In a sunny corner of California, where tornadoes were as rare as a snowstorm, lived a little beaver named Benny. Benny wasn’t like other beavers. While his friends busied themselves building dams and swimming in the river, Benny had one big, important task: to keep an eye on the sky. Benny was absolutely convinced that a tornado was about to swoop down at any moment.
Each morning, Benny would stand by his dam, eyes squinting at the clouds. “Today’s the day! I can feel it in my fur,” he’d say, pacing nervously. His friends, who had never seen a tornado in their entire lives, would chuckle and shake their heads. “Benny, there are no tornadoes here. We’re in California!” they’d remind him.
But Benny was not to be deterred. He would rush around, preparing his dam for the “inevitable storm.” He’d stockpile extra twigs, pile up mud, and even tie down his little hat to keep it from blowing away. Every leaf fluttering in the wind was a “warning sign,” and Benny would rush to his “tornado shelter”—which was really just a pile of pinecones in his burrow.
One sunny afternoon, Benny went about his usual weather-watch. But as he looked around, he realized something odd: his friends weren’t laughing anymore. They were helping him—placing twigs in neat piles, organizing his pinecones, and setting up extra branches to reinforce the dam.
Benny stopped and blinked. “Wait…why are you all helping me with this?”
“Well, Benny,” said his friend Sally the squirrel, “we may not think a tornado’s coming, but we do think you need some help. It’s okay to be worried sometimes, but it’s even better to have friends who’ve got your back, no matter what.”
Benny stared at the team of animals working together, and for the first time, he felt a little lighter. Maybe the storm wasn’t coming. Maybe it didn’t matter. What mattered was the friends who were ready to face anything together.
From that day on, Benny still kept an eye on the sky, but now he knew—whether a tornado came or not—his friends were there, ready to help and keep him calm. And even when there wasn’t a storm, there was always a silver lining of friendship.
Moral: “It’s okay to worry sometimes, but it’s even better to lean on your friends for support when you’re feeling anxious.”