At the head of Breeches Lake, there was a few years back a large beaver dam. A small brook fed this dam whose construction had been mastered by Castorin the 1st who initially built the dam in the 1800s.
The Castorin family, under the leadership of Castorin the 11th, was well known at Breeches Lake, Sunday Lake, Loon Pond and Aylmer Lake for their hard work and outmost generosity and hospitality towards locals and foreigners.
The lodge was so large that it could easily hold three beaver colonies with their kits. It was about 10 m. long and had three different entrances.
One day a Muskrat swam to the central entrance of the huge beaver lodge. She was very weak and asked for shelter and food. “Please give me some food and let me stay here in your huge lodge just for this day, otherwise I am afraid I will die.” Castorin asked the Muskrat: “You are not from our genus, you are Ondatra while we are Castor. But I will gladly help you, so please enter our lodge and rest. We are mostly herbivores like you and you will be fed as required. He asked his wife to bring a few nuts, some water lilies, a crayfish and a few pieces of aspen bark.”
Castorin took pity on the Muskrat and let her stay for several days until she fully recovered. “There is an empty Muskrat lodge at the head of the lake. Once you have recovered I will ask my young one to go with you and show you the place, where you can build a nice den. If you need anything, just come here and feel yourself at home” said Castorin.
A couple of days after the Muskrat had left, an Otter showed up at the entrance of the Castorin lodge. She was very weak and with grey hair. She pleaded, “Please give me some food and shelter for today, otherwise I am afraid I will die.”
Castorin said, “ You are not from our genus, you are Lutra Canadensis and we are Castor Canadensis. However I will help you. You may enter our lodge and rest. I know that you are carnivorous so we shall try to find you a proper meal.” Castorin’s wife prepared a big dish with cray fish, two small water snakes, two muscles and a big frog. The Otter felt that her strength was coming back, but she had a fever and Castorin asked her to stay with them for two weeks. At the end of two weeks the Otter left the lodge and she was very thankful to Castorin and his family. Castorin said to the Otter: “There is a den at the head of the lake, just where the sandy beach is located. You will build a nice den there and live in peace. If you need anything, just come here and feel yourself at home. ” The Otter said, “I will not forget you, Castorin” and she left.
Two weeks after the Otter had left, a huge noise came from the other side of the lodge. For a moment Castorin’s wife thought it was a Bear, but no, it was a huge animal that looked like a giant beaver. It was 2 m. long with a short tale, had huge teeth almost 15 cm long and it was the size of a human.
The new visitor entered the lodge with some difficulty, given his size and placed himself in front of Castorin and his wife. “What can I do for you, foreigner?” asked Castorin politely.
“My name is Castorpulos, I am one of the last members of the Casoroides Nebrascencsis family. My race is almost extinct and my parents lived in the St. Lawrence River but now they are dead. I need shelter so that I can build a house for my family. Your lodge is large and I will need at least one of your living entrances.”
“My name is Castorin and my ancestors built this lodge many years ago. I help everyone coming to my lodge with peaceful intentions. But I cannot give you one of my rooms as two of my kits live there with their colonies. However, I can guide you to find a proper lodge on this lake.”
With an angry voice Castorpulos responded, “I do not need your counseling. I will destroy you and your family if you do not obey my orders. My teeth are so powerful that I can cut a huge maple tree in less than 5 minutes. Not only that, I will let it fall on top of your lodge and then none of you will be able to live here.”
Castorin was worried as Castorpulos was indeed huge and powerful. He agreed to leave the main room for him while Castorin moved with one of his sons.
One day Castorpulos said: “I am not comfortable here, as it is too small for me. All of you have to move into one room while I keep the other two rooms. I am big and need space.”
Castorin obeyed but he was very unhappy. In one of his hunting expeditions he met with Otter and with Muskrat and explained the situation. Otter and Muskrat devised a plan to get rid of the intrusive visitor. They entered the Castorin’s lodge and met with Castorpulos. “Hello, we are your neighbours and have heard great things about your strength and power. However we bet a nice birch stump that you cannot stay under water as long as we can.” Castorpulos, who had a super ego, took them to the bet. “I will prove both of you wrong. Let us start the dives.”
When Castorpulos went under water the Muskrat attached a strong rope to Castorpulos tail, at the end of which he had placed a heavy stone. They went towards the center of the lake, where Breeches Lake has a depth of more than 30 meters. Then The Muskrat dropped the huge rock that she had brought on a floating piece of birch. The rock sunk and Castorpulos was not able to climb to the surface. After fifteen minutes under water the Otter dived down, cut the rope and pulled Castorpulos to the surface. He had almost drowned and was breathing heavily.
“Now, you have lost the bet and more importantly you almost drowned. If you want to survive at Breeches Lake, you have to go back and apologize to Castorin for your abusive behaviour. You will leave his lodge and build a new one as all beavers do.”
“Yes, you are right. I may be big and powerful but I also have weaknesses.”
Castorpulos apologized to Castorin and never again disturbed his lodge. When the summer was over, Castorpulos moved away from Breeches Lake. Since then the Casoroides have never been seen again. Maybe one day they will return in peace.
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