Otter Chaos! Read Online Free PDF Page A

their paws on and everyone came back with riverweed. There were a couple of berries and a few tufts of grass too, but the rest was riverweed – great slimy mounds of the stuff!
    Mama Black and Mama Brown then set to work preparing a selection of new meals. On day one there was riverweed soup, which was riverweed served in river water. Day two was riverweed stew, which was riverweed in river water, with extra big lumps of riverweed. Day three saw a special riverweed salad, with a grass and berry garnish. But a bird swooped down and grabbed the berries, so it became just a pile of riverweed with grass on it. On the fourth day they prepared a vegetarian version of their ever-popular fish wraps. These certainly looked the part, but where the original recipe called for delicious oily fish-heads to be dunked in clam juice and then wrapped in riverweed, all that was inside the new version was more riverweed.

    No one took to being vegetarian and everyone became increasingly bad tempered, all secretly wondering if their bellies would ever feel full again.
    Woody and Sooty sneaked out one night and returned to the overhanging tree, just to gaze at the moonlit dam and imagine all the crayfish swimming on the other side.
    â€œThink of all those crunchy claws!” sighed Woody.
    â€œAnd the tasty tails too,” added Sooty.
    â€œHello!” said an unfamiliar voice behind them.
    The otters squeaked when they saw a beaver bobbing in the water, its big teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Then they realised it was the young kit, Chip, and he was smiling at them cheerfully.
    â€œHello,” the otters replied together.
    â€œI’m sorry about the dam and the fish,” Chip said awkwardly. “And for chasing your family down the river. My dad is pretty stubborn when it comes to his building work.”
    â€œIt’s not your fault,” said Woody. “And we did break the last dam.”
    â€œOur parents can be just as stubborn,” added Sooty. “Grown-ups are weird.”
    â€œDo you want to play?” Chip asked hopefully. “I’ve been working on an obstacle course that I usually run on my own, but it’ll be much more fun with three of us!”
    The otter pups nodded eagerly and followed the beaver up the bank as he vanished into the woods. Chip led the otters to a huge adventure playground he had built himself, using logs and vines and anything else he could lay his paws on. There were rope-swings, seesaws, slides and climbing walls, all running up and down and round the trees.
    â€œWOW!” exclaimed Woody and Sooty.
    â€œLast one round is a rotten clam!” laughed Chip.
    The beaver ran for the start line, with the otters chasing after him and catching up in no time. The otters were faster, but the beaver was familiar with the obstacles, so the trio overtook each other throughout the whole course, tugging tails and roaring with laughter. Woody and Sooty then helped Chip build even more obstacles from plans he scratched out in the mud. The otters and the beaver raced each other a few more times until they all collapsed in a heap, rolling around and giggling, like the very best of friends.

    â€œI thought your dad said you were no good at building,” panted Woody, looking up at all the complicated network of ramps and pulleys. “What you’ve done here is completely brilliant!”
    â€œYou should definitely show this to your dad,” added Sooty. “Once he sees how clever you are, he’ll be bragging about you like he does about your sisters chopping down trees.”
    â€œI’ve tried to make my dad look at my plans and ideas, but he thinks they’re silly and won’t work,” sighed Chip. “He only ever wants to build traditional dams, and I prefer coming up with designs for new ones.”
    â€œWell, we like your ideas,” said the otters.
    When they got up the next morning, Woody and Sooty noticed that their families were