The Case of the Missing Moon Stones

Story Preview

Borin stretched his small paws above his head as the morning sun sparkled on the river. The six-year-old beaver had helped his parents place twelve special white stones around their dam yesterday - one for each month they'd lived here. But something was wrong. Very wrong. "Mom! Dad!" Borin called, his flat tail slapping the water. "The moon stones are gone!" His mother emerged from their lodge, shaking droplets from her fur. "What do you mean, gone?" Borin pointed with a trembling paw to the empty spots where the stones had been. Not a single one remained. Even the mud around them looked undisturbed, as if the stones had simply vanished into thin air.

His father swam over, his whiskers twitching with concern. "Those stones marked our territory," he said quietly. "Without them, other animals might think this dam is abandoned." Borin's buck teeth clicked together nervously. Who would take their stones? And why? The young beaver noticed something odd - tiny scratches in the bark of a nearby willow tree. They formed a strange pattern, almost like... a message? "Look at this!" Borin exclaimed. His parents studied the marks carefully. "These weren't here yesterday," his mother observed. "Someone left us a clue." But what could the strange symbols mean? Borin traced them with his small paw, feeling more curious than scared. This was a real mystery!