A giant moose heard about the river
and he too came there to drink. But
he was so big, and he drank so much,
that soon the water began to sink
lower and lower.

The beavers were worried. The water
around their lodges was disappearing.
Soon their homes would be destroyed.

The muskrats were worried, too. What
would they do if the water vanished?
How could they live?

The fish were very worried. The
other animals could live on land if
the water dried up, but they
couldn't.

All the animals tried to think of a
way to drive the moose from the
river, but he was so big that they
were too afraid to try. Even the
bear was afraid of him.

At last the fly said he would try
to drive the moose away. All the
animals laughed and jeered. How
could a tiny fly frighten a giant
moose? The fly said nothing, but
that day, as soon as the moose
appeared, he went into action.

He landed on the moose's foreleg and
bit sharply. The moose stamped his
foot harder, and each time he
stamped, the ground sank and the
water rushed in to fill it up.
Then the fly jumped about all over
the moose, biting and biting and
biting until the moose was in a
frenzy. He dashed madly about the
banks of the river, shaking his head,
stamping his feet, snorting and
blowing, but he couldn't get rid
of that pesky fly. At last the
moose fled from the river, and
didn't come back.