Writing for Fun
February 2023
Witness (or Beavers be D*mn*d)- Jan Norman
King Aga was holding court in the great hall in castle Cam a Lot when a kerfuffle could be heard without.
‘Lemme go. I’s gotta sees the king.’ The doors burst open and a small boy carrying a very wet baby beaver flew into the room, closely followed by a large red dragon wearing a flying helmet. Spying King Aga, the youth made a beeline for him and dived for the hem of his robe in deference to his majesty, forgetting he was carrying the soggy baby beaver, who flew through the air and landed slap bang in the middle of the king’s lap.
‘What the . . .’ roared the king, instinctively cuddling the tiny creature.
The red faced red dragon pulled up short and, standing to attention crisply, saluted his majesty.
‘Squadron leader Farquar, sah!
‘Squadron Leader Farquarsah? queried the already bewildered king.
‘No, just Farquar, sah!
The king opened his mouth to query the squadron leader’s name when a tug on his robe made him focus on the youth.
‘Looks your majesticals this is important. The Aga hydro magic dam is bustin’ and all that’s stoppin’ Cam a Lot from bein’ flooded is baby beaver Bob’s brother Ben. ‘is dad jammed baby Ben into the hole an wedged ‘im tight but he can’t ‘old back the waters forever. Me other brother, Bruce, is feeding ‘im wood chip porridge to keeps ‘im fat an fit the ‘ole, but ‘is eyes is bulging a bit now. You’s gotta send help.’
Fascinated, Aga queried, ’Too much porridge?’
‘No, no too much water up ‘is bu...’
‘Yes, yes. intervened Aga hastily. We get the idea.’ Open mouthed Aga looked to the dragon for clarity?
‘He’s right sir. I witnessed the dam being breached and a quick-thinking beaver did use one of his very own little ‘uns to plug up the hole. Right now, the same beaver has gathered all his tribe and they are frantically building a beaver dam behind the hydro magic dam, so that if it breaks completely, their dam will hold back some of the river Cam, reduce flooding to Cam a Lot and save lives. I flew the youngsters here and have assembled the whole dragon squadron on the parapets in readiness to ferry back a rescue party and equipment.
Comprehending at last the king, clutching the baby beaver to his chest, leapt to his feet.
‘Sir Goes Berserk a Lot, you organise the logistics of getting men and equipment to the dam. Also send an advanced party of Merlin the magician and good witch Granny Fruitloops on their broomsticks. A little magic may be needed here.’ Queen Give it ‘ere you organise the evacuation of the towns folk and animals, in case we can’t mend the dam.’
The court stood mesmerised for a moment, then the spell was broken and everyone rushed for the door at once.
Down at the dam, baby beaver Ben was stoically munching the wood chip porridge spoon fed by his brother Bruce, his eyes watering only occasionally.
A plan had been forged and was now being executed. Merlin and Granny Fruitloops were to fly near the dam wall with magic wands fully charged: magic drawn from the very dam itself. In the water below Sir Goes Berserk a Lot and Sir Rust a Lot had manoeuvred their tiny boat as near to baby beaver Ben as possible. Kneeling precariously, the knights, on the king’s command, would pull the baby beaver from the hole in the dam and as soon as he was free, Merlin and Granny Fruitloops were to direct streams of magic from their wands to seal the breach. Another boat holding soldiers would then stick huge magic sticking plasters over the hole, until proper repairs could be carried out.
King Aga, standing on the river bank with sword raised bellowed, ‘Three, two, one,’ and dropped his sword hand. On the signal, Sir Goes Berserk a Lot and Sir Rust a Lot took a firm grip of baby beaver Ben and, with one foot each on the dam wall for leverage and the other in the rocking boat, heaved heartily. Baby Ben, being swished so suddenly after imbibing so much porridge, sicked on Sir Goes Berserk a Lot’s head but, with a loud popping noise, shot out of the hole. All three fell into the river just as Merlin and Granny Fruitloops fired their magic wands. With showers of magical stars, the hole was sealed. The magic plasters were fixed by the soldiers and the knights pulled from the water. Loud cheers erupted from all the onlookers.
In triumph, King Aga hoisted young baby beaver Ben onto his shoulders and paraded the hero around the town, together with all the hard-working beavers that had built a strong, beautiful beaver dam behind the king’s to save Cam a Lot.
In their honour the towns folk planted trees along the riverbank, vowing that their brave beavers would never go hungry and would always have trees to build their lodges.