Flash Fiction

The Selfish Beaver

Once upon a time, there was a selfish beaver named Roger. He liked everything to be on his own. One day, Roger was out collecting sticks to build his dam when a huge storm rolled in. Roger bolted back to his dam for cover! All of a sudden he heard a screaming voice coming from down the river, "HELP!" Roger ignored the cry for help, and tried to lay down for a nap... But he could not sleep through the scream as it moved closer and closer to his dam. "Excuse me," came a little voice from the front of his dam. "What do you want?" Roger growled. "Can I please come in and wait for the storm to blow over? My dam is another 15 miles down the river." "No kid, get out of here." Roger relied bluntly. The little voice begged and begged Roger but he would not give in. So, the little voice carried on down the stream...

The next day, Roger was out hunting for some fish for supper. All of the fish had moved up stream for breeding season, so Roger had to travel farther up the stream to fetch himself supper. Roger reached the breeding bed of the fish and was just beginning to hunt, when he heard grumbling coming from the sky above. Another storm came flying in! Roger was blinded from the rain pounding down onto his eyes. Roger sat behind the closest tree alongside the river for shelter. He was cold and hungry, but the rain just kept on coming. "Hey you!" He heard a little voice call in the distance. "Where are you?" Roger asked. "Follow my voice," the little voice said, directing Roger. When the little voice came into sight, it was the little beaver from the night before. "Need a place to keep dry?" the little beaver asked. "That would be great. Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" "As long as you're not so selfish the next time that I need help, it'd be my pleasure." The two beavers took shelter in the little beaver's dam. After some time, it stopped raining. Roger headed back home happily as new friends.

Reflection

Through this piece I wanted to show that being selfish doesn't get you anywhere. The little beaver needed help from the selfish beaver, but the selfish beaver didn't help him... So when the selfish beaver was in the same position as the little beaver was in previously and needed help, although he shouldn't have gotten the help due to his previous actions, the little beaver helped him anyways. Because of the little beaver’s kind actions, the selfish beaver realized how selfish he was being before and experienced being trapped in a storm miles away from his dam just as the little beaver did the day before. This shows that others can suffer from your selfishness. For example, the little beaver was trapped in the storm, freezing and cold."The Selfish Beaver" is an example of how selfishness gets you nowhere and benefits no one. This story vaguely relates to sacrifice. The little beaver was in putting his life on the line but allowing the selfish beaver to come into his dam until the storm blew over because he was not familiar with the selfish beaver. Therefore, the little beaver sacrificed his life for the safety of another...