Photography: Backyard, by Savannah T

 

 

 

You can find more of Savannah's photography on her Instagram account @falsemisfortune!

Fiction: The Boy and The Beaver, by Sophia R

Once upon a time, a young boy lived on a farm. Every day, he was supposed to wake up at sunrise, chop wood for the day, feed the livestock, bring water from the well, and wash the floors. But, instead of doing his work, the boy would wake up late, then walk around the farm hoping that one of his younger brothers had done his work for him. His mother had punished him many times for his lazy behavior, but nothing seemed to work. After being punished, for a few days he would do what he was supposed to, but then he would revert to his original behavior.

One day, his mother had enough. Instead of punishing him the usual way (with a few slaps), she sent him out of the house with the words: “If you don’t do your chores, and don’t wash the floors, you will live outside, until you swallow your pride”

The boy begged his mother to reconsider, but she turned away from him. He first tried to sleep in the barn, but because the cows did not trust him, they panicked when he came in and mooed loudly and he couldn’t fall asleep. The boy then wandered into the woods. The further he went, the less certain he was that he could get back to the farm. He became scared and started running. Suddenly, he came to a halt. There was a river in front of him, and across the river was an almost finished beaver dam. A beaver was hard at work, carrying bits of wood, and weaving them into the dam. The dam was a work of art, but the boy did not see the beauty. All he saw was a place he could stay for the night. 

He asked the beaver, “Hey, beaver, can I stay here tonight? My own mother kicked me out of my house, and I don’t know why.” 

The beaver looked the boy up and down. “You can stay here only if you help me finish my dam.” 

Although the boy could have easily helped the beaver, he looked at the beaver mockingly, and replied, “You do your own work. Why would I do your work for you?” 

The beaver stared at the boy and said, “If you don’t do your chores, and don’t build the floors, you will live outside, until you swallow your pride.”

The boy laughed at the beaver and told him, “You sound exactly like my mother. I guess I will sleep outside today.” 

The beaver shrugged, “Well” he said, “Good luck with the storm.” 

“What storm?” The boy asked, with a little shake in his voice. The beaver did not respond as he continued to build his dam. 

“Fine,” the boy said, “I will help you finish your stupid dam, just let me sleep in it.” 

The beaver replied, “First tell me why your mother kicked you out.” 

“I told you, I don’t know!” the boy replied. “Well until you tell me why, you’ll have to stay outside.” 

“Fine, it’s because I didn’t do some chores that she wanted me to do,” the boy said. 

“Chores that your mother wants you to do, or chores that are necessary to keep the household going?” the beaver replied. 

“Well, I’ve never though about it that way! I guess if those chores don’t get done, the household would fall apart.” 

The beaver nodded approvingly. “Now you get it! Now help me finish the dam, and you can stay with me.” 

The boy, feeling ashamed of himself for not doing the work he should have, quickly ran to help the beaver finish the dam. When they finished, the boy looked at it, and finally noticed how beautiful it was. The beaver kindly looked at the boy, and without saying anything, he led the boy into the dam. In the night, it stormed, but in the morning, the boy woke up while it was still dark, made breakfast for the beaver, and snuck out before the beaver woke up. He didn’t want to be thanked for something he knew he should have been doing.

When he walked outside, he noticed his footsteps from the day before. He followed them back and before the sun rose, he did all the chores he needed to do. When his mother woke up, she found all his chores done, she hugged him and said: “Come with me and we will have your favorite breakfast!”