

But Lizzie wanted a nice lodge.  Nothing too big, but big

enough for them and maybe three or four kits they might

have sometime in the future.

 - 3 -

Both Bevy's parents and Billy's parents were excited

about the idea of them getting married.  Building a lodge

for them was now foremost on their minds. 

Billy and Bevy spent a lot of time looking for a suitable

site for their lodge.  At last they found the perfect spot

along the river bank with a nice view of the pond.

What they loved most about the site was the many  red-

winged blackbirds making their home around the pond. 

"Imagine relaxing along the river bank and listening to

the beautiful songs of all the red-winged blackbirds,"

Bevy said.

"I know," said Billy.  "We will see not only red-winged

blackbirds but also a lot of other birds.  Even big birds

like swans and blue herons."

 - 4 -

Everybody was excited about building the lodge for

Bevy and Billy. 

"You picked the perfect site for a lodge," Billy's dad told

them.  "There are enough trees nearby to build the lodge."

Construction had started.  The busy beavers were really

busy felling trees and hauling branches too the site.

Billy and Bevy discovered a hole in the ground along

the river bank.  Billy talked Bevy into joining him in the

shallow cave for a bit of necking.  Nobody could see them

there. 

Just then the other beavers were ready to fell another tree.

"This tree is leaning already and all we need to do is sever

a few roots," said Papa Beaver. 

 - 5 -                

It didn't take long and the tree was ready to fall.

"Timber !"  yelled Papa Beaver, as he watched the tree

go down.

"Oh no," shrieked Bevy.  "The tree has fallen smack

across our cave and sealed us in."  They cried out for help.

"What were you doing in this hole?" asked Mama Beaver.

"Sorry about that," said Billy.  "We just wanted to see

how deep the hole is." 

But the other beavers all knew better.  They knew Billy

and Bevy had climbed in there to do some hugging

and kissing.

"We are in big trouble," said Papa Beaver.   "We can't

chew the log because there is wire mesh around it and we

can't dig you out because there are big rocks in the ground. 

What will we do?"

 - 6 -

Some beavers had ideas, but none were too practical. 

"We have to think of something because how long can they

go without food and water," Randy observed.

Randy swam over to the beaver Search a Rescue squad and

asked them for help.  They came quickly, but after

studying the situation, even they had no solution.

"We don't have a shovel and even if we did, we would not

know how to use it," they said.

"There is only one thing we can do," volunteered Lizzie.

"I will call on Shay to help us out." 

Shay is the girl who had helped them out before and the

beavers were her friends. 

Lizzie ran to Shay's house as fast as she could.  Luckily

Shay was outside in the garden.   After Lizzie explained the      

situation, Shay grabbed a shovel and crow  bar and

followed Lizzie. 

 - 7 -

It was hard work but Shay  managed to remove the rocks

and dig a whole big enough for Bevy and Billy to crawl out.

It was a big relief for all of them.  They all  hugged each

other but they were especially grateful to Shay for having

rescued them.

"We will never forget what you did for us," they all said.

Papa Beaver had a stern talk with Billy and told him to stay

out of holes while they are felling trees.

Of course, no one really believed it would be the last time

Billy got in trouble.

 - 8 -

When the lodge was finished, all were very excited.

Billy and Bevy were very proud of their new home.

They could not wait to get married.

The day of the wedding came and it was a big affair with

many guests showing up.  Shay was the guest of honor.

The beavers had prepared a special place for her along the

river bank, lined with twigs and grass, where she could sit

and watch the ceremony.

Shay called it her beaver throne and she would sit there

often in days to come and watch the activities of the beavers.