Otis stands in a small wooden rowing boat on a wide calm river holding a big glass jar of plain gold coins in both paws

Otis Keeps His Promise

A story about a capital call

FundOpsHQ

Otis lies on his tummy on a riverbank rug hugging a big closed picture book

This book belongs to

Otis floats on his back in a wide slow river on a sunny morning

Otis the otter lived by a wide, slow river. He had saved one hundred coins, and he wanted them to grow and to do some good.

1

Otis sits on a riverbank log beside a tall friendly brown hare in a red scarf

Hazel the hare was starting a fund. It would buy small bookshops in the river towns and help them grow. "Would you like to join?" she asked.

2

Otis presses his paw print onto a large plain sheet at a small round outdoor table

Otis promised all one hundred coins. That promise is called a commitment. "Shall I bring the coins now?" he asked. "Not yet," said Hazel. "I have not found the shops yet."

3

The tall brown hare in the red scarf walks along a quiet riverside towpath peering through a big magnifying glass toward the far bank

Hazel smiled. "When I find a good shop, I will ask everyone for part of what they promised. That is called a capital call. Until then, the coins stay with you."

4

Otis on tiptoe placing a big glass jar full of plain gold coins on a wooden shelf in his cosy riverside kitchen

So Otis put his coins in a jar on the shelf, safe and easy to reach. He would not tie them up in anything that took months to sell. When Hazel asked, they had to be ready.

5

Otis at his front door in spring holding up a sealed envelope closed with a red wax dot

In the spring a letter came. Hazel had found a bookshop by the old stone bridge. "Please send twenty coins within ten days." Otis sent them the very next morning.

6

Otis and the tall brown hare in the red scarf stand together at the green wooden door of a small cottage shop by an old stone bridge

Every animal in the fund sent the same share of their promise, one coin in every five. So each of them owned a fair part of the fund, and the fund owned the bookshop.

7

Otis lying in a hammock between two willow trees on a hot summer afternoon

Then no letter came all summer. Otis did not mind. Good shops take time to find, and Hazel was looking carefully.

8

Otis stands on a wooden jetty gazing longingly at a small blue wooden sailing boat with a white sail tied up beside it

One autumn day, Otis saw a little blue sailing boat for sale. It cost eighty coins, and he had eighty coins in his jar. He wanted it very much. But those coins were promised.

9

A kind old grey-muzzled beaver in a blue apron shows Otis how to plane a smooth piece of driftwood in a warm wooden boat shed

The old beaver who built the boat saw him looking. "You could build one yourself," she said kindly. "I will show you how. A plank at a time, all winter long."

10

Otis in his snowy boat shed at night fitting a new plank onto the half-built hull of a small wooden boat

Hazel asked four times in all, over four years, as she found each shop. Each time Otis was ready, and his boat grew a little. Her buying years are called the investment period.

11

Otis sits on the edge of his finished small wooden boat at the jetty

"I have finished buying shops," Hazel wrote. "I may still ask for a little, but I do not expect to need your last ten coins. Thank you for always being ready."

12

Otis sails a small finished wooden boat with a white sail toward a cosy little cottage with warm glowing windows beside an old stone bridge at sunset

That summer, Otis sailed his own boat to the bookshop by the bridge. One day, when the shops are sold, the money will come home. But that is another story.

13

Otis curled up asleep in an armchair by lamplight in his cosy riverside kitchen

A note

The words in this book are real ones, explained simply. The animals and examples are made up, and real terms vary from fund to fund. It is not advice. The pictures were drawn with an AI image model and checked by hand.

Free from FundOpsHQ · fundopshq.com/books