He thought it must be the click of a camera hidden in the bushes. And
he stood very still and looked extremely pleasant. Now, Brownie Beaver
should have known better. But like most people, for once he made a
mistake. What he really heard was the tree snapping. And before he
could jump out of the way the tree came crashing down upon him and
pinned him fast to the ground. He saw a flash of light, to be sure,
and a good many stars. But all that only came from the knock on his
head which the tree gave him.




XVII

BROWNIE ESCAPES


When the tree crashed down upon Brownie Beaver and held him fast, it
was some time before he came to his senses. Then he did not know, at
first, where he was nor what had happened to him. But at last he
remembered that he had been cutting down a tree not far from the pond
and he saw that it must have fallen upon him.

Of course, the first thing that occurred to him was to call for help.
But just as he opened his mouth to shout, another thought came into
his head. _Perhaps some man might hear him--or a bear!_ And Brownie
Beaver closed his mouth as quickly as he had opened it.

Then he tried to squirm from under the tree-trunk. But he couldn't