The Adventure Begins

The morning began like any other in Otterwood. Sunlight danced across the river, birds called from the treetops, and Finn and Milo paddled their little wooden boat toward the Beaver Dam Market. They had promised to help Mr. Bramble carry several baskets of berries, but as they approached the familiar docks, both brothers noticed that something was wrong.

The river was moving much faster than usual. Water slapped against the wooden platforms, tugged at the ropes of moored boats, and swirled around the market stalls closest to the shore. Shopkeepers hurried to lift baskets and crates onto higher shelves, while several beavers struggled to secure a floating platform that kept pulling away from its posts.

Finn guided their boat toward the dock, where Mr. Bramble stood staring upstream. The usually cheerful beaver looked worried, and bits of wet leaves clung to his apron.

“What happened?” Milo asked as they climbed ashore.

“The old dam has been pulled apart,” Mr. Bramble explained. “Without it, nothing is slowing the water coming down from the hills. If the current grows any stronger, the lower part of the market could be underwater before evening.”

Finn looked at the rushing river. The dam had protected Beaver Dam Market for longer than anyone could remember. It had survived heavy rain, spring floods, and even the Great Windstorm, yet now it had somehow disappeared overnight.

“Could the storm have broken it?” Milo asked.

Mr. Bramble shook his head.

“The sky was clear, and the branches weren’t carried away by the river. Someone removed them.”

Finn and Milo exchanged an uneasy glance. Somewhere upstream, hundreds of heavy branches had vanished, and whoever had taken them might still be nearby.

“We’ll find out what happened,” Finn said.

The brothers pushed their boat back into the water and began paddling against the growing current. Behind them, another wave splashed over the lowest dock, scattering a basket of apples across the market square.

They would have to move quickly.