Rosalie and the Whispering Willow

The sun tickled Rosalie's nose as she peeked out the window of the brown cottage. Calabogie Lake sparkled like a thousand tiny diamonds. Trees, so tall they tickled the clouds, danced in the gentle breeze. It was summer vacation, and Rosalie, with her light blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders, was ready for adventure.

Downstairs, Mommy, Mrs. Christie, with her light brown hair pulled back in a ponytail and a smile that could light up the whole lake, was making pancakes. Daddy, Charly, a fireman with strong arms and a clean-shaven face, was already outside, checking Rosalie's tiny fishing rod.

"Pancakes are ready!" Mrs. Christie called, her voice warm and bubbly.

Rosalie zoomed down the stairs, her pink tutu swishing. Violette, her little sister, who was almost two, sat in her high chair, happily chewing on her pink pacifier and watching everything with her big grey eyes.

"Daddy says maybe I'll catch a BIG fish today!" Rosalie announced, piling pancakes high on her plate.

Charly chuckled. "Maybe a small one, Rosalie. But even small fish are fun to catch!"

After breakfast, Rosalie grabbed her fishing rod. It was bright pink with little sparkly stickers. She loved it more than anything. Charly held her hand as they walked down to the dock. The dock bobbled gently on the water.

"Okay, Rosalie, remember what I showed you?" Charly asked. "Put the worm on the hook, drop the line in the water, and then… wait!"

Rosalie carefully poked the worm onto the hook. It wiggled a little, and she giggled. She dropped the line into the lake. Splash! Now all she had to do was wait. And wait. And wait.

Violette toddled over, holding Mrs. Christie's hand. Violette pointed at the water and babbled, "Fishy!"

Rosalie waited some more. She watched a ladybug crawl on her fishing rod. She listened to the birds singing in the trees. She even tried to do a little dance on the dock, but Charly told her to be careful not to fall in.

Suddenly, something tugged on her line! "Daddy! I think I have one!" Rosalie shouted, her eyes wide with excitement.

Charly helped her reel in the line. It was heavy! Rosalie pulled and pulled. Finally, she saw something silver flash in the water.

"It's a fish!" Rosalie squealed. "A BIG one!"

Well, it wasn't exactly BIG. It was a little silver sunfish, but to Rosalie, it was the biggest fish she had ever seen. Charly helped her take the hook out of the fish's mouth, and together, they carefully put it back in the lake.

"Goodbye, fishy!" Rosalie waved.

Rosalie was so proud. She had caught a fish all by herself! She ran back to the cottage to tell Mommy and Violette all about it. She acted out all of the movements and sounds of the adventure.

Days turned into weeks. Rosalie and her family swam in the lake. They built sandcastles on the shore. They ate marshmallows around the campfire at night, while Mr and Mrs Christie shared stories.

One afternoon, Rosalie was playing near a big willow tree by the lake. The willow tree's branches drooped down like long, green fingers. She would often sit under the tree and have her snacks with her family.

The wind rustled through the leaves, making a soft, whispering sound. Rosalie thought she heard someone calling her name.

"Rosalie…" the wind whispered. "Rosalie… help us…"

Rosalie stopped playing. She looked around. Nobody was there. Maybe it was just the wind.

"Rosalie… the lake… help…"

This time, Rosalie was sure she heard it. It sounded like the willow tree was talking to her!

Rosalie was a little scared, but she was also curious. She walked closer to the tree and touched its trunk. It felt rough and bumpy.

"Hello?" she whispered. "Are you talking to me?"

The wind rustled through the leaves again. "Yes… Rosalie… the lake… our home… is in danger…"

"Danger? What kind of danger?" Rosalie asked.

"The beavers… they are building a dam… it will block the water… the lake will dry up… we will all be sad…"

Rosalie knew that beavers were busy animals. They liked to build dams out of sticks and mud. But she didn't want the lake to dry up! She loved swimming in the lake. And she didn't want the willow tree to be sad.

"I'll help you!" Rosalie said. "I'll stop the beavers!"

But how could a little girl stop a whole family of beavers from building a dam? Rosalie thought hard. She looked around for ideas. She looked at her dress, her shoes, the bugs on the leaves.

Then, she saw her pink fishing rod leaning against the tree. An idea popped into her head!

Rosalie ran back to the cottage. She found Charly in the garden, watering the flowers. She was a little bit nervous, and her parents would be so thrilled she had an idea for a solution.

"Daddy! Daddy!" she cried. "The willow tree told me that the beavers are building a dam, and it will make the lake dry up! We have to stop them!"

Charly smiled. "The willow tree told you that, huh?" he said, but he could also tell that Rosalie was serious. "Well, that's not good, Rosalie. Beavers can cause problems for the lake. What do you want to do about it?"

"I have a plan!" Rosalie said, puffing out her chest. "But I need your help."

Rosalie explained her idea to Charly. She wanted to use her fishing rod to pull the sticks out of the beaver dam. But the dam was too far out in the water for her to reach. They needed a boat!

Charly thought it was a clever idea, but he wanted to make sure it was safe. He knew that beavers could be protective of their dams. So before they go out, Charly explains that any creatures' homes should be respected, but it sounds like this dam would prevent others from having the lake.

Charly got his canoe from the shed. He helped Rosalie into the canoe, and Mrs. Christie and Violette waved goodbye from the shore.

"Be careful!" Mrs. Christie called.

Charly paddled the canoe out to where the beavers were building their dam. Rosalie could see the beavers swimming back and forth, carrying sticks and mud in their mouths.

"Okay, Rosalie," Charly whispered. "Let's see if we can gently remove some of these sticks without bothering the beavers too much."

Rosalie carefully cast her fishing line towards the dam. She aimed for a big stick that was sticking out. She reeled in the line slowly, and the hook caught onto the stick. Rosalie pulled gently, and the stick came loose from the dam.

"I got one!" Rosalie cried softly.

She carefully pulled the stick into the canoe. Then, she cast her line again and pulled out another stick. And another. And another.

The beavers didn't seem to notice what they were doing. They were too busy working on their dam. But after a while, they started to get curious. They swam closer to the canoe to see what was going on.

One big beaver swam right up to the canoe and looked at Rosalie with his beady little eyes. Rosalie was a little scared, but she stood her ground.

"Hello, Mr. Beaver," she said. "We're just taking a few sticks out of your dam because the willow tree told me that it will make the lake dry up if you build it too big."

The beaver looked at her for a moment. Then, he swam back to the dam and started talking to the other beavers in a series of squeaks and chattering sounds.

Rosalie and Charly waited to see what the beavers would do.

After a few minutes, the beavers stopped working. They all swam over to the canoe and looked up at Rosalie.

The big beaver made a final statement. Then, they all swam away from the dam and disappeared into the woods.

"I think they understood," Charly said. "They're not going to build the dam anymore."

Rosalie was so happy! She had saved the lake and made the willow tree happy too!

Charly paddled the canoe back to shore. Mrs. Christie and Violette were waiting for them with big smiles.

"Did you do it?" Mrs. Christie asked.

"We did it!" Rosalie said. "The beavers aren't building the dam anymore!"

That night, as Rosalie drifted off to sleep, she thought she heard the willow tree whispering her name again.

"Thank you… Rosalie… you saved our home…"

Rosalie smiled. She knew that even little girls with pink fishing rods could do big things, especially when they listened to the whispers of the wind and stood up for what was right.

The next day, Rosalie went back to the willow tree. She sat under its branches and listened to the wind. But this time, she didn't hear any whispers. She just heard the happy sound of the leaves rustling in the breeze.

The lake shimmered in the sun. The birds sang in the trees. And Rosalie knew that everything was going to be alright. They had saved the lake and made the willow tree more happy and able to welcome others to the waters and shores for many, many years to come.

Rosalie thought back to what had happened, she had to be brave enough to listen to the tree because it made real and true concerns for her and her family's safety at the lake so she trusted that she could use her fishing rod, that she caught her first fish with, to help resolve real issues.