Luca Esposito, known as Lou to his friends, grew up on a small family-run farm located near Duluth, Minnesota. When Lou was sixteen years old, his family took in Lester Moore, a 12-year-old beaver who remained with them for the next two years before returning to live with his own mother.

The Esposito family were hard-working hares of Italian stock. Emilio and Gianna, who barely spoke a word of English, treated the young beaver with love and kindness. Lou, an only child, took the new family member under his wing. The youngsters shared a bedroom in the big farmhouse and were almost constant companions. Lou eagerly took on the challenge of teaching Italian to Lester, who seemed to have an unusual gift for language learning. Lou also taught his new sibling how to ride the (feral) horses that were housed in the barn, how to bait a hook when they went fishing, how to play a jaw harp, how to drive the tractor, how to build a kite, and how to play chess.

Lou was adored by his younger foster brother. For the rest of their lives, the two of them remained as close as any siblings born to the same biological parents.

In this excellent drawing by  S00T, an adult Lou takes a short breather from farm chores on a hot summer day.

Please fave the original Soot’s gallery: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/47230230/
While you’re at it, take a few minutes to look over the other amazing art that you’ll find there.

You can find out more about Lou and the special relationship he has with his foster brother in Beaver Damn! Lester Moore Tales. That book and the rest of the Long Division series are available now in paperback and electronic editions from LD-Books.com.