The story
Fern the fox woke up to a strange sound. Silence. The river outside her den had STOPPED flowing.
"The river is GONE!" said Fern. "But rivers don't just disappear. Something must have happened."
Fern found three clues near the dry riverbed. Scratch marks on a rock. A pile of sticks. And a trail of muddy footprints going upstream.
Three clues! Which should Fern investigate first?
What happens next?
- The scratch marks!
- The pile of sticks!
- The footprints!
The scratches led Fern to old Mr. Badger's burrow. He was digging a new tunnel and looked very tired.
"The river? I didn't touch it!" said Mr. Badger. "But I DID hear a big CRASH upstream last night. Up near the old stone wall."
The sticks led Fern to a beaver family. They were building something BIG across where the river used to be.
"We're building a dam!" said Mrs. Beaver proudly. "But the river was ALREADY low when we started. Something upstream stopped it first."
The muddy footprints belonged to a young deer. Fern found her drinking from a tiny puddle — the last of the water.
"I'm so thirsty," said the deer. "I walked all the way from the meadow. The big waterfall up the mountain — it stopped yesterday!"
Fern has a lead — something happened upstream! What should she do?
What happens next?
- Go upstream now!
- Ask more animals!
Fern ran upstream. The riverbed got narrower and rockier. Then she saw it — a huge pile of rocks had fallen across the river!
"A rockslide blocked the river!" said Fern. "The water is trapped behind these rocks. THAT'S why the river vanished!"
Fern gathered the forest animals together. The owl, the rabbit, and the squirrel each had a piece of the puzzle.
"I saw the mountainside crumble last night," said the owl. "Rocks fell into the river gorge. That must be what stopped the water!"
"A rockslide!" said Fern. "If we ALL go upstream, maybe we can move enough rocks to let the water through!"
The rocks are blocking the river! How should Fern fix this?
What happens next?
- Find a clever way!
- Get everyone to help!
Fern noticed a thin crack in the rock wall. If she dug UNDER the smallest rock, the water pressure would push the rest!
WHOOOOSH! The water burst through! The river was flowing again! "Thinking hard," said Fern, "is the best tool of all."
Fern called every animal in the forest. The beavers gnawed logs. The badger dug. The deer pushed. Everyone worked together!
The rocks moved! The river poured through! Everyone cheered! "We did it TOGETHER," said Fern. "That's the best way."