Afternoon Reading - Arthur Miller Stories - Beavers

Directed by Martin Jarvis, award-winning American actor Hector Elizondo reads Miller's canny tale of a man trying to rid his pond of beavers. At first he's baffled by their behaviour. Miller uses the idea to examine the mystery of knowing (and perhaps understanding) another creature's motives. Perplexed, the man considers this enigma. The conventional analysis is that beaver dam-building has, as its purpose, the blocking of a small stream with a dam, in order to create a pond in which the beaver can build its lodge and raise its family, safe from predators. But this fellow already has a deep pond in which to build its lodge. Indeed, it has already built one. So why does it need to stuff the overflow pipe, and thereby raise the pond level? Why is the beaver creating a pond where a perfect one already exists? Soon the man feels himself weakening before such absolute dedication. He comes to a surprising conclusion which forces him to admire the beavers' complexity, to respect their intelligence - compared to his own doubting nature, his fractured convictions. Reader: Hector Elizondo Director: Martin Jarvis A Jarvis & Ayres Production for BBC Radio 4.