"My goodness," said Bitsy, "What are you doing in there, little fish?" The little Chipmunks were amazed to see the little fish in the puddle and thought Bitsy was very brave to speak to him.

"My name is Walter," replied the little fish."The stream where I live overflowed its banks, so I've been doing some exploring. I feel like I'm swimming on land! Boy this rain was great! By the way, who are you?"

"My name is Bitsy. Bitsy Bunny," said the little bunny, "And these are my friends, the Chipmunks. It's very nice to meet you."

Bitsy looked around and suddenly seemed very serious. Then she asked little Walter, "How are you going to get back to your stream?"

"Well, I'm going to swim back, of course," he replied very matter-of-factly.

Bitsy looked around again, and in a low, worried voice, she said, "I don't think so Walter. You see, you're not in a little stream any more. You're in a puddle! I guess the sun has dried up the little stream you used to get here."

Walter gulped. "Uh oh", he said worriedly, "I'm in a lot of trouble, aren't I?"

"I think you're right," Bitsy answered.

Bitsy and the Chipmunks were sitting by the puddle trying to decide how to help poor Walter when another little friend came over to join them.

Tommy Raccoon walked over and sat down next to them. He looked into the puddle and jumped up! "Let's go fishing!" he shouted excitedly, and he jumped right into the puddle!

"Tommy, get out of there!" Bitsy yelled. " Walter is our friend. He is in trouble and we're trying to figure out how to help him!"

Tommy jumped out of the water, shook himself off and said, " Gosh, Bitsy, I didn't know he was your friend. I'm sorry."

"Walter has a problem, a big problem" Bitsy began. "We must find a way to get him back to his stream before this puddle dries up. Does anyone have any ideas?"

"Well," one of the Chipmunks said, "Couldn't we just carry him to the stream? After all, it's not very far."

"No," Bitsy replied, shaking her head. "Walter has to stay in water. Somehow, we have to change this puddle back into a little stream so Walter can swim home."

Bitsy stood up. "Come on, gang. Let's go get some help. Now, Walter, you stay here, okay?"

"I don’t think I can go very far in this puddle," he replied, trying to smile.

The friends trotted down to the pond, hoping someone there might be able to help them with their problem. But when they got there, no one was about except the Beavers. The Beavers were always so busy!

As Bitsy watched the Beavers, she thought very hard about how to help Walter. Slowly, she stood up and began to smile.

"If the Beavers can turn part of a stream into a pond, by making a beaver dam, couldn't they just sort of do it backwards, and turn Walter's puddle into a stream?" Bitsy asked. "That's a great idea, Bitsy," exclaimed Tommy. "But the Beavers are always busy working! Do you think they would have time to help?"

"There's only one way to find out!" called Bitsy as she began to race around to the other side of the beaver pond to find help.

By the time the others ran around the pond, Bitsy had already explained her problem to Mr. Beaver.

"Well, Bitsy," said Mr. Beaver, "Making ponds from streams is not quite as easy as it looks, and making a puddle flow back into a stream could be even harder, but why don't you take me to the puddle and I'll see if I can help." "Hurray!" shouted the friends and they all quickly scurried back to Walter's puddle.

Mr. Beaver looked things over very carefully. He scratched his head and then walked over to the edge of the stream. He saw where the nearby stream cascaded down the rocks and how, with all the rain, it had overflowed to form what was now Walter's puddle. "Hmmmm", said Mr. Beaver, then he walked back to take another look at the puddle. Finally, he told Bitsy he could indeed get Walter back into his stream, and everyone cheered! "We're going to have to all work together though", he told them.

Starting at the cascading stream, on a rise just a little bit above Walter's puddle, Mr. Beaver, Bitsy, the Chipmunks, and Tommy all began digging a trench. They scratched and pawed at the damp ground until the small trench stretched from the splashing stream, all the way back to Walter's puddle.

Sure enough, the little trench began to divert a small flow of water from the stream. The first trickle of water in the trench quickly became wider and deeper, and the water began to run faster and faster. When the flow of water finally reached the puddle, Walter was free! He could swim his way back through the water-filled trench and safely reach the bubbling stream.

"Oh, thank you all so much!" said a very happy little Walter. "You're the best friends anyone could ever have!"

"Mr. Beaver showed us what to do, and working together made it easy!" Bitsy said to Walter.

Then she continued, "Walter, why don't you come back and visit us again? If you swim up the stream and wait under the bridge, we'll know where to find you."

Then, looking at Tommy, (who had on his best "Who, ME?" face), she continued, "No one ever goes fishing under that bridge!"

"That would be great!" replied Walter. "But right now I'd better get home. Everyone is probably worried about me. 'Bye everyone! Thanks again!". And with a splash, Walter was gone!

Bitsy, feeling quite content with herself, raced Tommy Raccoon and the Chipmunks back to her home for a mid-morning snack of carrot cookies and milk.

"Boy", Bitsy thought with a smile,"Helping others sure makes you hungry!"

The End