A Mysterious Encounter With Barry Beaver

EPISODE 1 - A short float on the Honey River will lead us right to Barry Beaver's Hodge Podge Lodge! Join Barry Beaver as he meets a wise, new friend whose soaring perspective holds the key to the Lodge's future. ). With thunder rolling and a dragon roaring from the rooftop, we prove that even in emergencies, a little pizzazz goes a long way! - Love, Mrs. Honeybee

Featuring: Mr. Honeybee, Melodybee, Roger Robot, Barry Beaver, and Harold

Transcript

BEDTIME WITH MRS.

HONEYBEE Today,

In the Honeybee neighborhood,

We will venture down the Honey River to meet a very busy beaver,

My friend,

Barry Beaver.

Barry Beaver's about to build us.

All you have to do is close your eyes,

Get cozy,

And listen to the sound of my voice.

Mrs.

Honeybee will be your guide.

Let's begin.

You are here,

Floating down the Honey River in a small canoe on a rushing river that flows through the lush green landscape of a peaceful world.

Faint sounds of a waterfall draw your attention to the clear blue sky above and snow-capped mountains that peak up over the trees in the distance.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose.

Feel the coolness of the springtime air coming in,

Filling your lungs with its freshness.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth and enjoy this peaceful ride in the bright sunshine.

I am so excited to introduce you to one of my dear friends,

Someone you already know but are about to know better.

It's me,

Barry Beaver.

He lives just beyond these trees that line the shore over there.

Do you see them?

Tall and full of green leaves.

Take another slow,

Deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth to quiet yourself inside and out.

Then,

You can hear the leaves rustle and the faint sounds of all the friendly forest creatures who live along the Honey River.

Your stop is just up around this bend.

As we round the bend,

The golden sun shines down on a dam that looks like it was made of the forest itself.

This magnificent dam is so big that it slows your floating canoe down to a stop and pulls it up onto the riverbank.

The dam is being painstakingly inspected by the busiest beaver this side of the Honey River,

My friend and yours,

Barry Beaver.

He runs his webbed feet up and down the length of the dam,

Adjusting the branches in their intricate stacks and picking up small stones to fit them like puzzle pieces in between.

As you step out of the canoe and onto the soft shore,

You sink in just a little as you watch Barry dive into the river and swim to the other side.

Walk one foot in front of the other up the sandy shore,

Each time sinking in a little until you're up into the forest,

Crunching leaves beneath your feet.

On the other side,

Barry gathers as many floating twigs as his tiny paws can hold before he swims back to the dam and chooses which twigs to replace with the new ones he's found.

Like clockwork,

He does this again and again,

But this time,

On the way back,

He barely notices that two baby frogs have hitched a ride on his flat tail as he swims across the river with yet another pawful of twigs.

When he gets to the other side,

The frogs hop off and ribbit on their way right past you as you walk up to the dam where you expect Barry Beaver to finally see you standing in broad daylight.

Instead,

Without even really blinking,

Busy Barry continues to tweak the twigs ever so slightly until they are just right.

Then he stands back,

Evaluates his work on the already magnificent dam,

Mumbles and grumbles to himself,

Then tweaks it a little more.

Barry Beaver's about to build it!

From his distance,

Barry notices a thick tree branch nestled deeply within the dam that has splintered.

He gasps and rushes in to see if he can remove it,

But it looks like it's too stuck.

He traces the length of the splintered branch all the way to the shore,

Pawing it all the way to see where it ends and how much potential impact this branch could have.

The busy little beaver is now before you,

Dunking his head under the shallow water of the shore to inspect the undercarriage of the dam and gather more twigs and rocks.

He still has no idea you're there.

When he pops back up out of the water,

Still mumbling to himself,

You gently reach over and tap,

Tap,

Tap on Barry Beaver's very shoulder to say hello.

He shrieks and startles,

Flailing his arms in the air and splashing all of his twigs and stones back into the river.

When he sees that it's you,

His fright turns to delight and he smiles.

He is so happy to see you.

And luckily,

You're just in time.

He grabs your hand and leads you,

Splashing footsteps into the river,

Showing you the part of the dam that's troubling him.

Barry points a twig he's holding at the splintered piece of branch.

Do you see that there?

That right there?

Can you believe it?

This whole thing can come falling down at any minute.

And what will be of the Hodgepodge Lodge without this mighty dam?

It's all ruined.

Or is it?

Is it?

Hmm.

Wait here.

Hold these.

Barry hands you his bundle of twigs and slippery stones and dives back under the water.

Grab them into your arms and feel the coolness of the droplets of fresh water falling off of them.

One of the stones is especially slippery and slips from one hand to the other.

Tighten,

Tighten,

Tighten your hands into a fist to try to hold it still.

The stone still manages to kerplunk into the river right out of your hand.

So let it relax now as you comfortably carry the bundle of twigs for Barry.

He emerges from the water holding that same slippery stone in his hand.

It was the exact stone he needed.

How did you know?

You're the sidekick I've always needed.

This works perfectly.

He uses moss balls and mud from the river to cement the slippery rock in place,

Forming a blanket over the splintered part.

Then one by one,

He grabs the twigs from your arms and secures them in all available spaces until they are all used.

Barry stands back beside you admiring his work and wipes his paws clean of the problems.

Isn't it just,

Just so beautiful when it's not ruined completely by a splinter?

Come on,

I'll show you around the Hodgepodge Lodge.

It's the pride and joy of Beaverton.

Has been for nearly a century.

Can you believe it?

Barry waddles out of the water with his flat tail whipping behind him side to side,

Each time sprinkling you with a cool,

Refreshing mist.

Here in Beaverton,

Spring has just sprung.

All of the friendly creatures that were able to sense it are just about to come out of their sleepy hibernations.

The frogs are always the first to burst into spring,

Barely able to contain their ribbits.

They love to take beavertail floats across the river,

Back and forth all season.

Barry Beaver leads the way along the shore toward an even more magnificent beaver lodge that's protected by the dam you just worked on and surrounded by a large pond.

Trickles of river water that wind their way around the dam collect there,

Warmed by the sunshine.

As you walk with Barry,

All the beavers of Beaverton wave hello and chit-chat as they pass by.

This is such a friendly,

Peaceful place,

And you feel welcomed by the wonderful creatures you've met so far.

Don't you just love springtime?

It's the best time in my opinion,

And I have carefully come to that opinion after many different seasons.

Summer is fun,

Brings the most wayward visitors to the Hodgepodge Lodge,

That's true.

Fall is nice,

I guess.

The leaves get nice and crunchy,

Just how I like them.

Winter is.

.

.

I'm chilly just thinking about it.

This winter was especially wintry for Beaverton.

There was more snow than there ever has been,

And it blanketed the entire forest.

A thick layer of ice froze over the pond just outside the lodge.

Barry and the others did all they could to not freeze into beaver ice cubes.

They went on strict shifts inside the lodge.

There had to be at least ten beavers in the den at all times to keep it warm and snuggly enough for the others to go out to find food.

We survived,

Though.

In giant snuggle piles,

We survived.

Spring smells sweet,

Don't you think?

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose with Barry Beaver.

Smell the sweetness of blooming flowers and ripening berries in the springtime air.

Then,

Slowly,

Breathe all the way out through your mouth,

And behold the Hodge Podge Lodge,

Which glows before you in the golden sunshine.

Barry stands with his paws out in a delightful ta-da motion.

He is so happy to show you around the pride and joy of Beaverton as their esteemed guest.

Welcome to the Hodge Podge Lodge,

My furless friend!

Little fish swarm away as you step into the warm pond to peek into the beaver lodge that Barry is so very proud of.

Half of it is underwater and half above.

The wood from the branches are all different colors,

And there are even two palm tree fronds that make you think you're on an island.

The lodge is covered with all sorts of interesting things.

There are colorful iridescent seashells that glitter in the sun,

Halves of fuzzy coconuts,

And even a spare pair of antlers that someone must have outgrown hanging over the entryway.

A steady stream of beavers swim into and out of it,

Waving to you and Barry as they do.

He seems to know everyone in Beaverton.

From the outside,

The Hodge Podge Lodge doesn't look like that many beavers can fit inside,

But more and more continue to swim in.

Barry gets a running start and belly flops into the pond.

The many,

Many fish friends who are enjoying the newly warm waters flail into the air and up over your head just to get out of his way.

He swims under the hanging vines and moss that form the entryway and calls to you to join him.

The sun is shining down on the shallow pond,

Warming it to the perfect temperature for furless friends,

So you wade over to the vines.

When you get closer,

You see even more trinkets and treasures,

All sorts of buttons threaded together with seaweed strands,

Yellow happy face stickers holding some twigs together,

And even a fishing rod weaved in with the branches.

A welcome sign hangs off of its hook.

The vines have tiny yellow flowers blooming along them like strings of beads.

Gently pull them back,

Cool and soft in your hands.

Inside the Hodge Podge Lodge,

You feel as if you've been transported to a spacious wonderland of fun and relaxation.

Stepping inside,

It quadruples in size and seems to grow with each new creature who passes through its doors.

Looking your head all the way up,

There's an above-ground upper level.

Look your head all the way to the right,

And you can see cozy dens that are full of sleepy beavers in snuggle piles,

Snoozing and snoring.

Look your head all the way to the left,

And you see billiard rooms where even more beavers are playing games of dominoes,

Darts,

And charades.

Looking your head all the way down,

Until you can feel a slight stretch in the back of your neck,

You can see that hidden underneath is a water amusement park with winding slides and splash pools in the lower level.

Barry pops up right in front of you,

Smiling his big friendly smile,

Bringing your head and your focus back to center.

We have everything a beaver and even furless friends could ever dream of in here.

The Hodge Podge Lodge has been handed down from my dad,

From my dad's dad,

From my dad's dad's dad,

And finally,

From my dad's dad's dad's dad,

All the way down to me.

So it needs to be perfect.

You are standing in a century-old lodge,

A magical place that wayward beavers from all over the world travel to and through.

Barry Beaver's dad's dad's dad's dad built the original dam that started Hodge Podge Lodge when he made his way down the Honey River from far beyond the tree line of Beaverton.

He was the last beaver in Beaverton to venture to the high up beyond.

He saw the majestic mountains with his own eyes and brought stories of his travels with him.

Ever since,

The Hodge Podge Lodge has been a temporary home to other nomadic beavers who stay for a short spell to rest their tiny legs and relax their ways for a day.

Each and every one brings a trinket with them and sticks it to the lodge as a mark of their time here.

This place is like no other,

Carrying all the stories,

Memories,

And adventure in one wondrous beaver lodge.

Suddenly,

You get swept away into a parade of beavers swimming out of the lodge.

Each day,

The beavers of the lodge celebrate those who are setting out to begin their next adventure.

And you are so adventurous,

They thought you were one of them.

They swim up under you and lift you up into the air.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose and feel yourself being lifted up and championed by the Hodge Podge beavers making your way out of the lodge.

Then slowly breathe all the way out through your mouth and feel the sun shine down on you back out in the pond.

They all disappear under the water following the current and leaving you floating peacefully in the warm pond next to Barry.

Take another,

Deeper breath in through your nose to feel yourself lift out of the water just slightly so the sun can shine on your expanded belly.

Then slowly breathe out through your mouth and sink back into the warmth.

You are so peaceful and still that Barry thinks you've fallen asleep.

So as not to wake you,

He gently grabs hold of your foot to swim you across the pond to the shore on the other side,

Just like the baby frogs.

Birds circling overhead squawk and Barry shushes them so they don't disturb you.

Then the birds squawk more quietly before they eventually fly away.

Along the opposite shore with the Hodge Podge Lodge shrinking into the distance,

You and Barry Beaver stroll along the line of trees enjoying the cheery feeling of springtime in Beaverton.

The roots of the old trees grow above the soil so you have to step over and Barry has to hop over them.

He gets another running start for an upcoming tree root and jumps as high as he can to break off a low hanging branch from the tree.

He begins to snack on it,

Then realizes how impolite it is not to offer you half.

He snaps it in half and hands it to you,

Assuming you eat delicious bark like all his other friends do.

Despite the cheer in the air,

You notice Barry grumbling as he munches and sighing every so often.

Since you are a good friend,

You ask him if anything is the matter.

If all the frogs wouldn't play their hopping games along the dam,

Then it wouldn't have splinters.

It would be perfect.

Frogs would bring down the whole lodge if they had their way.

And fish too.

The pond is full of them and they create whirlpools that drift pieces of the lodge away right down the river.

Bye Hodge Podge Lodge.

It'll just be called Lodge because there will be no Hodge or Podge.

Everything would be perfect if not for the fish and the frogs.

How is it going to last a hundred more years with the fish and the frogs?

Barry Beaver distracts himself from such questions by getting an even faster running start on all four paws this time.

He jumps and glides through the air,

Landing on the stump left over from a chewed down tree.

In carefully planned jumps,

He goes from trunk stump to trunk stump as if for sport.

The crowd goes wild!

He shimmies back and forth a bit in preparation for his biggest jump yet.

To the highest tree stump so far.

He jumps and he makes it.

The imaginary crowd that Barry Beaver is bowing to goes wild.

His antics make you giggle and that's really what Barry Beaver wanted.

He hops down to block your path just as you approach the stump he landed on.

With his paws up and alarmed,

Barry says that afternoon strolls stop at the tree line and not to go a step further.

There are trees all stumped in a perfect line for as far as you can see.

Barry explains that beyond the tree line is beyond Beaverton,

Which is none of his business because his business is in Beaverton.

The last beaver from Beaverton that ventured past the tree line up into the snowy mountains brought back enough chilling stories that Barry never felt the need.

Let's let's turn back.

There's nothing to see up there anyway.

There's just a bunch of snow.

And after the wintery winter we had,

Who would ever want to see more snow?

There's just a bunch of boring snow.

Not for long.

You and Barry are startled to hear someone else's voice.

Who is that?

My friends call me Roan,

So you may call me Mr.

Roan.

You and Barry look from one side to the other through the trees in the flowing water of the river to see where this voice is coming from.

Then you look up above you and perched on one of the last remaining branches of a nearly chewed down tree sits a majestic bald eagle.

He enjoys a slow,

Graceful stretch of his black wings,

Which spread out to be bigger than you and Barry Beaver combined.

He calmly smiles as he brings his wings back down and brings his attention back to Barry.

I happen to like all the many,

Many fish and frogs that gather in that pond of yours.

How could you like all those fish and frogs,

Mr.

Roan?

They hop all over the dam and create whirlpools and just wreak havoc on my otherwise would be perfect hodgepodge lodge.

What's good for me and will soon be even better for me actually might not be so good for you.

Barry Beaver stands stumped on his stump.

He looks to you to see if you understand what Mr.

Roan is saying without saying it explicitly.

Mr.

Roan shakes his feathers out a bit and effortlessly swoops down to a lower branch that hangs right in front of you too.

Barry,

Do you want to know something I love about nests?

Without allowing Barry to answer the question,

Mr.

Roan continues while staring off into the distance at the equally majestic mountains.

The thing I love about nests is that I can set mine up anywhere and with any little thing I find around.

I follow the wind to the heaviest flowing river and set my nest up wherever I please.

Some are even on the ground.

It's really remarkable all the places and ways I can protect what I hold dear.

Would you say the same of dams and lodges?

Barry Beaver thinks for a moment,

Takes a big breath in through his nose and holds it in his furry chest for a moment.

Then he breathes all the way out through his mouth and delivers an entire speech about his dad's dad's dad's dad to Mr.

Roan as if he had it prepared.

He explains the Hodge Podge Lodge,

How it got its name,

How he came to be the lead beaver in charge,

That the only thing strong enough to make a dam out of are big tree logs.

And even those float away one at a time,

Especially when the rivers get stronger.

And finally,

How he and most of the beavers of Beaverton never,

Ever venture past the tree line.

Mr.

Roan takes it all in,

Listening intently as Barry talks passionately with his paws.

Then Mr.

Roan looks around at all the stumped tree trunks and says,

That much is clear.

Not much gnawing on the great beyond for you.

The retelling of Barry's fish and frog woes reminds him of how frustrated he was.

He politely tries to excuse you and him from Mr.

Roan,

But he stopped in mid-sentence.

You can't say old Mr.

Roan didn't warn you.

Without saying anything else or even goodbye,

Mr.

Roan soars and disappears into the sky.

Barry Beaver thinks for a moment,

Looks back at you to see if you are puzzled too.

He hops down off the stump,

Still stumped.

After a few moments of quietly walking back to the Hodgepodge Lodge,

Barry perks back up into his animated self.

There's a shortcut back.

Come on.

You follow him running through the half-gnawed trees until you get to one of the tallest trees that has really long vines hanging down from it,

Right on the shore of the river.

The vines are so long that they trail across the ground.

Barry picks up one of the vines and follows it with his paws until he finds the very end.

Then he runs back to where you are.

Holding the vine in his hands,

Pulling it up above his head to test its strength,

He looks back at you to say,

Let's swing back.

Barry climbs up the tallest tree stump that he can find,

Holding the vine.

Then he jumps as high as he can and the long vine swings him,

Skimming the top of the river before launching him right back to the Hodgepodge Lodge.

He flies through the air and lands with a faraway splash.

When he pops back up out of the water,

He waves his paws in the air.

It's your turn.

Grab the end of the vine in your hands.

Pull it once,

Twice,

To make sure it's strong enough for Furless Friends.

It's just as strong as you are,

So you're all ready.

Walk back to the tallest stumped tree trunk and climb up to stand on top of it,

Looking out over the crystal blue Honey River.

Take a slow,

Deep breath in through your nose until you cannot take in any more fresh air.

Hold your breath in for a moment as you tighten your grip on the vine and lift up on your toes.

Then slowly breathe out through your mouth and jump up to swing on the vine.

You lightly skim the top of the river as it flows.

The vine launches you through the air,

Right toward Barry Beaver and the Hodgepodge Lodge.

You are so high you can see above the treetops for a moment.

Then you splash back down into the pond right next to Barry.

The beavers of Beaverton clap and cheer that you landed it perfectly,

And you and Barry spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the sunshine with the many,

Many new fish and frog friends who try to join in,

Much to Barry's grumbling frustration.

Always remember,

Mrs.

Honey Bee believes in you.

You are special and you are loved.

I can't wait to see you again.

Reviews

You are amazing Mrs honeybee! Keep it going!
-Beckett