Snoutie and His Friends

“As Wise Old Owl says, my friends, there is Reason to Believe that we have run aground,” announced Robin the Elder.

“Run aground?” answered Boary crossly. “I wonder why? It must be because the boat is too small.”

“That could be,” said Robin the Elder, “but it might also be the case that a member of its crew is a little too heavy.”

Snoutie looked happily at his round tummy and shrugged, while Burly Boary bent over the side and started studying the water around the boat carefully.

“I don’t really understand what you’re talking about, Robin,” he finally said, “but the boat needs a push or else it won’t move and we’ll be stuck on this island forever!”

“We’ll help you,” said Beaver the Builder. “Sometimes even Luck needs help. Hey, cubs, get to work!”

So Beaver and his cubs placed their paws against the boat and pushed Luck as one. The boat jumped and started to sail away from the island.

“We’ll guide you,” continued Beaver the Builder. “It’s better to accompany Luck. Let’s swim, cubs!”

“Chart your course for Snoutie’s house,” commanded Robin the Elder.

The friends happily set off down the river. They got so involved in their conversation that they didn’t notice that Littlest Beaver Cub had disappeared from sight. But they did soon notice that somehow the boat was slowly beginning to fill with water. They couldn’t find the cause of this and started to get worried.

“Snoutie, Boary, Beaver! Sound the alarm! There’s a leak in the boat,” chirped Robin the Elder, flapping his wings.

Beaver the Builder quickly counted his cubs. When he found that one was missing, he disappeared under the water. He soon resurfaced, pulling Littlest Beaver Cub with him and looking very stern. The cub seemed quite satisfied and was earnestly chewing on something.

“Mmmm! I’ve never tried anything like that before,” Beaver Cub announced happily, smacking his lips and narrowing his eyes with pleasure, even though Beaver the Builder was holding him by the ear.

“This little fellow chewed through the bottom of the boat,” explained Beaver the Builder.

“Right now we don’t have Time for Instructive Discussions with the Foolish Younger Generation, nor, my friends, do we even have much time to think,” frowned Robin the Elder. “We need to come up with a way to reach Snoutie’s house as quickly as possible.”

“We need to sail faster before water floods the whole boat,” said the representative of the Foolish Younger Generation, who was at that time finishing up a piece of pumpkin and looking rather guilty.

“Raise up your snouts, my friends,” said Burly Boary, trying to encourage the crew. Then he let out such a loud and lengthy grunt that Robin the Elder flapped his wings nervously and Snoutie jumped as if he had just heard a ship’s horn.

“‘The louder your grunt, the faster you’ll get there!’ That was our punting team’s motto. We always finished first at Cambridge!” explained Boary. For some reason he then started to mount the pole in the middle of the boat. “I think you’ve all already guessed who the captain of that team was!” he added.

“Uncle Boary, what if someone grunted quietly, or didn’t even grunt at all? Then what would happen?” asked curious and uncontrollable Littlest Beaver Cub.

“Anyone who didn’t grunt missed the boat!” Boary raised his hooves as if he was giving a lecture. “Remember that, little one!”

When the pole was in place, Burly Boary quickly slipped off his raincoat and threw the hood over the top of the pole. He handed one half of the coat to Snoutie and held the other half himself.

“Let’s set sail!” pronounced a satisfied Captain Boary.

The wind blew at Boary’s raincoat and the sailboat Luck quickly sailed right up to Snoutie’s house, even though water continued to fill the boat. Almost as soon as the brave crew stepped onto dry land (with the rescued supplies, the umbrella, and the raincoat, of course), the boat started to sink into the water with a loud gurgle and disappeared entirely from view a few minutes later. Snoutie and his friends looked gratefully after it.

Dusk settled in quickly and the fog started to thicken over the Big Forest. Papa Snoutie invited everyone to spend the night. The friends happily discussed their adventures as they sat by the fire enjoying mint tea and honey cakes.

CHAPTER FIVE,

IN WHICH A BEAK APPEARS ON A SNOWMAN, A TOP HAT RUNS THROUGH THE FOREST, AND GOSLING JULIENNE CHANGES HIS LIFE

A snowy winter had arrived in the Big Forest. One night an especially surprising amount of snow fell, and the next morning the creatures of the Forest found themselves snowed in.