Long time ago, during the time of the Creation of the forests and their fauna, the Beaver had been given by God a fluffy tail similar to the one of the Muskrat. It was a gorgeous tail, long and powerful so that Beaver could use it both as a rudder or a paddle and swim at great speeds in lakes and rivers.
Beaver was very proud of his tail and would challenge Otter, Muskrat and Nutria to swimming races. His competitors were soon tired of accepting the chalenge as Beaver would always win the races.
After each race Beaver would always boast loudly how a powerful swimmer he was thanks to his beautiful, long tail.
One day Beaver was cutting a huge birch tree . It was winter and he needed branches for his family to eat, so he did not watch that strong winds would break the high tree before he would notice. Suddenly the tree fell upon him by surprise and the large base trapped the Beaver’s tale underneath. Beaver shouted and cried for help. The Otter and the Muskrat showed up to the Beavers’s crying and said:
“Hello, Beaver, you do not seem to be very proud of your tail today”.
“Please help me. I will never again ridicule your tails. They are as beautiful as mine.”
So, with this promise, Otter and Muskrat started cutting the huge birch tree just above the trapped tail and soon the tail was free of the heavyweight. But Oh, surprise! The tail was now flat like a paddle instead of the fluffy, round shape that Beaver so much liked.
Beaver started to cry and raised his voice to God: “ Creator, why have you removed my beautiful tale? “
God decided to answer him:” You were not humble about the tail that I gave you. Now you will have other advantages, such as go underwater with a single splash and warn your friends and family when an enemy is near”. Be humble and thankful for the new tail. You will not be able to swim faster than your friends but you will find other advantages”. So he was and from that day on, Beaver is happy with his tail and never boasts among his friends.
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