Beaverland

By Dawn Antonis

Beaverland is a magical tale of a young girl, who while living an ordinary life, has a most remarkable experience. In Beaverland, we meet Jessica Chapman, a smart and funny 12 year old girl. On Christmas morning, she is thrilled to receive the ice skates she’s want for so long! Her parents warn her that the ice on the pond isn’t ready for skating, but the next morning, Jessica cannot resist the temptation of her new skates. She sneaks down to the pond and falls through the ice! She awakes confused, in a small dark room, not having any idea where she is and finally realizes she is inside a beaver’s dam! She was rescued by beavers, and they nurse her back to health. With the beavers, she experiences the magic and beauty that is their world, and she learns valuable lessons about responsibility, and taking care of the people and animals that you love. When she finally gets back home through the help of the beavers, she takes these lessons with her, into her adult life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Aug 22, 2012
• ISBN: 9781300113447

Book preview

Beaverland

Beaverland

By Dawn Antonis

Copyrighted

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ISBN #: 978-1-300-09902-4

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Book Title: Beaverland

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Prologue:

The spring day was warmer than most, but the sky was grey and cloudy.  Jessica Chapman, wildlife advocate and environmentalist, stood on a grassy hill, wearing worn jeans and a light faded jacket.  Her blonde hair, pulled back in a pony tail, was blowing in the breeze.  She held her binoculars up to her eyes, and panned the  landscape, looking for something, searching carefully.  Back and forth, again and again, looking.

Jessica, you better stop searching for those beavers.   We’ve got bigger problems, said Scott, her boyfriend and work associate, as he pointed down the road.  Driving towards them was a small jeep, loaded with business people in suits and driving very quickly.

Well, OK, said Jessica.  They are here now, so let’s get this show on the road.

The jeep pulled over once it got close enough to where Jessica and Scott were standing.  Three of the suits stayed in the car, and one came running over to them. 

Ms. Chapman, he started.  You have to vacate this land.  We have an injunction, you see, and we fully intend…

Jessica cut him off.

Intend?  Let me tell you about intentions.  I intend to prevent you from putting up lousy condos in this beautiful countryside.  I intend to prevent the harm of the animals who live here, and I fully intend to protect the large beaver population and their dams.  She marched towards him as she spoke, her voice getting louder and louder as she walked.  So, Mr. Suit wearing lawyer guy, tell your judge that I intend to call every newspaper in the country and report on how your company is killing innocent beavers just to make a profit.  Once that gets out, see how much money you make.   She started to turn around, and then she stopped, looked at the lawyer right in the eyes, and said, Now get outta my wetlands, before your rotten smell kills all the flowers.

The man in the suit didn’t know what to say.  He just stood there. 

Scott raced over, to try to calm down the situation.

Ms. Chapman, the lawyer asked, why are these beavers so important to you anyway?

Jessica Chapman grew very quiet, and her eyes got that very faraway look that people get when they think about something from their past.  And she remembered about that time, when the beavers became her friends, so very long ago.

Chapter 1:

It was a very cold winter already.  It wasn’t even Christmas, and the Chapman family had already seen three snow storms.   But that was okay for Jessica Chapman, because it meant there had been three school closings.  And as any 12 year old would know,  a school closing is always a good thing.

Thanksgiving had just passed, and the Chapman family was getting ready for Christmas.  The newly fallen snow had created a warm, holiday feeling. Outside, the snow made everything clean and white, and the air was crisp, clean and cold.  Inside, it was warm, safe and smelled of cinnamon.   Jessica knew that pretty soon, they would be decorating the house, and making the famous Christmas cookies.  Jessica also knew that this was the perfect time to start dropping hints about what she wanted for her Christmas presents.

Jessica Chapman lived with her family in a large white farmhouse, just outside of town, in Middletown, Indiana. She  was a typical, happy 12 year old.  Very smart, funny, and sometimes lazy.  She was small for her age, but strong, feisty and healthy.  She was a pretty girl, with bright, cornflower blue eyes, and her mother’s wavy blonde hair.  Her parents, who had been born and raised in the city, came out to this area on vacation.  They fell in love with it, and when the farmhouse one day became available, they bought it.  Jessica lived there, in their cozy home, with her Mother, Father, two older brothers, Chip and Brad, and a younger sister, Gwen.  The family had a dog, and two cats, and it was a surprisingly peaceful home. Well, usually.  Sometimes, the dog got out, and chased the cats into the neighbors duck pond.  And once, her older brothers tied their youngest sister to the clothes line, to see who could hit her the most times with snowballs.  And boy, were they grounded a lot for that one!  But all in all, the Chapman home was a happy home, and Jessica Chapman was a very bright and happy young girl.  Who always knew how to get what she wanted.

One morning, over breakfast, Jessica began her well planned out Christmas gift hinting system.