Raven, weary and hungry, is welcomed by two generous Beaver people who bring him to their beautifully carved home and offer him sumptuous meals of fresh salmon and cranberries drawn from a secret lake hidden behind a screen. Raven, amazed by the lake’s abundance, waits until his hosts leave, then rolls up the entire lake (and even their house) tucks it under his arm, and flees up a tree, laughing as the Beavers return to find everything gone. As with many Haida oral traditions, the ending differs by storyteller: in one version the Beavers chase Raven until they give up, and in another Raven drops the stolen bundle mid-flight, creating the lakes and rivers of Haida Gwaii and beyond.
