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IkigaiBooks for Adults and Children

Copyright 2011 Nadia Step

All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic

or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without the permission in

writing from the publisher or author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author and the publishing team.

For more stories that make you smile and chuckle or simply to leave a comment/feedback,

please go to www.ikigaibooks.com

or use Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/IkigaiBooks

or go to Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/IkigaiBooks/165427473535183

Plop-Plop

Beaver-San. Life and adventure.by Nadia Step

Childrens Fiction

Published by Art MacHentsev at IkigaiBooks.

Summary: Beaver-San, a hardworking beaver, in his daily kimono reminisces about his childhood

and about his very rst training that he missed. Or did he?

Book design by Anastasia Myakushkina.Illustrations by Elena Belozertseva.

This e-book was specially formatted for Ibookstore.

ISBN: 978-0-9839633-0-1

Our publishing team wishes everyone to discover his or her hidden Ikigai.

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Let the journeys and adventures begin.

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One wise Beaver, or rather Beaver-San, who was not born yesterday, but

already was several decades old, sat on his porch in deep reection. The porch

bordered a pond on one side and Beaver-San had lowered his paws into the water

and was shaking them leisurely. Plop-plop, whispered his splashes, plop-plop.

The day was waning into evening. A surprising quiet hung over the water. Several

moments more and the frogs would begin their evening concert, but for now, for

now only the easy lapping of the water from his paws intruded upon the primordial

calm. Plop-plop. Plop-plop.

Beaver-San loved these rare moments of peace. He spent his normal working

hours on jobs that required incredible physical efforts. First there was that new

dam to build, then the old one to repair, all the while battling the elements and their

consequences.

Now as he sat by the water and relaxed, Beaver-Sans kimono, damp from the

sweat of his labor, hung like a cloud of steam over the water.

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B eaver-San loved his everyday kimono. It helped him feel strong andcapable of great endurance. And as everybody knows, battling the elementsdemands great strength. Of course, it is not a matter of clothing. Can clothing

really make someone strong? Nonetheless, somewhere deep down in the depths

of his soul, Beaver-San was still a child. He believed at least a little that the

whole secret lay in his kimono. My strength is in my kimono, he often thought.

Thus the wise Beaver-San was sitting quietly at the waters edge when his

childhood started coming back to him. One event in particular was the evening

of that very day when Mommy had sewn this kimono for him. Thats right! She

had sewn the kimono! She had sewn it herself! It had been impossible to buy a

kimono in those years long gone by.

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The young Beaver-San, having caught his breath, had held this wonderful

gift in his hands. Such emotions lled him that it was impossible to expressthem in words! For he had been dreaming all his life about karate training! On a

tatami! In his own kimono!

He hung it with care on a little chair that stood next to his bed. Afterwards

he could not fall asleep all night long. He kept on checking to see if it had

disappeared. But no, it had not disappeared. It remained hanging on the chairand was there in the morning. The youngster couldnt believe his good fortune!

It was next to him! His kimono! His own kimono! He could feel it, smell it,

stroke it... The young Beaver-San got up several times during the night to put it

on, tying on the white belt. Then he would take off the kimono and once again

hang it on the chair with care. He put it on and took it off and put it on and took

it off all over again. Oh how he loved his own kimono! His life had received a

whole new meaning.

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S o not having been able to sleep all night, early in the morning after putting onhis freshly made kimono, the youngster headed for the rst training of his life.The road to the gym went right beside an old ant colony. As he was walking

a strong wind arose unexpectedly. It grew ever stronger and stronger! Its gusts

bent the trees right down to the ground! They broke the branches! But the fearless

young Beaver-San, rmly setting all four paws onto the ground and remembering

he must be worthy to wear his kimono and not be tardy for his training, did not

retreat from his path. A little bit further!

Just as he reached the old ant colony a frightening crash suddenly stunned the

youngster! A huge old tree had crashed down right beside him, and having fallen it

was as if the world had been split into two halves. The youngster barely managed

to jump out of the way! Then all at once huge, heavy raindrops began to splash allabout him!

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O h! My kimono will get soaked! Drenched! How can I show up at traininglooking like this? I must hurry! thought the youngster. Suddenly amournful whine distracted him. It had come directly from beneath the huge

roots of a fallen tree unearthed by the wind!

"Oh! It was that very same ant colony being crushed by the tree! The entire

ant colony! Oh, the grief of it! I have to save the ants! They will perish if I dontdo something quick! They will choke from the rain! Or ever worse, be buried

alive! Or the wind will blow them away! All these thoughts rattled around in

young Beaver-San's head and, without a bit of hesitation, he took off his new,

white, clean kimono, carefully placed it directly on the wet ground and began to

scrape the ants onto it. The ants were in a frenzy. They were rushing around the

upturned mound and seemed completely befuddled. There was no logic in their

movements. Some were trying to move the tree, others to raise it! Some juststayed where they were, showing the whites of their eyes to the skies!

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T he youngster cautiously scraped the whole ant colony onto thekimonos white fabric and shielding them from the rain and wind,carried the unfortunate members to the hollow of a neighboring tree.

Having assured himself that it was dry and clean inside and that the

hollow belonged to no one, Beaver-San carefully emptied the panic-strickenants into their new shelter. The insects squeaked something to him in reply,

but because of the noise from the wind not one of their words was audible.

Some scolded him while others praised.

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T he rain was coming down in sheets. The wind mercilessly broke offbranches from the trees. Young Beaver-Sans coat was so soaked that nota trace remained of its ufness. It clung to his young, little body and in places

bristled like the quills of a hedgehog. The youngster felt practically naked.

Having tightened the dirt stained kimono and binding the belt; he gave himself a

critical once over. It was impossible, of course, for him to go anywhere looking

like this. Not to any training, let alone to the very rst training of his life.

Beaver-San dawdled indecisively for a few more minutes, thinking it would

be appropriate to appear on a tatami, but, good sense, nevertheless, forced him

to turn toward home.

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N ow the wind was at his back, helping him walk home. Cold and wet hebroke into a run! The young Beaver-San ran so fast it was as if he couldy with the wind. The rain lashed at his back, poured down his collar, his

paws sliding and splashing! Brrr! Well, it was all right. Hed be home soon!

Inside his warm, dry burrow!

Mommy, most likely, will read me the riot act because its soaked andstained, the youngster thought along the way, and maybe even make me

stand in the corner. The path wasnt even visible beneath his paws from all

the rainwater. The young Beaver-San splashed blindly onward. One unlucky

step and he tumbled into a deep ditch. Grumbling and spitting in disgust, he

scrambled out, grieving over his damaged kimono.

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H e was home at last. The youngster spied a note from his parents on thetable: We hope you liked the very rst training in your life. Dinner is onthe table. Dont wait up for us. We are repairing the dam on Spring Stream.Well be late. Go to bed after your dinner. We love you.

The young Beaver-San wearily removed his drenched kimono and only

then understood just how exhausted he was. He didnt even have the strength

to eat. Collecting the remaining energy of his young body, he washed and

spread the kimono on the chair. After that our burnt-out little friend climbed

into bed and fell asleep in at once. Just before morning he heard his par-

ents come in. He heard mommy whisper, Look how wet his kimono is! He

worked so hard he soaked his kimono! It looks like our youngster received

his baptism of re at traini... But the little Beaver-San did not hear the end

of the phrase, for a morning dream, as everyone knows, is the sweetest.

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N ow the all grown-up Beaver-San is sitting on his porch near the pond,delighting in the peace and quiet, leisurely shaking his paws in thewater, pondering. Plop-plop. Plop-plop. He had never told Mommy that he

had missed the rst training of his life. Somehow it had been awkward.

Plop-plop. Plop-plop.

All of a sudden it dawned on him: So Mommy had thought my kimonohad gotten wet from sweat! On the tatami! Plop-plop, plop-plop. Beaver-San

had been regretful his whole life for missing his rst training. Plop-plop.

Plop-plop. But he had not missed one thing. Plop-plop. It hadnt even entered

his mind that the rescue of the unfortunate ants was in fact his very rst

training. Plop-plop. Plop-plop.

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A

n ant ran by. He was in a hurry to reach home before sunset. His ant

colony was in the hollow of an old tree. Beaver-San, having noted thebuster, winked at him, and the ant (most likely a great grandson of one of

those from Beaver-Sans childhood) stopped in his track gazing directly at

him. Having taken a quick thought, he respectfully bowed low to the Beaver

and then hurried off toward home.

Theyll be so amazed at home when I tell them that Ive met HIM. The

one that saved us all! the ant thought. As he skipped along the path home, he

joyfully repeated the favorite ditty in their family,

Beaver-San, spry and wise,

protects our nest from falling skies.

Beaver-San, spry and wise,

protects our nest from falling skies.

Plop-plop. Plop-plop.

Beaver-San adjusted his black belt. Plop-plop.

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Nadia Step- The Author

About me

Everything I write is based on real life events.

Life itself presents us with plots that parents need to analyze to-

gether with their children. We all love our children and wish them

fairy tale happiness in an adult life.

Ikigai [pronounced ee-key-guy] is a special character that

Japanese have created. It looks like this

Though it does not have an exact translation, it stands for

something important one lives for or something, for which a

person is ready to happily get up every morning [his entire life].

This character expresses a state of mind; the bliss experienced by

people who have found their true calling.I sincerely wish for all parents to help their children discover

their Ikigai. I truly believe that my stories are our common path

into the happy future.

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Check out the Russian edition of Plop-Plop... on

www.ikigaibooks.com

Plop-Plop... is available on Apple, Amazon,Barnes&Noble, and Sony.

If you liked the book, please rate it.

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