名稱：what’s a kloosh
內容簡介：
Crunch! Crunch!The young beaver bit into the tree trunk. At last his parents were letting him cut one down alone. By sunset, the tree would fall into the pond. Soon it would be part of his family’s new dam.

“Hello!” a voice said. A rabbit hopped up beside the beaver.

“Hi,” the beaver said shyly.

“I’m Long Jump Rabbit. What’s your name?”

“Klooshmaker.”

“What did you say?” Long Jump asked.

“Klooshmaker,” the beaver repeated.

“I don’t understand. My friends’ names tell what they do. There’s Chirp Bluebird, Nutfinder Squirrel, and Spinner Spider. There’s a hive of bees called Honeymaker, and I know what honey is. But what is a kloosh?”

Klooshmaker didn’t know what to say. “Um, it’s...”

“Is it that line of logs blocking the stream?” asked Long Jump. “No, that’s a dam,” said the beaver.



“Is it that big mound of sticks and mud in the pond?” she asked.

“That’s a lodge, not a kloosh.

My family lives in it.”

“You live in a kloosh?”

“No, we live in a lodge. I’m sorry. I’m busy,” Klooshmaker said. He turned back to the tree.Crunch! Crunch!

After a while, Long Jump hopped away.

Klooshmaker had never really thought about his name before. But his parents were called Treecutter and Cruncher. Their names meant something. So why didn’t his?

He tried to chomp harder, hoping to forget his hurt feelings. It didn’t work. Soon he was biting out only little splinters.

“Is something wrong, son?” asked his mother. She had come to check on him.

“Why am I called Klooshmaker?” he blurted out.

“You’re named for your grandfather,” his mother said.

“But the name doesn’t mean anything.” He told his mother what Long Jump had said.

His mother patted his fur. “Did she laugh at you?”

“No,” said Klooshmaker.

“She was just curious then,” said his mother.

“Well, I’m curious now. What’s a kloosh? How do you make one?”

“It was just my father’s name. We beavers are too busy to think about things like that. Forget about it, dear. You have important work to do.”

The young beaver kept working but still couldn’t help thinking about his name.If Long Jump comes back, I’ll sayKlooshmakeris just my nickname. I’ll think of a new name that means something. MaybeBuilder.

But somehow that name didn’t seem to fit him.

The sun was setting when he again heard “hello.” It was Long Jump. She said, “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Klooshmaker.

I’d like us to be friends.”

Before he could answer, Klooshmaker’s parents came over. His father said, “Careful, Rabbit. This tree’s coming down. Know where to put the last bite, son?”

“Right here.”

“Go ahead.”

Klooshmaker’s strong teeth tore out one last chunk of wood. As the tree fell, he was too excited to worry about his name. At last, the tree hit the water.

KLOOSH!