Free Tales From the Glades of Ballymore by Bob Brooks, Karen Ross Ohlinger

the pond and see if he could find any dead trees near the shoreline.  His search was successful.  Within a day he found a number good possibilities.  Some of them were white oaks.  White oak was the best wood for boat building.  Bartholomew found that important fact in his ship book.
     
    Morris and Burton visited the trees Stoddard had found and selected the best seven white oaks.  Over the next week, the beavers cut down the trees.  Bartholomew measured and marked them.  With the help of the ducks, logs were cut and towed to the cove.
     
    Meanwhile, Bartholomew and the squirrels built a simple hoist system over the cove.  A stout rope with a sliding hook was suspended between two trees.  Using pulleys and a handle, the hook could be raised and lowered.  Now, they were able to move logs and parts of the boat around.
     
    With the hoist in place and the wood delivered, they could construct the dock.  Morris and the beavers brought their saws and other tools to the cove.  They sawed thirty boards for the dock.  Those pieces were attached to two side rails on either side of the cove.  It took only three days to complete the dock, and it was just six inches above the water as planned.
     
    Morris stood on the new dock, looked out over the pond and thought about the boat:  A few days ago there was nothing here, and now I’m standing on a dock.  In a few weeks there’ll be a boat sitting in the water.  One of us could never do this alone.  Working together, however, is there any limit to what we can do, he wondered.
     
    Over the next few weeks, the parts for the hull and deck were cut and assembled on the dock.  Bartholomew did the measuring.  He marked and checked each piece to ensure it was correct.  Then, he checked again.  The main sections included the hull frame, the hull cladding, the rudder, and the deck.  The white oak trees were being transformed into a boat.
     
    When the hull sections were complete, the many joints needed to be sealed against water.  Morris made a glue from pine sap, sawdust, and a secret ingredient.  The glue was forced into every joint from the inside of the boat until it oozed to the outside.  After it dried, the surfaces were sanded smooth.  Hopefully, they now had a nice water-tight vessel.
     
    Next they painted the boat inside and out in accordance with the colors shown in the book.  The hull was made a shiny black.  The deck and mast were a light shade of mahogany.  Using gold paint, Bartholomew lettered its name on the stern — HMS Ballymore.  Even though it wasn’t finished, the boat was already impressive and beautiful.
     
    The animals were very happy with what they had accomplished so far.  However, much remained to be done before the boat’s presentation on Midsummer’s Eve.

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THREE
    Mrs. Porcupine's Garden

 
     
    Mrs. Petunia Porcupine has lived in Ballymore for ten years.  She arrived with her husband, Peter, when they heard that Ballymore needed a bakery.  Both she and Peter were excellent bakers, and the residents happily welcomed them.  Unfortunately, Peter passed away five years ago, which left Petunia alone.  She was not alone for long, though, as the residents provided much support and friendship.  With the help of the squirrels and others, she kept the bakery open, which was good for everyone.
     
    Mrs. Porcupine’s garden and orchard were the largest in Ballymore.  She supplied the residents’ needs in these regards, also.
     
    Petunia’s cottage sat on the northwest corner of the pond.  As with most of the homes, the beavers built it with stones from the creek just to the southeast of Ballymore.  How the stones were moved to the building site is a story for another time. 
     
    The cottage had a parlor, bedroom, guest room, and large kitchen.  The parlor was used frequently as she had many visitors.  She needed a large kitchen in which to bake all of the pies, breads, and cookies.  As