6:14

“So,” the beaver said lightly. “You handled that in an interesting way. Is that a standard tool-kit item for you, or did you come up with that on the fly?”

Edward, in a slightly smug tone, simply said, “Oh, I have my ways.”

“Yes, yes, I realize that, of course. After all, I have known you, or at least known of you, for a long long time now. You and your ’ways’ are rather famous, aren’t they? Still, I thought I detected something ’personal’, shall we say, in the way you dealt with the driver. Rather ingenious is the way it struck me, actually.

“And that final bit. By the side of the road. A wee bit o’ genius. Almost worthy of me…”

“Almost worthy of you?” Edward sputtered. “That was a result of a finely honed intellect, pure and simple. That kind of enlightenment doesn’t come to every creature. It takes a special mind and dedication to the way, let me tell you. Oh, I’ll admit you are devious in your own ’way’, but with the flipping and flopping of your mental processes, it simply astounds me you haven’t been made into a hat eons ago. Why, I recall one young fox kit that frankly reminds me a lot of you. The trouble with him was he found more pleasure in flouncing and flitting around than in the serious matter of setting and attaining goals. After all, it’s about the goals, the goals and the accomplishment thereof …

“Mark my words, young beaver,” Edward pronounced as he turned his head to ensure the beaver would catch the significance of what he was about to say. ”Mark my …

“Oh, crap …”