“Whatever it is，” said Peter， “it‘s dodging us. It’s something that doesn‘t want to be seen.”
“Let’s go home，” said Susan. And then， though nobody said it out loud， everyone suddenly realized the same fact that Edmund had whispered to Peter at the end of the last . They were lost.
“What‘s it like？” said Lucy.
“It’s.it‘s a kind of animal，” said Susan； and then， “Look！ Look！ Quick！ There it is.”
They all saw it this time， a whiskered furry face which had looked out at them from behind a tree. But this time it didn’t immediately draw back. Instead， the animal put its paw against its mouth just as humans put their finger on their lips when they are signalling to you to be quiet. Thenit disappeared again. The children， all stood holding their breath.
A moment later the stranger came out from behind the tree， glanced all round as if it were afraid someone was watching， said， “Hush”， made signs to them to join it in the thicker bit of wood where it was standing， and then once more disappeared.
“I know what it is，” said Peter； “it‘s a beaver. I saw the tail.”
“It wants us to go to it，” said Susan， “and it is warning us not to make a noise.”