pry out the little piece of wood between.
When he had cut very deep on one side so that the tree would fall that
way, he would work around to the other side. Just as soon as the tree
began to lean and he was sure that it was going to fall, he would
scamper away so as to be out of danger. He loved to see those tall
trees lean forward slowly, then faster and faster, till they struck
the ground with a crash.

Just as soon as they were down, he would trim off the branches until
the trees were just long poles. This was easy work, for he could take
off a good-sized branch with one bite. On many he left their bushy
tops. When he had trimmed them to suit him and had cut them into the
right lengths, he would tug and pull them down to the place where he
meant to build his dam.

There he placed the poles side by side, not across the Laughing Brook
like a bridge, but with the big ends pointing up the Laughing Brook,
which was quite broad but shallow right there. To keep them from
floating away, he rolled stones and piled mud on the bushy ends. Clear
across on both sides he laid those poles until the land began to rise.
Then he dragged more poles and piled on top of these and wedged short
sticks crosswise between them.

And all the time the Laughing Brook was having harder and harder work
to run. Its merry laugh grew less merry and finally almost stopped,
because, you see, the water could not get through between all those
poles and sticks fast enough. It was just about that time that the
little people of the Smiling Pool decided that it was time to see just
what Paddy was doing, and they started up the Laughing Brook, leaving
only Grandfather Frog and the tadpoles in the Smiling Pool, which for a
little while would smile no more.

III

PADDY HAS MANY VISITORS

Paddy the Beaver knew perfectly well that he would have visitors just
as soon as he began to build his dam. He expected a lot of them. You
see, he knew that none of them ever had seen a Beaver at work unless
perhaps it was Prickly Porky the Porcupine, who also had come down
from the North. So as he worked he kept his ears open, and he smiled
to himself as he heard a little rustle here and then a little rustle
there. He knew just what those little rustles meant. Each one meant
another visitor. Yes, Sir, each rustle meant another visitor, and yet
not one had shown himself.

Paddy chuckled. "Seems to me that you are dreadfully afraid to show
yourselves," said he