Otter Chaos! (10 page)

The otters appeared just as exhausted as the beavers had been after working through the night. But instead of suffering from a lack of sleep, they were just hungry. They hadn't eaten anything all day except Mama Black and Mama Brown's Fish Pie Surprise, which was a brand-new recipe. It had an outer crust of crispy riverweed and a filling of riverweed blobs in a riverweed sauce, so the only ‘surprise' was that the fish pie contained no fish whatsoever.

“What's he saying?” asked Grandma Maple, squinting at the kit.

“Something about a clam?” asked Beanie, hopefully.

“I think he wants us to see the
dam
,” suggested Sooty. “He mentioned that he had plans to make some changes to it.”

“I bet it's something amazing,” said Woody.

“Wasn't the dam big enough already?” grumbled Grandpa Bruno. “Perhaps they're not content with cutting off our fish supply. Maybe they would like to blot out the sun too!”

“Don't be like that,” said Mama Brown. “Let's swim upstream and take a look at what they've done.” Mama Brown was using a tone of voice saved for occasions when refusal was not an option.

The otters all noted the special tone and dived into the water. Woody and Sooty joined Chip, riding on top of the raft, and noticed that the young beaver seemed very excited.

“I showed my parents the plans for additions to the dam and they thought it was a great idea,” he said. “In fact, they liked it so much they put off going to bed and went straight to work after we left you!”

They pushed the raft past the river bend and carried on towards the waiting beavers. The otters all looked at the dam and frowned at each other. It wasn't that they didn't like the changes – they just couldn't work out what was different about it. It appeared to be the same huge heap of logs and branches they'd seen last time.

“Oh, my goodness!” gasped Mama Brown as Chip hopped from the raft and joined his sisters and parents on the dam. “I've never seen anything so beautiful!”

“I agree,” said Mama Black. “It really is quite breathtaking!”

“That's very kind of you to say so,” Chuck frowned, shifting uncomfortably. “We didn't actually change anything on top, but it's nice to know the classic birds-nest-filled-with-hedgehogs design is still appreciated.”

“The changes are all underwater,” grinned Twiggy.

The Saw Sisters opened their mouths to say something, but were too excited to speak. So they hopped up and down instead, clapping their paws together with glee.

“My talented daughters did all the complicated construction and followed their brother's plans beautifully,” said Chuck, patting his son on the head. “But it was all Chip's idea, so I think he should be the one to show you.”

The otters gathered round, with Sooty and Woody at the front, as Chip lifted a paw and pulled down what looked like an ordinary branch. But it was actually a long lever, similar to those used in the lion trap. There was a loud clunk and then the sound of grinding wheels and cogs, but no one had any idea what they were meant to be looking at.

“Fish!” gasped Beanie, peering into the water. “I just saw a fish!”

“Are you sure it wasn't fish-shaped riverweed?” grumbled Grandpa Bruno.

“I just saw one too!” said Woody, pointing to the left. “I think it was a salmon!”

“And crayfish!” said Sooty, pointing to the right. “There are loads of them!”

The otters watched the colourful fish shapes darting past the raft and dived off to get a closer look. Once underwater, they could see why the beavers were so pleased with their work. Running along the bottom of the dam was a complicated network of cogs and levers that opened and closed wooden flaps. The flaps allowed fish to pass through at the lightest touch and closed again afterwards so the water level on the beavers' side of the dam remained high.

The otters dashed about in the river, chasing the fish and each other, doing somersaults and backflips. They gathered clams and crayfish and anything that wasn't green or riverweedy. Then they all swam back to the surface, with arms and mouths full of food, to thank their neighbours.

But, scanning the length of the dam, they found the beavers were nowhere to be seen.

“Where are they?” asked Sooty.

“I think I hear them,” said Woody, and everyone stopped and listened, tilting their heads to a distant noise.

“ZZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZ! ZZZZZZZ!”

Deep rumbling snores were coming from the entrance to the beavers' lodge, growing louder with every moment that passed. It seemed Chuck, Twiggy, Chip and the Saw Sisters were finally catching up with their sleep.

When the beavers awoke later that evening, after a well-earned rest, they stepped out of their lodge and dived in the water to find that the otters had gone home. Then they spotted the raft with a little pile of crayfish in the middle.

Beavers like a crayfish supper as much as any other river mammal, so they hopped aboard the raft and polished off the pile in no time. Only then did they notice the long rope of knotted riverweed tied to the raft and, when they hauled it in, the raft moved forward, pulling them downstream.

The rope stretched all the way round the river-bend, over the mooring pad of Cottonwood Lodge and down through the entrance. The beavers followed it all the way to the large central chamber and found the otters sitting in front of an enormous fishy banquet, smiling at their baffled guests.

“We were meant to do this earlier,” said Mama Brown, standing up and beaming at the sight of their neighbours. “But for one reason or another we were unable.”

“I don't understand,” said Chuck.

“You tell them, Grandpa,” said Woody, as he and Sooty nudged the reluctant old otter out of his seat and, for the first time in a long while, he didn't appear grumpy at all, owing to a belly full of fish.

“We just wanted to invite you all to Cottonwood Lodge for an otter feast, and to say …” said Grandpa Bruno, opening his arms and smiling so everyone could stand and join in together.

“WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD!” cheered the otters.

The beavers didn't need to be asked twice. They sat down and ate heartily with their neighbours, and the otters were happy to share their fishy feast and their small section of the river with their new friends.

igh above the river in the Wild West forest, the mountain lion paced along the tree-line at the edge of the riverbank, considering his options, as the water mammals celebrated their new-found friendship.

The lion planned to honour his promise to steer clear of the otters and beavers, but he was worried what might happen if he encountered one of them by accident. He gazed up at the tall, heavy pine trees and tucked his tail underneath him with a shudder. Perhaps the safest thing would be to move far away from the river altogether.

So the mountain lion turned back into the forest and crossed the stream and kept on going. He walked for days and days into the
wild
Wild West, which was so far from the river that no otters or beavers were ever likely to bother him.

But, like the beavers with the otters, he soon discovered that his new home was already spoken for. The mountain lion had entered another animal's territory, and he was about to begin a brand-new friendship of his own with a mountain lioness.

Find out how the Brown family and the Black family met in the first OTTER CHAOS adventure!

Woody the otter pup is splish-splash happy! His family are moving to a big new den downstream. But when they arrive, another family are already there! The only way to decide who stays is an otterly chaotic sports day! On your marks get set … GO!