The Beaver, Our Friend

By Babak Kardan

Shireen was a city girl from a province where everyone lived a very busy life. People there didn’t have much time for each other. One day Shireen went to spend her holiday with her relatives, who lived in another province. They were native people and lived in a small house near a hill. In this province the people were quite poor, but everyone in the community helped each other, so they managed to survive.

Shireen was not familiar with such simple living, but she was happy to adjust to the conditions for a few days. In the morning, she realized that her relatives had no running water in their house. Her cousin accompanied Shireen to fill some buckets with water from the nearby river, their water source. As they walked up the hill, Shireen noticed that they crossed over a dry river bed. She stopped there and asked,

“Doesn’t the water flow here any more?”

“Oh yes it used to”, replied Nilam, her cousin. “this is where we used to come to collect our water, but now, since the beaver has come, we have to walk up the hill to fetch our water.”

“The Beaver?” asked Shireen, “what does a beaver have to do with your fetching water?”

“Well, you know, beavers make their homes in water. A few months ago, a beaver came and settled up on the hill” replied Nilam, “then it built a dam on the water by dragging branches and logs across the river. So now the water stops there, and doesn’t flow down here any more.”

“What is up there now?” Asked Shireen.

“There is a pond there now” replied Nilam, “the beaver has made its house in the pond, and it searches for its food in the water there.”

“So, do you mean to say you walk all this extra distance, twice a day, just because of a beaver?” Shireen asked.

“Yes, we do. After all, the pond is its home now” said Nilam, a little surprised at Shireen’s question.

“Well, if this would have happened back home where I live, people would have killed that beaver a long time ago! They would not have let a little beaver cause so much disruption in their lives” said Shireen, “But I am really glad that the people here think differently! Maybe I should spend more time here, and see what else your family does differently…”

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Questions:

1. Why do you think the native family does not have running water in their house?

2. How has the beaver affected the daily life of the family?

3. How do Shireen’s relatives feel about the Beaver?

4. What lesson does Shireen learn from her cousin?

5. What values do you think Shireen has for herself: similar to the people in her province or to her relatives?

6. Shireen’s relatives may be poor in some ways, but in other ways, they are very rich
Explain what this statement means for you.

7. Would you like to live in Shireen’s province, or in that of her relatives? What adjustments would you have to make in your life to do this? Explain.