0:00 Barnaby wedged the very first log between two smooth, slippery rocks at the narrowest part of the river.0:07 Old Man Willowbark, his fur greyed from a hundred seasons, watched from the bank.0:14 He shook his head slowly.0:16 "Too fast, that spot," he murmured to himself.0:19 "The water remembers its old path." But Barnaby didn't hear.0:24 He was already dragging a second log, then a third, his young heart thumping with ambition.0:31 This wouldn't be just a dam.0:33 It would be a monument.0:35 And for a while, it was.0:36 The dam grew faster than any the river had ever seen.0:41 Young squirrels chattered from the branches above, and a family of otters would slide down the muddy banks just to admire his work.0:51 "It's the biggest dam in the whole forest!" they’d squeak.0:55 Barnaby’s chest would puff out.0:57 He worked through sun and shadow, piling branches higher and higher, using flashy, long sticks instead of sturdy, foundational logs.1:08 When Old Man Willowbark paddled over one afternoon and tapped a loose branch with his tail, Barnaby just scoffed.1:16 "This is the new way," he said.1:19 "Bigger is better." The old beaver just looked at the teetering wall of wood and mud, and paddled away.1:27 Then came the storm.1:28 It wasn't a gentle rain.1:30 It was a sky-splitting downpour that turned the calm river into a brown, churning monster.1:37 The water slammed against Barnaby’s dam.1:40 At first, it held.1:41 But then, a deep, groaning sound came from the very bottom.1:46 That first log, the one wedged between the slippery rocks, shifted.1:51 And then it was gone.1:53 The foundation gave way all at once.1:55 With a sound like a giant cracking its knuckles, the entire monument of sticks and pride tore apart.2:03 The water washed it all away.2:05 Barnaby was left shivering on the bank, watching pieces of his dream float downstream.2:12 The river was a wreck, and the awe of the other animals had turned to a quiet, sad silence.2:19 He sat there until Old Man Willowbark came and sat beside him.2:24 The old beaver didn't say a word.2:26 He just looked downstream, toward his own low, wide, sturdy dam, which held firm against the flood, creating a calm pool of safety behind it.2:37 Barnaby finally understood.2:39 The next morning, under a clear sky, Barnaby didn't start building.2:44 He just carried a single, strong log down to the old dam, and quietly added it to the foundation.
