“Anything else?” Thor asked.
“There's an Ojibwa legend about a beaver who gnaws down trees.”
“Don't all beavers do that?” I asked.
“What's the rest of the legend, Torrent?” Thor asked.
“The beaver is proud of his fluffy tail and goes around the forest, showing it off to all the other animals. But no one is impressed so, in frustration, he starts gnawing on trees. One of the trees falls on his tail and flattens it. The beaver is upset and wails that no one will like him now, but the Creator says that a beaver isn't liked for his tail. He's liked for his kindness and wisdom. In addition, the Creator says, the flat tail is better for moving through the water and for signaling his family by slapping it on the water. The beaver is then happy.”
“Well, that can't be it,” Finn said. “That's a happy beaver, not a vengeful one. Plus, there's no coyote in that story.”
“Dude, I can't believe you said that with a straight face,”Viper said.
Morpheus leaned over and whispered to Viper, “Best day ever.”
Viper grinned and nodded.
Ignoring them, Torrent went on, “One of Aesop's Fables is about a beaver who chews off his tail—or in another version, his testicles—to elude a hunter.”
“Ouch,” Teharon said. “That would make me vengeful.”
“There's also a Cree myth that's very similar to Noah and the Ark. Except in this case, it's a giant beaver who floods the world.”
“A giant beaver floods the world?” Trevor asked. “Why?”
“A god tried to trap it. So, it sent muskrats after him to bite him in the ass, and then flooded the world.”
“A little extreme,” I muttered. “Also—muskrats? Really?”
“Yup. The god who tried to trap beaver made a raft and took the other animals aboard,” Torrent said.
“It's so interesting how many religions have myths about a global flood,” I said.
“Because there was a great flood,” Hermes said.
“The flood that sank Atlantis?” Viper asked.
“No, that wasn't a flood. Atlantis sank, and that was caused by magic,” Odin said with a glance at Re. “The flood Hermes is talking about happened during a time when the gods were getting settled into their magic. There was a learning curve and many of us had problems controlling the magic at first. Several rain gods all over the world caused torrential flooding.”
“Ah. All right,” I said. “So, these myths are probablynonsense—stories created by humans to explain all that stuff.”
“Not necessarily,” Odin said. “There could indeed have been a giant beaver involved. There were such creatures on Earth long ago. But I don't think this is the animal the trickster is referring to.”
“Why not?” Viper asked.
“Because it already flooded the entire world. What more could it want? Also, there is no mention of a coyote.”
“Good point,” Thor said and looked back at Torr. “Anything else, Torrent?”
Torrent blinked and refocused. “That's all I could find.”
“It's enough to get us started,” Odin said. “I think we should focus on Wishpoosh. He's angry at a coyote. That fits the clues perfectly. Has anyone heard of this god?”
All around the room, heads shook, even those of the Native American Gods.
“Is that even a real name?” Morph asked. “I mean, come on. Wishpoosh the Angry Beaver? It can't be real, right?”
“Hey, you Greeks are far worse,” Mr. T, AKA Tsohaonai, the Navajo God of the Sun, said. “You have gods for the most ridiculous things.”
