Slappy Finds a Job
by
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As they approached, Slappy could see a beautiful figure in a clearing, standing among many other animals. Almost every kind of animal was there. “Is that her?” whispered Slappy. “Yeszz,” replied Firefly one. As they moved into the clearing, a ruckus started up among the animals. It just happened to be the quarterly meeting of the Forest Elders.
{Picture of Mother Nature with the animals}
“There he is!” exclaimed the boar. “Yes, there’s the one that thinks he knows better than the Great List of Responsibilities,” said the woodchuck. “Now, now” said Mother Nature. “Let’s talk to the beaver and try to understand why he feels this way.” “Well Slappy, why don’t you want to build dams?” asked Mother Nature. “I just want to do some other work. Maybe something more important than just building a dam,” replied Slappy. “I don’t think you understand how important your job is,” said Mother Nature. “Yeah, I know all the animals swim and drink there, but there are many other beavers that can do my job. I want to do something more important,” answered Slappy. “The birds tell me that you have tried to do the frogs’ job and the rabbits’ job, with dismal results, I might add,” said Mother Nature. “Yes, that’s true. I think that I just haven’t found the right job for me,” replied Slappy.
“Well, there is some sort of emergency at the south edge of the woods, where the stream runs into the valley. Humans have been building their houses closer and closer to the woods. Some humans have even been seen in the woods,” Mother Nature explained. The animals all gasped. Most of the small animals ran for home and hid. The ones that were left were of the same mind, but the fox spoke first. “This is what happens when you don’t follow the Great List of Responsibilities,” said the fox. “Yesssssss, make him go back to the pondssssss!” said the snake.
“Wait!” said Mother Nature, “this is not Slappys’ fault. I have reports from even before Slappy left the pond that the bears and wolves best attempts at keeping the humans out of the woods have failed. It seems that we need something more to keep the houses and fences from moving closer to the woods,” Mother Nature explained. “At any rate, I can’t see any harm in letting one small beaver head in that direction. He may find a job on the way, or if he makes it to the south edge of the woods somehow, he might be able to help the larger animals patrol the edge of the woods. Who knows, he may find the job that he feels is more important than building a dam and still be helping all the other animals.” Even the wise old owl could not disagree with this logic. It was agreed that Slappy would continue his search, as long as he headed south.
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About the Book
This book is the fantasy adventure of Slappy the beaver.
Like most of us he doesn’t see the importance of what his parents taught him. So he rebels, and sets out to find new answers for himself. Although he finally does succeed in finding new answers, he is surprised to find how close they were to what his parents always taught him.
There are a few good moral lessons in this book. I’m sure that, you will find them very important for today’s world. With these lessons maybe your child will find a better answer for our future.
I wrote this book in the hopes, that somewhere there will be a child who will understand. I hope that they will develop a love and understanding of nature, and I hope that they will not have to go as far out of the way as I did, to find the truth that our parents were trying to teach us all along.
Nicholas J. Boyle
About the Author
I grew up in
As far back as I can remember I have been close to nature. My friends and I spent many days fishing, hiking, skating, camping, and playing sports. I can truly say that these were some of the best times of my life.
By the time I reached seventh grade, we were taking water samples
From different spring fed creeks that contributed to the
When I reached high school I spent less and less time in nature and more and more time in school activities. It was about then that I started to think that I was smarter than my mother who raised me. I chose my own path against her advice again and again, leading me down a long and dangerous road. It wasn’t until I was 26 that I started to realize that she might have been right. But still I had many more lessons to learn before I came to the full realization that what she was trying to teach me was the best way of life. By this time I was 36 and had just done 3 months of work release jail time.
Since then I have changed my life to live by the lessons that my mother tried to teach me so long ago. I now own 2 successful businesses, and find myself with enough extra time on my hands to write this book.
As I drive through my old home town I can see the drastic changes that development has created. They have even moved what used to be a great fishing hole located at the corner of Milwaukee Av and
In conclusion I write this book for two reasons. The first reason is to inspire children to listen to their parents. They have already learned the hard lessons of life. They know what is best for you. The second reason is to inspire children to help nature survive. The future of all living things, depend on it. Just like Slappy, They can make a big difference.