I went for an evening walk. It was a beautiful spring evening, and I headed for a nearby pond.

I looked over to my right, and saw something rippling across the pond.

It was a beaver.

He ended up swimming straight at me, probably curious about this unmoving figure on the shore (a strange new tree?), until he was within six feet of me and I said, “That’s too close!” in a startled voice, and he dived and disappeared from view.

Then I walked home, satisfied.