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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/18891-8.txt b/18891-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a8a469d --- /dev/null +++ b/18891-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4372 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. Pedley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dot and the Kangaroo + +Author: Ethel C. Pedley + +Illustrator: Frank P. Mahony + +Release Date: July 22, 2006 [EBook #18891] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOT AND THE KANGAROO *** + + + + +Produced by Jason Isbell, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +[Illustration: Dot and the Kangaroo] + + + * * * * * + + + + +_Australian Publications._ + + +CONRAD MARTENS, THE MAN AND HIS ART. By LIONEL LINDSAY, assisted by + G. V. F. MANN, Director of the National Art Gallery of New South + Wales. With reproductions of 60 of Martens' pictures, mostly in + colour. A handsome volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard box, + 42s. + +THE ART OF HANS HEYSEN. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, BERTRAM STEVENS + and C. LLOYD JONES, with critical article by LIONEL LINDSAY and + reproductions of 60 of Heysen's pictures, mostly in colour. A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. [_Ready in November_ + +THE ART OF ARTHUR STREETON. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, BERTRAM STEVENS + and C. LLOYD JONES, with critical and biographical articles by P. G. + KONODY and LIONEL LINDSAY, reproductions in colour of 36 of Mr. + Streeton's landscapes and 20 others in black and white. A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. + +THE ART OF J. J. HILDER. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, with Life by + BERTRAM STEVENS, contributions by JULIAN ASHTON and HARRY JULIUS, and + reproductions of 56 of Mr. Hilder's pictures (36 in color). A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard box, 42s. + +DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN AUSTRALIA. Special Number of Art in Australia. + Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH and BERTRAM STEVENS, in collaboration with + W. HARDY WILSON. With articles by leading Australian Architects and 45 + full-page illustrations. 11-1/4 x 9 inches, 21s. + +AUSTRALIA IN PALESTINE. A Record of the Work of the A.I.F. in Palestine + and Egypt, with 263 coloured and other illustrations, 4 maps and 3 + battle plans, 10-3/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 10s. 6d. + +SOCIETY OF ARTISTS PICTURES. Special Number of Art in Australia. With + History of the Society by JULIAN ASHTON, 20 plates in colour and 50 in + black and white. 11 x 8-3/4 inches, 12s. 6d. + +ART IN AUSTRALIA, No. VII. With reproductions in colour of pictures by + GEORGE W. LAMBERT, CLEWIN HARCOURT, ARTHUR STREETON, J. FORD PATERSON, + CHARLES WHEELER, PENLEIGH BOYD, HERBERT HARRISON, LESLIE WILKIE, THEA + PROCTOR, A. J. MUNNINGS, F. McCOMAS, and other illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 + inches. 12s. 6d. + +CROSSING THE LINE WITH H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES IN H.M.S. "RENOWN." + By VICTOR E. MARSDEN. With 40 illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 5s. + +SELECTED POEMS OF HENRY LAWSON. Selected and carefully revised by the + author, with several new poems, portrait in colour by JOHN LONGSTAFF, + and 9 full-page illustrations by PERCY LEASON. 9-1/2 x 7-1/4 inches, + handsomely bound, in cardboard box, 12s. 6d. + +COLOMBINE, AND OTHER POEMS. By HUGH McCRAE. With 11 illustrations by + NORMAN LINDSAY. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 10s. 6d. + +AN ANTHOGRAPHY OF THE EUCALYPTS. By W. RUSSELL GRIMWADE. With 79 + beautiful plates, 11-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. + +THE MAGIC PUDDING. A Story by NORMAN LINDSAY, in Prose and Verse, and + illustrated by him in 100 pictures, mostly full-page, the title-page in + colour. 11-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches. 7s. 6d. + +THE FIRST AEROPLANE VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA. By SIR ROSS SMITH, + K.B.E. With portraits and 27 full-page aeroviews of Sydney, its Harbour, + the Suburbs, and many Country Towns. 10 x 7-1/2 ins. 2s. 6d. + +DIGGERS ABROAD: Jottings on the Australian Front. By Capt. T. A. WHITE. + Illustrated by DAVID BARKER. 6s. + + +ANGUS & ROBERTSON, LTD., Publishers, Sydney + +And at all Booksellers + + + * * * * * + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + +By ETHEL C. PEDLEY + +WITH 19 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS + +By FRANK P. MAHONY + + +THE BOOKMAN (London):--"Miss Pedley has written a story for Australian +children, but children of all countries will be the better for reading +it.... In the end a double joy is waiting for the reader, for Dot finds +again her home and her loving mother, and the faithful kangaroo finds +its lost baby. Quite the right ending for Christmas-tide." + +SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:--"'Dot and the Kangaroo' is without doubt one of +the most charming books that could be put into the hands of a child. It +is admirably illustrated by Frank P. Mahony, who seems to have entered +thoroughly into the animal world of Australia. The story is altogether +Australian.... It is told so simply, and yet so artistically, that even +the 'grown-ups' amongst us must enjoy it." + +DAILY MAIL (Brisbane):--"A more fascinating study for Australian +children is hardly conceivable, and it endows the numerous bush animals +with human speech, and reproduces a variety of amusing conversations +between them and Dot, the little heroine of the book.... Adults may read +it with pleasure." + +FREEMAN'S JOURNAL (Sydney):--"Miss Pedley brings much of graceful fancy +and happy descriptive faculty to her narrative of 'Dot and the +Kangaroo.'... The volume furnishes excellent reading for young folk." + + +Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, +51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and all other Booksellers; and +(_wholesale only_) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon +Avenue, London, E.C. 4. + +_Price 6s._ + + * * * * * + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + + + + +[Illustration: THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS] + + + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + +BY + +ETHEL C. PEDLEY + +_With 19 Illustrations by Frank P. Mahony_ + + + AUSTRALIA: + ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD. + 89 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY + 1920 + + + + + Printed by W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd. + 88 Pitt Street, Sydney, Australia + + + Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, + 51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and from all Booksellers; and + (_wholesale only_) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon + Avenue, London, E.C. 4. + + + + + TO THE + CHILDREN OF AUSTRALIA + IN THE HOPE OF ENLISTING THEIR SYMPATHIES + FOR THE MANY + BEAUTIFUL, AMIABLE, AND FROLICSOME CREATURES + OF THEIR FAIR LAND, + WHOSE EXTINCTION, THROUGH RUTHLESS DESTRUCTION, + IS BEING SURELY ACCOMPLISHED + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + PAGE + + THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS _frontispiece_ + THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT 2 + THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE 14 + DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS 18 + THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE SONG 22 + DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS 26 + DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM 34 + THE CORROBOREE 36 + A LEAP FOR LIFE 44 + THE BITTERN HELPS DOT 48 + THE BOWER BIRDS 56 + THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP 60 + THE COURT OF ANIMALS 64 + THE COCKATOO JUDGE 66 + THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE 68 + THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT 72 + DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO 74 + DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO 76 + BY THE LAKE (EVENING) 80 + + + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +Little Dot had lost her way in the bush. She knew it, and was very +frightened. + +She was too frightened in fact to cry, but stood in the middle of a +little dry, bare space, looking around her at the scraggy growths of +prickly shrubs that had torn her little dress to rags, scratched her +bare legs and feet till they bled, and pricked her hands and arms as +she had pushed madly through the bushes, for hours, seeking her home. +Sometimes she looked up to the sky. But little of it could be seen +because of the great tall trees that seemed to her to be trying to reach +heaven with their far-off crooked branches. She could see little patches +of blue sky between the tangled tufts of drooping leaves, and, as the +dazzling sunlight had faded, she began to think it was getting late, and +that very soon it would be night. + +The thought of being lost and alone in the wild bush at night, took her +breath away with fear, and made her tired little legs tremble under her. +She gave up all hope of finding her home, and sat down at the foot of +the biggest blackbutt tree, with her face buried in her hands and knees, +and thought of all that had happened, and what might happen yet. + +It seemed such a long, long time since her mother had told her that she +might gather some bush flowers whilst she cooked the dinner, and Dot +recollected how she was bid not to go out of sight of the cottage. How +she wished now that she had remembered this sooner! But whilst she was +picking the pretty flowers, a hare suddenly started at her feet and +sprang away into the bush, and she had run after it. When she found that +she could not catch the hare, she discovered that she could no longer +see the cottage. After wandering for a while she got frightened and ran, +and ran, little knowing that she was going further away from her home at +every step. + +Where she was sitting under the blackbutt tree, she was miles away from +her father's selection, and it would be very difficult for anyone to +find her. She felt that she was a long way off, and she began to think +of what was happening at home. She remembered how, not very long ago, a +neighbour's little boy had been lost, and how his mother had come to +their cottage for help to find him, and that her father had ridden off +on the big bay horse to bring men from all the selections around to help +in the search. She remembered their coming back in the darkness; numbers +of strange men she had never seen before. Old men, young men, and boys, +all on their rough-coated horses, and how they came indoors, and what a +noise they made all talking together in their big deep voices. They +looked terrible men, so tall and brown and fierce, with their rough +bristly beards; and they all spoke in such funny tones to her, as if +they were trying to make their voices small. + +During many days these men came and went, and every time they were more +sad, and less noisy. The little boy's mother used to come and stay, +crying, whilst the men were searching the bush for her little son. Then, +one evening, Dot's father came home alone, and both her mother and the +little boy's mother went away in a great hurry. Then, very late, her +mother came back crying, and her father sat smoking by the fire looking +very sad, and she never saw that little boy again, although he had been +found. + +She wondered now if all these rough, big men were riding into the bush +to find her, and if, after many days, they would find her, and no one +ever see her again. She seemed to see her mother crying, and her father +very sad, and all the men very solemn. These thoughts made her so +miserable that she began to cry herself. + +Dot does not know how long she was sobbing in loneliness and fear, with +her head on her knees, and with her little hands covering her eyes so as +not to see the cruel wild bush in which she was lost. It seemed a long +time before she summoned up courage to uncover her weeping eyes, and +look once more at the bare, dry earth, and the wilderness of scrub and +trees that seemed to close her in as if she were in a prison. When she +did look up, she was surprised to see that she was no longer alone. She +forgot all her trouble and fear in her astonishment at seeing a big grey +Kangaroo squatting quite close to her, in front of her. + +[Illustration: THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT] + +What was most surprising was that the Kangaroo evidently understood that +Dot was in trouble, and was sorry for her; for down the animal's nice +soft grey muzzle two tiny little tears were slowly trickling. When Dot +looked up at it with wonder in her round blue eyes, the Kangaroo did not +jump away, but remained gazing sympathetically at Dot with a slightly +puzzled air. Suddenly the big animal seemed to have an idea, and it +lightly hopped off into the scrub, where Dot could just see it bobbing +up and down as if it were hunting for something. Presently back came the +strange Kangaroo with a spray of berries in her funny black hands. They +were pretty berries. Some were green, some were red, some blue, and +others white. Dot was quite glad to take them when the Kangaroo offered +them to her; and as this friendly animal seemed to wish her to eat them, +she did so gladly, because she was beginning to feel hungry. + +After she had eaten a few berries a very strange thing happened. While +Dot had been alone in the bush it had all seemed so dreadfully still. +There had been no sound but the gentle stir of a light, fitful breeze +in the far-away tree-tops. All around had been so quiet, that her +loneliness had seemed twenty times more lonely. Now, however, under the +influence of these small, sweet berries, Dot was surprised to hear +voices everywhere. At first it seemed like hearing sounds in a dream, +they were so faint and distant, but soon the talking grew nearer and +nearer, louder and clearer, until the whole bush seemed filled with +talking. + +They were all little voices, some indeed quite tiny whispers and +squeaks, but they were very numerous, and seemed to be everywhere. They +came from the earth, from the bushes, from the trees, and from the very +air. The little girl looked round to see where they came from, but +everything looked just the same. Hundreds of ants, of all kinds and +sizes, were hurrying to their nests; a few lizards were scuttling about +amongst the dry twigs and sparse grasses; there were some grasshoppers, +and in the trees birds fluttered to and fro. Then Dot knew that she was +hearing, and understanding, everything that was being said by all the +insects and creatures in the bush. + +All this time the Kangaroo had been speaking, only Dot had been too +surprised to listen. But now the gentle, soft voice of the kind animal +caught her attention, and she found that the Kangaroo was in the middle +of a speech. + +"I understood what was the matter with you at once," she was saying, +"for I feel just the same myself. I have been miserable, like you, ever +since I lost my baby kangaroo. You also must have lost something. Tell +me what it is?" + +"I've lost my way," said Dot; rather wondering if the Kangaroo would +understand her. + +"Ah!" said the Kangaroo, quite delighted at her own cleverness, "I knew +you had lost something! Isn't it a dreadful feeling? You feel as if you +had no inside, don't you? And you're not inclined to eat anything--not +even the youngest grass. I have been like that ever since I lost my baby +kangaroo. Now tell me," said the creature confidentially, "what your way +is like, I may be able to find it for you." + +Dot found that she must explain what she meant by saying she had "lost +her way," and the Kangaroo was much interested. + +"Well," said she, after listening to the little girl, "that is just like +you Humans; you are not fit for this country at all! Of course, if you +have only one home in one place, you _must_ lose it! If you made your +home everywhere and anywhere, it would never be lost. Humans are no good +in our bush," she continued. "Just look at yourself now. How do you +compare with a kangaroo? There is your ridiculous sham coat. Well, you +have lost bits of it all the way you have come to-day, and you're nearly +left in your bare skin. Now look at _my_ coat. I've done ever so much +more hopping than you to-day, and you see I'm none the worse. I wonder +why all your fur grows upon the top of your head," she said +reflectively, as she looked curiously at Dot's long flaxen curls. "It's +such a silly place to have one's fur the thickest! You see, we have very +little there; for we don't want our heads made any hotter under the +Australian sun. See how much better off you would be, now that nearly +all your sham coat is gone, if that useless fur had been chopped into +little, short lengths, and spread all over your poor bare body. I wonder +why you Humans are made so badly," she ended, with a puzzled air. + +Dot felt for a moment as if she ought to apologise for being so unfit +for the bush, and for having all the fur on the top of her head. But, +somehow, she had an idea that a little girl must be something better +than a kangaroo, although the Kangaroo certainly seemed a very superior +person; so she said nothing, but again began to eat the berries. + +"You must not eat any more of these berries," said the Kangaroo, +anxiously. + +"Why?" asked Dot, "they are very nice, and I'm very hungry." + +The Kangaroo gently took the spray out of Dot's hand, and threw it away. +"You see," she said, "if you eat too many of them, you'll know too +much." + +"One can't know too much," argued the little girl. + +"Yes you can, though," said the Kangaroo, quickly. "If you eat too many +of those berries, you'll learn too much, and that gives you indigestion, +and then you become miserable. I don't want you to be miserable any +more, for I'm going to find your 'lost way.'" + +The mention of finding her way reminded the little girl of her sad +position, which, in her wonder at talking with the Kangaroo, had been +quite forgotten for a little while. She became sad again; and seeing how +dim the light was getting, her thoughts went back to her parents. She +longed to be with them to be kissed and cuddled, and her blue eyes +filled with tears. + +"Your eyes just now remind me of two fringed violets, with the morning +dew on them, or after a shower," said the Kangaroo. "Why are you +crying?" + +"I was thinking," said Dot. + +"Oh! don't think!" pleaded the Kangaroo; "I never do myself." + +"I can't help it!" explained the little girl. "What do you do instead?" +she asked. + +"I always jump to conclusions," said the Kangaroo, and she promptly +bounded ten feet at one hop. Lightly springing back again to her +position in front of the child, she added, "and that's why I never have +a headache." + +"Dear Kangaroo," said Dot, "do you know where I can get some water? I'm +very thirsty!" + +"Of course you are," said her friend; "everyone is at sundown. I'm +thirsty myself. But the nearest water-hole is a longish way off, so we +had better start at once." + +Little Dot got up with an effort. After her long run and fatigue, she +was very stiff, and her little legs were so tired and weak, that after a +few steps she staggered and fell. + +The Kangaroo looked at the child compassionately. "Poor little Human," +she said, "your legs aren't much good, and, for the life of me, I don't +understand how you can expect to get along without a tail. The +water-hole is a good way off," she added, with a sigh, as she looked +down at Dot, lying on the ground, and she was very puzzled what to do. +But suddenly she brightened up. "I have an idea," she said joyfully. +"Just step into my pouch, and I'll hop you down to the water-hole in +less time than it takes a locust to shrill." + +Timidly and carefully, Dot did the Kangaroo's bidding, and found herself +in the cosiest, softest little bag imaginable. The Kangaroo seemed +overjoyed, when Dot was comfortably settled in her pouch. "I feel as if +I had my dear baby kangaroo again!" she exclaimed; and immediately she +bounded away through the tangled scrub, over stones and bushes, over dry +water-courses and great fallen trees. And all Dot felt was a gentle +rocking motion, and a fresh breeze in her face, which made her so +cheerful that she sang this song:-- + + + If you want to go quick, + I will tell you a trick + For the bush, where there isn't a train. + With a hulla-buloo, + Hail a big kangaroo-- + But be sure that your weight she'll sustain-- + Then with hop, and with skip, + She will take you a trip + With the speed of the very best steed; + And, this is a truth for which I can vouch, + There's no carriage can equal a kangaroo's pouch. + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + "Good bye! Good bye!" + The lizards all cry, + Each drying its eyes with its tail. + "Adieu! Adieu! + Dear kangaroo!" + The scared little grasshoppers wail. + "They're going express + To a distant address," + Says the bandicoot, ready to scoot; + And your path is well cleared for your progress, I vouch, + When you ride through the bush in a kangaroo's pouch. + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + "Away and away!" + You will certainly say, + "To the end of the farthest blue-- + To the verge of the sky, + And the far hills high, + O take me with thee, kangaroo! + We will seek for the end, + Where the broad plains tend, + E'en as far as the evening star. + Why, the end of the world we can reach, I vouch, + Dear kangaroo, with me in your pouch." + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +"That is a nice song of yours," said the Kangaroo, "and I like it very +much, but please stop singing now, as we are getting near the water-hole, +for it's not etiquette to make a noise near water at sundown." + +Dot would have asked why everything must be so quiet; but as she peeped +out, she saw that the Kangaroo was making a very dangerous descent, and +she did not like to trouble her friend with questions just then. They +seemed to be going down to a great deep gully that looked almost like a +hole in the earth, the depth was so great, and the hills around came so +closely together. The way the Kangaroo was hopping was like going down +the side of a wall. Huge rocks were tumbled about here and there. Some +looked as if they would come rolling down upon them; and others appeared +as if a little jolt would send them crashing and tumbling into the +darkness below. Where the Kangaroo found room to land on its feet after +each bound puzzled Dot, for there seemed no foothold anywhere. It all +looked so dangerous to the little girl that she shut her eyes, so as not +to see the terrible places they bounded over, or rested on: she felt +sure that the Kangaroo must lose her balance, or hop just a little too +far or a little too near, and that they would fall together over the +side of that terrible wild cliff. At last she said: + +"Oh, Kangaroo, shall we get safely to the bottom do you think?" + +"I never think," said the Kangaroo, "but I know we shall. This is the +easiest way. If I went through the thick bush on the other side, I +should stand a chance of running my head against a tree at every leap, +unless I got a stiff neck with holding my head on one side looking out +of one eye all the time. My nose gets in the way when I look straight in +front," she explained. "Don't be afraid," she continued. "I know every +jump of the way. We kangaroos have gone this way ever since Australia +began to have kangaroos. Look here!" she said, pausing on a big boulder +that hung right over the gully, "we have made a history book for +ourselves out of these rocks; and so long as these rocks last, long, +long after the time when there will be no more kangaroos, and no more +humans, the sun, and the moon, and the stars will look down upon what +we have traced on these stones." + +Dot peered out from her little refuge in the Kangaroo's pouch, and +saw the glow of the twilight sky reflected on the top of the boulder. +The rough surface of the stone shone with a beautiful polish like a +looking-glass, for the rock had been rubbed for thousands of years by +the soft feet and tails of millions of kangaroos; kangaroos that had +hopped down that way to get water. When Dot saw that, she didn't know +why it all seemed solemn, or why she felt such a very little girl. She +was a little sad, and the Kangaroo, after a short sigh, continued her +way. + +As they neared the bottom of the gully the Kangaroo became extremely +cautious. She no longer hopped in the open, but made her way with little +leaps through the thick scrub. She peeped out carefully before each +movement. Her long, soft ears kept moving to catch every sound, and her +black sensitive little nose was constantly lifted, sniffing the air. +Every now and then she gave little backward starts, as if she were going +to retreat by the way she had come, and Dot, with her face pressed +against the Kangaroo's soft furry coat, could hear her heart beating so +fast that she knew she was very frightened. + +They were not alone. Dot could hear whispers from unseen little +creatures everywhere in the scrub, and from birds in the trees. High up +in the branches were numbers of pigeons--sweet little Bronze-Wings; and +above all the other sounds she could hear their plaintive voices crying, +"We're so frightened! we're so frightened! so thirsty and so frightened! +so thirsty and so frightened!" + +"Why don't they drink at the water-hole?" whispered Dot. + +"Because they're frightened," was the answer. + +"Frightened of what?" asked Dot. + +"Humans!" said the Kangaroo, in frightened tones; and as she spoke she +reared up upon her long legs and tail, so that she stood at least six +feet high, and peeped over the bushes; her nose working all round, and +her ears wagging. + +"I think it's safe," she said, as she squatted down again. + +"Friend Kangaroo," said a Bronze-Wing that had sidled out to the end +of a neighbouring branch, "you are so courageous, will you go first to +the water, and let us know if it is all safe? We haven't tasted a drop +of water for two days," she said, sadly, "and we're dying of thirst. +Last night, when we had waited for hours, to make certain there were +no cruel Humans about, we flew down for a drink--and we wanted, oh! so +little, just three little sips; but the terrible Humans, with their +'bang-bangs,' murdered numbers of us. Then we flew back, and some were +hurt and bleeding, and died of their wounds, and none of us have dared +to get a drink since." Dot could see that the poor pigeon was suffering +great thirst, for its wings were drooping, and its poor dry beak was +open. + +The Kangaroo was very distressed at hearing the pigeon's story. "It is +dreadful for you pigeons," she said, "because you can only drink at +evening; we sometimes can quench our thirst in the day, I wish we could +do without water! The Humans know all the water-holes, and sooner or +later we all get murdered, or die of thirst. How cruel they are!" + +Still the pigeons cried on, "we're so thirsty and so frightened;" and +the Bronze-Wing asked the Kangaroo to try again, if she could either +smell or hear a Human near the water-hole. + +"I think we are safe," said the Kangaroo, having sniffed and listened as +before; "I will now try a nearer view." + +The news soon spread that the Kangaroo was going to venture near the +water, to see if all was safe. The light was very dim, and there was a +general whisper that the attempt to get a drink of water should not be +left later; as some feared such foes as dingoes and night birds, should +they venture into the open space at night. As the Kangaroo moved +stealthily forward, pushing aside the branches of the scrub, or standing +erect to peep here and there, there was absolute silence in the bush. +Even the pigeons ceased to say they were afraid, but hopped silently +from bough to bough, following the movements of the Kangaroo with eager +little eyes. The Brush Turkey and the Mound-Builder left their heaped-up +nests and joined the other thirsty creatures, and only by the crackling +of the dry scrub, or the falling of a few leaves, could one tell that so +many live creatures were together in that wild place. + +Presently the Kangaroo had reached the last bushes of the scrub, behind +which she crouched. + +"There's not a smell or a sound," she said. "Get out, Dot, and wait here +until I return, and the Bronze-Wings have had their drink; for, did they +see you, they would be too frightened to come down, and would have to +wait another night and day." + +Dot got out of the pouch, and she was very sorry when she saw how +terrified her friend looked. She could see the fur on the Kangaroo's +chest moving with the frightened beating of her heart; and her beautiful +brown eyes looked wild and strange with fear. + +Instantly, the Kangaroo leaped into the open. For a second she paused +erect, sniffing and listening, and then she hastened to the water. As +she stooped to drink, Dot heard a "whrr, whrr, whrr," and, like falling +leaves, down swept the Bronze-Wings. It was a wonderful sight. The +water-hole shone in the dim light, with the great black darkness of the +trees surrounding it, and from all parts came the thirsty creatures of +the bush. The Bronze-Wings were all together. Hundred of little heads +bobbed by the edge of the pool, as the little bills were filled, and +the precious water was swallowed; then, together, a minute afterwards, +"whrr, whrr, whrr," up they flew, and in one great sweeping circle +they regained their tree-tops. Like the bush creatures, Dot also was +frightened, and running to the water, hurriedly drank, and fled back +to the shelter of the bush, where the Kangaroo was waiting for her. + +"Jump in!" said the Kangaroo, "It's never safe by the water," and, a +minute after, Dot was again in the cosy pouch, and was hurrying away, +like all the others from the water where men are wont to camp, and kill +with their guns the poor creatures that come to drink. + +That evening the Kangaroo tried to persuade Dot to eat some grass, but +as Dot said she had never eaten grass, it got some roots from a friendly +Bandicoot, which the little girl ate because she was hungry; but she +thought she wouldn't like to be a Bandicoot always to eat such food. +Then in a nice dry cave she nestled into the fur of the gentle Kangaroo, +and was so tired that she slept immediately. + +She only woke up once. She had been dreaming that she was at home, and +was playing with the new little Calf that had come the day before she +was lost, and she couldn't remember, at first waking, what had happened, +or where she was. It was dark in the cave, and outside the bushes and +trees looked quite black--for there was but little light in that place +from the starry sky. It seemed terribly lonesome and wild. When the +Kangaroo spoke she remembered everything, and they both sat up and +talked a little. + +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" sang the Nightjar in the distance. "I wish the +Nightjar wouldn't make that noise when one wants to sleep," said the +Kangaroo. "It hasn't got any voice to speak of, and the tune is stupid. +It gives me the jim-jams, for it reminds me I've lost my baby kangaroo. +There is something wrong about some birds that think themselves +musical," she continued: "they are well behaved and considerate enough +in the day, but as soon as it is a nice, quiet, calm night, or a bit of +a moon is in the sky, they make night hideous to everyone within +earshot--'Mo-poke! mo-poke!' Oh! it gives me the blues!" + +As the Kangaroo spoke she hopped to the front of the cave. + +"I say, Nightjar," she said, "I'm a little sad to-night, please go and +sing elsewhere." + +"Ah!" said the Nightjar, "I'm so glad I've given you deliciously dismal +thoughts with my song! I'm a great artist, and can touch all hearts. +That is my mission in the world: when all the bush is quiet, and +everyone has time to be miserable, I make them more so--isn't it lovely +to be like that?" + +"I'd rather you sang something cheerful," said the Kangaroo to herself, +but out loud she said, "I find it really too beautiful, it is more than +I can bear. Please go a little farther off." + +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" croaked the Nightjar, farther and farther in the +distance, as it flew away. + +"What a pity!" said the Kangaroo, as she returned to the cave, "the +'possum made that unlucky joke of telling the Nightjar it has a touching +voice, and can sing: everyone has to suffer for that joke of the +'possum's. It doesn't matter to him, for he is awake all night, but it +is too bad for his neighbours who want to sleep." + +Just then there arose from the bush a shrill wailing and shrieking that +made Dot's heart stop with fear. It sounded terrible, as if something +was wailing in great pain and suffering. + +"O Kangaroo!" she cried, "what is the matter?" "That," said the +Kangaroo, as she laid herself down to rest, "is the sound of the Curlew +enjoying itself. They are sociable birds, and entertain a great deal. +There is a party to-night, I suppose, and that is the expression of +their enjoyment. I believe," she continued, with a suppressed yawn, +"it's not so painful as it sounds. Willy Wagtail, who goes a great deal +amongst Humans, says they do that sort of thing also; he has often heard +them when he lived near the town." + +Dot had never been in the town, but she was certain she had never heard +anything like the Curlew's wailing in her home; and she wondered what +Willy Wagtail meant, but she was too sleepy to ask; so she nestled a +little closer to the Kangaroo, and with the shrieking of the Curlews, +and the mournful note of the distant mo-poke in her ears, she fell +asleep again. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +When Dot awoke, she did so with a start of fear. Something in her sleep +had seemed to tell her that she was in danger. At a first glance she saw +that the Kangaroo had left her, and coiled upon her body was a young +black Snake. Before Dot could move, she heard a voice from a tree, +outside the cave, say, very softly, "Don't be afraid! keep quite still, +and you will not get hurt. Presently I'll kill that Snake. If I tried to +do so now it might bite you; so let it sleep on." + +She looked up in the direction of the tree, and saw a big Kookooburra +perched on a bough, with all the creamy feathers of its breast fluffed +out, and its crest very high. The Kookooburra is one of the jolliest +birds in the bush, and is always cracking jokes, and laughing, but this +one was keeping as quiet as he could. Still he could not be quite +serious, and a smile played all round his huge beak. Dot could see that +he was nearly bursting with suppressed laughter. He kept on saying, +under his breath, "what a joke this is! what a capital joke! How they'll +all laugh when I tell them." Just as if it was the funniest thing in the +world to have a Snake coiled up on one's body; when the horrid thing +might bite one with its poisonous fangs, at any moment! + +Dot said she didn't see any joke, and it was no laughing matter. + +"To be sure _you_ don't see the joke," said the jovial bird. "On-lookers +always see the jokes, and I'm an on-looker. It's not to be expected of +you, because you're not an on-looker;" and he shook with suppressed +laughter again. + +"Where is my dear Kangaroo?" asked Dot. + +"She has gone to get you some berries for breakfast," said the +Kookooburra, "and she asked me to look after you, and that's why I'm +here. That Snake got on you whilst I flew away to consult my doctor, the +White Owl, about the terrible indigestion I have. He's very difficult +to catch awake; for he's out all night and sleepy all day. He says +cockchafers have caused it. The horny wing-cases and legs are most +indigestible, he assures me. I didn't fancy them much when I ate them +last night, so I took his advice and coughed them up, and I'm no longer +feeling depressed. Take my advice, and don't eat cockchafers, little +Human." + +Dot did not really hear all this, nor heed the excellent advice of the +Kookooburra, not to eat those hard green beetles that had disagreed with +it, for a little shivering movement had gone through the Snake, and +presently all the scales of its shining black back and rosy underpart +began to move. Dot felt quite sick, as she saw the reptile begin to +uncoil itself, as it lay upon her. She hardly dared to breathe, but lay +as still as if she were dead, so as not to frighten or anger the horrid +creature, which presently seemed to slip like a slimy cord over her bare +legs, and wriggled away to the entrance of the cave. + +With a quick, delighted movement, she sat up, eager to see where the +deadly Snake would go. It was very drowsy, having slept heavily on Dot's +warm little body; so it went slowly towards the bush, to get some frogs +or birds for breakfast. But as it wriggled into the warm morning +sunlight outside, Dot saw a sight that made her clap her hands together +with anxiety for the life of the jolly Kookooburra. + +No sooner did the black Snake get outside the cave, than she saw the +Kookooburra fall like a stone from its branch, right on top of the +Snake. For a second, Dot thought the bird must have tumbled down dead, +it was such a sudden fall; but a moment later she saw it flutter on the +ground, in battle with the poisonous reptile, whilst the Snake wriggled, +and coiled its body into hoops and rings. The Kookooburra's strong +wings, beating the air just above the writhing Snake, made a great +noise, and the serpent hissed in its fierce hatred and anger. Then Dot +saw that the Kookooburra's big beak had a firm hold of the Snake by the +back of the neck, and that it was trying to fly upwards with its enemy. +In vain the dreadful creature tried to bite the gallant bird; in vain it +hissed and stuck out its wicked little spiky tongue; in vain it tried to +coil itself round the bird's body; the Kookooburra was too strong and +too clever to lose its hold, or to let the Snake get power over it. + +At last Dot saw that the Snake was getting weaker and weaker, for, +little by little, the Kookooburra was able to rise higher with it, until +it reached the high bough. All the time the Snake was held in the bird's +beak, writhing and coiling in agony; for he knew that the Kookooburra +had won the battle. But, when the noble bird had reached its perch, it +did a strange thing; for it dropped the Snake right down to the ground. +Then it flew down again, and brought the reptile back to the bough, and +dropped it once more--and this it did many times. Each time the Snake +moved less and less, for its back was being broken by these falls. At +last the Kookooburra flew up with its victim for the last time, and, +holding it on the branch with its foot, beat the serpent's head with +its great strong beak. Dot could hear the blows fall,--whack, whack, +whack,--as the beak smote the Snake's head; first on one side, then on +the other, until it lay limp and dead across the bough. + +"Ah! ah! ah!--Ah! ah! ah!" laughed the Kookooburra, and said to Dot, +"Did you see all that? Wasn't it a joke? What a capital joke! Ha! ha! +ha! ha! ha! Oh! oh! oh! how my sides do ache! What a joke! How they'll +laugh when I tell them." Then came a great flight of kookooburras, for +they had heard the laughter, and all wanted to know what the joke was. +Proudly the Kookooburra told them all about the Snake sleeping on Dot, +and the great fight! All the time, first one kookooburra, and then +another, chuckled over the story, and when it came to an end every bird +dropped its wings, cocked up its tail, and throwing back its head, +opened its great beak, and all laughed uproariously together. Dot was +nearly deafened by the noise; for some chuckled, some cackled; some +said, "Ha! ha! ha!" others said, "Oh! oh! oh!" and as soon as one left +off, another began, until it seemed as though they couldn't stop. They +all said it was a splendid joke, and that they really must go and tell +it to the whole bush. So they flew away, and far and near, for hours, +the bush echoed with chuckling and cackling, and wild bursts of +laughter, as the kookooburras told that grand joke everywhere. + +"Now," said the Kookooburra, when all the others had gone, "a bit of +snake is just the right thing for breakfast. Will you have some, little +Human?" + +Dot shuddered at the idea of eating snake for breakfast, and the +Kookooburra thought she was afraid of being poisoned. + +"It won't hurt you," he said kindly, "I took care that it did not bite +itself. Sometimes they do that when they are dying, and then they're not +good to eat. But this snake is all right, and won't disagree like +cockchafers: the scales are quite soft and digestible," he added. + +But Dot said she would rather wait for the berries the Kangaroo was +bringing, so the Kookooburra remarked that if she would excuse it he +would like to begin breakfast at once, as the fight had made him hungry. +Then Dot saw him hold the reptile on the branch with his foot, whilst he +took its tail into his beak, and proceeded to swallow it in a leisurely +way. In fact the Kookooburra was so slow that very little of the snake +had disappeared when the Kangaroo returned. + +[Illustration: THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE] + +The Kangaroo had brought a pouch full of berries, and in her hand +a small spray of the magic ones, by eating which Dot was able to +understand the talk of all the bush creatures. All the time she was +wandering in the bush the Kangaroo gave her some of these to eat daily, +and Dot soon found that the effect of these strange berries only lasted +until the next day. + +The Kangaroo emptied out her pouch, and Dot found quite a large +collection of roots, buds, and berries, which she ate with good +appetite. + +The Kangaroo watched her eating with a look of quiet satisfaction. + +"See," she said, "how easily one can live in the bush without hurting +anyone; and yet Humans live by murdering creatures and devouring them. +If they are lost in the scrub they die, because they know no other way +to live than that cruel one of destroying us all. Humans have become so +cruel, that they kill, and kill, not even for food, but for the love of +murdering. I often wonder," she said, "why they and the dingoes are +allowed to live on this beautiful kind earth. The Black Humans kill and +devour us; but they, even, are not so terrible as the Whites, who +delight in taking our lives, and torturing us just as an amusement. +Every creature in the bush weeps that they should have come to take the +beautiful bush away from us." + +Dot saw that the sad brown eyes of the Kangaroo were full of tears, and +she cried too, as she thought of all that the poor animals and birds +suffer at the hands of white men. "Dear Kangaroo," she said, "if I ever +get home, I'll tell everyone of how you unhappy creatures live in fear, +and suffer, and ask them not to kill you poor things any more." + +But the Kangaroo sadly shook her head, and said, "White Humans are +cruel, and love to murder. We must all die. But about your lost way," +she continued in a brisk tone, by way of changing this painful subject; +"I've been asking about it, and no one has seen it anywhere. Of course +someone must know where it is, but the difficulty is to find the right +one to ask." Then she dropped her voice, and came a little nearer to +Dot, and stooping down until her little black hands hung close to the +ground, she whispered in Dot's ear, "They say I ought to consult the +Platypus." + +"Could the Platypus help, do you think?" Dot asked. + +"I _never_ think," said the Kangaroo, "but as the Platypus never goes +anywhere, never associates with any other creature, and is hardly ever +seen, I conclude it knows everything--it must, you know." + +"Of course," said Dot, with some doubt in her tone. + +"The only thing is," continued the Kangaroo, once more sitting up and +pensively scratching her nose. "The only thing is, I can't bear the +Platypus; the sight of it gives me the creeps: it's such a queer +creature!" + +"I've never seen a Platypus," said Dot. "Do tell me what it is like!" + +"I couldn't describe it," said the Kangaroo, with a shudder, "it seems +made up of parts of two or three different sorts of creatures. None of +us can account for it. It must have been an experiment, when all the +rest of us were made: or else it was made up of the odds and ends of the +birds and beasts that were left over after we were all finished." + +Little Dot clapped her hands. "Oh, dear Kangaroo," she said, "do take me +to see the Platypus! there was nothing like that in my Noah's ark." + +"I should say not!" remarked the Kangaroo. "The animals in the Ark said +they were each to be of its kind, and every sort of bird and beast +refused to admit the Platypus, because it was of so many kinds; and at +last Noah turned it out to swim for itself, because there was such a +row. That's why the Platypus is so secluded. Ever since then no Platypus +is friendly with any other creature, and no animal or bird is more than +just polite to it. They couldn't be, you see, because of that trouble in +the Ark." + +"But that was so long ago," said Dot, filled with compassion for the +lonely Platypus; "and, after all, this is not the same Platypus, nor are +all the bush creatures the same now as then." + +"No," returned the Kangaroo, "and some say there was no Ark, and no fuss +over the matter, but that, of course, doesn't make any difference, for +it's a very ancient quarrel, so it must be kept up. But if we are to go +to the Platypus we had better start now; it is a good time to see it--so +come along, little Dot," said the Kangaroo. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +"Good-bye, Kookooburra!" cried Dot, as they left the cave; and the bird +gave her a nod of the head, followed by a wink, which was supposed to +mean hearty good-will at parting. He would have spoken, only he had +swallowed but part of the Snake, and the rest hung out of the side of +his beak, like an old man's pipe; so he couldn't speak. It wouldn't have +been polite to do so with his beak full. + +Dot was so rested by her sleep all night that she did not ride in the +Kangaroo's pouch; but they proceeded together, she walking, and her +friend making as small hops as she could, so as not to get too far +ahead. This was very difficult for the Kangaroo, because even the +smallest hops carried her far in front. After a time they arranged that +the friendly animal should hop a few yards, then wait for Dot to catch +her up, and then go on again. This she did, nibbling bits of grass as +she waited, or playing a little game of hide-and-seek behind the bushes. + +Sometimes when she hid like this, Dot would be afraid that she had lost +her Kangaroo, and would run here and there, hunting round trees, and +clusters of ferns, until she felt quite certain she had lost the kind +animal; when suddenly, clean over a big bush, the Kangaroo would bound +into view, landing right in front of her. Then Dot would laugh, and rush +forward, and throw her arms around her friend; and the Kangaroo, with a +quiet smile, would rub her little head against Dot's curls, and they +were both very happy. So, although it was a long and rough way to the +little creek where the Platypus lived, it did not seem at all far. + +The stream ran at the bottom of a deep gully, that had high rocky sides, +with strangely shaped trees growing between the rocks. But, by the +stream, Dot thought they must be in fairyland; it was so beautiful. In +the dark hollows of the rocks were wonderful ferns; such delicate ones +that the little girl was afraid to touch them. They were so tender and +green that they could only grow far away from the sun, and as she peeped +into the hollows and caves where they grew, it seemed as if she was +being shown the secret store-house of Nature, where she kept all the +most lovely plants, out of sight of the world. A soft carpet seemed to +spring under Dot's feet, like a nice springy mattress, as she trotted +along. She asked the Kangaroo why the earth was so soft, and was told +that it was not earth, but the dead leaves of the tree-ferns above them, +that had been falling for such a long, long time, that no kangaroo could +remember the beginning. + +Then Dot looked up, and saw that there was no sky to be seen; for they +were passing under a forest of tree-ferns, and their lovely spreading +fronds made a perfect green tent over their heads. The sunlight that +came through was green, as if you were in a house made of green glass. +All up the slender stems of these tall tree-ferns were the most +beautiful little plants, and many stems were twined, from the earth to +their feather-like fronds, with tender creeping ferns--the fronds of +which were so fine and close, that it seemed as if the tree-fern were +wrapped up in a lovely little fern coat. Even crumbling dead trees, and +decaying tree-ferns, did not look dead, because some beautiful moss, or +lichen, or little ferns had clung to them, and made them more beautiful +than when alive. + +Dot kept crying out with pleasure at all she saw; especially when little +Parrakeets, with feathers as green as the ferns, and gorgeous red +breasts, came in flocks, and welcomed her to their favourite haunt; and, +as she had eaten the berries of understanding, and was the friend of the +Kangaroo, they were not frightened, but perched on her shoulders and +hands, and chatted their merry talk together. The Kangaroo did not share +Dot's enthusiasm for the beauties of the gully. She said it was pretty, +certainly, but a bad place for kangaroos, because there was no grass. +For her part, she didn't think any sight in nature so lovely as a big +plain, green with the little blades of new spring grass. The gully was +very showy, but not to her mind so beautiful as the other. + +Then they came to a stream that gurgled melodiously as it rippled over +stones in its shallow course, or crept round big grey boulders that were +wrapped in thick mosses, in which were mingled flowers of the pink and +red wild fuchsia, or the creamy great blossoms of the rock lily. Dot ran +down the stream with bare feet, laughing as she paddled in and out among +the rocks and ferns, and the sun shone down on the gleaming foam of the +water, and made golden lights in Dot's wild curls. The Kangaroo, too, +was very merry, and bounded from rock to rock over the stream, showing +what wonderful things she could do in that way; and sometimes they +paused, side by side, and peeped down upon some still pool that showed +their two reflections as in a mirror; and that seemed so funny to Dot, +that her silvery laugh woke the silence in happy peals, until more +green-and-red Parrakeets flew out of the bush to join in the fun. + +[Illustration: DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS] + +When they had followed the stream some distance, the gully opened out +into bush scrub. The little Parrakeets then said "Good-bye," and flew +back to their favourite tree-ferns and bush growth; and the Kangaroo +said, that as they were nearing the home of the Platypus, they must not +play in the stream any more; to do so might warn the creature of their +approach and frighten it. "We shall have to be very careful," she said, +"so that the Platypus will neither hear nor smell you. We will therefore +walk on the opposite shore, as the wind will then blow away from its +home." + +The stream no longer chattered over rocky beds, but slid between soft +banks of earth, under tufts of tall rushes, grasses, and ferns, and soon +it opened into a broad pool, which was smooth as glass. The clouds in +the sky, the tall surrounding trees, and the graceful ferns and rushes +of the banks, were all reflected in the water, so that it looked to Dot +like a strange upside-down picture. This, then, was the home of that +wonderful animal; and Dot felt quite frightened, because she thought she +was going to see something terrible. + +At the Kangaroo's bidding, she hid a little way from the edge of the +pool, but she was able to see all that happened. + +The Kangaroo evidently did not enjoy the prospect of conversing with the +Platypus. She kept on fidgetting about, putting off calling to the +Platypus by one excuse and another: she was decidedly ill at ease. + +"Are you frightened of the Platypus?" asked Dot. + +"Dear me, no!" replied the Kangaroo, "but I'd rather have a talk with +any other bush creature. First of all, the sight of it makes me so +uncomfortable, that I want to hop away the instant I set eyes upon it. +Then, too, it's so difficult to be polite to the Platypus, because one +never knows how to behave towards it. If you treat it as an animal, you +offend its bird nature, and if you treat it as a bird, the animal in it +is mighty indignant. One never knows where one is with a creature that +is two creatures," said the Kangaroo. + +Dot was so sorry for the perplexity of her friend, that she suggested +that they should not consult the Platypus. But the Kangaroo said it must +be done, because no one in the bush was so learned. Being such a strange +creature, and living in such seclusion, and being so difficult to +approach, was a proof that it was the right adviser to seek. So, with a +half desperate air, the Kangaroo left the little girl, and went down to +the water's edge. + +Pausing a moment, she made a strange little noise that was something +between a grunt and a hiss: and she repeated this many times. At last +Dot saw what looked like a bit of black stick, just above the surface of +the pool, coming towards their side, and, as it moved forward, leaving +two little silvery ripples that widened out behind it on the smooth +waters. Presently the black stick, which was the bill of the Platypus, +reached the bank, and the strangest little creature climbed into view. +Dot had expected to see something big and hideous; but here was quite a +small object after all! It seemed quite ridiculous that the great +Kangaroo should be evidently discomposed by the sight. + +Dot could not hear what the Kangaroo said, but she saw the Platypus +hurriedly prepare to regain the water. It began to stumble clumsily down +the bank. The Kangaroo then raised her voice in pleading accents. + +"But," she said, "it's such a little Human! I have treated it like my +baby kangaroo, and have carried it in my pouch." + +This information seemed to arrest the movements of the Platypus; it had +reached the water's edge, but it paused, and turned. + +"I tell you," it said in a high-pitched and irritable voice, "that all +Humans are alike! They all come here to interview me for the same +purpose, and I'm resolved it shall not happen again; I have been +insulted enough by their ignorance." + +"I assure you," urged the Kangaroo, "that she will not annoy you in that +way. She wouldn't think of doing such a thing to any animal." + +As the Kangaroo called the Platypus an animal, Dot saw at once that it +was offended, and in a great huff it turned towards the pool again. "I +beg your pardon," said the Kangaroo nervously. "I didn't mean an +altogether animal, or even a bird, but any a--a--a--." She seemed +puzzled how to speak of the Platypus, when the strange creature, seeing +the well-meaning embarrassment of the Kangaroo, said affably, "any +mammal or Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus." + +"Exactly," said the Kangaroo, brightening up, although she hadn't the +least idea what a mammal was. + +"Well, bring the little Human here," said the Platypus in a more +friendly tone, "and if I feel quite sure on that point I will permit an +interview." + +Two bounds brought the Kangaroo to where Dot was hidden. She seemed +anxious that the child should make a good impression on the Platypus, +and tried with the long claws on her little black hands to comb through +Dot's long gleaming curls; but they were so tangled that the child +called out at this awkward method of hairdressing, and the Kangaroo +stopped. She then licked a black smudge off Dot's forehead, which was +all she could do to tidy her. Then she started back a hop, and eyed the +child with her head on one side. She was not quite satisfied. "Ah!" she +said, "if only you were a baby kangaroo I could make you look so nice! +but I can't do anything to your sham coat, which gets worse every day, +and your fur is all wrong, for one can't get one's claws through it. You +Humans are no good in the bush!" + +"Never mind, dear Kangaroo," said the little girl; "when I get home +mother will put me on a new frock, and will get the tangles out of my +hair. Let us go to the Platypus now." + +The Kangaroo felt sad as Dot spoke of returning home, for she had become +really fond of the little Human. She began to feel that she would be +lonely when they parted. However, she did not speak of what was in her +mind, but bounded back to the Platypus to wait for Dot. + +When the little girl reached the pool, she was still more surprised, on +a nearer view of the Platypus, that the Kangaroo should think so much of +it. At her feet she beheld a creature like a shapeless bit of wet matted +fur. She thought it looked like an empty fur bag that had been fished +out of the water. Projecting from the head, that seemed much nearer to +the ground than the back, was a broad duck's bill, of a dirty grey +colour; and peeping out underneath were two fore feet that were like a +duck's also. Altogether it was such a funny object that she was inclined +to laugh, only the Kangaroo looked so serious, that she tried to look +serious too, as if there was nothing strange in the appearance of the +Platypus. + +"I am the Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus!" said the Platypus pompously. + +"I am Dot," said the little girl. + +"Now we know one another's names," said the Platypus, with satisfaction. +"If the Kangaroo had introduced us, it would have stumbled over my name, +and mumbled yours, and we should have been none the wiser. Now tell me, +little Human, are you going to write a book about me? because if you +are, I'm off. I can't stand any more books being written about me; I've +been annoyed enough that way." + +"I couldn't write a book," said Dot, with surprise; inwardly wondering +what anyone could find to make a book of, out of such a small, ugly +creature. + +"You're quite sure?" asked the Platypus, doubtfully, and evidently more +than half inclined to dive into the pool. + +"Quite," said Dot. + +"Then I'll try to believe you," said the Platypus, clumsily waddling +towards some grass, amongst which it settled itself comfortably. "But +it's very difficult to believe you Humans, for you tell such dreadful +fibs," it continued, as it squirted some dirty water out of the bag that +surrounded its bill, and swallowed some water beetles, small snails and +mud that it had stored there. "See, for instance, the way you have all +quarrelled and lied about me! One great Human, the biggest fool of all, +said I wasn't a live creature at all, but a joke another Human had +played upon him. Then they squabbled together--one saying I was a +Beaver; another that I was a Duck; another, that I was a Mole, or a Rat. +Then they argued whether I was a bird, or an animal, or if we laid eggs, +or not; and everyone wrote a book, full of lies, all out of his head. + +"That's the way Humans amuse themselves. They write books about things +they don't understand, and each new book says all the others are all +wrong. It's a silly game, and very insulting to the creatures they write +about. Humans at the other end of the world, who never took the trouble +to come here to see me, wrote books about me. Those who did come were +more impudent than those who stayed away. Their idea of learning all +about a creature was to dig up its home, and frighten it out of its +wits, and kill it; and after a few moons of that sort of foolery they +claimed to know all about us. Us! whose ancestors knew the world +millions of years before the ignorant Humans came on the earth at all." +The Platypus spluttered out more dirty water, in its indignation. + +The Kangaroo became very timid, as it saw the rising anger of the +Platypus, and it whispered to Dot to say something to calm the little +creature. + +"A million years is a very long time," said Dot; unable at the moment to +think of anything better to say. But this remark angered the Platypus +more, for it seemed to suspect Dot of doubting what it said. + +It clambered up into a more erect position, and its little brown eyes +became quite fiery. + +"I didn't say a million; I said millions! I can prove by a bone in my +body that my ancestors were the Amphitherium, the Amphilestes, the +Phascolotherium, and the Stereognathus!" almost shrieked the little +creature. + +[Illustration: THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE PLATYPUS'S SONG] + +Dot didn't understand what all these words meant, and looked at the +Kangaroo for an explanation; but she saw that the Kangaroo didn't +understand either, only she was trying to hide her ignorance by a calm +appearance, while she nibbled the end of a long grass she held in her +fore paw. But Dot noticed, by the slight trembling of the little black +paw, that the Kangaroo was very nervous. She thought she would try and +say something to please Platypus; so she asked, very kindly, if the bone +ever hurt it. But this strange creature did not seem to notice the +remark. Settling itself more comfortably amongst the grass, it muttered +in calmer tones, "I trace my ancestry back to the Oolite Age. Where does +man come in?" + +"I don't know," said Dot. + +"Of course you don't!" replied the Platypus, contemptuously, "Humans are +so ignorant! That is because they are so new. When they have existed a +few more million years, they will be more like us of old families; they +will respect quiet, exclusive living, like that of the Ornithorhynchus +Paradoxus, and will not be so inquisitive, pushing, and dangerous as +now. The age will come when they will understand, and will cease to +write books, and there will be peace for everyone." + +The Kangaroo now thought it a good opportunity to change the subject, +and gently introduced the topic of Dot's lost way, saying how she had +found the little girl, and had taken care of her ever since. + +The Platypus did not seem interested, and yawned more than once whilst +the Kangaroo spoke. + +"The question is," concluded the Kangaroo, "who shall I ask to find it? +Someone must know where it is." + +"Of course," said the Platypus, yawning again, without so much as +putting its web foot in front of its bill, which Dot thought very rude, +or else very ancient manners. "Little Human," it said, "tell me what +kind of bush creatures come about your burrow." + +"We live in a cottage," she said, but seeing that the Platypus did not +like to be corrected, and that the Kangaroo looked quite shocked at her +doing so, she hurriedly described the creatures she had seen there. She +said there were Crickets, Grasshoppers, Mice, Lizards, Swallows, +Opossums, Flying Foxes, Kookooburras, Magpies, and Shepherd's +Companions---- + +"Stop!" interrupted the Platypus, with a wave of its web foot; "that is +the right one." + +"Who?" asked the Kangaroo and Dot anxiously, together. + +"The bird you call Shepherd's Companion. Some of you call it Rickety +Dick, or Willy Wagtail." Turning to the Kangaroo especially, it +continued. "If you can bring yourself to speak to anything so obtrusive +and gossiping, without any ancestry or manners whatever, you will be +able to learn all you need from that bird. Humans and Wagtails +fraternise together. They're both post-glacial." + +"I knew you could advise me," said the Kangaroo, gratefully. + +"Oh! Platypus, how clever you are!" cried Dot, clapping her hands. + +Directly Dot had spoken she saw that she had offended the queer little +creature before her. It raised itself with an air of offended dignity +that was unmistakable. + +"The name Platypus is insulting," it remarked, looking at the child +severely, "it means _broad-footed_, a vulgar pseudonym which could only +have emanated from the brutally coarse expressions of a Human. My name +is Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. Besides, even if my front feet can expand, +they can also contract; see! as narrow and refined as a bird's claw. +Observe, too, that my hind feet are narrow, and like a seal's fin, +though it has been described as a mole's foot." + +As the Platypus spoke, and thrust out its strangely different feet, the +Kangaroo edged a little closer to Dot and whispered in her ear. "It's +getting angry, and is beginning to use long words; do be careful what +you say or it will be terrible!" + +"I beg your pardon," said Dot; "I did not wish to hurt your feelings, +Para--, Pa--ra--dox--us." + +"_Ornithorhynchus_ Paradoxus, if you please," insisted the little +creature. "How would you like it if your name was Jones-Smith-Jones, and +I called you one Jones, or one Smith, and did not say both the Jones and +the Smiths? You have no idea how sensitive our race is. You Humans have +no feelings at all compared with ours. Why! my fifth pair of nerves are +larger than a man's! Humans get on my nerves dreadfully!" it ended in +disgusted accents. + +"She did not mean to hurt you," said the gentle Kangaroo, soothingly. +"Is there anything we can do to make you feel comfortable again?" + +"There is nothing you can do," sighed the Platypus, now mournful and +depressed. "I must sing. Only music can quiet my nerves. I will sing a +little threnody composed by myself, about the good old days of this +world before the Flood." And as it spoke, the Platypus moved into an +upright position amongst the tussock grass, and after a little cough +opened its bill to sing. + +The Kangaroo kept very close to Dot, and warned her to be very attentive +to the song, and not to interrupt it on any account. Almost before the +Kangaroo had ceased to whisper in her ear, Dot heard this strange song, +sung to the most peculiar tune she had ever heard, and in the funniest +of little squeaky voices. + + + The fairest Iguanodon reposed upon the shore; + Extended lay her beauteous form, a hundred feet and more. + The sun, with rays flammivomous, beat on the blue-black sand; + And sportive little Saurians disported on the strand; + But oft the Iguanodon reproved them in their glee, + And said, "Alas! this Saurian Age is not what it should be!" + + Then, forth from that archaic sea, the Ichthyosaurus + Uprose upon his finny wings, with neocomian fuss, + "O Iguanodon!" he cried, as he approached the shore, + "Why art thou thus dysthynic, love? Come, rise with me, and soar, + Or leave these estuarian seas, and wander in the grove; + Behold! a bird-like reptile fish is dying for thy love!" + + Then, through the dark coniferous grove they wandered side by side, + The tender Iguanodon and Ichthyosaurian bride; + And through the enubilious air, the carboniferous breeze, + Awoke, with _their_ amphibious sighs, the silence in the trees. + "To think," they cried, botaurus-toned, "when ages intervene, + Our osseous fossil forms will be in some museum seen!" + + Bemoaning thus, by dumous path, they crushed the cycad's growth, + And many a crash, and thunder, marked the progress of them both. + And when they reached the estuary, the excandescent sun + Was setting o'er the hefted sea; their saurian day was done. + Then raised they paraseline eyes unto the flaming moon, + And wept--the Neocomian Age was passing all too soon! + + O Iguanodon! O Earth! O Ichthyosaurus! + O Melanocephalous saurians! Oh! oh! oh! + + (Here the Platypus was sobbing) + + Oh, Troglyodites obscure--oh! oh! + + +At this point of the song, the poor Platypus, whose voice had trembled +with increasing emotion and sobbing in each verse, broke down, overcome +by the extreme sensitiveness of its fifth pair of nerves and the sadness +of its song, and wept in terrible grief. + +The gentle Kangaroo was also deeply moved, seeing the Platypus in such +sorrow, and Dot mastered her aversion to touching cold, damp fur, and +stroked the little creature's head. + +The Platypus seemed much soothed by their sympathy, but hurriedly bid +them farewell. It said it must try and restore its shattered fifth pair +of nerves by a few hydrophilus latipalpus beetles for lunch, and a +sleep. + +It wearily dragged itself down to the edge of the pool, and looked +backwards to the Kangaroo and Dot, who called out "Good-bye" to it. Its +eyes were dim with tears, for it was still thinking of the Iguanodon and +Ichthyosaurus, and of the good old days before the Flood. + +"It breaks my heart to think that they are all fossils," it exclaimed, +mournfully shaking its head. "Fossils!" it repeated, as it plunged into +the pool and swam away. "Fossils!" it cried once more, in far, faint +accents; and a second later it dived out of sight. + +For several moments after the Platypus had disappeared from view, the +Kangaroo and Dot remained just as it had left them. Then Dot broke the +silence. + +"Dear Kangaroo," said she, "what was that song about?" + +"I don't know," said the animal wistfully, "no one ever knows what the +Platypus sings about." + +"It was very sad," said Dot. + +"Dreadfully sad!" sighed the Kangaroo; "but the Platypus is a most +learned and interesting creature," she added hastily. "Its conversation +and songs are most edifying; everyone in the bush admits it." + +"Does anyone understand its conversation?" asked Dot. She was afraid she +must be very stupid, for she hadn't understood anything except that +Willy Wagtail could help them to find her way. + +"That is the beauty of it all," said the Kangaroo. "The Platypus is so +learned and so instructive, that no one tries to understand it; it is +not expected that anyone should." + +[Illustration: DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS] + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +"Now we must find Willy Wagtail," said the Kangaroo. "The chances are +Click-i-ti-clack, his big cousin who lives in the bush, will be able to +tell us where to find him; for he doesn't care for the bush, and lives +almost entirely with Humans, and the queer creatures they have brought +into the country now-a-days. We may have to go a long way, so hop into +my pouch, and we will get on our way." + +Once more Dot was in the kind Kangaroo's pouch. It was in the latter end +of autumn, and the air was so keen, that, as her torn little frock was +now very little protection to her against the cold, she was glad to be +back in that nice fur bag. She was used now to the springy bounding of +the great Kangaroo, and felt quite safe; so that she quite enjoyed the +wonderful and seemingly dangerous things the animal did in its great +leaps and jumps. + +With many rests and stops to eat berries or grass on their way, they +searched the bush for the rest of the day without finding the big bush +Wagtail. All kinds of creatures had seen him, or heard his strange +rattling, chattering song; but it always seemed that he had just flown +off a few minutes before they heard of him. It was most vexatious, and +Dot saw that another night must pass before they would be able to hear +of her home. She did not like to think of that, for she could picture to +herself all those great men, on their big rough horses, coming back to +her father's cottage that night, and how they would begin to be quiet +and sad. + +She thought it would not be half so bad to be lost, if the people at +home could only know that one was safe and snug in a kind Kangaroo's +pouch; but she knew that her parents could never suppose that she was +so well cared for, and would only think that she was dying alone in +the terrible bush--dying for want of food and water, and from fear and +exposure. How strange it seemed that people should die like that in the +bush, where so many creatures lived well, and happily! But then they had +not bush friends to tell them what berries and roots to eat, and where +to get water, and to cuddle them up in a nice warm fur during the cold +night. As she thought of this she rubbed her face against the Kangaroo's +soft coat, and patted her with her little hands; and the affectionate +animal was so pleased at these caresses, that she jumped clean over a +watercourse, twenty feet at least, in one bound. + +It was getting evening time, and the sun was setting with a beautiful +rosy colour, as they came upon a lovely scene. They had followed the +watercourse until it widened out into a great shallow creek beside a +grassy plain. As they emerged from the last scattered bushes and trees +of the forest, and hopped out into the open side of a range of hills, +miles and miles of grass country, with dim distant hills, stretched +before them. The great shining surface of the creek caught the rosy +evening light, and every pink cloudlet in the sky looked doubly +beautiful reflected in the water. Here and there out of the water arose +giant skeleton trees, with huge silver trunks and contorted dead +branches. On these twisted limbs were numbers of birds: Shag, blue and +white Cranes, and black and white Ibis with their bent bills. Slowly +paddling on the creek, with graceful movements, were twenty or thirty +black Swans, and in and out of their ranks, as they passed in stately +procession, shot wild Ducks and Moor Hens, like a flotilla of little +boats amongst a fleet of big ships. All these birds were watching a +pretty sight that arrested Dot's attention at once. By the margin of the +creek, where tufted rushes and tall sedges shed their graceful +reflection on the pink waters, were a party of Native Companions +dancing. + +"In these times it is seldom we can see a sight like this," said the +Kangaroo. "The water is generally too unsafe for the birds to enjoy +themselves. It often means death to them to have a little pleasure." + +As the Kangaroo spoke, one of the Native Companions caught sight of her, +and leaving the dance, opened her wings, and still making dainty steps +with her long legs, half danced and half flew to where the Kangaroo was +sitting. + +"Good evening, Kangaroo," she said, gracefully bowing; "will you not +come a little nearer to see the dance?" Then the Native Companion saw +Dot in the Kangaroo's pouch, and made a little spring of surprise. "Dear +me!" she said, "what have you in your pouch?" + +"It's a Human," said the Kangaroo, apologetically; "it's quite a little +harmless one. Let me introduce you." + +So Dot alighted from the pouch, and joined in the conversation, and the +Native Companion was much interested in hearing her story. + +"Do you dance?" asked the Native Companion, with a quick turn of her +head, on its long, graceful neck. Dot said that she loved dancing. So +the Native Companion took her down to the creek, and all the other +Companions stopped dancing and gathered round her, whilst she was +introduced and her story told. Then they spread their wings, and with +stately steps escorted her to the edge of the water, whilst the Kangaroo +sat a little way off, and delightedly watched the proceedings. + +Dot didn't understand any of the figures of the dance; but the scenery +was so lovely, and so was the pink sunset, and the Native Companions +were so elegant and gay, that, catching up her ragged little skirts in +both hands, she followed their movements with her bare brown feet as +best she could, and enjoyed herself very much. To Dot, the eight birds +that took part in the entertainment were very tall and splendid, with +their lovely grey plumage and greeny heads, and she felt quite small as +they gathered round her sometimes, and enclosed her within their +outspread wings. And how beautiful their dancing was! How light their +dainty steps! as their feet scarcely touched the earth; and what +fantastic measures they danced! advancing, retreating, circling +round--with their beautiful wings keeping the rhythm of their feet. +There was one figure that Dot thought the prettiest of all--when they +danced in line at the margin of the water; stepping, and bowing, and +gracefully gyrating to their shadows, which were reflected with the pink +clouds of evening on the surface of the creek. + +Dot was very sorry, and hot, and breathless, when the dance came to an +end. The sun had been gone a long time, and all the pink shades had +slowly turned to grey; the creek had lost its radiant colour, and looked +like a silver mirror, and so desolate and sombre, that no one could have +imagined it to have been the scene of so much gaiety shortly before. + +Dot hastily returned to the Kangaroo, and all the Native Companions came +daintily, and made graceful adieus to them both. Afterwards, they spread +their great, soft wings, and, stretching their long legs behind them, +wheeled upwards to the darkening sky. Then all the birds in the bare +trees preened their feathers, and settled down for the night; and the +Kangaroo took her little Human charge back to the bush, where there was +a cosy sheltering rock, under which to pass the night, and they lay down +together, with the stars peeping at them through the branches of the +trees. + +They had slept for a long time, as it seemed to Dot, when they were +awakened by a little voice saying: + +"Wake up, Kangaroo! you are in danger. Get away, as soon as possible!" + +The moon was shining fitfully, as it broke through swift flying clouds. +In the uncertain light, Dot could see a little creature near them, and +knew at once that it was an Opossum. + +"What is the matter?" asked the Kangaroo, softly. "Blacks!" said the +Opossum. And as it spoke, Dot heard a sound as of a half dingo dog +howling and snapping in the distance. As that sound was heard, the +Opossum made one flying leap to the nearest tree, and scrambled out of +sight in a moment. + +"I wish he had told us a little more," said the Kangaroo. "Still, for +a 'possum, it was a good-natured act to wake me up. They are selfish, +spiteful little beasts, as a rule. Now I wonder where those Blacks are? +I shall have to go a little way to sniff and listen. I won't go far, so +don't be afraid, but stay quietly here until I come back." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +It was terrible to Dot to see the Kangaroo hop off into the dark bush, +and to find herself all alone; so she crawled out from under the ledge +of rock into the moonlight, and sat on a stone where she could see the +sky, and watch the black ragged clouds hurry over the moon. But the bush +was not altogether quiet. She could hear an owl hooting at the moon. Not +far off was a camp of quarrelsome Flying Foxes, and the melancholy +Nightjar in the distance was fulfilling its mission of making all the +bush creatures miserable with its incessant, mournful "mo-poke! +mo-poke!" As Dot could understand all the voices, it amused her to +listen to the wrangles of the Flying Foxes, as they ate the fruit of a +wild fig tree near by. She saw them swoop past on their huge black wings +with a solemn flapping. Then, as each little Fox approached the tree, +the Foxes who were there already screamed, and swore in dreadfully bad +language at the visitor. For every little Fox on the tree was afraid +some other Flying Fox would eat all the figs, and as each visitor +arrived he was assailed with cries of, "Get away! you're not wanted +here!" + +"This is my branch, my figs!" + +"Go and find figs for yourself!" + +"These figs are not half ripe like the juicy ones on the other side of +the tree!" + +Then the new-comer Flying Fox, with a spiteful squeal, would pounce down +on a branch already occupied, and angry spluttering and screams would +arise, followed by a heavy fall of fighting Foxes tumbling with a crash +through the trees. Then out into the open sky swept dozens of black +wings, accompanied by abusive swearing from dozens of wicked little +brown Foxes; and, as they settled again on the tree, all the fighting +would begin again, so that the squealing, screaming, and swearing never +ended. + +As Dot was listening to the fighting of the Flying Foxes, she heard a +sound near her that alarmed her greatly. It was impossible to say what +the noise was like. It might have been the braying of a donkey mixed up +with the clattering of palings tumbled together, and with grunts and +snorts. Dot started to her feet in fright, and would have run away, only +she was afraid of being lost worse than ever, so she stood still and +looked round for the terrible monster that could make such extraordinary +sounds. The grunts and clattering stopped, and the noise died away in a +long doleful bray, but she could not see where it came from. Having +peered into the dark shadows, Dot went more into the open, and sat with +her back to a fallen tree, keeping an anxious watch all round. + +"Perhaps it is the Blacks. What would they do with me if they found me? +What will happen if they have killed my dear Kangaroo?" and she covered +her face with her hands as this terrible thought came into her head. +Soon she heard something coming towards her stealthily and slowly. She +would not look up she was so frightened. She was sure it was some +fierce-looking Black man, with his spear, about to kill her. She shut +her eyes closer, and held her breath. "Perhaps," she thought, "he will +not see me." Then a cold shiver went through her little body, as she +felt something claw hold of her hair, and she thought she was about to +be killed. She kept her eyes shut, and the clawing went on, and then to +her astonishment she heard an animal voice say in wondering tones: + +"Why, it's fur! how funny it looked in the moonlight!" Then Dot opened +her eyes very wide and looked round, and saw a funny Native Bear on the +tree trunk behind her. He was quite clearly to be seen in the moonlight. +His thick, grey fur, that looked as if he was wrapped up to keep out the +most terrible cold weather; his short, stumpy, big legs, and little +sharp face with big bushy ears, could be seen as distinctly as in +daylight. Dot had never seen one so near before, and she loved it at +once, it looked so innocent and kind. + +"You dear little Native Bear!" she exclaimed, at once stroking its head. + +"Am I a Native Bear?" asked the animal in a meek voice. "I never heard +that before. I thought I was a Koala. I've always been told so, but of +course one never knows oneself. What are you? Do you know?" + +"I'm a little girl," replied Dot, proudly. + +The Koala saw that Dot was proud, but as it didn't see any reason why +she should be, it was not a bit afraid of her. + +"I never heard of one or saw one before," it said, simply. "Do you +burrow, or live in a tree?" + +"I live at home," said Dot; but, wishing to be quite correct, she added, +"that is, when I am there." + +"Then, where are you now?" asked the Koala, rather perplexed. + +"I'm not at home," replied Dot, not knowing how to make her position +clear to the little animal. + +"Then you live where you don't live?" said the Koala; "where is it?" and +the little Bear looked quite unhappy in its attempt to understand what +Dot meant. + +"I've lost it," said Dot. "I don't know where it is." + +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala, sadly. "I live in the gum +tree over there. Do you eat gum leaves?" + +"No. When I'm at home I have milk, and bread, and eggs, and meat." + +"Dear me!" said the Koala. "They're all new to one. Is it far? I should +like to see the trees they grow on. Please show me the way." + +"But I can't," said Dot; "they don't grow on trees, and I don't know my +way home. It's lost, you see." + +"I don't see," said the Native Bear. "I never can see far at night, and +not at all in daylight. That is why I came here. I saw your fur shining +in the moonlight, and I couldn't make out what it was, so I came to see. +If there is anything new to be seen, I must get a near view of it. I +don't feel happy if I don't know all about it. Aren't you cold?" + +"Yes, I am, a little, since my Kangaroo left me," Dot said. + +"Now you make my head feel empty again," said the Koala, plaintively. +"What has a Kangaroo got to do with your feeling cold? What have you +done with your fur?" + +"I never had any," said Dot, "only these curls," and she touched her +little head. + +"Then you ought to be black," argued the Koala. "You're not the right +colour. Only Blacks have no fur, but what they steal from the proper +owners. Do you steal fur?" it asked in an anxious voice. + +"How do they steal fur?" asked Dot. + +The Koala looked very miserable, and spoke with horror. "They kill us +with spears, and tear off our skins and wear them because their own +skins are no good." + +"That's not stealing," said Dot; "that's killing"; and, although it +seemed very difficult to make the little Bear understand, she explained, +"Stealing is taking away another person's things; and when a person is +dead he hasn't anything belonging to him, so it's not stealing to take +what belonged to him before, because it isn't his any longer--that is, +if it doesn't belong to anyone else." + +"You make my head feel empty," complained the Koala. "I'm sure you're +all wrong; for an animal's skin and fur is his own, and it's his life's +business to keep it whole. Everyone in the bush is trying to keep his +skin whole, all day long, and all night too. Good gracious! what is the +matter up there?" + +A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum +tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala. Presently the +sounds of snarling, spitting, and screaming ended, and an Opossum +climbed out to the far end of a branch, where the moonlight shone on his +grey fur like silver. There he remained snapping and barking +disagreeable things to his mate, who climbed up to the topmost branch, +and snarled and growled back equally unpleasant remarks. + +"Why don't you bring in gum leaves for to-morrow, instead of sleeping +all day and half the night too?" shouted the Opossum on the branch to +his wife. "You know I get hungry before daylight is over and hate going +out in the light." + +"Get them yourself, you lazy loon!" retorted the lady Opossum. "If you +disturb my dreams again this way, I'll make your fur fly." + +"Take care!" barked back her husband, "or I'll bring you off that branch +pretty quickly." + +"You'd better try!" sneered his wife. "Remember how I landed you into +the billabong the other night!" + +The taunt was too much for the Opossum on the branch; he scuttled up the +tree to reach his mate, who sprang forward from her perch into the air. +Dot saw her spring with her legs all spread out, so that the skinny +flaps were like furry wings. By this means she was able to break her +fall, and softly alighting on the earth, a moment after, she had +scrambled up another tree, followed by her mate. From tree to tree, from +branch to branch, they fled or pursued one another, with growls, +screams, and splutters, until they disappeared from sight. + +"How unhappy those poor Opossums must be, living in the same tree," said +Dot; "why don't they live in different trees?" + +"They wouldn't be happy," observed the Koala, "they are so fond of one +another." + +"Then why do they quarrel?" asked Dot. + +"Because they live in the same tree of course," said the Koala. "If they +lived in different trees, and never quarrelled, they wouldn't like it at +all. They'd find life dull, and they'd get sulky. There's nothing worse +than a sulky 'possum. They are champions at that." + +"They make a dreadful noise with their quarrelling," said Dot. "They are +nearly as bad as the Flying Foxes over there. I wonder if they made that +fearful sound I heard just before you came?" + +[Illustration: DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM] + +"I expect what you heard was from me," said the Koala; "I had just +awakened, and when I saw the moon was up I felt pleased." + +"Was all that sound and many noises yours?" asked Dot with astonishment, +as she regarded the shaggy little animal on the tree trunk. + +The Koala smiled modestly. "Yes!" it said; "when I'm pleased there is no +creature in the bush can make such a noise, or so many different noises +at once. I waken everyone for a quarter of a mile round. You wouldn't +think it, to see me as I am, would you?" The Koala was evidently very +pleased with this accomplishment. + +"It isn't kind of you to wake up all the sleeping creatures," said Dot. + +"Why not?" asked the Koala. "You are a night creature, I suppose, or you +wouldn't be awake now. Well, don't you think it unfair the way +everything is arranged for the day creatures?" + +"But then," said Dot, "there are so many more day creatures." + +"That doesn't make any difference," observed the Koala. + +"But it does," said Dot. + +"How?" asked the Native Bear. + +"Because if you had the day it wouldn't be any good to you, and if they +had the night it wouldn't be any good to them. So your night couldn't be +their day, and their day couldn't be your night." + +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala. "But you'd think +differently if a flock of Kookooburras settled on your tree, and +guffawed idiotically when you wanted to sleep." + +"As you don't like being waked yourself, why do you wake others then?" +asked Dot. + +"Because this is a free country," said the Koala. While Dot was trying +to understand why the Koala's reason should suffice for one animal +making another's life uncomfortable, she was rejoiced to see the +Kangaroo bound into sight. She forgot all about the Koala, and rushed +forward to meet it. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +"I'm so glad you've come back!" she exclaimed. + +The Kangaroo was a little breathless and excited. "We are not in danger +at present," she said, "but one never knows when one will be, so we must +move; and that will be more dangerous than staying where we are." + +"Then let us stay," said Dot. + +"That won't do," replied the Kangaroo. "This is the conclusion I have +jumped to. If we stay here, the Blacks might come this way and their +dingo dogs hunt us to death. To get to a safe place we must pass their +camp. That is a little risky, but we must go that way. We can do this +easily if the dogs don't get scent of us, as all the Blacks are prancing +about and making a noise, having a kind of game in fact, and they are so +amused that we ought to get past quite safely. I've done it many times +before at night." + +Dot looked round to say good-bye to the Koala, but the little animal had +heard the Kangaroo speak of Blacks, and that word suggested to its empty +little head that it must keep its skin whole, so, without waiting to be +polite to Dot, it had sneaked up its gum tree and was well out of sight. + +Without wasting time, Dot settled in the Kangaroo's pouch, and they +started upon their perilous way. + +For some distance the Kangaroo hopped along boldly, with an occasional +warning to Dot to shut her eyes as they plunged through the bushes; but +after crossing a watercourse, and climbing a stiff hill, she whispered +that they must both keep quite silent, and told Dot to listen as she +stopped for a moment. + +Dot could hear to their right a murmuring of voices, and a steady +beating sound. "Their camp is over there," said the Kangaroo, "that is +the sound of their game." + +"Can't we go some other way?" asked Dot. "No," answered the Kangaroo, +"because past that place we can reach some very wild country where it +would be hard for them to pursue us. We shall have to pass quite close +to their playground." So in perfect silence they went on. + +[Illustration: THE CORROBOREE] + +The Kangaroo seemed to Dot to approach the whereabouts of the +Blackfellows as cautiously as when they had visited the water-hole the +first night. Dot's little heart beat fast as the sound of the Blacks' +corroboree became clearer and clearer, and they neared the scene of the +dance. Soon she could hear the stamping of feet, the beating of weapons +together, and the wild chanting; and sometimes there were the whimpering +of dogs, and the cry of children at the camp a little distance from the +corroboree ground. + +The Kangaroo showed no signs of fear at the increasing noise of the +Blacks, but every sound of a dog caused it to stop and twist about its +big ears and sensitive nose, as it sniffed and listened. + +Soon Dot could see a great red glare of firelight through the trees +ahead of their track, and she knew that in that place the tribe of Black +men were having a festive dance. + +If they had gone on their way it is possible that they would have +slipped past the Blacks without danger. But although the Kangaroo is as +timid an animal as any in the bush, it is also very curious, and Dot's +Kangaroo wished to peep at the corroboree. She whispered to Dot that it +would be nice for a little Human to see some other Humans after being so +long amongst bush creatures, and said, also, that there would be no +great danger in hopping to a rock that would command a view of the open +ground where the corroboree was being held. Of course Dot thought this +would be great fun, so the Kangaroo took her to the rock, where they +peeped through the trees and saw before them the weird scene and dance. + +Dot nearly screamed with fright at the sight. She had thought she would +see a few Black folk, not a crowd of such terrible people as she beheld. +They did not look like human beings at all, but like dreadful demons, +they were so wicked and ugly in appearance. The men who were dancing +were without clothes, but their black bodies were painted with red and +white stripes, and bits of down and feathers were stuck on their skin. +Some had only white stripes over the places where their bones were, +which made them look like skeletons flitting before the fire, or in and +out of the surrounding darkness. The dancing men were divided from the +rest of the tribe by a row of fires, which, burning brightly, lit the +horrid scene with a lurid red light. The firelight seemed to make the +ferocious faces of the tribe still more hideous. The tribe people were +squatting in rows on the ground, beating boomerangs and spears together, +or striking bags of skin with sticks, to make an accompaniment to the +wailing song they sang. Sometimes the women would cease beating the skin +bags to clap their hands and strike their sides, yelling the words of +the corroboree song, as the painted figures, like fiends and skeletons, +danced before the row of fires. + +It was a terrifying sight to Dot. "Oh, Kangaroo!" she whispered, "they +are dreadful, horrid creatures." + +"They're just Humans," replied the Kangaroo, indulgently. + +"But white Humans are not like that," said Dot. + +"All Humans are the same underneath, they all kill kangaroos," said the +Kangaroo. "Look there! they are playing at killing us in their dance." + +Dot looked once more at the hideous figures as they left the fire and +began acting like actors. One of the Blackfellows had come from a little +bower of trees, and wore a few skins so arranged as to make him look as +much like a kangaroo as possible, whilst he worked a stick which he +pretended was a kangaroo's tail, and hopped about. The other painted +savages were creeping in and out of the bushes with their spears and +boomerangs as if they were hunting, and the dressed-up kangaroo made +believe not to see them, but stooped down, nibbling grass. + +"What an idea of a kangaroo!" sniffed Dot's friend, "why, a real +kangaroo would have smelt or heard those Humans, and have bounded away +far out of sight by now." + +"But it's all sham," said Dot; "the Black man couldn't be a real +kangaroo." + +"Then it just shows how stupid Humans are to try and be one," said her +friend. "Humans think themselves so clever," she continued, "but just +see what bad kangaroos they make--such a simple thing to do, too! But +their legs bend the wrong way for jumping, and that stick isn't any good +for a tail, and it has to be worked with those big, clumsy arms. Just +see, too, how those skins fit! Why it's enough to make a kangaroo's +sides split with laughter to see such foolery!" Dot's friend peeped at +the Black's acting with the contempt to be expected of a real kangaroo, +who saw human beings pretending to be one of those noble animals. Dot +thought the Kangaroo had never looked so grand before. She was so tall, +so big, and yet so graceful: a really beautiful creature. + +"Well, that's over!" remarked the Kangaroo, as one of the Blacks +pretended to spear the dressed-up Blackfellow, and all the rest began to +dance around, whilst the sham kangaroo made believe to be dead. "Well, I +forgive their killing such a silly creature! There wasn't a jump in it." + +After more dancing to the singing and noise of the on-lookers, a +Blackfellow came from the little bower in the dim background, with a +battered straw hat on, and a few rags tied round his neck and wrist, in +imitation of a collar and cuffs. The fellow tried to act the part of a +white man, although he had no more clothes on than the old hat and rags. +But, after a great deal of dancing, he strutted about, pulled up the rag +collar, made a great fuss with his rag cuffs, and kept taking off his +old straw hat to the other Blackfellows, and to the rest of the tribe, +who kept up the noise on the other side of the fires. + +"Now this is better!" said the Kangaroo, with a smile. "It's very silly, +but Willy Wagtail says that is just the way Humans go on in the town. +Black Humans can act being white Humans, but they are of no good as +kangaroos." + +Dot thought that if men behaved like that in towns it must be very +strange. She had not seen any like the acting Blackfellow at her cottage +home. But she did not say anything, for it was quite clear in her little +mind that Blackfellows, kangaroos, and willy wagtails had a very poor +opinion of white people. She felt that they must all be wrong; but, all +the same, she sometimes wished she could be a noble kangaroo, and not a +despised human being. + +"I wish I were not a little white girl," she whispered to the Kangaroo. + +The gentle animal patted her kindly with her delicate black hands. + +"You are as nice now as my baby kangaroo," she said sadly, "but you will +have to grow into a real white Human. For some reason there have to be +all sorts of creatures on the earth. There are hawks, snakes, dingoes +and humans, and no one can tell for what good they exist. They must have +dropped on to this world by mistake for another, where there could only +have been themselves. After all," said the kind animal, "it wouldn't do +for every one to be a kangaroo, for I doubt if there would be enough +grass; but you may become an improved Human." + +"How could I be that?" asked Dot, eagerly. + +"Never wear kangaroo leather boots--never use kangaroo skin rugs, +and,"--here it hesitated a little, as though the subject were a most +unpleasant one to mention. + +"Never do what?" enquired Dot, anxious to know all that she should do, +so as to be improved. + +"Never, never eat kangaroo-tail soup!" said the Kangaroo, solemnly. + +"I never will," said Dot, earnestly, "I will be an improved Human." + +This conversation had been so serious to both Dot and the Kangaroo, that +they had quite forgotten the perilousness of their position. Perhaps +this was because the kangaroo cannot think, but it quickly jumped to the +conclusion that they were in danger. + +Whilst they had been peeping at the corroboree, and talking, the dingo +dogs that had been prowling around the camp, had caught scent of the +Kangaroo; and, following the trail, had set up an angry snapping and +howling. + +The instant this sound was heard by the Kangaroo, she made an immense +bound, and as she seemed to fly through the bush, Dot could hear the +sounds of the corroboree give place to a noise of shouting and disorder: +the dingo dogs and the Blacks were all in pursuit, and Dot's Kangaroo, +with little Dot in her pouch, was leaping and bounding at a terrific +pace to save both their lives! + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +It was fortunate that the Kangaroo could not think of all that might +befall them, or she never could have had the courage for the wonderful +feats of jumping she performed. Poor little Dot, whose busy brain +pictured all kinds of terrible fates, was so overcome with fear that she +seemed hardly to know what had happened; and the more she thought, the +more terrified she became. + +The Kangaroo did not attempt to continue the upward ascent, but followed +a slope of the rugged hill, leaping from rock to rock. This was better +than trying to escape where the trees and shrubs would have prevented +her making those astonishing bounds. But the clouds had left the moon +clear for a while, so that the Blackfellows and the dogs easily followed +every movement, as they pursued the hunt on a smoother level below. The +Blacks were trying to hurry on, so as to cut off the Kangaroo's retreat +at a spur of the hill, where, to get away, she would have to leave the +rocks and descend towards them. In the meantime Dot's ears were filled +with the sounds of snarling snaps from the dingo dogs, and hideous +noises from the Blacks, encouraging the animals to attack the Kangaroo. +But what pained her most were the gasps and little moans of her good +friend, as she put such tremendous power into every leap she made for +their lives; crashing through twigs, and scattering stones and pebbles, +in the wild speed of their flight. + +Then Dot's busy little brain told her another thing, which made her more +miserable. It was becoming quite clear that the poor Kangaroo was +getting rapidly exhausted, owing to her having to bear Dot's weight. Her +panting became more and more distressing, and so did her sad moans; and +flecks of foam from her straining lips fell on Dot's face and hands. Dot +knew that her Kangaroo was trying to save her at the risk of her own +life. Without the little girl in her pouch, she might get away safely; +but, with her to carry, they would both probably fall victims to the +fierce Blacks and their dogs. + +"Kangaroo! Kangaroo!" she cried, "put me down; drop Dot anywhere, +anywhere, but don't get killed yourself!" + +But all Dot heard was a little hissing sound from the brave animal, +which sounded like, "Never again!" + +"You will be killed," moaned Dot. + +"Together!" said the little hissing voice, as another great bound +brought them to the spur of the hill; and then the Kangaroo had to +pause. + +In that moment Dot seemed to hear and see everything. They were perched +on a rock, and the moonlight lit all their surroundings like day. To the +right was a deep black chasm, with a white foaming waterfall pouring +into the darkness below. In front was the same wide chasm, only less +wide, and beyond it, on the other side of the great yawning cleft in the +earth, was a wild spread of morass country--a gloomy, terrible-looking +place. To the left was a steep slope of small rocks and stones, leading +downwards to the hollow of sedgy land that fringed the cliffs of the +chasm. The only retreat possible was to pass down this declivity, and +try to escape by the sedgy land, and this is what the Black huntsmen had +expected. It was a very weird and desolate place; and everything looked +dark and dismal, under the moonlight, as it streamed between stormy +black clouds. In that light Dot could see the Blacks hurrying forward. +Already one of the dogs had far outrun the others, and with wolfish gait +and savage sounds, was pressing towards their place of observation. + +The panting, trembling Kangaroo saw the approaching dog, also, and +leaped down from the crag. As she dropped to earth, she stooped, and +quickly lifted Dot out of her pouch, and, almost before Dot could +realize the movement, she found herself standing alone, whilst the +Kangaroo hopped forward to the front of a big boulder, as if to meet the +dog. Here the poor hunted creature took her stand, with her back close +to the rock. Gentle and timid as she was, and unfitted by nature to +fight for her life against fierce odds, it was brave indeed of the poor +Kangaroo to face her enemies, prepared to do battle for the lives of +little Dot and herself. + +So noble did Dot's Kangaroo look in that desperate moment, standing +erect, waiting for her foe, and conquering her naturally frightened +nature by a grand effort of courage, that it seemed impossible that +either dogs or men should be so cruel as to take her life. For a moment +the dingo hound seemed daunted by her bravery, and paused a little way +off, panting, with its great tongue lolling out of its mouth. Dot could +see its sharp wicked teeth gleaming in the moonlight. For a few seconds +it hesitated to make the attack, and looked back down the slope, to see +if the other dogs were coming to help; but they were only just beginning +the ascent, and the shouting Blackfellows were further off still. Then +the dog could no longer control its savage nature. It longed to leap at +the poor Kangaroo's throat--that pretty furry throat that Dot's arms had +so often encircled lovingly, and it was impatient to fix its terrible +teeth there, and hold, and hold, in a wild struggle, until the poor +Kangaroo should gradually weaken from fear and exhaustion, and be choked +to death. These thoughts filled the dog with a wicked joy. It wouldn't +wait any longer for the other dingo hounds. It wanted to murder the +Kangaroo all by itself; so, with a toss of its head, and a terrible +snarl, it sprang forward ferociously, with open jaws, aiming at the +victim's throat. + +Dot clasped her cold hands together. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and +her little voice, choking with sobs, could only wail, "Oh! dear +Kangaroo! my dear Kangaroo! Don't kill my dear Kangaroo!" and she ran +forward to throw herself upon the dog and try to save her friend. + +But before the terrified little girl could reach the big rock, the dog +had made its spring upon her friend. The brave Kangaroo, instead of +trying to avoid her fierce enemy, opened her little arms, and stood +erect and tall to receive the attack. The dog in its eagerness, and +owing to the nature of the ground, misjudged the distance it had to +spring. It failed to reach the throat it had aimed at, and in a moment +the Kangaroo had seized the hound in a tight embrace. There was a +momentary struggle, the dog snapping and trying to free itself, and the +Kangaroo holding it firmly. Then she used the only weapon she had to +defend herself from dogs and men,--the long sharp claw in her foot. +Whilst she held the dog in her arms, she raised her powerful leg, and +with that long, strong claw, tore open the dog's body. The dog yelped in +pain as the Kangaroo threw it to the ground, where it lay rolling in +agony and dying; for the Kangaroo had given it a terrible wound. The +other dogs were still some distance below, and the cries of their +companion caused them to pause in fear and wonder, while the Black men +could be seen advancing in the dim light, flourishing their spears and +boomerangs. + +It was quite impossible to retreat that way; and where Dot and her +Kangaroo were, they were hemmed in by a rocky cliff and the deep black +chasm. The Kangaroo saw at a glance where lay their only chance of life. +She picked up Dot, placed her in her pouch, and without a word leaped +forward towards that fearful gulf of darkness and foaming waters. As +they neared the spot, Dot saw that the hunted animal was going to try +and leap across to the other side. It seemed impossible that with one +bound she could span that terrible place and reach the sedged morass +beyond; and still more impossible that it should be done by the poor +animal with heavy Dot in her pouch. Again Dot cried, "Oh! darling +Kangaroo, leave me here, and save yourself. You can never, never do it +carrying me!" + +All she heard was something like "try," or "we'll die." She could not +make out what the Kangaroo said, for the crashing of the waterfall, the +whistling of the wind, and the scattering of stones as they dashed +forward, made such a storm of noises in her ears. She could see when +they reached the grassy fringe of the precipice, where the Kangaroo was +able to quicken her pace, and literally seemed to fly to their fate. +Then came the last bound before the great spring. Dot held her breath, +and a feeling of sickness came over her. Her head seemed giddy, and she +could not see, but she clasped her hands together and said, "God help my +Kangaroo!" and then she felt the fearful leap and rush through the air. + +Yes! they had just reached the other side. No! they had not quite: what +was the matter? What a struggle! stones falling, twigs and grasses +wrenching, the courageous Kangaroo fighting for a foothold on the very +brink of the precipice. What a terrible moment! Every second Dot felt +sure they would fall backward and drop deep into the gully below, to be +dashed to pieces on the rocks and the tree tops. But God did help Dot's +Kangaroo; the little reeds and rushes held tightly in the earth, and the +poor struggling animal, exerting all her remaining strength, gained the +reedy slope safely. She staggered forward a few reeling hops, and then +fell to the earth like a dead creature. In an instant Dot was out of the +pouch and had her arm round the poor animal's neck, crying, as she saw +blood and foam oozing from her mouth, and a strange dim look in her sad +eyes. "Don't die, dear Kangaroo! Oh, please don't die!" cried Dot, +wringing her hands, and burying her face in the fur of the poor gasping +creature. + +"Dot," panted the Kangaroo, "make a noise,--Cry loud!--not safe yet!" + +The little girl didn't understand why the Kangaroo wanted her to make a +noise, and she had, in her fear and sorrow, quite forgotten their +pursuers. But now she turned, and could hear the Blacks urging on their +dogs as they were making an attempt to skirt round the precipice, and +gain the other side of the chasm. So Dot did as she was told, and +screamed and cried like the most naughty of children; and the gasping +Kangaroo told her to go on doing so. + +[Illustration: A LEAP FOR LIFE] + +Then what seemed to Dot a very terrifying thing happened; for she soon +heard other cries mingle with hers. From the desolate morass, and from +the gully in darkness below, came the sound of a bellowing. She stopped +crying and listened, and could hear those awesome voices all around, and +the echoes made them still more hobgoblinish. The Kangaroo's eyes +brightened, as she restrained her panting, and listened also. "Go on," +she said, "we're safe now," so Dot made more crying, and her noises and +the others would have frightened anyone who had heard them in that +lonely place, with the wind storming in the trees, and the black clouds +flying over the moon. It frightened the Blackfellows directly. + +They stopped in their headlong speed, shouting together in their shrill +voices, "The Bunyip! the Bunyip!" and they tumbled over one another in +their hurry to get away from a place haunted, as they thought, by that +wicked demon which they fear so much. At full speed they fled back to +their camp, with the sound of Dot's cries, and the mysterious bellowing +noise, following them on the breeze; and they never stopped running +until they regained the light of their camp fires. There they told the +"Gins," in awe-struck voices, how it had been no Kangaroo they had +hunted, but the "Bunyip," who had pretended to be one. And the Black +gins' eyes grew wider and wider, and they made strange noises and +exclamations, as they listened to the story of how the "Bunyip" had led +the huntsmen to that dreadful place. How it had torn one of the dogs to +pieces, and had leaped over the precipice into Dead Man's Gully, where +it had cried like a picaninny, and bellowed like a bull. No one slept in +the camp that night, and early next morning the whole tribe went away, +being afraid to remain so near the haunt of the dreaded "Bunyip." + +Dot saw the flight of the Blacks in the dim distance, and told the good +news to the Kangaroo, who, however, was too exhausted to rejoice at +their escape. She still lay where she had fallen, gasping, and with her +tongue hanging down from her mouth like that of a dog. + +In vain Dot caressed her, and called her by endearing names; she lay +quite still, as if unable to hear or feel. Dot's little heart swelled +within her, and taking the poor animal's drooping head on her lap, she +sat quite still and tearless; waiting in that solitude for her one +friend to die--leaving her lonely and helpless. + +Presently she was startled by hearing a brisk voice, "Then it was a +human picaninny, after all! Well, my dear, what are you doing here?" Dot +turned her head without moving, and saw a little way behind her a brown +bird on long legs, standing with its feet close together, with the +self-satisfied air of a dancing master about to begin a lesson. + +Dot did not care for any other creature in the Bush just then but her +Kangaroo, and the perky air of the bird annoyed her in her sorrow. +Without answering, she bent her head closer down to that of her poor +friend, to see if her eyes were still shut, and wondered if they would +ever open and look bright and gentle again. + +The little brown bird strutted with an important air to where it had a +better view of Dot and her companion, and eyed them both in the same +perky manner. "Friend Kangaroo's in a bad way," it said; "why don't you +do something, sensible, instead of messing about with its head?" + +"What can I do?" whimpered Dot. + +"Give it water, and damp its skin, of course," said the little Bird, +contemptuously. "What fools Humans are," it exclaimed to itself. "And I +suppose you will tell me there is no water here, when all the time you +are sitting on a spring." + +"But I'm sitting on grass," said Dot, now fully attentive to the bird's +remarks. + +"Well, booby," sneered the bird, "and under the grass is wet moss, +which, if you make a hole in it, will fill with water. Why, I'd do it +myself, in a moment, only your claws are better suited for the purpose +than mine. Set about it at once!" it said sharply. + +In an instant Dot did what the bird directed, and thrust her little +hands into the soft grass roots and moss, out of which water pressed, +as if from a sponge. She had soon made a little hole, and the most +beautiful clear water welled up into it at once. Then, in the hollows of +her little hands, she collected it, and dashed it over the Kangaroo's +parched tongue, and, further instructed by the kindly though rude little +bird, she had soon well wetted the suffering animal's fur. Gradually the +breathing of the Kangaroo became less of an effort, her tongue moistened +and returned to the mouth, and at last Dot saw with joy the brown eyes +open, and she knew that her good friend was not going to die, but would +get well again. + +Whilst all this took place, the little brown bird stood on one leg, with +its head cocked on one side, watching the exhausted Kangaroo's recovery +with a comic expression of curiosity and conceit. When it spoke to Dot, +it did so without any attempt at being polite, and Dot thought it the +strangest possible creature, because it was really very kind in helping +her to save the Kangaroo's life, and yet it seemed to delight in +spoiling its kindheartedness by its rudeness. Afterwards the Kangaroo +told her that the little Bittern is a really tender-hearted fellow, but +he has an idea that kindness in rather small creatures provokes the +contempt of the big ones. As he always wants to be thought a bigger bird +than he is, he pretends to be hard-hearted by being rough; consequently, +nearly all the Bush creatures simply regard him as a rude little bird, +because bad manners are no proof of being grown-up; rather the contrary. + +"How do you feel now?" asked the Bittern, as the Kangaroo presently +struggled up and squatted rather feebly on her haunches, looking about +in a somewhat dazed way. + +"I'm better now," said the Kangaroo, "but, dear me! how everything seems +to dance up and down!" She shut her eyes, for she felt giddy. + +"That was rather a good jump of yours," said the Bittern, patronizingly, +as if jumps for life like that of Dot's Kangaroo were made every day, +and he was a judge of them! + +"Ah! I remember!" said the Kangaroo, opening her eyes again and looking +round. "Where is Dot?" + +"Umph! that silly!" exclaimed the Bittern, as Dot came forward, and she +and the Kangaroo rejoiced over each other's safety. "Much good she'd +have been to you with the Blacks, and their dogs after you, if we +Bitterns hadn't played that old trick of ours of scaring them with our +big voices. He! he! he!" it chuckled, "how they did run when we tuned +up! They thought the Bunyip had got them this time. Didn't we laugh!" + +"It was very good of you," said the Kangaroo gratefully, "and it is not +the first time you have saved Kangaroos by your cleverness. I didn't +know you Bitterns were near, so I told Dot to make a noise in the hope +of frightening them." + +The Bittern was really touched by the Kangaroo's gratitude, and was +delighted at being called clever, so it became still more ungracious. +"You needn't trouble me with thanks," it said indifferently, "we didn't +do it to save you, but for our own fun. As for that little stupid," it +continued, with a nod of the head towards Dot, "her squeals were no more +good than the squeak of a tree frog in a Bittern's beak." + +"But you were very kind," said Dot, "and showed me how to get water to +save Kangaroo's life." + +The Bittern was greatly pleased at this praise, and in consequence it +got still ruder, and making a face at Dot, exclaimed, "yah!" and stalked +off. But when it had gone a few steps it turned round and said to the +Kangaroo, roughly, "If you hop that way, keeping to the side of the +sedges, and go half a dozen small hops beyond that white gum tree, +you'll find a little cave. It's dry and warm, and good enough for +Kangaroos." And without waiting for thanks for this last kind act, it +spread its wings and flew away. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +The Kangaroo, hopping very weakly, and little Dot trudging over the oozy +ground, followed the Bittern's directions and found the cave, which +proved a very snug retreat. Here they lay down together, full of +happiness at their escape, and being worn out with fatigue and +excitement, they were soon fast asleep. + +The next day, before the sun rose, the Bittern visited the cave. "Hullo, +you precious lazy pair! I've been over there," and it tossed its beak in +the direction of the Black's camp. "They're off northward. Too +frightened to stay. I thought you might like the news brought you, since +you're too lazy to get it for yourselves!" and off it went again without +saying good-bye. + +"Now isn't he a kind little fellow?" said the Kangaroo. "That's his way +of telling us that we are safe." + +"Thanks, Bittern! thanks!" they both cried, but the creamy brown bird +paid no attention to their gratitude: it seemed absorbed in looking for +frogs on its way. + +All that day the Kangaroo and Dot stayed near the cave, so that the poor +animal might get quite well again. The Kangaroo said she did not know +that part of the country, and so she had better get her legs again +before they faced fresh dangers. Neither of them was so bright and merry +as before. The weather was showery, and Dot kept thinking that perhaps +she would never get home, now she had been so long away, and she kept +remembering the time when the little boy was lost and everyone's +sadness. + +The Kangaroo too seemed melancholy. "What makes you sad?" asked Dot. + +"I am thinking of the last time before this that I was hunted. It was +then I lost my baby Kangaroo," she replied. + +"Oh! you poor dear thing!" exclaimed Dot, "and have you been hunted +before last night?" + +"Yes," said the Kangaroo with a little weary sigh. "It was just a few +days before I found you. White Humans did it that time." + +"Tell me all about it," said Dot, "how did you escape?" + +[Illustration: THE BITTERN HELPS DOT] + +"I escaped then," said the Kangaroo, settling herself on her haunches to +tell the tale, "in a way I could have done last night. But I will die +sooner than do it again." + +"Tell me," repeated Dot. + +"There is not much to tell," said the Kangaroo. "My little Joey was +getting quite big, and we were very happy. It was a lovely Joey. It was +so strong, and could jump so well for its size. It had the blackest of +little noses and hands and tail you ever saw, and big soft ears which +heard more quickly than mine. All day long I taught it jumping, and we +played and were merry from sunrise to sunset. Until that day I had never +been sad, and I thought all the creatures must be wrong to say that in +this beautiful world there could be such cruel beings as they said White +Humans were. That day taught me I was wrong, and I know now that the +world is a sad place because Humans make it so; although it was made to +be a happy place. We were playing on the side of a plain that day, and +our game was hide-and-seek in the long grass. We were having great fun, +when suddenly little Joey said, 'Strange creatures are coming, big +ones.' + +"I hopped up the stony rise that fringed the plain, and thought as I did +so I could hear a new sound on the breeze. Joey hid in the grass, but +I went boldly into the open on the hillside to see where the danger was. +I saw, far off, Humans on their big animals that go so quickly, and +directly I hopped into the open, they raised a great noise like the +Blacks did last night, and I could see by the movement in the grass that +they had those dreadful dogs they teach to kill us: they are far worse +than dingoes. Joey heard the shouting and bounded into my pouch, and I +went off as fast as I could. It was a worse hunt than last night, for it +was longer, and there was no darkness to help me. I gradually got ahead +in the chase, and I knew if I were alone I could distance them all; for +we had seen them a long way off. But little Joey was heavy, though not +so heavy as you are, and in the long distance I began to feel weak, as +I did last night. + +"I knew if I tried to go on as we were, that those cruel Humans, sitting +quietly on those big beasts (which have four legs and never get tired) +would overtake us, and their dogs (which carry no weight and go so fast) +would tear me down before their masters even arrived, for I was going +gradually slower. So I asked Joey if I dropped him into a soft bush +whether he would hide until I came back for him. It was our only chance. +I had an idea that if I did that he would be safe--even if I got killed; +as they would be more likely to follow me, and never think I had parted +from my little Joey. So we did this, and I crossed a creek, which put +the hounds off the scent, and I got away. In the dusk I came back again +to find Joey, but he had gone, and I could not find a trace of him. All +night and all day I searched, but I've never seen my Joey since," said +the Kangaroo sadly, and Dot saw the tears dim her eyes. + +Dot could not speak all she felt. She was so sorry for the Kangaroo, and +so ashamed of being a Human. She realized too, how good and forgiving +this dear animal was; how she had cared for her, and nearly died to save +her life, in spite of the wrongs done to her by human beings. + +"When I grow up," she said, "I will never let anyone hurt a bush +creature. They shall all be happy where I am." + +"But there are so many Humans. They're getting to be as many as +Kangaroos," said the animal reflectively, and shook her head. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +The fourth day of Dot's wanderings in the Bush dawned brightly. The sun +arose in a sky all gorgeous in gold and crimson, and flashed upon a +world glittering with dewy freshness. Sweet odours from the aromatic +bush filled the air, and every living creature made what noise it could, +to show its joy in being happy and free in the beautiful Bush. Rich and +gurgling came the note of the magpies, the jovial Kookooburras saluted +the sun with rollicking laughter, the crickets chirruped, frogs croaked +in chorus, or solemnly "popped" in deep vibrating tones, like the ring +of a woodman's axe. Every now and then came the shriek of the plover, or +the shrill cry of the peeweet; and gayer and more lively than all the +others was the merry clattering of the big bush wagtail in the distance. + +As soon as the Kangaroo heard the Bush Wagtail, she and Dot hurried away +to find him. No Christy Minstrel rattling his bones ever made a merrier +sound. "Click-i-ti-clack, click-i-ti-clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, +click-i-ti-clack," he rattled away as fast as he could, just as if he +hadn't a moment to waste for taking breath, and as if the whole lovely +world was made for the enjoyment of Bush Wagtails. + +When Dot and the Kangaroo found him, he was swaying about on a branch, +spreading his big tail like a fan, and clattering gaily; but he stopped +in surprise as soon as he saw his visitors. + +After greetings, he opened the conversation by talking of the weather, +so as to conceal his astonishment at seeing Dot and the Kangaroo +together. + +"Lovely weather after the rain," he said; "the showers were needed very +much, for insects were getting scarce, and I believe grass was getting +rank, and not very plentiful. There will be a green shoot in a few days, +which will be very welcome to Kangaroos. I heard about you losing your +Joey--my cousin told me. I was very sorry; so sad. Ah! well, such things +will happen in the Bush to anyone. We were most fortunate in our brood; +none of the chicks fell out of the nest, every one of them escaped the +Butcher Birds and were strong of wing. They are all doing well in the +world." + +Then the vivacious bird came a little nearer to the Kangaroo, and, +dropping his voice, said: + +"But, friend Kangaroo, I'm sorry to see you've taken up with Humans. +You know I have quite set my face against them, although my cousin +is intimate with the whole race. Take my word for it, they're most +uncertain friends. Two Kookooburras were shot last week, in spite of +Government protection. Fact!" And as the bird spoke he nodded his head +warningly towards the place where Dot was standing. + +"This little Human has been lost in our Bush," said the Kangaroo; "one +had to take care of her, you know." + +"Of course, of course; there are exceptions to all rules," chattered the +Wagtail. "And so this is really the lost little Human there has been +such a fuss about!" added he, eyeing Dot, and making a long whistle of +surprise. "My cousin told me all about it." + +"Then your cousin, Willy Wagtail, knows her lost way," said the Kangaroo +joyfully, and Dot came a little nearer in her eagerness to hear the good +news. + +"Of course he does," answered the bird; "there's nothing happens that he +doesn't know. You should have hunted him up." + +"I didn't know where to find him," said the Kangaroo, "and I got into +this country, which is new to me." + +"Why he is in the same part that he nested in last season. It's no +distance off," exclaimed the Wagtail. "If you could fly, you'd be there +almost directly!" Then the bird gave a long description of the way they +were to follow to find his cousin Willy, and with many warm thanks the +Kangaroo and Dot bade him adieu. + +As they left the Bush Wagtail they could hear him singing this song, +which shows what a merry, happy fellow he is: + + + "Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! + Clack! clack! clack! clack! + Who could cry in such weather, 'alack!' + With a sky so blue, and a sun so bright, + Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' + Sportive in flight, chatter delight, + Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! + + "I'm so glad that I have the knack + Of singing clack! clack! clack! + If you wish to be happy, just follow my track, + Take this for a motto, this for a code, + Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' + Leave care to a toad, and live _à la mode_! + Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack!" + + +They had no difficulty in following the Wagtail's directions. They soon +struck a creek they had been told to pursue to its end, and about noon +they found themselves in very pretty country. It reminded Dot of the +journey they had made to find the Platypus, for there were the same +beautiful growths of fern and shrubs. There were also great trailing +creepers which hung down like ropes from the tops of the tall trees they +had climbed. These rope-like coils of the creepers made capital swings, +and often Dot clambered into one of the big loops and sat swinging +herself to and fro, laughing and singing, much to the delight and +amusement of the Kangaroo. + + + "Swing! swing! a bird on the wing + Is not more happy than I! + Stooping to earth, and seeking the sky. + Swing! swing! swing! + See how high upward I fly! + Here, midst the leaves I swing; + Then, as fast to my swing I cling, + Down I come from the sky! + Swing! swing! a bird on the wing + Is not more happy than I!" + + +Thus sang little Dot, tossing herself backwards and forwards, and the +Kangaroo came to the conclusion that there was something very sweet +about little Humans, and that Dot was certainly quite as nice as a Joey +Kangaroo. + +In the middle of one of these little swinging diversions, a bird about +the size of a pigeon, with the most wonderfully shiny plumage, flew to +the tree on which Dot was swinging. Dot was so struck by the bird's +beautiful blue-black glossy appearance, and its brightly contrasting +yellow beak and legs, that she stopped swinging at once. "You _are_ a +pretty bird!" she said. + +"I am a Satin Bower Bird," it said. "We heard you singing, and we +thought, therefore, that you probably enjoy parties, so I have come +to invite you to one of our assemblies which will take place shortly. +Friend Kangaroo, we know, is of a somewhat serious nature, but probably +she will do us the pleasure of accompanying you to our little +entertainment." + +"I shall have great pleasure in doing so," said the Kangaroo; "I have +not been at any of your parties for a long time. You know, I suppose, +that I lost my little Joey very sadly." + +"We heard all about it," replied the Bower Bird in a tone of +exaggerated, almost ridiculous sadness, for it was so anxious that the +Kangaroo should think that it felt very deeply for her loss. "We were in +the middle of a meeting at the time the Wallaby brought the news, and we +were so sad that we nearly broke up our assembly. But it would have been +a pity to do so, really, as the young birds enjoy themselves so much at +the 'Bower of Pleasure.' But," said the Satin Bird, with a sudden change +of tone from extreme sorrow to one of vivacious interest, "I must show +you the way to the bower, or you would never find it." + +Dot jumped down from the swing, and she and the Kangaroo, guided by the +Satin Bird, made their way through some very thickly-grown bush. The +bird was certainly right in saying that they would never have found the +Bower of Pleasure without a guide. It was carefully concealed in the +most densely-grown scrub. As they were pushing their way through a +thicket of shrubs, before reaching the open space where the Satin Birds' +bower was built, they heard an increasing noise of birds all talking to +one another. The din of this chattering was enhanced considerably by the +shrill sounds of tree-frogs and crickets, and the hubbub made Dot feel +like the little Native Bear--as if her "head was empty." + +"This will be a very pleasant party," said the Satin Bird, "there is +plenty of conversation, so everyone's in a good humour." + +"Do you think anyone is listening, or are they all talking?" enquired +the Kangaroo timidly. + +"Nobody would attempt to listen," answered the Satin Bird, "it would be +impossible against the music of the tree frogs and crickets, so everyone +talks." + +"I should tell the tree-frogs and crickets to be quiet," said Dot, "no +one seems to care for their music." + +"Oh, without music it would be very dull," explained the Satin Bird, "no +one would care to talk. You understand, it would be awkward, someone +might overhear what was said." + +As the bird spoke the trio reached the place where the bower was +situated. + +Dot thought it a most curious sight. In the middle of an open space the +birds had built a flooring of twigs, and upon that they had erected a +bower about three feet high, also constructed of twigs interwoven with +grass, and arranged so as nearly to meet at the top in an arched form. + +"It's a new bower, and more commodious than our last," said the Satin +Bird with an air of satisfaction. "What do you think of the +decorations?" + +In a temporary lull of the frog and cricket band and the conversation, +Dot and the Kangaroo praised the bower and its decorations, and enquired +politely how the birds had managed to procure such a collection of +ornaments for their pleasure hall. Several young bower birds came and +joined in the chat, and Dot was surprised to see how different their +plumage was from the satin blue-black of the old birds. These younger +members of the community were of a greenish yellow colour, with dark +pencillings on their feathers, and had no glossy sheen like their +elders. + +Each of them pointed out some ornament that it had brought with which to +deck the bower. One had brought the pink feathers of a Galah, which had +been stuck here and there amongst the twigs. Others had collected the +delicate shells of land snails, and put them round about the entrance. +But the birds that were proudest of their contributions were those who +had picked up odds and ends at the camps of bushmen. + +"That beautiful bright thing I brought from a camp a mile away," said a +bird, indicating a tag from a cake of tobacco. + +"But it isn't so pretty as mine," said another, pointing to the glass +stopper of a sauce bottle. + +"Or mine," chimed in another bird, as it claimed a bright piece of tin +from a milk-can that was inserted in the twigs just above the entrance +of the bower. + +"Nonsense, children!" said a grave old Satin Bird, "your trifles are not +to be compared with that beautiful object I found to-day and arranged +along the top of the bower. The effect is splendid!" + +As he spoke, Dot observed that, twined amidst the topmost twigs of the +construction was a strip of red flannel from an old shirt, a bedraggled +red rag that must have been found in an extinct camp fire, judging by +its singed edges. + +The day Dot had lost her way she had been threading beads, and she still +had upon her finger a ring of the pretty coloured pieces of glass. She +saw the old Satin Bird look at this ring longingly, so she pulled it +off, and begged that it might be added to the other decorations. It was +instantly given the place of honour--over the entrance and above the +piece of milk tin. + +This gift from Dot caused an immediate flow of conversation, because +every bird was pleased to have something to talk about. They all began +to say how beautiful the beads were. "Quite too lovely!" said one. "What +a charming little Human!" exclaimed another. "Just the finish that our +bower required," was a general remark, and a great many kept exclaiming, +"So tasteful!" "So sweet!" "How elegant!" "Exquisite!" "It's a love!" +"It's a dear!" and so on. A great deal more was said, but the oldest +bower bird, thinking that all the adjectives were getting used up, told +the frogs and crickets to start the music again, so as to keep the +excitement going, and all further observations were drowned in the +noise. + +Presently the younger birds flew down to the bower, and began to play +and dance. Like a troop of children, they ran round and round the bower, +and to and fro through it, gleefully chasing each other. Then they would +assemble in groups, and hop up and down, and dance to one another in +what Dot thought a rather awkward fashion; but she was thinking of the +elegance and grace of the Native Companions, who can make beautiful +movements with their long legs and necks, whilst these little bower +birds are rather ungainly in their steps. + +What amused her was to see how the young cock birds showed off to the +little hens. They were conceited fellows, and only seemed happy when +they had five or six little hens looking admiringly at their every +movement. At such times they would dance and hop with great delight; and +the little hens, in a circle round them, watched their hops and steps +with absorbed interest. Immensely pleased with himself, the young dancer +would fluff out his feathers, so as to look as big as possible, and +after strutting about, would suddenly shoot out a leg and a wing, first +on one side and then on the other, then spring high into the air, and do +a sort of step dance when his feet touched the earth again. Endless were +the tricks he resorted to, to show off his feathers and dancing to the +best advantage; and the little hens watched it all with silent +intentness. + +In the meantime the frogs and crickets stopped to rest, and Dot could +hear the conversation of some of the old birds perched near her. A +little party of elderly hens were discussing the young birds who were +dancing at the bower. + +"I must say I don't admire that new step which is becoming so popular +amongst the young birds," said one elderly hen; and all her companions +rustled their feathers, closed their beaks tightly, and nodded their +heads in various ways. One said it was "rough," another that it was +"ungainly," and others that it was "unmannerly." + +"As for manners," said the first speaker, "the bower birds of this day +can't be said to have any!" and all her companions chorused, "No, +indeed!" + +[Illustration: THE BOWER BIRDS] + +"In my young day," continued the elderly hen, and all the group were +sighing, "Ah! in our young days!" when a young hen perched on a bough +above them, and interrupted pertly, "Dear me! can't you good birds find +anything more interesting to talk about than ancient history?" At this +the groups of gossips whispered angrily to one another "Minx!" "Hussy!" +"Wild Cat!" etc., and the rude young bird flew back to her companions. + +"What I object to most in young birds," said another elderly hen, +"is their appearance. Some of them do nothing all day but preen their +feathers. Look at the over-studied arrangements of their wing flights, +and the affected exactness of their tail feathers! One looks in vain for +sweetness and simplicity in the present-day young bower birds." + +"Even that is better than the newer fashion of scarcely preening the +feathers at all," observed yet another of the group. "Many of the young +birds take no pride in their feathers whatever, but devote all their +time to studying the habits of out-of-the-way insects." A chorus of +disapproval from all present supported this remark. "Studies that +interfere with a young hen's appearance should not be permitted," said +one bird. + +"What is the good of knowing all about insects, when we live on berries +and fruit?" asked another. + +"The sight of insects gives one the creeps!" said a third. + +"I am thankful to say all my little hens care for nothing beyond playing +at the Bower and preening their feathers," said an affectionate bower +bird mother, "They get a deal of attention paid to them." + +"No young Satin Bird would look at a learned little bower-hen," said the +bird who had first objected to untidy and studious young hens. "For my +part, I never allow a chick of mine even to mention insects, unless they +are well-known beetles!" + +Dot thought this chattering very stupid, so she went round a bush to +where the old fathers of the bower birds were perched. They were grave +old fellows, arrayed in their satin blue-black plumage, and she found +them all, more or less, in a grumbling humour. + +"Birds at our time of life should not have to attend parties," said +several, and Dot wondered why they came. "How are you, old neighbour?" +said one to another. "Terribly bored!" was the reply. "How long must we +stay, do you think?" asked another. "Oh! until these young fools have +finished amusing themselves," answered its friend. The only satin birds +who seemed to Dot to be interested in one another, were some engaged in +discussing the scarcity of berries and the wrongs done to bower birds +by White Humans destroying the wild fig and lillipilli trees. This +grievance, and the question as to what berries or figs agreed best with +each old bower bird's digestion, were the only topics discussed with any +animation. + +Dot soon tired of listening to the birds, and returned to the Kangaroo, +who asked her if she cared to stay any longer. The little girl said she +had seen and heard enough, and, judging by this one, she didn't care for +parties. + +"Neither do I," whispered the Kangaroo; "they make me feel tired; and, +somehow, they seem to remind one of everything one knows that's sad, in +spite of all the gaiety." + +"Is it gay?" enquired Dot, hesitating a little in her speech, for she +had felt rather dull and miserable. + +"Well, everyone says it's gay, and there is always a deal of noise, so I +suppose it is," answered the Kangaroo. + +"I'd rather be in your pouch, so let us go away," entreated Dot; and +they left the bower place without any of the birds noticing their +departure, for they were all busy gossiping, or discussing the great +berry or digestion questions. + +It was towards evening when they reached an open plain, and here they +met an Emu. As both Dot and the Kangaroo were thirsty, they asked the +Emu the way to a waterhole or tank. + +"I am going to a tank now," replied the Emu; "let us proceed together." + +"Do you think it will be safe to drink to-night"; enquired the Kangaroo +anxiously. + +"Well, to tell the truth," said the Emu lightly, "it is likely to be a +little difficult. There is a somewhat strained feeling between the White +Humans and ourselves just now. In consequence, we have to resort to a +little strategy on our visits to the tanks, and we avoid eating anything +tempting left about at camping places." + +"Are they laying poison for _you_?" asked the Kangaroo in horrified tones. + +"They are doing something of the kind, we think," answered the Emu +airily, "for some of us have had most unpleasant symptoms after picking +up morsels at camping grounds. Several have died. We were quite +surprised, for hitherto there has been no better cure for Emu +indigestion than wire nails, hoop iron, and preserved milk cans. The +worst symptoms have yielded to scraps of barbed wire in my own case. But +these Emus died in spite of all remedies." + +"But I heard," said the Kangaroo, "that Emus were protected by the +Government. I never understood why." + +"We are protected," said the huge bird, "because we form part of the +Australian Arms." + +"So do we," said the Kangaroo, "but we are not protected." + +"True," said the bird, "but the Humans can make some money out of you +when you are dead, whereas we serve no purpose at all, excepting alive, +when we add a charm to the scenery; and, moreover, each of our eggs will +make a pound cake. But the time will come, friend, when there will be +neither Emu nor Kangaroo for Australia's Arms; no creature will be left +to represent the land but the Bunny Rabbit and the Sheep." + +"I hate sheep!" said the Kangaroo, "they eat all our grass." + +"You have not studied them as we have," answered the Emu. "They are most +entertaining. We have great fun with them, and we've learnt some capital +sheep games from those dogs Humans drive them with. It's really exciting +to drive a big mob, when they want to break and scatter. We were chasing +them, here and there, all over the plain to-day." + +"I don't like sheep!" said Dot, "they are so stupid." + +"So they are," agreed the Emu, "and that is what puzzles me. What is it +about the sight of sheep that excites one so? When one gets into a big +flock, one has to dance, one can't help oneself. We had a great dance in +a flock to-day, and the lambs would get under our feet, so I'm sorry to +say a good many of them were killed." + +"Men will certainly kill you, if you do that," said Dot. + +"We know it," chuckled the Emu; "that is why the tank is not quite safe +just now. But this evening I will show you a new plan by which to learn +if Humans are camped at a tank, or not. We have played the trick with +great success for several nights." + +Conversing thus, the Emu, the Kangaroo, and Dot wandered on until the +Emu requested them to wait for a few minutes, whilst it peeped at the +tank, which was still a long way off. + +It presently returned and said that it felt quite suspicious, because +everything looked so clear and safe. "From this point of high ground," +said the bird, "you can watch our proceedings. I will now give the +signal and return to my post here." + +The Emu then ran at a great pace along the edge of the plain, and +emitted a strange rattling cry. After disappearing from sight for a +time, it returned hurriedly to where Dot and her friend were waiting. + +"Now, see!" said the Emu, nodding at the distant side of the plain. + +Dot's eyes were not so keen of sight as those of an Emu; but she thought +she could see something like a little cloud of dust, far, far away +across the dry brown grass of the plain. Soon she was quite sure that +the little cloud was advancing towards her side of the plain, and in the +direction of the tank. As it came nearer she could see the bobbing heads +of Emus, popping up above the dust, and she could see some of the birds +running round the little cloud. + +"What is the cause of all that dust?" she asked the Emu. + +"Sheep!" it answered with a merry chuckle. + +"But what are the Emus doing with the sheep?" asked Dot and the +Kangaroo, now fully interested in the Emu's manoeuvre. + +"They are driving them to water at the tank," said the bird, highly +delighted with the scheme. "The sheep will soon know that they are near +water, and will go to it without driving. Then we shall watch, and if +they quietly drink and scatter, it will be safe for us, but if they see +anything unusual and break, and run--well, we shan't drink at the tank +to-night. There will be Humans and dogs there, and we don't cultivate +their society just now." + +"Really that is the cleverest thing I have heard for a long time," said +the Kangaroo, full of admiration for the trick. "How did you jump to +that conclusion?" + +"The idea sprang upon us," answered the Emu, with an immense hop in the +air, and a dancing movement when it came to the ground again. "Dear me!" +it exclaimed, "the sight of those sheep is beginning to excite me, and I +can hardly keep still! I wonder what there is so exciting about sheep!" + +Dot could now see the advancing flock of sheep, with their attendant mob +of Emu, quite well. The animals had got scent of the water, and with +contented bleatings were slowly moving with a rippling effect across the +dusty plain. The mob of Emu soon left the sheep to go their own way, +and, grouped in a cluster, watched, with bobbing heads, every movement +of the flock. + +Dot, the Kangaroo, and the Emu looked towards the tank with silent +interest. "I'm stationed here," whispered the bird, "to give a warning +in case there is any danger in this direction. Emus are posted all round +the tank on the same duty." + +Dot could see the whole scene well, for beyond a few low shrubs on the +opposite side of the sheet of water, there was no sheltering bush near +the great tank which had been excavated on the bare plain. + +[Illustration: THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP] + +Onward came the sheep, and quite stationary in the distance remained the +Emu mob. Just as the first sheep were descending the deep slope of the +tank, a Plover rose from amongst the bushes with a shrill cry. The Emu +started at the sound, and whispered to the Kangaroo, "There'll be no +drink to-night: watch!" + +The cry of the Plover seemed to arrest the advance of the timid sheep: +they waited in a closely-packed flock, looking around. But presently the +old leader gave a deep bleat, and they moved forward towards the water. +"Shriek! Shriek!" cried the Plover from the bushes, screaming as they +rose and flew away; and suddenly the flock of sheep broke and hurried +back to the open plain. At the same instant Dot could hear the sharp +barking of a sheep dog, a noise that produced an instant effect on the +creatures she was with. With lightning speed the Kangaroo had popped her +into her pouch and was hopping away, and the Emu was striding with its +long legs as fast as it could for the cover of the Bush. + +Just as they entered the Bush shelter, Dot peeped out of the pouch, +across the plain, and could see the mob of Emu in a cloud of dust, +running, and almost out of sight. + +When they had reached a place of safety, the friendly Emu bid the +Kangaroo and Dot good-night. "We shall have to go thirsty to-night," it +said, "but there will be a heavy dew, and the grass will be wet enough +to cool one's mouth. That pretty trick of ours was such a success that +it is almost worth one's while to lose one's drink in proving it." +Turning to Dot it said, "You will be able to tell the big Humans that we +Emus are not such fools as they think, and that we find their flocks of +silly sheep most useful and entertaining animals." + +Chuckling to itself, the Emu strode off, leaving Dot and the Kangaroo to +pass another night in the solitude of the Bush. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +The next day they travelled a long distance. At about noon they came to +a part of the country which the Kangaroo said she knew well. "But we +must be careful," she added, "as we are very near Humans in this part." + +As Dot was tired (for she had had to walk much more than usual) the +Kangaroo suggested that she should rest at the pretty spot they had +reached, whilst she herself went in search of Willy Wagtail. Dot had to +promise the Kangaroo over and over again, not to leave the spot during +her absence. She was afraid lest the little girl should get lost, like +the little Joey. + +After many farewells, and much hopping back to give Dot warnings and +make promises of returning soon, the Kangaroo went in search of Willy +Wagtail; and the little girl was left all alone. + +Dot looked for a nice shady nook, in which to lie down and rest; and she +found the place so cheerful and pretty, that she was not afraid of being +alone. She was in the hollow of an old watercourse. It was rather like +an English forest glade, it was so open and grassy; and here and there +were pretty shrubs, and little hillocks and hollows. At first Dot +thought that she would sit on the branch of a huge tree that had but +recently fallen, and lay forlornly clothed in withered leaves; but +opposite to this dead giant of the Bush was a thick shrub with a decayed +tree stump beside it, that made a nice sheltered corner which she liked +better. So Dot laid herself down there, and in a few minutes she was +fast asleep; though, as she dropped off into the land of dreams, she +thought how wonderfully quiet that little glade was, and felt somewhat +surprised to find no Bush creatures to keep her company. + +Some time before Dot woke, her dreams became confused and strange. There +seemed to be great crowds in them, and the murmur of many voices talking +together. As she gradually awakened, she realized that the voices were +real, and not a part of her dreams. There was a great hubbub, a +fluttering of wings, and rustling of leaves and grass. Through all this +confusion, odd sentences became clear to her drowsy senses. Such phrases +as, "You'd better perch here!" "This isn't your place!" "Go over there!" +"No! no! I'm sure I'm right! the Welcome Swallow says so." "Has anyone +gone for the Opossum?" "He says the Court ought to be held at night!" +"Don't make such a noise or you will wake the prisoner;" "Who is to be +the Judge?" This last enquiry provoked such a noise of diverse opinions, +that Dot became fully awake, and sitting up, gazed around with eyes full +of astonishment. + +When she had fallen asleep there had not been a creature near her; +but now she was literally hemmed in on every side by birds and small +animals. The branches of the fallen tree were covered with a feathered +company, and in the open space between it and Dot's nook, was a +constantly increasing crowd of larger birds, such as cranes, plover, +duck, turkey-buzzards, black swan, and amongst them a great grave +Pelican. The animals were few, and apparently came late. There was a +little timid Wallaby, a Bandicoot, some Kangaroo Rats, a shy Wombat who +grumbled about the daylight, as also did a Native Bear and an Opossum, +who were really driven to the gathering by a bevy of screaming parrots. + +Dot was wide awake at once with delight. Nearly every creature she had +ever heard of seemed to be present, and the brilliant colours of the +parrots and parrakeets made the scene as gay as a rainbow in a summer +noonday sky. + +"Oh! you darlings!" she said, "how good of you all to come and see me!" + +This greeting from Dot caused an instant silence amongst the creatures, +and she could not help seeing that they looked very uncomfortable. There +was soon a faint whispering from bird to bird, which rose higher and +higher, until Dot made out that they were all saying, "She ought to be +told!" "You tell her!" "No, you tell her yourself, it's not my +business!" and every bird--for it was the birds who by reason of their +larger numbers took the lead in the proceedings--seemed to be trying to +shift an unpleasant task upon its neighbours. + +Presently the solemn Pelican waddled forward and stood before Dot, +saying to the assemblage, "I will explain our presence." Addressing the +little girl it said, "We are here to place you on trial for the wrongs +we Bush creatures have suffered from the cruelties of White Humans. You +will meet with all fairness in your trial, as the proceedings will be +conducted according to the custom of your own Courts of Justice. The +Welcome Swallow, having built its nest for three successive seasons +under the eaves of the Gabblebabble Court House, is deeply learned in +human law business, and will instruct us how to proceed. Your conviction +will, therefore, leave you no room for complaint so far as your trial is +concerned." + +All the birds clapped their wings in applause at the conclusion of this +speech, and the Pelican was told by the Welcome Swallow that he should +plead as Prosecutor. + +"What do you mean by 'Plead as Prosecutor?'" asked the Pelican gravely. + +"You've got to get the prisoner convicted as guilty, whether she is so +or not," answered the Swallow, making a dart at a mosquito, which it ate +with relish. + +"Oh!" said the Pelican, doubtfully; and all the creatures looked at one +another as if they didn't quite understand the justice of the +arrangement. + +"But," said the Pelican, hesitating a little, "suppose I don't think the +prisoner guilty? She seems very small, and harmless." + +"That doesn't matter at all, you've got to get her made out as guilty by +the jury. It's good human law," snapped the Swallow, and all the +creatures said "_Oh!_" "Now for the defence," said the Swallow briskly; +"there ought to be someone for that. Who is friendly with the King?" + +"Who's the King?" asked all the creatures breathlessly. + +"He's a bigger Human than the rest, and everybody's business is his +business, so he's always going to law." + +"I know," said the Magpie, and she piped out six bars of "God save the +King." + +"You are the one for the defence!" said the Swallow, quite delighted, as +were all the other creatures, at the Magpie's accomplishment; "you must +save the prisoner from the jury finding her guilty." + +"But," objected the Magpie, "how can I? when only last fruit season my +brother, and two sisters, and six cousins were shot just because they +ate a few grapes." + +"That doesn't matter! you've got to get her off, I tell you!" said the +Swallow, irritably; "go over there, and ask her what you are to say." So +the Magpie flew over to Dot's side, and she at once began to teach it +the rest of "God save the King." + +"I like this game," Dot presently said to the Magpie. + +"Do you?" said the Magpie with surprise; "It seems to me very slow, and +there's no sense in it." + +"Why are the birds all perching together over there?" asked Dot, +pointing to a branch of the dead tree, "since they all hate one another +and want to get away. The Galahs have pecked the Butcher Bird twice in +five minutes, the Peeweet keeps quarrelling with the Soldier Bird, and +none of them can bear the English Sparrow." + +[Illustration: THE COURT OF ANIMALS] + +"The Swallow says that's the jury," answered the Magpie. "Their business +is to do just what they like with you when all the talking is done, and +whether they find you guilty or not, will depend on if they are tired, +or hungry, and feel cross; or if the trial lasts only a short time, and +they are pleased with the grubs that will be brought them presently." + +"How funny," said Dot, not a bit alarmed at all these preparations for +her trial, for she loved all the creatures so much, that she could not +think that any of them wished to hurt her. + +"If this is human law," said the Magpie, "it isn't funny at all; it is +mad, or wicked. Fancy my having to defend a Human!" + +At this point of their conversation, the ill-feeling amongst the jury +broke out into open fighting, because the English Sparrow was a +foreigner, and they said that it would certainly sympathize with the +Humans who had brought it to Australia. This was just an excuse to get +rid of it. The Sparrow said that it wanted to go out of the jury, and +had never wished to belong to it, and flew away joyfully. Then all the +rest of the jury grumbled at the good luck of the Sparrow in getting out +of the trial--for they could see it picking up grass seed and enjoying +itself greatly, whilst they were all crowded together on one branch, and +were feeling hungry before the trial had even begun. + +There was great suspense and quiet while the Judge was being chosen. +Although Dot had eaten the berries of understanding, it was generally +considered that, to be quite fair, the Judge must be able to understand +human talk; and, amidst much clapping of wings, a large white Cockatoo +was appointed. + +The Cockatoo lost no time in clambering "into position" on the stump +near Dot. "You're quite sure you understand human talk?" Said the little +Wallaby to the Cockatoo. It was the first remark he had made, for he had +been quite bewildered by all the noise and fuss. + +"My word! yes," replied the Cockatoo, who had been taught in a public +refreshment room. Then, thinking that he would give a display of his +learning, he elevated his sulphur crest and gabbled off, "Go to Jericho! +Twenty to one on the favourite! I'm your man! Now then, ma'am; hurry up, +don't keep the coach waiting! Give 'um their 'eds, Bill! So long! +Ta-ra-ra, boom-di-ay! God save the King!" + +All the creatures present looked gravely at Dot, to see what effect this +harangue in her own language would have upon her, and were somewhat +surprised to see her holding her little sides, and rolling about with +laughter. + +The Cockatoo was quite annoyed at Dot's amusement. He fluffed out all +his feathers, and let off a scream that could have been heard a quarter +of a mile away. This seemed to impress every one with his importance, +and the whole Court became attentive to the proceedings. + +At this moment the Swallow skimmed overhead, and having caught the words +"God save the King," called out, "That's the way to do it! keep that +up!" and the Cockatoo, thinking that the Swallow meant him to scream +still more, set up another yell, which he continued until everyone felt +deafened by the noise. + +"We have chosen quite the right Judge," said an elegant blue crane to a +wild duck; "he will make himself heard and respected." Whereat the +Cockatoo winked at the Crane, and said, "You bet I will!" + +The Pelican now advanced to the space before the stump, and there was a +murmur of excitement, because it was about to open the trial by a +recital of wrongs done to the Bush creatures by white humanity. + +Dot could not realize that she was being tried seriously, and was +delighted that the Pelican had come nearer to her stump, so that she had +a better view of him. She thought him such an old, odd-looking bird, +with his big bald head, and gigantic beak. She could not help thinking +that his beak must be too heavy for him, and asked if he would like to +rest it on the stump. The Pelican did not understand Dot's kindness, and +gave her a look of offended dignity that was quite withering; so Dot did +not speak to him again; but she longed to feel if the bag of skin that +drooped under his beak had anything in it. The Pelican's legs seemed to +Dot to be too frail and short to bear such a big bird, not to mention +the immense beak; and, when the creature stood on one leg only, she +laughed; whereat the Pelican gave her another offended look, which +effectually prevented their becoming friends. + +The Pelican was beginning to open his beak to speak (and, being such a +large beak, opening it took some time), when the Welcome Swallow fussed +into court, and said that "nothing could be done until they had some +horsehair!" + +[Illustration: THE COCKATOO JUDGE] + +This interruption, and the Swallow's repeated assurance that no human +trial of importance could take place without horsehair, set all the +creatures chattering with astonishment and questions. Some said the +Swallow was joking; others said that it was making senseless delays, and +that night would fall before they could bring the prisoner to justice. +There was much grumbling on all sides, and complaints of hunger, and the +jury began to clamour for the grubs that they had been promised, at +which the Magpie whispered to Dot that she certainly would be found +guilty. The fact was now quite clear to the jury before the trial began. + +But the Swallow persisted that they must have horsehair. + +"What for?" asked everyone, sulkily. + +"Don't you see for yourselves," squeaked the Swallow, excitedly; "the +Judge looks like a Cockatoo." + +"Well, of course he does," said all the creatures. "He is a Cockatoo, so +he looks like one!" + +"Yes," cried the Swallow, "but you must stick horse hairs on his head. +Human justice must be done with horsehair. The prisoner won't believe +the Cockatoo is a judge without. Good Gracious!" exclaimed the Swallow, +"just look! The prisoner is scratching the Judge's poll! We really +_must_ have horsehair!" + +Dot, seeing the Swallow's indignation, drew away from the stump, and the +Cockatoo tried to look as if he had never seen her before, and as if the +idea of having his poll scratched by the prisoner was one that could +never have entered his head. + +"But if we do put horsehair on the Cockatoo's head," argued the +creatures, "what will it do?" + +"It will impress the prisoner," said the Swallow. + +"How?" they all asked curiously. + +"Because the Cockatoo won't look like a Cockatoo," replied the Swallow, +with exasperation. + +"Then what will he look like?" asked every creature in breathless +excitement. + +"He won't look like any creature that ever lived," retorted the Swallow. + +Perfect silence followed this explanation, for every bird and animal was +trying to understand human sense and reason. Then the smallest Kangaroo +Rat broke the stillness. + +"If," said the Kangaroo Rat, "only a little horsehair can do that, +surely the prisoner can imagine the Judge isn't a Cockatoo, without our +having to wait for the horsehair. Let's get on with the trial." + +This idea was received with applause, and the Swallow flew off in a +huff; whilst the Kookooburra, on a tree near the Court, softly laughed +to himself. + +Once more the Pelican took up his position to open the trial. The +Cockatoo puffed himself out as big as he could, fluffed out his cheek +feathers, and half closed his eyes. His solemnly attentive attitude won +the admiration of all the Court, and the absence of horsehair was not +felt by anyone. The Welcome Swallow, having got over its ill temper, +returned to help the proceedings; and the jury all put their heads under +their wings and went to sleep. + +"Fire away!" screamed the Cockatoo, and the trial began. + +"My duty is a most painful one," said the Pelican; "for" ("whereas," +said the Swallow) "the prisoner known" ("named and described," added the +Swallow), "as Dot is now before you," ("to be tried, heard, determined +and adjudged," gabbled the Swallow) "on a charge of cruelty" ("and +feloniously killing and slaying," prompted the Swallow) "to birds and +animals," ("the term not applying to horse, mare, pony, bull, ox, dog, +cat, heifer, steer, calf, mule, ass, sheep, lamb, hog, pig, sow, goat, +or other domestic animal," interposed in one breath the Swallow, quoting +the Cruelty to Animals Act) "she is" ("hereby," put in the Swallow) +"brought to trial on" ("divers," whispered the Swallow) "charges," +("hereinafter," said the Swallow) "to be named and described by the" +("aforesaid," interjected the Swallow) "birds and animals," +("hereinbefore mentioned," stated the Swallow) "the said animals being +denizens of the Bush" ("and in no wise relating to horse, mare, pony, +bull, ox,"--began the Swallow again, when the Cockatoo raised his crest, +and screamed out "STOP THAT, I TELL YOU!" and the Pelican continued +stating the charge.) "Bush law" ("enacts," said the Swallow) "that" +("whereas," prompted the Swallow) "all individual rights" ("whatsoever," +put in the Swallow) "shall be according to the statute Victoria--" + +"Victoria! Twenty to one against the field," shouted the Judge. + +"Between you two," said the Pelican, looking angrily at the Swallow and +the Cockatoo, "I've forgotten everything I was going to say! I shan't go +on!" + +"Never mind," said the Swallow cheerfully, "you've said quite enough, +and no one has understood a word of the charge, so it's all right. Now +then for the witnesses." + +As the Swallow spoke, there was a great disturbance amongst the +creatures. The swan, ducks, cranes, and waterfowl, besides honeysuckers, +and many other birds, were all fanning the air with their wings, and +crying, "Turn him out!" "Disgusting!" "I never heard of such a thing in +my life! the smell of it always gives me a headache!" and there was such +a noise that the jury all woke up, and Dot covered her ears with her +hands. The Cockatoo, seeing Dot's distress at the screams and hubbub, +and thinking that she wanted to say something, but could not make +herself heard in the general riot, decided to speak for her; so he +screamed louder than all the rest, and shouted, "Apples, oranges, pears, +lemonade, cigarettes, _and_ cigars! I say! what's the row?" + +[Illustration: THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE] + +When quiet was restored, it was explained that the Opossum had brought +into Court a pouch full of gum leaves, which it was eating. It had also +given some to the Native Bear, and Wallaby, and in consequence the whole +air was laden with the odour of eucalyptus. + +"Oh, dear!" said Dot, "it smells just like when I have a cold!" + +"Eating eucalyptus leaves in Court is contempt of Court," cried the +Swallow; and everyone echoed, "Contempt of Court! contempt of Court! +Turn them out!" + +"But they are witnesses," objected the Pelican. + +"That doesn't matter!" shouted the Waterfowl, "it's a disgusting smell! +Turn them out!" + +"Hurrah!" shouted the Wallaby, as it leaped off. "What luck!" laughed +the Opossum, as it cleared into the nearest tree. "I am glad," sighed +the Koala, as it slowly moved away; "that trial made my head feel +empty." + +"Well, there go three of the most important witnesses," grumbled the +Pelican. + +"My eye! what a spree!" said the Judge. + +A Galah amongst the Jury, wishing to be thought intelligent, enquired +what charge the Wallaby, Native Bear, and Opossum were to bear witness +to. + +"It is a matter of skins, included in the fur rugs clause, and the +wickedness known as 'Sport,'" answered the Pelican. + +Whilst the Pelican was making this explanation, the Judge, who had been +longing to have his poll scratched again, sidled up to Dot, and +whispered softly to her, "Scratch Cockie!" But, just as he was enjoying +the delicious sensation Dot's fingers produced amongst his neck +feathers, as he held his head down, the Pelican caught sight of the +proceeding. The Pelican said nothing, but stared at the Judge with an +eye of such astonishment and stern contempt, that the Cockatoo instantly +remembered that he was a judge, and, getting into a proper attitude, +said hastily, "Advance Australia! who's the next witness?" And again the +Kookooburra laughed to himself on the tree. + +"Fur first!" exclaimed a white Ibis. "Call the Platypus!" + +"The Platypus won't come!" cried the Kangaroo Rat. + +"Well, I never!" exclaimed the Judge. + +"It says that if a Court is held at all, it should be conducted by the +representative of Antediluvian custom, the most ancient and learned +creatures, such as the Iguana, the Snake, and Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. +That it would prefer to associate with the meanest Troglodite, rather +than appear amongst the present company. I understood it to say," +continued the Kangaroo Rat, "that real law could only be understood by +those deeply learned in fossils." + +"'Pon my word!" ejaculated the Judge. "Shiver my timbers! What blooming +impudence!" + +"Oh! you naughty bird to use such words!" exclaimed Dot. But all the +Court murmured "How clever!" and the Cockatoo was pleased. + +"Native Cat, next!" shouted the white Ibis. But at the first mention of +the Native Cat nearly every bird, and all the small game, prepared to +get away. + +"Why don't you call the Dingo at once?" laughed the Kookooburra, who was +really keeping guard over Dot, although she did not know it. "Humans +kill Dingoes." + +"The Dingo! the Dingo!" every creature repeated in horror and +consternation; and they all looked about in fear, while the Kookooburra +chuckled to himself at all the stir his words had made. + +"It's quite true that animals and birds kill one another," said the +Magpie, who thought he ought to say something in Dot's defence, as that +was his part in the trial, "therefore it is the same nature that makes +Humans kill us. If it is the nature of Humans to kill, the same as it is +the nature of birds and animals to kill, where is the sense and justice +of trying the prisoner for what she can't help doing?" + +"Good!" said the Welcome Swallow, "argued like a lawyer." + +At this unexpected turn of the trial the Judge softly whistled to +himself, "Pop goes the weasel." + +"Don't talk to us about nature and justice and sense," replied the +Pelican, contemptuously. "This is a Court of law, we have nothing to do +with any of them!" + +The Court all cheered at this reply, and the Magpie subsided in the +sulks. + +"Call the Kangaroo!" cried the white Ibis. + +"It's no good," jeered the Kookooburra. "Kangaroo and Dot are great +friends. She won't come if you called----" + +"'Till all's blue!" interrupted the Judge, and he went on with "Pop goes +the weasel." This news caused a buzz of excitement. Everyone was +astounded that the Kangaroo, who had the heaviest grievances of all, +wouldn't appear against the prisoner. + +"Is it possible," said the Pelican, addressing the Kookooburra in slow +stern accents, "Is it possible that the Kangaroo has forgiven all her +grievances?" + +"All," said the Kookooburra. + +"The hunting?" asked the Pelican. + +"Yes," answered the Kookooburra. + +"The rugs?" + +"Yes." + +"The boots?" + +"Yes." + +"And," said the Pelican, still more solemnly and slowly, while all the +Court listened in breathless attention, "and has she forgiven +_Kangaroo-tail soup_?" + +"Yes! she's forgiven that too," answered the Kookooburra cheerfully. + +"Then," said the Pelican, hotly, "I throw up the case," and he spread +his huge black wings, and flapped his way up into the sky and away. + +"What a go!" said the Judge; and he might have said more, only Dot could +not hear anything on account of the racket and confusion. The trial had +failed, and every creature was making all the noise it could, and +preparing to hurry away. In the middle of the turmoil, Dot's Kangaroo +bounded into the open space, panting with excitement and delight. + +"Dot! Dot!" she cried, "I've found Willy Wagtail, and he knows your way! +Come along at once!" And, putting Dot in her pouch, the Kangaroo leaped +clean over the Judge and carried her off! + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +Although the Kangaroo was longing to hear the reason why so many Bush +creatures had collected round Dot whilst she was away, she was too +anxious to carry her to Willy Wagtail before nightfall to wait and +enquire what had happened. Dot, too, was so excited at hearing that her +way home had been found, that she could only think of the delight of +seeing her father and mother again. So the Kangaroo had hopped until she +was tired and needed rest, before they spoke. Then Dot described the +Trial, and made the Kangaroo laugh about the Cockatoo Judge, but she did +not say how it had all ended because the Kangaroo had forgiven Dot for +Humans making rugs of her fur, boots of her skin, and soup of her tail. +She was afraid of hurting her feelings by mentioning such delicate +subjects. The Kangaroo never noticed that anything was left out, because +she was bursting to relate her interview with Willy Wagtail. + +She told Dot how she had found Willy Wagtail near his old haunt; how +that gossiping little bird had told all the news of the Gabblebabble +town and district in ten minutes, and how he had said he believed he +knew Dot by sight, and that if such were the case he would show Dot and +the Kangaroo the way to the little girl's home. Then Dot and the +Kangaroo hurried on their way again, the little girl sometimes running +and walking to rest the kind animal, and sometimes being carried in that +soft cosy pouch that had been her cradle and carriage for all those +days. + +It was quite dusk by the time they arrived at a split-rail fence, and +heard a little bird singing, "Sweet pretty creature! sweet pretty +creature!" + +"That is Willy Wagtail making love," said the Kangaroo, with a humorous +twinkle in her quiet eyes. "Peep round the bush," she said to Dot, "and +you'll see them spooning." + +[Illustration: THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT] + +Dot glanced through the branches, and saw two wagtails, who looked very +smart with their black coats and white waistcoats, sitting on two posts +of the fence a little way off. They were each pretending that their +long big tails were too heavy to balance them properly, and they seemed +to be always just saving themselves from toppling off their perch. +Occasionally Willy would dart into the air, to show what an expert in +flying he was; he would shoot straight upwards, turn a double somersault +backwards, and wing off in the direction one least expected. Afterwards +he would return to his post as calm and cool as if he had done nothing +surprising, and say "Pretty pretty Chip-pi-ti-chip!" that name meaning +the other wagtail. Then Chip-pi-ti-chip showed off _her_ flying, and +they both said to one another "Sweet pretty creature!" + +At the sound of Dot and the Kangaroo's approach "Chip-pi-ti-chip" hid +herself in a tree, and Willy Wagtail, not knowing who was disturbing +them, scolded angrily; but when he saw the Kangaroo and the little girl, +he gave them the most cordial greeting, and wobbled about on a rail as +if he must tumble off every second. + +"This is Dot," said the Kangaroo a little anxiously, and rather +breathless with the speed she had made. + +"Just as I had expected!" exclaimed Willy Wagtail, with a jerk of his +tail which nearly sent him headlong off the rail. "I should know you +anywhere, little Human, though you do look a bit different. You want +preening," he added. + +This last remark was in allusion to Dot's appearance, which certainly +was most untidy and dirty, for, beyond an occasional lick from the +Kangaroo, she had been five days without being tidied and cleaned. + +"I couldn't do it better," said the Kangaroo apologetically. + +"It doesn't matter at all," said Dot, putting her tangled curls back +from her eyes. + +"Well! I know where you live," gabbled off the Wagtail. "It's the second +big paddock from here, if you follow the belt of the sheoak trees over +there. It's a house just like those things in Gabblebabble township. +There's a yellow sheep dog, who's very good tempered, and a black one +that made a snap at my tail the other day. There is an old grey cart +horse, an honest fellow, but rather dull; and a bay mare who is much +better company. There is a little red cow who is a great friend of mine, +and she had a calf a few days before you were lost. Dear me!" exclaimed +the gossiping bird, "what a fuss there has been these five days over +trying to find you! I've been over there every day to see the sight. +Such a lot of Humans! and such horses. I enjoyed myself immensely, and +made a lot of friends amongst the horses, but I didn't care so much for +the dogs; I thought them a nasty quarrelsome lot. + +"I went with the whole turnout to see the search. Goodness! the +distances they went, and the noise and the big fires they made, it _was_ +exciting fun! They brought over some black Humans--'Trackers' is what +they are called, at least the Mounted Troopers' horses told me so (my +word! the Troopers' horses are jolly fellows!) Well, these black +trackers went in front of each party just like dogs, with their heads +to the ground, and they turned over every leaf and twig, and said if +a Human, a horse or a kangaroo had broken it or been that way. They +found your track fast enough, but one evening it came to an end quite +suddenly, and weren't they all surprised! I heard from a Trooper's +horse--(such a nice horse he was!)--that the trackers and white Humans +said it was just as if you had disappeared into the sky! There was just +a bit of your fur on a bush, and nothing anywhere else but a Kangaroo's +trail. No one could make it out." + +"That was when I took you in my pouch!" exclaimed the Kangaroo. + +"Now," said the Wagtail, "most of them have given up the search. Just +this evening Dot's father and a few other Humans came back, and the +yellow sheep dog told me the last big party is to start at noon +to-morrow, and after that there will be no more attempt to find Dot. +Only the sheep dog said he heard his master say he would go on hunting +alone, until he found her body. I haven't been over there to-day," wound +up the bird, "they are all so miserable and tired, it gave me the blues +yesterday." + +"What are we to do? It is quite dark and late!" asked the Kangaroo. + +"You had better stay here," counselled the Wagtail. "One night more or +less doesn't matter, and I don't like leaving Chip-pi-ti-chip at +night-time. She likes me to sing to her all night, because she is +nervous. I will go with you to-morrow morning early, if you will wait +here until then." + +"Having found your lost way so far!" said the Kangaroo to Dot, "it would +be a pity to risk losing it again, so we had better wait for Willy +Wagtail to guide us to-morrow." + +To tell the truth, the Kangaroo was very glad of the excuse to keep Dot +one night more before parting from her. "It will seem like losing my +little Joey again, when I am once more alone," she said sadly. + +"But you will never go far away," said Dot. "I should cry, if I thought +you would never come to see me. You will live on our selection, won't +you?" + +But the Kangaroo looked very doubtful, and said that she loved Dot, but +she was afraid of Humans and their dogs. + +[Illustration: DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO] + +After a supper of berries and grass, Dot and the Kangaroo lay down for +the night in a little bower of bushes. But they talked until very late, +of how they were to manage to reach Dot's home without danger from guns +and dogs. At last, when they tried to sleep, they could not do so on +account of Willy Wagtail's singing to his sweetheart, "Sweet pretty +creature! Sweet pretty creature!" without stopping, for more than five +minutes at a time. + +"I wonder Chip-pi-ti-chip doesn't get tired of that song," said Dot. + +"She never does," yawned the Kangaroo, "and he never tires of singing it." + +"Sweet pretty creature," sang Willy Wagtail. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +Two men were walking near a cottage in the winter sunlight of the early +morning. There came to the door a young woman, who looked pale and +tired. She carried a bowl of milk to a little calf, and on her way back +to the cottage she paused, and shading her eyes, that were red with +weeping, lingered awhile, looking far and near. Then, with a sigh, she +returned indoors and worked restlessly at her household duties. + +"It breaks my heart to see my wife do that," said the taller man, who +carried a gun. "All day long she comes out and looks for the child. One +knows, now, that the poor little one can never come back to us," and as +the big man spoke there was a queer choking in his voice. + +The younger man did not speak, but he patted his friend's shoulder in a +kindly manner, which showed that he too was very sorry. + +"Even you have lost heart, Jack," said the big bushman, "but we shall +find her yet; the wife shall have that comfort." + +"You'll never do it now," said the young fellow with a mournful shake of +the head. "There is not an inch of ground that so young a child could +reach that we have not searched. The mystery is, what could have become +of her?" + +"That's what beats me," said the tall man, who was Dot's father. "I +think of it all day and all night. There is the track of the dear little +mite as clear as possible for five miles, as far as the dry creek. The +trackers say she rested her poor weary legs by sitting under the +blackbutt tree. At that point she vanishes completely. The blacks say +there isn't a trace of man, or beast, beyond that place excepting the +trail of a big kangaroo. As you say, it's a mystery!" + +As the men walked towards the bush, close to the place where Dot had run +after the hare the day she was lost, neither of them noticed the fuss +and scolding made by a Willy Wagtail; although the little bird seemed +likely to die of excitement. + +Willy Wagtail was really saying, "Dot and her Kangaroo are coming this +way. Whatever you do, don't shoot them with that gun." + +Presently the young man, Jack, noticed the little bird. "What friendly +little chaps those wagtails are," he said, "and see how tame and +fearless this one is. Upon my word, he nearly flew in your face that +time!" + +[Illustration: DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO] + +Dot's father did not notice the remark, for he had stopped suddenly, and +was peering into the bush whilst he quietly shifted his gun into +position, ready to raise it and fire. + +"By Jove!" he said, "I saw the head of a Kangaroo a moment ago behind +that iron-bark. Fancy it's coming so near the house. Next time it shows, +I'll get a shot at it." + +Both men waited for the moment when the Kangaroo should be seen again. + +The next instant the Kangaroo bounded out of the Bush into the open +paddock. Swift as lightning up went the cruel gun, but, as it exploded +with a terrible report, the man, Jack, struck it upwards, and the fatal +bullet lodged in the branch of a tall gum tree. + +"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at the Kangaroo. + +"Dot!" cried her father, dropping his gun, and stumbling blindly forward +with outstretched arms, towards his little girl, who had just tumbled +out of the Kangaroo's pouch in her hurry to reach her father. + +"Hoo! hoo! ho! ho! he! he! ha! ha! ha! ha!" laughed a Kookooburra on a +tree, as he saw Dot clasped in her father's great strong arms, and the +little face hidden in his big brown beard. + +"Wife! wife!" shouted Dot's father, "Dot's come back! Dot's come back!" + +"Dot's here!" yelled the young man, as he ran like mad to the house. And +all the time the good Kangaroo sat up on her haunches, still panting +with fear from the sound of the gun, and a little afraid to stay, yet so +interested in all the excitement and delight, that she couldn't make up +her mind to hop away. + +"Dadda," said Dot, "You nearly killed Dot and her Kangaroo! Oh! if you'd +killed my Kangaroo, I'd never have been happy any more!" + +"But I don't understand," said her father. "How did you come to be in +the Kangaroo's pouch?" + +"Oh! I've got lots and lots to tell you!" said Dot; "but come and stroke +dear Kangaroo, who saved little Dot and brought her home." + +"That I will!" said Dot's father, "and never more will I hurt a +Kangaroo!" + +"Nor any of the Bush creatures," said Dot. "Promise, Dadda!" + +"I promise," said the big man, in a queer-sounding voice, as he kissed +Dot over and over again, and walked towards the frightened animal. + +Dot wriggled down from her father's arms, and said to the Kangaroo, +"It's all right; no one's ever going to be shot or hurt here again!" and +the Kangaroo looked delighted at the good news. + +"Dadda," said Dot, holding her father's hand, and, with her disengaged +hand touching the Kangaroo's little paw. "This is my own dear Kangaroo." +Dot's father, not knowing quite how to show his gratitude, stroked the +Kangaroo's head, and said "How do you do?" which, when he came to think +of it afterwards, seemed rather a foolish thing to say. But he wasn't +used, like Dot, to talking to Bush creatures, and had not eaten the +berries of understanding. + +The Kangaroo saw that Dot's father was grateful, and so she was pleased, +but she did not like to be stroked by a man who let off guns, so she was +glad that Dot's mother had run to where they were standing, and was +hugging and kissing the little girl, and crying all the time; for then +Dot's father turned and watched his wife and child, and kept doing +something to his eyes with a handkerchief, so that there was no +attention to spare for Kangaroos. + +The good Kangaroo, seeing how happy these people were, and knowing that +her life was quite safe, wanted to peep about Dot's home and see what it +was like--for kangaroos can't help being curious. So presently she +quietly hopped off towards the cottage, and then a very strange thing +happened. Just as the Kangaroo was wondering what the great iron tank by +the kitchen door was meant for, there popped out of the open door a joey +Kangaroo. Now, to human beings, all joey Kangaroos look alike, but +amongst Kangaroos there are no two the same, and Dot's Kangaroo at once +recognised in the little Joey her own baby Kangaroo. The Joey knew its +mother directly, and, whilst Dot's Kangaroo was too astonished to move, +and not being able to think, was trying to get at a conclusion why her +Joey was coming out of a cottage, the little Kangaroo, with a +hop-skip-and-a-jump, had landed itself comfortably in the nice pouch Dot +had just vacated. + +Then Dot's mother, rejoicing over the safe return of her little girl, +was not more happy than the Kangaroo with her Joey once more in her +pouch. With big bounds she leapt towards Dot, and the little girl +suddenly looking round for her Kangaroo friend, clapped her hands with +delight as she saw a little grey nose, a pair of tiny black paws, and +the point of a little black tail, hanging out of the pouch that had +carried her so often. + +"Why!" exclaimed Dot's mother, "if she hasn't got the little Joey, Jack +brought me yesterday! He picked it up after a Kangaroo hunt some time +ago." + +"It's her Joey; her lost Joey!" cried Dot, running to the Kangaroo. "Oh! +dear Kangaroo, I am so glad!" she said, "for now we are all happy; as +happy as can be!" Dot hugged her Kangaroo, and kissed the little Joey, +and they all three talked together, so that none of them understood what +the others were saying, only that they were all much pleased and +delighted. + +"Wife," said Dot's father, "I'll tell you what's mighty queer, our +little girl is talking away to those animals, and they're all +understanding one another, as if it was the most natural thing in the +world to treat Kangaroos as if they were human beings!" + +"I expect," said his wife, "that their feelings are not much different +from ours. See how that poor animal is rejoicing in getting back its +little one, just as we are over having our little Dot again." + +"To think of all the poor things I have killed," said Dot's father +sadly; "I'll never do it again." + +"No," said his wife, "we must try and get everyone to be kind to the +bush creatures, and protect them all we can." + +This book would never come to an end if it told all that passed that +day. How Dot explained the wonderful power of the berries of +understanding, and how she told the kangaroos all that her parents +wanted her to say on their behalf, and what kind things the Kangaroo +said in return. + +All day long the Kangaroo stayed near Dot's home, and the little girl +persuaded her to eat bread, which she said was "most delicious, but one +would get tired of it sooner than of grass." + +Every effort was made by Dot and her parents to get the Kangaroo to live +on their selection, so that they might protect her from harm. But she +said that she liked her own free life best, only she would never go far +away and would come often to see Dot. At sunset she said good-bye to +Dot, a little sadly, and the child stood in the rosy light of the +afterglow, waving her hand, as she saw her kind animal friend hop away +and disappear into the dark shadow of the Bush. + +She wandered about for some time listening to the voices of birds and +creatures, who came to tell her how glad everyone was that her way had +been found, and that no harm was to befall them in future. The news of +her safe return, and of the Kangaroo's finding her Joey, had been spread +far and near, by Willy Wagtail and the Kookooburra; and she could hear +the shouts of laughter from kookooburras telling the story until nearly +dark. + +Quite late at night she was visited by the Opossum, the Native Bear, +and the Nightjar, who entered by the open window, and, sitting in the +moonlight, conversed about the day's events. They said that their whole +rest and sleep had been disturbed by the noise and excitement of the day +creatures spreading the news through the Bush. The Mo-poke wished to +sing a sad song because Dot was feeling happy, but the Opossum warned it +that it was sitting in a draught on the window sill and might spoil its +beautiful voice, so it flew away and only sang in the distance. The +Native Bear said that the story of Dot's return and the finding of +Kangaroo's Joey was so strange that it made its head feel quite empty. +The Opossum inspected everything in Dot's room, and tried to fight +itself in the looking-glass. It then got the Koala to look into the +mirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head if +it did. When the Koala had taken a timid peep at itself, the Opossum +said that the Koala now had an idea of how stupid it looked, and the +little bear went off to get used to having an idea in its head. The +Opossum was so pleased with its spiteful joke that it hastily said good +night, and hurried away to tell it to the other 'possums. + +Gradually the voices of the creatures outside became more and more faint +and indistinct; and then Dot slept in the grey light of the dawn. + +When she went out in the morning, the kookooburras were gurgling and +laughing, the magpies were warbling, the parrakeets made their +twittering, and Willy Wagtail was most lively; but Dot was astonished to +find that she could not understand what any of the creatures said, +although they were all very friendly towards her. When the Kangaroo came +to see her she made signs that she wanted some berries of understanding, +but, strange as it may seem, the Kangaroo pretended not to understand. +Dot has often wondered why the Kangaroo would not understand, but, +remembering what that considerate animal had said when she first gave +her the berries, she is inclined to think that the Kangaroo is afraid of +her learning too much, and thereby getting indigestion. Dot and her +parents have often sought for the berries, but up to now they have +failed to find them. There is something very mysterious about those +berries! + +During that day every creature Dot had known in the Bush came to see +her, for they all knew that their lives were safe now, so they were not +afraid. It greatly surprised Dot's parents to see such numbers of birds +and animals coming around their little girl, and they thought it very +pretty when in the evening a flock of Native Companions settled down, +and danced their graceful dance with the little girl joining in the +game. + +"It seems to me, wife," said Dot's father with a glad laugh, "that the +place has become a regular menagerie!" + +[Illustration: BY THE LAKE (EVENING)] + +Later on, Dot's father made a dam on a hollow piece of ground near the +house, which soon became full of water, and is surrounded by beautiful +willow trees. There all the thirsty creatures come to drink in safety. +And very pretty it is, to sit on the verandah of that happy home, and +see Dot playing near the water surrounded by her Bush friends, who come +and go as they please, and play with the little girl beside the pretty +lake. And no one in all the Gabblebabble district hurts a bush creature, +because they are all called "Dot's friends." + + * * * * * + + + + +FINALE. + + +Before putting away the pen and closing the inkstand, now that Dot has +said all she wishes to be recorded of her bewildering adventures, the +writer would like to warn little people, that the best thing to do when +one is lost in the bush, is to sit still in one place, and not to try to +find one's way home at all. If Dot had done this, and had not gone off +in the Kangaroo's pouch, she would have been found almost directly. As +the more one tries to find one's way home, the more one gets lost, and +as helpful Kangaroos like Dot's are very scarce, the best way to get +found quickly, is to wait in one place until the search parties find +one. Don't forget this advice! And don't eat any strange berries in the +bush, unless a Kangaroo brings them to you. + + * * * * * + + + + +W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, Sydney, Australia + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +_Australian Publications._ + + +POEMS OF HENRY KENDALL. Enlarged edition, with biographic note by + BERTRAM STEVENS, and portraits, 7s, 6d. + +CASTLE VANE: An Australian Historical Novel. By J. H. M. ABBOTT. 5s. + +POEMS BY RODERIC QUINN. With portrait, 5s. + +AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS. By HON. H. Y. BRADDON, ex-Commissioner for the + Commonwealth. 5s. + +JIM OF THE HILLS. A Story in Rhyme. By C. J. DENNIS, With frontispiece, + title-page, and jacket in colour, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. + +DIGGER SMITH: POEMS. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, title page and + jacket in colour, and other illustrations, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 + inches, 5s. + +THE SONGS OF A SENTIMENTAL BLOKE. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, + title-page and jacket in colour and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +DOREEN: A Sequel to "The Sentimental Bloke." By C. J. DENNIS. With + coloured and other illustrations, 7-1/4 x 5-1/4 inches, 1s. + +THE MOODS OF GINGER MICK: Poems. By C.J. DENNIS, With frontispiece, + title-page and jacket in colour, and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +BACKBLOCK BALLADS AND LATER VERSES. By C. J. DENNIS, author of "The + Sentimental Bloke," etc. New edition, revised, with 16 new pieces, + wholly printed from new type, with frontispiece, title-page and jacket + in colour, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 inches. 5s. + +THE GLUGS OF GOSH: Poems. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, + title-page, and jacket in colour, and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +BUSHLAND STORIES (For Children). By AMY ELEANOR MACK. With coloured + illustrations. 4s. 6d. + +SCRIBBLING SUE, and Other Stories for Children. By AMY ELEANOR MACK. + With coloured illustrations, 4s. 6d. + +GEM OF THE FLAT. A Story of Young Australians. By CONSTANCE MACKNESS. + With coloured and other illustrations, 4s. 6d. + +CHRISTOPHER COCKLE'S AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCES. By J. R. HOULDING ("Old + Boomerang"). 465 pages, 3s. 6d. + +TALES OF SNUGGLEPOT AND CUDDLEPIE. By MAY GIBBS. With frontispiece in + colour, 22 full-page and many other illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, + 6s. + +LITTLE RAGGED BLOSSOM, and more about Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. By MAY + GIBBS. With 21 full-page plates (2 in colour) and many other + illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 6s. + +BORONIA BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches. 1s. 6d. + +WATTLE BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +GUM-BLOSSOM BABIES. By MAY GIBBS With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +GUM-NUT BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO. By ETHEL C. PEDLEY. With 19 full-page + illustrations (1 in colour) by F. P. MAHONY. New edition, 10 x 7-1/2 + inches, 6s. + + +ANGUS & ROBERTSON, LTD., Publishers, Sydney + +And at all Booksellers + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: Back Cover] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. 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Pedley. +</title> +<style type="text/css"> +/*<![CDATA[*/ + <!-- + body { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; } + p { text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: .75em; + font-size: 100%; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { text-align: center; } + hr { width: 50%; } + hr.full { width: 100%; } + .poem { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left; } + .poem .stanza { margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; } + .poem p { margin: 0; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em; } + .poem p.i2 { margin-left: 1.5em; } + .poem p.i3 { margin-left: 2.0em; } + .poem p.i5 { margin-left: 3.0em; } + .poem p.i6 { margin-left: 3.5em; } + .poem p.i24 { margin-left: 12.5em; } + .quote { margin-left: 6%; margin-right: 6%; text-indent: 0em; font-size: 90%; } + .figure { margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; text-indent: 0em; text-align: center; font-size: 90%; font-variant: small-caps; } + span.pagenum {position: absolute; left: 1%; right: 91%; font-size: 8pt; color: gray; background-color: inherit; display: none;} + .sc { font-variant: small-caps; } + img { border: none; } +/*]]>*/ + // --> +</style> +</head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. Pedley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dot and the Kangaroo + +Author: Ethel C. Pedley + +Illustrator: Frank P. Mahony + +Release Date: July 22, 2006 [EBook #18891] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOT AND THE KANGAROO *** + + + + +Produced by Jason Isbell, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<div style="height: 6em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<a name="h2H_4_0001" id="h2H_4_0001"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-fc" name="page-fc"></a>[cover]</span> + +<a name="image-0001"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/cover-f.jpg"><img src="images/cover-f-t.jpg" width="400" height="521" +alt="Front Cover (Dot and the Kangaroo)" /></a> +</div> + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-j-if" name="page-j-if"></a>[j-if]</span> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> <i>Australian Publications.</i> </h2> + +<p class="quote"> +CONRAD MARTENS, THE MAN AND HIS ART. By <span class="sc">Lionel Lindsay</span>, +assisted by <span class="sc">G. V. F. Mann</span>, Director of the National Art Gallery +of New South Wales. With reproductions of 60 of Martens' pictures, +mostly in colour. A handsome volume 10-1/4 × 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard +box, 42s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE ART OF HANS HEYSEN. Edited by <span class="sc">Sydney Ure Smith</span>, <span class="sc">Bertram +Stevens</span> and <span class="sc">C. Lloyd Jones</span>, with critical article by +<span class="sc">Lionel Lindsay</span> and reproductions of 60 of Heysen's pictures, +mostly in colour. A handsome volume 10-1/4 × 8-3/4 inches, 42s. +<span style="float: right;">[<i>Ready in November</i></span><br /> +</p> +<p class="quote" style="clear:both;"> +THE ART OF ARTHUR STREETON. Edited by <span class="sc">Sydney Ure Smith</span>, +<span class="sc">Bertram Stevens</span> and <span class="sc">C. Lloyd Jones</span>, with critical and +biographical articles by <span class="sc">P. G. Konody</span> and <span class="sc">Lionel +Lindsay</span>, reproductions in colour of 36 of Mr. Streeton's landscapes +and 20 others in black and white. A handsome volume 10-1/4 × 8-3/4 +inches, 42s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE ART OF J. J. HILDER. Edited by <span class="sc">Sydney Ure Smith</span>, with Life +by <span class="sc">Bertram Stevens</span>, contributions by <span class="sc">Julian Ashton</span> and +<span class="sc">Harry Julius</span>, and reproductions of 56 of Mr. Hilder's pictures +(36 in color). A handsome volume 10-1/4 × 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard +box, 42s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN AUSTRALIA. Special Number of Art in Australia. +Edited by <span class="sc">Sydney Ure Smith</span> and <span class="sc">Bertram Stevens</span>, in +collaboration with <span class="sc">W. Hardy Wilson</span>. With articles by leading +Australian Architects and 45 full-page illustrations. 11-1/4 × 9 inches, +21s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +AUSTRALIA IN PALESTINE. A Record of the Work of the A.I.F. in Palestine +and Egypt, with 263 coloured and other illustrations, 4 maps and 3 +battle plans, 10-3/4 × 8-3/4 inches, 10s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +SOCIETY OF ARTISTS PICTURES. Special Number of Art in Australia. With +History of the Society by <span class="sc">Julian Ashton</span>, 20 plates in colour +and 50 in black and white. 11 × 8-3/4 inches, 12s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +ART IN AUSTRALIA, No. VII. With reproductions in colour of pictures by +<span class="sc">George W. Lambert</span>, <span class="sc">Clewin Harcourt</span>, <span class="sc">Arthur +Streeton</span>, <span class="sc">J. Ford Paterson</span>, <span class="sc">Charles Wheeler</span>, +<span class="sc">Penleigh Boyd</span>, <span class="sc">Herbert Harrison</span>, <span class="sc">Leslie +Wilkie</span>, <span class="sc">Thea Proctor</span>, <span class="sc">A. J. Munnings</span>, <span class="sc">F. +McComas</span>, and other illustrations. 10 × 7-1/2 inches. 12s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +CROSSING THE LINE WITH H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES IN H.M.S. "RENOWN." By +<span class="sc">Victor E. Marsden</span>. With 40 illustrations. 10 × 7-1/2 inches, +5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +SELECTED POEMS OF HENRY LAWSON. Selected and carefully revised by the +author, with several new poems, portrait in colour by <span class="sc">John +Longstaff</span>, and 9 full-page illustrations by <span class="sc">Percy Leason</span>. +9-1/2 × 7-1/4 inches, handsomely bound, in cardboard box, 12s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +COLOMBINE, AND OTHER POEMS. By <span class="sc">Hugh McCrae</span>. With 11 +illustrations by <span class="sc">Norman Lindsay</span>. 10 × 7-1/2 inches, 10s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +AN ANTHOGRAPHY OF THE EUCALYPTS. By <span class="sc">W. Russell Grimwade</span>. With +79 beautiful plates, 11-1/4 × 8-3/4 inches, 42s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE MAGIC PUDDING. A Story by <span class="sc">Norman Lindsay</span>, in Prose and +Verse, and illustrated by him in 100 pictures, mostly full-page, the +title-page in colour. 11-1/4 × 8-3/4 inches. 7s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE FIRST AEROPLANE VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA. By <span class="sc">Sir Ross +Smith</span>, K.B.E. With portraits and 27 full-page aeroviews of Sydney, +its Harbour, the Suburbs, and many Country Towns. 10 × 7-1/2 ins. 2s. +6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DIGGERS ABROAD: Jottings on the Australian Front. By Capt. <span class="sc">T. A. +White</span>. Illustrated by <span class="sc">David Barker</span>. 6s. +</p> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> +<span class="sc">Angus & Robertson, Ltd.</span>, Publishers, Sydney +<br /> +And at all Booksellers +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-b0" name="page-b0"></a>[blank]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + <span class="sc">DOT and the KANGAROO</span> +</h2> +<h3> + By ETHEL C. PEDLEY +</h3> +<h4> +WITH 19 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS +<br /> +By FRANK P. MAHONY +</h4> + +<p class="quote"> +THE BOOKMAN (London):—"Miss Pedley has written a story for Australian +children, but children of all countries will be the better for reading +it.... In the end a double joy is waiting for the reader, for Dot finds +again her home and her loving mother, and the faithful kangaroo finds +its lost baby. Quite the right ending for Christmas-tide." +</p> +<p class="quote"> +SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:—"'Dot and the Kangaroo' is without doubt one of +the most charming books that could be put into the hands of a child. It +is admirably illustrated by Frank P. Mahony, who seems to have entered +thoroughly into the animal world of Australia. The story is altogether +Australian.... It is told so simply, and yet so artistically, that even +the 'grown-ups' amongst us must enjoy it." +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DAILY MAIL (Brisbane):—"A more fascinating study for Australian +children is hardly conceivable, and it endows the numerous bush animals +with human speech, and reproduces a variety of amusing conversations +between them and Dot, the little heroine of the book.... Adults may read +it with pleasure." +</p> +<p class="quote"> +FREEMAN'S JOURNAL (Sydney):—"Miss Pedley brings much of graceful fancy +and happy descriptive faculty to her narrative of 'Dot and the +Kangaroo.'... The volume furnishes excellent reading for young folk." +</p> +<p class="quote"> +Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, +51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and all other Booksellers; and +(<i>wholesale only</i>) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon +Avenue, London, E.C. 4. +</p> +<p> +<i>Price 6s.</i> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-h1" name="page-h1"></a>[½-title]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> +<h2> +DOT AND THE KANGAROO +</h2> +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-f0" name="page-f0"></a>[frontis]</span> +</p> + +<a name="image-0002"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/frontis.jpg"><img src="images/frontis-t.jpg" width="400" height="486" +alt="THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS" /></a> +<br /> +THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS +</div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-t0" name="page-t0"></a>[title]</span> +</p> + +<a name="h2H_4_0004" id="h2H_4_0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h1> + DOT AND THE KANGAROO +</h1> +<h3> + BY +</h3> +<h2> +ETHEL C. PEDLEY +</h2> +<h3> +<i>With 19 Illustrations by Frank P. Mahony</i> +</h3> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> + AUSTRALIA:<br /> + ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD.<br /> + 89 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY<br /> + 1920 +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-v0" name="page-v0"></a>[verso]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> + Printed by W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd.<br /> + 88 Pitt Street, Sydney, Australia +</p> +<p class="quote"> + Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, + 51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and from all Booksellers; and + (<i>wholesale only</i>) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon + Avenue, London, E.C. 4. +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pagei" name="pagei"></a>[i]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> +TO THE <br /> +CHILDREN OF AUSTRALIA <br /> +IN THE HOPE OF ENLISTING THEIR SYMPATHIES <br /> +FOR THE MANY <br /> +BEAUTIFUL, AMIABLE, AND FROLICSOME CREATURES <br /> +OF THEIR FAIR LAND, <br /> +WHOSE EXTINCTION, THROUGH RUTHLESS DESTRUCTION, <br /> +IS BEING SURELY ACCOMPLISHED +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pageii" name="pageii"></a>[ii]</span> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-b1" name="page-b1"></a>[blank]</span> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pageiii" name="pageiii"></a>[iii]</span> +</p> + +<a name="h2H_LIST" id="h2H_LIST"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS +</h2> +<table border="0" align="center" summary="List of Illustrations"> +<tr><td colspan="2" align="right"> PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td> THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0002"><i>frontispiece</i></a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0003"> 2</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0004"> 14</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0005"> 18</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE SONG </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0006"> 22</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0007"> 26</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0008"> 34</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE CORROBOREE </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0009"> 36</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> A LEAP FOR LIFE </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0010"> 44</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE BITTERN HELPS DOT </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0011"> 48</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE BOWER BIRDS </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0012"> 56</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0013"> 60</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE COURT OF ANIMALS </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0014"> 64</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE COCKATOO JUDGE </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0015"> 66</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0016"> 68</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0017"> 72</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0018"> 74</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0019"> 76</a> </td></tr> +<tr><td> BY THE LAKE (EVENING) </td><td align="right"><a href="#image-0020"> 80</a> </td></tr> +</table> + +<!-- +<p><b>List of Illustrations</b></p> + +<p class="toc">THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0003">THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0004">THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0005">DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0006">THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE PLATYPUS'S SONG</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0007">DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0008">DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0009">THE CORROBOREE</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0010">A LEAP FOR LIFE</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0011">THE BITTERN HELPS DOT</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0012">THE BOWER BIRDS</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0013">THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0014">THE COURT OF ANIMALS</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0015">THE COCKATOO JUDGE</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0016">THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0017">THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0018">DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0019">DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO</a></p> +<p class="toc"><a href="#image-0020">BY THE LAKE (EVENING)</a></p> +<hr /> +--> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pageiv" name="pageiv"></a>[iv]</span> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-b3" name="pagei-b3"></a>[blank]</span> +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page1" name="page1"></a>[1]</span> +</p> + +<a name="h2H_4_0006" id="h2H_4_0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h1> + DOT AND THE KANGAROO +</h1> +<a name="h2HCH0001" id="h2HCH0001"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER I +</h2> +<p> +Little Dot had lost her way in the bush. She knew it, and was very +frightened. +</p> +<p> +She was too frightened in fact to cry, but stood in the middle of a +little dry, bare space, looking around her at the scraggy growths of +prickly shrubs that had torn her little dress to rags, scratched her +bare legs and feet till they bled, and pricked her hands and arms as +she had pushed madly through the bushes, for hours, seeking her home. +Sometimes she looked up to the sky. But little of it could be seen +because of the great tall trees that seemed to her to be trying to reach +heaven with their far-off crooked branches. She could see little patches +of blue sky between the tangled tufts of drooping leaves, and, as the +dazzling sunlight had faded, she began to think it was getting late, and +that very soon it would be night. +</p> +<p> +The thought of being lost and alone in the wild bush at night, took her +breath away with fear, and made her tired little legs tremble under her. +She gave up all hope of finding her home, and sat down at the foot of +the biggest blackbutt tree, with her face buried in her hands and knees, +and thought of all that had happened, and what might happen yet. +</p> +<p> +It seemed such a long, long time since her mother had told her that she +might gather some bush flowers whilst she cooked the dinner, and Dot +recollected how she was bid not to go out of sight of the cottage. How +she wished now that she had remembered this sooner! But whilst she was +picking the pretty flowers, a hare suddenly started at her feet and +sprang away into the bush, and she had run after it. When she found that +she could not catch the hare, she discovered that she could no longer +see the cottage. After wandering for a while she got frightened and ran, +and ran, little knowing that she was going further away from her home at +every step. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page2" name="page2"></a>[2]</span> +</p> +<p> +Where she was sitting under the blackbutt tree, she was miles away from +her father's selection, and it would be very difficult for anyone to +find her. She felt that she was a long way off, and she began to think +of what was happening at home. She remembered how, not very long ago, a +neighbour's little boy had been lost, and how his mother had come to +their cottage for help to find him, and that her father had ridden off +on the big bay horse to bring men from all the selections around to help +in the search. She remembered their coming back in the darkness; numbers +of strange men she had never seen before. Old men, young men, and boys, +all on their rough-coated horses, and how they came indoors, and what a +noise they made all talking together in their big deep voices. They +looked terrible men, so tall and brown and fierce, with their rough +bristly beards; and they all spoke in such funny tones to her, as if +they were trying to make their voices small. +</p> +<p> +During many days these men came and went, and every time they were more +sad, and less noisy. The little boy's mother used to come and stay, +crying, whilst the men were searching the bush for her little son. Then, +one evening, Dot's father came home alone, and both her mother and the +little boy's mother went away in a great hurry. Then, very late, her +mother came back crying, and her father sat smoking by the fire looking +very sad, and she never saw that little boy again, although he had been +found. +</p> +<p> +She wondered now if all these rough, big men were riding into the bush +to find her, and if, after many days, they would find her, and no one +ever see her again. She seemed to see her mother crying, and her father +very sad, and all the men very solemn. These thoughts made her so +miserable that she began to cry herself. +</p> +<p> +Dot does not know how long she was sobbing in loneliness and fear, with +her head on her knees, and with her little hands covering her eyes so as +not to see the cruel wild bush in which she was lost. It seemed a long +time before she summoned up courage to uncover her weeping eyes, and +look once more at the bare, dry earth, and the wilderness of scrub and +trees that seemed to close her in as if she were in a prison. When she +did look up, she was surprised to see that she was no longer alone. She +forgot all her trouble and fear in her astonishment at seeing a big grey +Kangaroo squatting quite close to her, in front of her. +</p> + +<a name="image-0003"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-01.jpg"><img src="images/ill-01-t.jpg" width="400" height="503" +alt="THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT" /></a> +<br /> +THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT +</div> + +<p> +What was most surprising was that the Kangaroo evidently understood that +Dot was in trouble, and was sorry for her; for down the animal's nice +soft grey muzzle two tiny little tears were slowly trickling. When Dot +looked up at + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page3" name="page3"></a>[3]</span> + + it with wonder in her round blue eyes, the Kangaroo did not jump away, +but remained gazing sympathetically at Dot with a slightly puzzled air. +Suddenly the big animal seemed to have an idea, and it lightly hopped +off into the scrub, where Dot could just see it bobbing up and down as +if it were hunting for something. Presently back came the strange +Kangaroo with a spray of berries in her funny black hands. They were +pretty berries. Some were green, some were red, some blue, and others +white. Dot was quite glad to take them when the Kangaroo offered them to +her; and as this friendly animal seemed to wish her to eat them, she did +so gladly, because she was beginning to feel hungry. +</p> +<p> +After she had eaten a few berries a very strange thing happened. While +Dot had been alone in the bush it had all seemed so dreadfully still. +There had been no sound but the gentle stir of a light, fitful breeze +in the far-away tree-tops. All around had been so quiet, that her +loneliness had seemed twenty times more lonely. Now, however, under the +influence of these small, sweet berries, Dot was surprised to hear +voices everywhere. At first it seemed like hearing sounds in a dream, +they were so faint and distant, but soon the talking grew nearer and +nearer, louder and clearer, until the whole bush seemed filled with +talking. +</p> +<p> +They were all little voices, some indeed quite tiny whispers and +squeaks, but they were very numerous, and seemed to be everywhere. They +came from the earth, from the bushes, from the trees, and from the very +air. The little girl looked round to see where they came from, but +everything looked just the same. Hundreds of ants, of all kinds and +sizes, were hurrying to their nests; a few lizards were scuttling about +amongst the dry twigs and sparse grasses; there were some grasshoppers, +and in the trees birds fluttered to and fro. Then Dot knew that she was +hearing, and understanding, everything that was being said by all the +insects and creatures in the bush. +</p> +<p> +All this time the Kangaroo had been speaking, only Dot had been too +surprised to listen. But now the gentle, soft voice of the kind animal +caught her attention, and she found that the Kangaroo was in the middle +of a speech. +</p> +<p> +"I understood what was the matter with you at once," she was saying, +"for I feel just the same myself. I have been miserable, like you, ever +since I lost my baby kangaroo. You also must have lost something. Tell +me what it is?" +</p> +<p> +"I've lost my way," said Dot; rather wondering if the Kangaroo would +understand her. +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" said the Kangaroo, quite delighted at her own cleverness, "I knew +you had lost something! Isn't it a dreadful feeling? You feel as if you +had no + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page4" name="page4"></a>[4]</span> + + inside, don't you? And you're not inclined to eat anything—not even the +youngest grass. I have been like that ever since I lost my baby +kangaroo. Now tell me," said the creature confidentially, "what your way +is like, I may be able to find it for you." +</p> +<p> +Dot found that she must explain what she meant by saying she had "lost +her way," and the Kangaroo was much interested. +</p> +<p> +"Well," said she, after listening to the little girl, "that is just like +you Humans; you are not fit for this country at all! Of course, if you +have only one home in one place, you <i>must</i> lose it! If you made your +home everywhere and anywhere, it would never be lost. Humans are no good +in our bush," she continued. "Just look at yourself now. How do you +compare with a kangaroo? There is your ridiculous sham coat. Well, you +have lost bits of it all the way you have come to-day, and you're nearly +left in your bare skin. Now look at <i>my</i> coat. I've done ever so much +more hopping than you to-day, and you see I'm none the worse. I wonder +why all your fur grows upon the top of your head," she said +reflectively, as she looked curiously at Dot's long flaxen curls. "It's +such a silly place to have one's fur the thickest! You see, we have very +little there; for we don't want our heads made any hotter under the +Australian sun. See how much better off you would be, now that nearly +all your sham coat is gone, if that useless fur had been chopped into +little, short lengths, and spread all over your poor bare body. I wonder +why you Humans are made so badly," she ended, with a puzzled air. +</p> +<p> +Dot felt for a moment as if she ought to apologise for being so unfit +for the bush, and for having all the fur on the top of her head. But, +somehow, she had an idea that a little girl must be something better +than a kangaroo, although the Kangaroo certainly seemed a very superior +person; so she said nothing, but again began to eat the berries. +</p> +<p> +"You must not eat any more of these berries," said the Kangaroo, +anxiously. +</p> +<p> +"Why?" asked Dot, "they are very nice, and I'm very hungry." +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo gently took the spray out of Dot's hand, and threw it away. +"You see," she said, "if you eat too many of them, you'll know too +much." +</p> +<p> +"One can't know too much," argued the little girl. +</p> +<p> +"Yes you can, though," said the Kangaroo, quickly. "If you eat too many +of those berries, you'll learn too much, and that gives you indigestion, +and then you become miserable. I don't want you to be miserable any +more, for I'm going to find your 'lost way.'" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page5" name="page5"></a>[5]</span> +</p> +<p> +The mention of finding her way reminded the little girl of her sad +position, which, in her wonder at talking with the Kangaroo, had been +quite forgotten for a little while. She became sad again; and seeing how +dim the light was getting, her thoughts went back to her parents. She +longed to be with them to be kissed and cuddled, and her blue eyes +filled with tears. +</p> +<p> +"Your eyes just now remind me of two fringed violets, with the morning +dew on them, or after a shower," said the Kangaroo. "Why are you +crying?" +</p> +<p> +"I was thinking," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! don't think!" pleaded the Kangaroo; "I never do myself." +</p> +<p> +"I can't help it!" explained the little girl. "What do you do instead?" +she asked. +</p> +<p> +"I always jump to conclusions," said the Kangaroo, and she promptly +bounded ten feet at one hop. Lightly springing back again to her +position in front of the child, she added, "and that's why I never have +a headache." +</p> +<p> +"Dear Kangaroo," said Dot, "do you know where I can get some water? I'm +very thirsty!" +</p> +<p> +"Of course you are," said her friend; "everyone is at sundown. I'm +thirsty myself. But the nearest water-hole is a longish way off, so we +had better start at once." +</p> +<p> +Little Dot got up with an effort. After her long run and fatigue, she +was very stiff, and her little legs were so tired and weak, that after a +few steps she staggered and fell. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo looked at the child compassionately. "Poor little Human," +she said, "your legs aren't much good, and, for the life of me, I don't +understand how you can expect to get along without a tail. The +water-hole is a good way off," she added, with a sigh, as she looked +down at Dot, lying on the ground, and she was very puzzled what to do. +But suddenly she brightened up. "I have an idea," she said joyfully. +"Just step into my pouch, and I'll hop you down to the water-hole in +less time than it takes a locust to shrill." +</p> +<p> +Timidly and carefully, Dot did the Kangaroo's bidding, and found herself +in the cosiest, softest little bag imaginable. The Kangaroo seemed +overjoyed, when Dot was comfortably settled in her pouch. "I feel as if +I had my dear baby kangaroo again!" she exclaimed; and immediately she +bounded away through the tangled scrub, over stones and bushes, over dry +water-courses and great fallen trees. And all Dot felt was a gentle +rocking motion, and a fresh breeze in her face, which made her so +cheerful that she sang this song:— +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page6" name="page6"></a>[6]</span> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i6"> If you want to go quick, </p> +<p class="i6"> I will tell you a trick </p> +<p class="i2"> For the bush, where there isn't a train. </p> +<p class="i6"> With a hulla-buloo, </p> +<p class="i6"> Hail a big kangaroo— </p> +<p class="i2"> But be sure that your weight she'll sustain— </p> +<p class="i6"> Then with hop, and with skip, </p> +<p class="i6"> She will take you a trip </p> +<p class="i2"> With the speed of the very best steed; </p> +<p class="i2"> And, this is a truth for which I can vouch, </p> +<p class="i2"> There's no carriage can equal a kangaroo's pouch. </p> +<p class="i2"> Oh! where is a friend so strong and true </p> +<p class="i2"> As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i6"> "Good bye! Good bye!" </p> +<p class="i6"> The lizards all cry, </p> +<p class="i2"> Each drying its eyes with its tail. </p> +<p class="i6"> "Adieu! Adieu! </p> +<p class="i6"> Dear kangaroo!" </p> +<p class="i2"> The scared little grasshoppers wail. </p> +<p class="i6"> "They're going express </p> +<p class="i6"> To a distant address," </p> +<p class="i2"> Says the bandicoot, ready to scoot; </p> +<p class="i2"> And your path is well cleared for your progress, I vouch, </p> +<p class="i2"> When you ride through the bush in a kangaroo's pouch. </p> +<p class="i2"> Oh! where is a friend so strong and true </p> +<p class="i2"> As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i6"> "Away and away!" </p> +<p class="i6"> You will certainly say, </p> +<p class="i2"> "To the end of the farthest blue— </p> +<p class="i6"> To the verge of the sky, </p> +<p class="i6"> And the far hills high, </p> +<p class="i2"> O take me with thee, kangaroo! </p> +<p class="i6"> We will seek for the end, </p> +<p class="i6"> Where the broad plains tend, </p> +<p class="i2"> E'en as far as the evening star. </p> +<p class="i2"> Why, the end of the world we can reach, I vouch, </p> +<p class="i2"> Dear kangaroo, with me in your pouch." </p> +<p class="i2"> Oh! where is a friend so strong and true </p> +<p class="i2"> As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page7" name="page7"></a>[7]</span> +</p> + +<a name="h2HCH0002" id="h2HCH0002"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER II +</h2> +<p> +"That is a nice song of yours," said the Kangaroo, "and I like it very +much, but please stop singing now, as we are getting near the water-hole, +for it's not etiquette to make a noise near water at sundown." +</p> +<p> +Dot would have asked why everything must be so quiet; but as she peeped +out, she saw that the Kangaroo was making a very dangerous descent, and +she did not like to trouble her friend with questions just then. They +seemed to be going down to a great deep gully that looked almost like a +hole in the earth, the depth was so great, and the hills around came so +closely together. The way the Kangaroo was hopping was like going down +the side of a wall. Huge rocks were tumbled about here and there. Some +looked as if they would come rolling down upon them; and others appeared +as if a little jolt would send them crashing and tumbling into the +darkness below. Where the Kangaroo found room to land on its feet after +each bound puzzled Dot, for there seemed no foothold anywhere. It all +looked so dangerous to the little girl that she shut her eyes, so as not +to see the terrible places they bounded over, or rested on: she felt +sure that the Kangaroo must lose her balance, or hop just a little too +far or a little too near, and that they would fall together over the +side of that terrible wild cliff. At last she said: +</p> +<p> +"Oh, Kangaroo, shall we get safely to the bottom do you think?" +</p> +<p> +"I never think," said the Kangaroo, "but I know we shall. This is the +easiest way. If I went through the thick bush on the other side, I +should stand a chance of running my head against a tree at every leap, +unless I got a stiff neck with holding my head on one side looking out +of one eye all the time. My nose gets in the way when I look straight in +front," she explained. "Don't be afraid," she continued. "I know every +jump of the way. We kangaroos have gone this way ever since Australia +began to have kangaroos. Look here!" she said, pausing on a big boulder +that hung right over the gully, "we have made a history book for +ourselves out of these rocks; and so long as these rocks last, long, +long after the time when there will be no more kangaroos, and no more +humans, the sun, and the moon, and the stars will look down upon what +we have traced on these stones." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page8" name="page8"></a>[8]</span> +</p> +<p> +Dot peered out from her little refuge in the Kangaroo's pouch, and +saw the glow of the twilight sky reflected on the top of the boulder. +The rough surface of the stone shone with a beautiful polish like a +looking-glass, for the rock had been rubbed for thousands of years by +the soft feet and tails of millions of kangaroos; kangaroos that had +hopped down that way to get water. When Dot saw that, she didn't know +why it all seemed solemn, or why she felt such a very little girl. She +was a little sad, and the Kangaroo, after a short sigh, continued her +way. +</p> +<p> +As they neared the bottom of the gully the Kangaroo became extremely +cautious. She no longer hopped in the open, but made her way with little +leaps through the thick scrub. She peeped out carefully before each +movement. Her long, soft ears kept moving to catch every sound, and her +black sensitive little nose was constantly lifted, sniffing the air. +Every now and then she gave little backward starts, as if she were going +to retreat by the way she had come, and Dot, with her face pressed +against the Kangaroo's soft furry coat, could hear her heart beating so +fast that she knew she was very frightened. +</p> +<p> +They were not alone. Dot could hear whispers from unseen little +creatures everywhere in the scrub, and from birds in the trees. High up +in the branches were numbers of pigeons—sweet little Bronze-Wings; and +above all the other sounds she could hear their plaintive voices crying, +"We're so frightened! we're so frightened! so thirsty and so frightened! +so thirsty and so frightened!" +</p> +<p> +"Why don't they drink at the water-hole?" whispered Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Because they're frightened," was the answer. +</p> +<p> +"Frightened of what?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Humans!" said the Kangaroo, in frightened tones; and as she spoke she +reared up upon her long legs and tail, so that she stood at least six +feet high, and peeped over the bushes; her nose working all round, and +her ears wagging. +</p> +<p> +"I think it's safe," she said, as she squatted down again. +</p> +<p> +"Friend Kangaroo," said a Bronze-Wing that had sidled out to the end +of a neighbouring branch, "you are so courageous, will you go first to +the water, and let us know if it is all safe? We haven't tasted a drop +of water for two days," she said, sadly, "and we're dying of thirst. +Last night, when we had waited for hours, to make certain there were +no cruel Humans about, we flew down for a drink—and we wanted, oh! +so little, just three little sips; but the terrible Humans, with their +'bang-bangs,' murdered numbers of us. Then we flew back, and some were +hurt and bleeding, and died of their wounds, and none of us have + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page9" name="page9"></a>[9]</span> + + dared to get a drink since." Dot could see that the poor pigeon was +suffering great thirst, for its wings were drooping, and its poor dry +beak was open. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo was very distressed at hearing the pigeon's story. "It is +dreadful for you pigeons," she said, "because you can only drink at +evening; we sometimes can quench our thirst in the day, I wish we could +do without water! The Humans know all the water-holes, and sooner or +later we all get murdered, or die of thirst. How cruel they are!" +</p> +<p> +Still the pigeons cried on, "we're so thirsty and so frightened;" and +the Bronze-Wing asked the Kangaroo to try again, if she could either +smell or hear a Human near the water-hole. +</p> +<p> +"I think we are safe," said the Kangaroo, having sniffed and listened as +before; "I will now try a nearer view." +</p> +<p> +The news soon spread that the Kangaroo was going to venture near the +water, to see if all was safe. The light was very dim, and there was a +general whisper that the attempt to get a drink of water should not be +left later; as some feared such foes as dingoes and night birds, should +they venture into the open space at night. As the Kangaroo moved +stealthily forward, pushing aside the branches of the scrub, or standing +erect to peep here and there, there was absolute silence in the bush. +Even the pigeons ceased to say they were afraid, but hopped silently +from bough to bough, following the movements of the Kangaroo with eager +little eyes. The Brush Turkey and the Mound-Builder left their heaped-up +nests and joined the other thirsty creatures, and only by the crackling +of the dry scrub, or the falling of a few leaves, could one tell that so +many live creatures were together in that wild place. +</p> +<p> +Presently the Kangaroo had reached the last bushes of the scrub, behind +which she crouched. +</p> +<p> +"There's not a smell or a sound," she said. "Get out, Dot, and wait here +until I return, and the Bronze-Wings have had their drink; for, did they +see you, they would be too frightened to come down, and would have to +wait another night and day." +</p> +<p> +Dot got out of the pouch, and she was very sorry when she saw how +terrified her friend looked. She could see the fur on the Kangaroo's +chest moving with the frightened beating of her heart; and her beautiful +brown eyes looked wild and strange with fear. +</p> +<p> +Instantly, the Kangaroo leaped into the open. For a second she paused +erect, sniffing and listening, and then she hastened to the water. As +she stooped + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page10" name="page10"></a>[10]</span> + + to drink, Dot heard a "whrr, whrr, whrr," and, like falling leaves, down +swept the Bronze-Wings. It was a wonderful sight. The water-hole shone +in the dim light, with the great black darkness of the trees surrounding +it, and from all parts came the thirsty creatures of the bush. The +Bronze-Wings were all together. Hundred of little heads bobbed by the +edge of the pool, as the little bills were filled, and the precious +water was swallowed; then, together, a minute afterwards, "whrr, whrr, +whrr," up they flew, and in one great sweeping circle they regained +their tree-tops. Like the bush creatures, Dot also was frightened, and +running to the water, hurriedly drank, and fled back to the shelter of +the bush, where the Kangaroo was waiting for her. +</p> +<p> +"Jump in!" said the Kangaroo, "It's never safe by the water," and, a +minute after, Dot was again in the cosy pouch, and was hurrying away, +like all the others from the water where men are wont to camp, and kill +with their guns the poor creatures that come to drink. +</p> +<p> +That evening the Kangaroo tried to persuade Dot to eat some grass, but +as Dot said she had never eaten grass, it got some roots from a friendly +Bandicoot, which the little girl ate because she was hungry; but she +thought she wouldn't like to be a Bandicoot always to eat such food. +Then in a nice dry cave she nestled into the fur of the gentle Kangaroo, +and was so tired that she slept immediately. +</p> +<p> +She only woke up once. She had been dreaming that she was at home, and +was playing with the new little Calf that had come the day before she +was lost, and she couldn't remember, at first waking, what had happened, +or where she was. It was dark in the cave, and outside the bushes and +trees looked quite black—for there was but little light in that place +from the starry sky. It seemed terribly lonesome and wild. When the +Kangaroo spoke she remembered everything, and they both sat up and +talked a little. +</p> +<p> +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" sang the Nightjar in the distance. "I wish the +Nightjar wouldn't make that noise when one wants to sleep," said the +Kangaroo. "It hasn't got any voice to speak of, and the tune is stupid. +It gives me the jim-jams, for it reminds me I've lost my baby kangaroo. +There is something wrong about some birds that think themselves +musical," she continued: "they are well behaved and considerate enough +in the day, but as soon as it is a nice, quiet, calm night, or a bit of +a moon is in the sky, they make night hideous to everyone within +earshot—'Mo-poke! mo-poke!' Oh! it gives me the blues!" +</p> +<p> +As the Kangaroo spoke she hopped to the front of the cave. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page11" name="page11"></a>[11]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I say, Nightjar," she said, "I'm a little sad to-night, please go and +sing elsewhere." +</p> +<p> +"Ah!" said the Nightjar, "I'm so glad I've given you deliciously dismal +thoughts with my song! I'm a great artist, and can touch all hearts. +That is my mission in the world: when all the bush is quiet, and +everyone has time to be miserable, I make them more so—isn't it lovely +to be like that?" +</p> +<p> +"I'd rather you sang something cheerful," said the Kangaroo to herself, +but out loud she said, "I find it really too beautiful, it is more than +I can bear. Please go a little farther off." +</p> +<p> +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" croaked the Nightjar, farther and farther in the +distance, as it flew away. +</p> +<p> +"What a pity!" said the Kangaroo, as she returned to the cave, "the +'possum made that unlucky joke of telling the Nightjar it has a touching +voice, and can sing: everyone has to suffer for that joke of the +'possum's. It doesn't matter to him, for he is awake all night, but it +is too bad for his neighbours who want to sleep." +</p> +<p> +Just then there arose from the bush a shrill wailing and shrieking that +made Dot's heart stop with fear. It sounded terrible, as if something +was wailing in great pain and suffering. +</p> +<p> +"O Kangaroo!" she cried, "what is the matter?" "That," said the +Kangaroo, as she laid herself down to rest, "is the sound of the Curlew +enjoying itself. They are sociable birds, and entertain a great deal. +There is a party to-night, I suppose, and that is the expression of +their enjoyment. I believe," she continued, with a suppressed yawn, +"it's not so painful as it sounds. Willy Wagtail, who goes a great deal +amongst Humans, says they do that sort of thing also; he has often heard +them when he lived near the town." +</p> +<p> +Dot had never been in the town, but she was certain she had never heard +anything like the Curlew's wailing in her home; and she wondered what +Willy Wagtail meant, but she was too sleepy to ask; so she nestled a +little closer to the Kangaroo, and with the shrieking of the Curlews, +and the mournful note of the distant mo-poke in her ears, she fell +asleep again. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page12" name="page12"></a>[12]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0003" id="h2HCH0003"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER III +</h2> +<p> +When Dot awoke, she did so with a start of fear. Something in her sleep +had seemed to tell her that she was in danger. At a first glance she saw +that the Kangaroo had left her, and coiled upon her body was a young +black Snake. Before Dot could move, she heard a voice from a tree, +outside the cave, say, very softly, "Don't be afraid! keep quite still, +and you will not get hurt. Presently I'll kill that Snake. If I tried to +do so now it might bite you; so let it sleep on." +</p> +<p> +She looked up in the direction of the tree, and saw a big Kookooburra +perched on a bough, with all the creamy feathers of its breast fluffed +out, and its crest very high. The Kookooburra is one of the jolliest +birds in the bush, and is always cracking jokes, and laughing, but this +one was keeping as quiet as he could. Still he could not be quite +serious, and a smile played all round his huge beak. Dot could see that +he was nearly bursting with suppressed laughter. He kept on saying, +under his breath, "what a joke this is! what a capital joke! How they'll +all laugh when I tell them." Just as if it was the funniest thing in the +world to have a Snake coiled up on one's body; when the horrid thing +might bite one with its poisonous fangs, at any moment! +</p> +<p> +Dot said she didn't see any joke, and it was no laughing matter. +</p> +<p> +"To be sure <i>you</i> don't see the joke," said the jovial bird. "On-lookers +always see the jokes, and I'm an on-looker. It's not to be expected of +you, because you're not an on-looker;" and he shook with suppressed +laughter again. +</p> +<p> +"Where is my dear Kangaroo?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"She has gone to get you some berries for breakfast," said the +Kookooburra, "and she asked me to look after you, and that's why I'm +here. That Snake got on you whilst I flew away to consult my doctor, the +White Owl, about the terrible indigestion I have. He's very difficult +to catch awake; for he's out all night and sleepy all day. He says +cockchafers have caused it. The horny wing-cases and legs are most +indigestible, he assures me. I didn't fancy them much when I ate them +last night, so I took his advice and coughed them up, and I'm no longer +feeling depressed. Take my advice, and don't eat cockchafers, little +Human." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page13" name="page13"></a>[13]</span> +</p> +<p> +Dot did not really hear all this, nor heed the excellent advice of the +Kookooburra, not to eat those hard green beetles that had disagreed with +it, for a little shivering movement had gone through the Snake, and +presently all the scales of its shining black back and rosy underpart +began to move. Dot felt quite sick, as she saw the reptile begin to +uncoil itself, as it lay upon her. She hardly dared to breathe, but lay +as still as if she were dead, so as not to frighten or anger the horrid +creature, which presently seemed to slip like a slimy cord over her bare +legs, and wriggled away to the entrance of the cave. +</p> +<p> +With a quick, delighted movement, she sat up, eager to see where the +deadly Snake would go. It was very drowsy, having slept heavily on Dot's +warm little body; so it went slowly towards the bush, to get some frogs +or birds for breakfast. But as it wriggled into the warm morning +sunlight outside, Dot saw a sight that made her clap her hands together +with anxiety for the life of the jolly Kookooburra. +</p> +<p> +No sooner did the black Snake get outside the cave, than she saw the +Kookooburra fall like a stone from its branch, right on top of the +Snake. For a second, Dot thought the bird must have tumbled down dead, +it was such a sudden fall; but a moment later she saw it flutter on the +ground, in battle with the poisonous reptile, whilst the Snake wriggled, +and coiled its body into hoops and rings. The Kookooburra's strong +wings, beating the air just above the writhing Snake, made a great +noise, and the serpent hissed in its fierce hatred and anger. Then Dot +saw that the Kookooburra's big beak had a firm hold of the Snake by the +back of the neck, and that it was trying to fly upwards with its enemy. +In vain the dreadful creature tried to bite the gallant bird; in vain it +hissed and stuck out its wicked little spiky tongue; in vain it tried to +coil itself round the bird's body; the Kookooburra was too strong and +too clever to lose its hold, or to let the Snake get power over it. +</p> +<p> +At last Dot saw that the Snake was getting weaker and weaker, for, +little by little, the Kookooburra was able to rise higher with it, until +it reached the high bough. All the time the Snake was held in the bird's +beak, writhing and coiling in agony; for he knew that the Kookooburra +had won the battle. But, when the noble bird had reached its perch, it +did a strange thing; for it dropped the Snake right down to the ground. +Then it flew down again, and brought the reptile back to the bough, and +dropped it once more—and this it did many times. Each time the Snake +moved less and less, for its back was being broken by these falls. At +last the Kookooburra flew up with its victim for the last time, and, +holding + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page14" name="page14"></a>[14]</span> + + it on the branch with its foot, beat the serpent's head with its great +strong beak. Dot could hear the blows fall,—whack, whack, whack,—as +the beak smote the Snake's head; first on one side, then on the other, +until it lay limp and dead across the bough. +</p> +<p> +"Ah! ah! ah!—Ah! ah! ah!" laughed the Kookooburra, and said to Dot, +"Did you see all that? Wasn't it a joke? What a capital joke! Ha! ha! +ha! ha! ha! Oh! oh! oh! how my sides do ache! What a joke! How they'll +laugh when I tell them." Then came a great flight of kookooburras, for +they had heard the laughter, and all wanted to know what the joke was. +Proudly the Kookooburra told them all about the Snake sleeping on Dot, +and the great fight! All the time, first one kookooburra, and then +another, chuckled over the story, and when it came to an end every bird +dropped its wings, cocked up its tail, and throwing back its head, +opened its great beak, and all laughed uproariously together. Dot was +nearly deafened by the noise; for some chuckled, some cackled; some +said, "Ha! ha! ha!" others said, "Oh! oh! oh!" and as soon as one left +off, another began, until it seemed as though they couldn't stop. They +all said it was a splendid joke, and that they really must go and tell +it to the whole bush. So they flew away, and far and near, for hours, +the bush echoed with chuckling and cackling, and wild bursts of +laughter, as the kookooburras told that grand joke everywhere. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said the Kookooburra, when all the others had gone, "a bit of +snake is just the right thing for breakfast. Will you have some, little +Human?" +</p> +<p> +Dot shuddered at the idea of eating snake for breakfast, and the +Kookooburra thought she was afraid of being poisoned. +</p> +<p> +"It won't hurt you," he said kindly, "I took care that it did not bite +itself. Sometimes they do that when they are dying, and then they're not +good to eat. But this snake is all right, and won't disagree like +cockchafers: the scales are quite soft and digestible," he added. +</p> +<p> +But Dot said she would rather wait for the berries the Kangaroo was +bringing, so the Kookooburra remarked that if she would excuse it he +would like to begin breakfast at once, as the fight had made him hungry. +Then Dot saw him hold the reptile on the branch with his foot, whilst he +took its tail into his beak, and proceeded to swallow it in a leisurely +way. In fact the Kookooburra was so slow that very little of the snake +had disappeared when the Kangaroo returned. +</p> +<a name="image-0004"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-02.jpg"><img src="images/ill-02-t.jpg" width="400" height="489" +alt="THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE" /></a> +<br /> +THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE +</div> +<p> +The Kangaroo had brought a pouch full of berries, and in her hand a +small spray of the magic ones, by eating which Dot was able to +understand the talk + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page15" name="page15"></a>[15]</span> + + of all the bush creatures. All the time she was wandering in the bush +the Kangaroo gave her some of these to eat daily, and Dot soon found +that the effect of these strange berries only lasted until the next day. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo emptied out her pouch, and Dot found quite a large +collection of roots, buds, and berries, which she ate with good +appetite. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo watched her eating with a look of quiet satisfaction. +</p> +<p> +"See," she said, "how easily one can live in the bush without hurting +anyone; and yet Humans live by murdering creatures and devouring them. +If they are lost in the scrub they die, because they know no other way +to live than that cruel one of destroying us all. Humans have become so +cruel, that they kill, and kill, not even for food, but for the love of +murdering. I often wonder," she said, "why they and the dingoes are +allowed to live on this beautiful kind earth. The Black Humans kill and +devour us; but they, even, are not so terrible as the Whites, who +delight in taking our lives, and torturing us just as an amusement. +Every creature in the bush weeps that they should have come to take the +beautiful bush away from us." +</p> +<p> +Dot saw that the sad brown eyes of the Kangaroo were full of tears, and +she cried too, as she thought of all that the poor animals and birds +suffer at the hands of white men. "Dear Kangaroo," she said, "if I ever +get home, I'll tell everyone of how you unhappy creatures live in fear, +and suffer, and ask them not to kill you poor things any more." +</p> +<p> +But the Kangaroo sadly shook her head, and said, "White Humans are +cruel, and love to murder. We must all die. But about your lost way," +she continued in a brisk tone, by way of changing this painful subject; +"I've been asking about it, and no one has seen it anywhere. Of course +someone must know where it is, but the difficulty is to find the right +one to ask." Then she dropped her voice, and came a little nearer to +Dot, and stooping down until her little black hands hung close to the +ground, she whispered in Dot's ear, "They say I ought to consult the +Platypus." +</p> +<p> +"Could the Platypus help, do you think?" Dot asked. +</p> +<p> +"I <i>never</i> think," said the Kangaroo, "but as the Platypus never goes +anywhere, never associates with any other creature, and is hardly ever +seen, I conclude it knows everything—it must, you know." +</p> +<p> +"Of course," said Dot, with some doubt in her tone. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page16" name="page16"></a>[16]</span> +</p> +<p> +"The only thing is," continued the Kangaroo, once more sitting up and +pensively scratching her nose. "The only thing is, I can't bear the +Platypus; the sight of it gives me the creeps: it's such a queer +creature!" +</p> +<p> +"I've never seen a Platypus," said Dot. "Do tell me what it is like!" +</p> +<p> +"I couldn't describe it," said the Kangaroo, with a shudder, "it seems +made up of parts of two or three different sorts of creatures. None of +us can account for it. It must have been an experiment, when all the +rest of us were made: or else it was made up of the odds and ends of the +birds and beasts that were left over after we were all finished." +</p> +<p> +Little Dot clapped her hands. "Oh, dear Kangaroo," she said, "do take me +to see the Platypus! there was nothing like that in my Noah's ark." +</p> +<p> +"I should say not!" remarked the Kangaroo. "The animals in the Ark said +they were each to be of its kind, and every sort of bird and beast +refused to admit the Platypus, because it was of so many kinds; and at +last Noah turned it out to swim for itself, because there was such a +row. That's why the Platypus is so secluded. Ever since then no Platypus +is friendly with any other creature, and no animal or bird is more than +just polite to it. They couldn't be, you see, because of that trouble in +the Ark." +</p> +<p> +"But that was so long ago," said Dot, filled with compassion for the +lonely Platypus; "and, after all, this is not the same Platypus, nor are +all the bush creatures the same now as then." +</p> +<p> +"No," returned the Kangaroo, "and some say there was no Ark, and no fuss +over the matter, but that, of course, doesn't make any difference, for +it's a very ancient quarrel, so it must be kept up. But if we are to go +to the Platypus we had better start now; it is a good time to see it—so +come along, little Dot," said the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page17" name="page17"></a>[17]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0004" id="h2HCH0004"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER IV +</h2> +<p> +"Good-bye, Kookooburra!" cried Dot, as they left the cave; and the bird +gave her a nod of the head, followed by a wink, which was supposed to +mean hearty good-will at parting. He would have spoken, only he had +swallowed but part of the Snake, and the rest hung out of the side of +his beak, like an old man's pipe; so he couldn't speak. It wouldn't have +been polite to do so with his beak full. +</p> +<p> +Dot was so rested by her sleep all night that she did not ride in the +Kangaroo's pouch; but they proceeded together, she walking, and her +friend making as small hops as she could, so as not to get too far +ahead. This was very difficult for the Kangaroo, because even the +smallest hops carried her far in front. After a time they arranged that +the friendly animal should hop a few yards, then wait for Dot to catch +her up, and then go on again. This she did, nibbling bits of grass as +she waited, or playing a little game of hide-and-seek behind the bushes. +</p> +<p> +Sometimes when she hid like this, Dot would be afraid that she had lost +her Kangaroo, and would run here and there, hunting round trees, and +clusters of ferns, until she felt quite certain she had lost the kind +animal; when suddenly, clean over a big bush, the Kangaroo would bound +into view, landing right in front of her. Then Dot would laugh, and rush +forward, and throw her arms around her friend; and the Kangaroo, with a +quiet smile, would rub her little head against Dot's curls, and they +were both very happy. So, although it was a long and rough way to the +little creek where the Platypus lived, it did not seem at all far. +</p> +<p> +The stream ran at the bottom of a deep gully, that had high rocky sides, +with strangely shaped trees growing between the rocks. But, by the +stream, Dot thought they must be in fairyland; it was so beautiful. In +the dark hollows of the rocks were wonderful ferns; such delicate ones +that the little girl was afraid to touch them. They were so tender and +green that they could only grow far away from the sun, and as she peeped +into the hollows and caves where they grew, it seemed as if she was +being shown the secret store-house of Nature, where she kept all the +most lovely plants, out of sight of the world. A soft carpet seemed to +spring under Dot's feet, like a nice springy mattress, as she trotted +along. She asked the Kangaroo why the earth was so soft, and was told +that it was not earth, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page18" name="page18"></a>[18]</span> + + but the dead leaves of the tree-ferns above them, that had been falling +for such a long, long time, that no kangaroo could remember the +beginning. +</p> +<p> +Then Dot looked up, and saw that there was no sky to be seen; for they +were passing under a forest of tree-ferns, and their lovely spreading +fronds made a perfect green tent over their heads. The sunlight that +came through was green, as if you were in a house made of green glass. +All up the slender stems of these tall tree-ferns were the most +beautiful little plants, and many stems were twined, from the earth to +their feather-like fronds, with tender creeping ferns—the fronds of +which were so fine and close, that it seemed as if the tree-fern were +wrapped up in a lovely little fern coat. Even crumbling dead trees, and +decaying tree-ferns, did not look dead, because some beautiful moss, or +lichen, or little ferns had clung to them, and made them more beautiful +than when alive. +</p> +<p> +Dot kept crying out with pleasure at all she saw; especially when little +Parrakeets, with feathers as green as the ferns, and gorgeous red +breasts, came in flocks, and welcomed her to their favourite haunt; and, +as she had eaten the berries of understanding, and was the friend of the +Kangaroo, they were not frightened, but perched on her shoulders and +hands, and chatted their merry talk together. The Kangaroo did not share +Dot's enthusiasm for the beauties of the gully. She said it was pretty, +certainly, but a bad place for kangaroos, because there was no grass. +For her part, she didn't think any sight in nature so lovely as a big +plain, green with the little blades of new spring grass. The gully was +very showy, but not to her mind so beautiful as the other. +</p> +<p> +Then they came to a stream that gurgled melodiously as it rippled over +stones in its shallow course, or crept round big grey boulders that were +wrapped in thick mosses, in which were mingled flowers of the pink and +red wild fuchsia, or the creamy great blossoms of the rock lily. Dot ran +down the stream with bare feet, laughing as she paddled in and out among +the rocks and ferns, and the sun shone down on the gleaming foam of the +water, and made golden lights in Dot's wild curls. The Kangaroo, too, +was very merry, and bounded from rock to rock over the stream, showing +what wonderful things she could do in that way; and sometimes they +paused, side by side, and peeped down upon some still pool that showed +their two reflections as in a mirror; and that seemed so funny to Dot, +that her silvery laugh woke the silence in happy peals, until more +green-and-red Parrakeets flew out of the bush to join in the fun. +</p> +<a name="image-0005"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-03.jpg"><img src="images/ill-03-t.jpg" width="400" height="495" +alt="DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS" /></a> +<br /> +DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS +</div> +<p> +When they had followed the stream some distance, the gully opened out +into bush scrub. The little Parrakeets then said "Good-bye," and flew +back to their + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page19" name="page19"></a>[19]</span> + + favourite tree-ferns and bush growth; and the Kangaroo said, that as +they were nearing the home of the Platypus, they must not play in the +stream any more; to do so might warn the creature of their approach and +frighten it. "We shall have to be very careful," she said, "so that the +Platypus will neither hear nor smell you. We will therefore walk on the +opposite shore, as the wind will then blow away from its home." +</p> +<p> +The stream no longer chattered over rocky beds, but slid between soft +banks of earth, under tufts of tall rushes, grasses, and ferns, and soon +it opened into a broad pool, which was smooth as glass. The clouds in +the sky, the tall surrounding trees, and the graceful ferns and rushes +of the banks, were all reflected in the water, so that it looked to Dot +like a strange upside-down picture. This, then, was the home of that +wonderful animal; and Dot felt quite frightened, because she thought she +was going to see something terrible. +</p> +<p> +At the Kangaroo's bidding, she hid a little way from the edge of the +pool, but she was able to see all that happened. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo evidently did not enjoy the prospect of conversing with the +Platypus. She kept on fidgetting about, putting off calling to the +Platypus by one excuse and another: she was decidedly ill at ease. +</p> +<p> +"Are you frightened of the Platypus?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Dear me, no!" replied the Kangaroo, "but I'd rather have a talk with +any other bush creature. First of all, the sight of it makes me so +uncomfortable, that I want to hop away the instant I set eyes upon it. +Then, too, it's so difficult to be polite to the Platypus, because one +never knows how to behave towards it. If you treat it as an animal, you +offend its bird nature, and if you treat it as a bird, the animal in it +is mighty indignant. One never knows where one is with a creature that +is two creatures," said the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +Dot was so sorry for the perplexity of her friend, that she suggested +that they should not consult the Platypus. But the Kangaroo said it must +be done, because no one in the bush was so learned. Being such a strange +creature, and living in such seclusion, and being so difficult to +approach, was a proof that it was the right adviser to seek. So, with a +half desperate air, the Kangaroo left the little girl, and went down to +the water's edge. +</p> +<p> +Pausing a moment, she made a strange little noise that was something +between a grunt and a hiss: and she repeated this many times. At last +Dot saw what looked like a bit of black stick, just above the surface of +the pool, coming towards their side, and, as it moved forward, leaving +two little silvery ripples + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page20" name="page20"></a>[20]</span> + + that widened out behind it on the smooth waters. Presently the black +stick, which was the bill of the Platypus, reached the bank, and the +strangest little creature climbed into view. Dot had expected to see +something big and hideous; but here was quite a small object after all! +It seemed quite ridiculous that the great Kangaroo should be evidently +discomposed by the sight. +</p> +<p> +Dot could not hear what the Kangaroo said, but she saw the Platypus +hurriedly prepare to regain the water. It began to stumble clumsily down +the bank. The Kangaroo then raised her voice in pleading accents. +</p> +<p> +"But," she said, "it's such a little Human! I have treated it like my +baby kangaroo, and have carried it in my pouch." +</p> +<p> +This information seemed to arrest the movements of the Platypus; it had +reached the water's edge, but it paused, and turned. +</p> +<p> +"I tell you," it said in a high-pitched and irritable voice, "that all +Humans are alike! They all come here to interview me for the same +purpose, and I'm resolved it shall not happen again; I have been +insulted enough by their ignorance." +</p> +<p> +"I assure you," urged the Kangaroo, "that she will not annoy you in that +way. She wouldn't think of doing such a thing to any animal." +</p> +<p> +As the Kangaroo called the Platypus an animal, Dot saw at once that it +was offended, and in a great huff it turned towards the pool again. "I +beg your pardon," said the Kangaroo nervously. "I didn't mean an +altogether animal, or even a bird, but any a—a—a—." She seemed +puzzled how to speak of the Platypus, when the strange creature, seeing +the well-meaning embarrassment of the Kangaroo, said affably, "any +mammal or Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus." +</p> +<p> +"Exactly," said the Kangaroo, brightening up, although she hadn't the +least idea what a mammal was. +</p> +<p> +"Well, bring the little Human here," said the Platypus in a more +friendly tone, "and if I feel quite sure on that point I will permit an +interview." +</p> +<p> +Two bounds brought the Kangaroo to where Dot was hidden. She seemed +anxious that the child should make a good impression on the Platypus, +and tried with the long claws on her little black hands to comb through +Dot's long gleaming curls; but they were so tangled that the child +called out at this awkward method of hairdressing, and the Kangaroo +stopped. She then licked a black smudge off Dot's forehead, which was +all she could do to tidy her. Then she started back a hop, and eyed the +child with her head on one side. She was not quite satisfied. "Ah!" she +said, "if only you were a baby kangaroo I could + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page21" name="page21"></a>[21]</span> + + make you look so nice! but I can't do anything to your sham coat, which +gets worse every day, and your fur is all wrong, for one can't get one's +claws through it. You Humans are no good in the bush!" +</p> +<p> +"Never mind, dear Kangaroo," said the little girl; "when I get home +mother will put me on a new frock, and will get the tangles out of my +hair. Let us go to the Platypus now." +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo felt sad as Dot spoke of returning home, for she had become +really fond of the little Human. She began to feel that she would be +lonely when they parted. However, she did not speak of what was in her +mind, but bounded back to the Platypus to wait for Dot. +</p> +<p> +When the little girl reached the pool, she was still more surprised, on +a nearer view of the Platypus, that the Kangaroo should think so much of +it. At her feet she beheld a creature like a shapeless bit of wet matted +fur. She thought it looked like an empty fur bag that had been fished +out of the water. Projecting from the head, that seemed much nearer to +the ground than the back, was a broad duck's bill, of a dirty grey +colour; and peeping out underneath were two fore feet that were like a +duck's also. Altogether it was such a funny object that she was inclined +to laugh, only the Kangaroo looked so serious, that she tried to look +serious too, as if there was nothing strange in the appearance of the +Platypus. +</p> +<p> +"I am the Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus!" said the Platypus pompously. +</p> +<p> +"I am Dot," said the little girl. +</p> +<p> +"Now we know one another's names," said the Platypus, with satisfaction. +"If the Kangaroo had introduced us, it would have stumbled over my name, +and mumbled yours, and we should have been none the wiser. Now tell me, +little Human, are you going to write a book about me? because if you +are, I'm off. I can't stand any more books being written about me; I've +been annoyed enough that way." +</p> +<p> +"I couldn't write a book," said Dot, with surprise; inwardly wondering +what anyone could find to make a book of, out of such a small, ugly +creature. +</p> +<p> +"You're quite sure?" asked the Platypus, doubtfully, and evidently more +than half inclined to dive into the pool. +</p> +<p> +"Quite," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Then I'll try to believe you," said the Platypus, clumsily waddling +towards some grass, amongst which it settled itself comfortably. "But +it's very difficult to believe you Humans, for you tell such dreadful +fibs," it continued, as it + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page22" name="page22"></a>[22]</span> + + squirted some dirty water out of the bag that surrounded its bill, and +swallowed some water beetles, small snails and mud that it had stored +there. "See, for instance, the way you have all quarrelled and lied +about me! One great Human, the biggest fool of all, said I wasn't a live +creature at all, but a joke another Human had played upon him. Then they +squabbled together—one saying I was a Beaver; another that I was a +Duck; another, that I was a Mole, or a Rat. Then they argued whether I +was a bird, or an animal, or if we laid eggs, or not; and everyone wrote +a book, full of lies, all out of his head. +</p> +<p> +"That's the way Humans amuse themselves. They write books about things +they don't understand, and each new book says all the others are all +wrong. It's a silly game, and very insulting to the creatures they write +about. Humans at the other end of the world, who never took the trouble +to come here to see me, wrote books about me. Those who did come were +more impudent than those who stayed away. Their idea of learning all +about a creature was to dig up its home, and frighten it out of its +wits, and kill it; and after a few moons of that sort of foolery they +claimed to know all about us. Us! whose ancestors knew the world +millions of years before the ignorant Humans came on the earth at all." +The Platypus spluttered out more dirty water, in its indignation. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo became very timid, as it saw the rising anger of the +Platypus, and it whispered to Dot to say something to calm the little +creature. +</p> +<p> +"A million years is a very long time," said Dot; unable at the moment to +think of anything better to say. But this remark angered the Platypus +more, for it seemed to suspect Dot of doubting what it said. +</p> +<p> +It clambered up into a more erect position, and its little brown eyes +became quite fiery. +</p> +<p> +"I didn't say a million; I said millions! I can prove by a bone in my +body that my ancestors were the Amphitherium, the Amphilestes, the +Phascolotherium, and the Stereognathus!" almost shrieked the little +creature. +</p> +<a name="image-0006"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-04.jpg"><img src="images/ill-04-t.jpg" width="400" height="489" +alt="THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE PLATYPUS'S SONG" /></a> +<br /> +THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE PLATYPUS'S SONG +</div> +<p> +Dot didn't understand what all these words meant, and looked at the +Kangaroo for an explanation; but she saw that the Kangaroo didn't +understand either, only she was trying to hide her ignorance by a calm +appearance, while she nibbled the end of a long grass she held in her +fore paw. But Dot noticed, by the slight trembling of the little black +paw, that the Kangaroo was very nervous. She thought she would try and +say something to please Platypus; so she asked, very kindly, if the bone +ever hurt it. But this strange creature did not seem to notice + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page23" name="page23"></a>[23]</span> + +the remark. Settling itself more comfortably amongst the grass, it +muttered in calmer tones, "I trace my ancestry back to the Oolite Age. +Where does man come in?" +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Of course you don't!" replied the Platypus, contemptuously, "Humans are +so ignorant! That is because they are so new. When they have existed a +few more million years, they will be more like us of old families; they +will respect quiet, exclusive living, like that of the Ornithorhynchus +Paradoxus, and will not be so inquisitive, pushing, and dangerous as +now. The age will come when they will understand, and will cease to +write books, and there will be peace for everyone." +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo now thought it a good opportunity to change the subject, +and gently introduced the topic of Dot's lost way, saying how she had +found the little girl, and had taken care of her ever since. +</p> +<p> +The Platypus did not seem interested, and yawned more than once whilst +the Kangaroo spoke. +</p> +<p> +"The question is," concluded the Kangaroo, "who shall I ask to find it? +Someone must know where it is." +</p> +<p> +"Of course," said the Platypus, yawning again, without so much as +putting its web foot in front of its bill, which Dot thought very rude, +or else very ancient manners. "Little Human," it said, "tell me what +kind of bush creatures come about your burrow." +</p> +<p> +"We live in a cottage," she said, but seeing that the Platypus did not +like to be corrected, and that the Kangaroo looked quite shocked at her +doing so, she hurriedly described the creatures she had seen there. She +said there were Crickets, Grasshoppers, Mice, Lizards, Swallows, +Opossums, Flying Foxes, Kookooburras, Magpies, and Shepherd's +Companions—— +</p> +<p> +"Stop!" interrupted the Platypus, with a wave of its web foot; "that is +the right one." +</p> +<p> +"Who?" asked the Kangaroo and Dot anxiously, together. +</p> +<p> +"The bird you call Shepherd's Companion. Some of you call it Rickety +Dick, or Willy Wagtail." Turning to the Kangaroo especially, it +continued. "If you can bring yourself to speak to anything so obtrusive +and gossiping, without any ancestry or manners whatever, you will be +able to learn all you need from that bird. Humans and Wagtails +fraternise together. They're both post-glacial." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page24" name="page24"></a>[24]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I knew you could advise me," said the Kangaroo, gratefully. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! Platypus, how clever you are!" cried Dot, clapping her hands. +</p> +<p> +Directly Dot had spoken she saw that she had offended the queer little +creature before her. It raised itself with an air of offended dignity +that was unmistakable. +</p> +<p> +"The name Platypus is insulting," it remarked, looking at the child +severely, "it means <i>broad-footed</i>, a vulgar pseudonym which could only +have emanated from the brutally coarse expressions of a Human. My name +is Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. Besides, even if my front feet can expand, +they can also contract; see! as narrow and refined as a bird's claw. +Observe, too, that my hind feet are narrow, and like a seal's fin, +though it has been described as a mole's foot." +</p> +<p> +As the Platypus spoke, and thrust out its strangely different feet, the +Kangaroo edged a little closer to Dot and whispered in her ear. "It's +getting angry, and is beginning to use long words; do be careful what +you say or it will be terrible!" +</p> +<p> +"I beg your pardon," said Dot; "I did not wish to hurt your feelings, +Para—, Pa—ra—dox—us." +</p> +<p> +"<i>Ornithorhynchus</i> Paradoxus, if you please," insisted the little +creature. "How would you like it if your name was Jones-Smith-Jones, and +I called you one Jones, or one Smith, and did not say both the Jones and +the Smiths? You have no idea how sensitive our race is. You Humans have +no feelings at all compared with ours. Why! my fifth pair of nerves are +larger than a man's! Humans get on my nerves dreadfully!" it ended in +disgusted accents. +</p> +<p> +"She did not mean to hurt you," said the gentle Kangaroo, soothingly. +"Is there anything we can do to make you feel comfortable again?" +</p> +<p> +"There is nothing you can do," sighed the Platypus, now mournful and +depressed. "I must sing. Only music can quiet my nerves. I will sing a +little threnody composed by myself, about the good old days of this +world before the Flood." And as it spoke, the Platypus moved into an +upright position amongst the tussock grass, and after a little cough +opened its bill to sing. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo kept very close to Dot, and warned her to be very attentive +to the song, and not to interrupt it on any account. Almost before the +Kangaroo had ceased to whisper in her ear, Dot heard this strange song, +sung to the most peculiar tune she had ever heard, and in the funniest +of little squeaky voices. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page25" name="page25"></a>[25]</span> +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> The fairest Iguanodon reposed upon the shore; </p> +<p class="i2"> Extended lay her beauteous form, a hundred feet and more. </p> +<p class="i2"> The sun, with rays flammivomous, beat on the blue-black sand; </p> +<p class="i2"> And sportive little Saurians disported on the strand; </p> +<p class="i2"> But oft the Iguanodon reproved them in their glee, </p> +<p class="i2"> And said, "Alas! this Saurian Age is not what it should be!" </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> Then, forth from that archaic sea, the Ichthyosaurus </p> +<p class="i2"> Uprose upon his finny wings, with neocomian fuss, </p> +<p class="i2"> "O Iguanodon!" he cried, as he approached the shore, </p> +<p class="i2"> "Why art thou thus dysthynic, love? Come, rise with me, and soar, </p> +<p class="i2"> Or leave these estuarian seas, and wander in the grove; </p> +<p class="i2"> Behold! a bird-like reptile fish is dying for thy love!" </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> Then, through the dark coniferous grove they wandered side by side, </p> +<p class="i2"> The tender Iguanodon and Ichthyosaurian bride; </p> +<p class="i2"> And through the enubilious air, the carboniferous breeze, </p> +<p class="i2"> Awoke, with <i>their</i> amphibious sighs, the silence in the trees. </p> +<p class="i2"> "To think," they cried, botaurus-toned, "when ages intervene, </p> +<p class="i2"> Our osseous fossil forms will be in some museum seen!" </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> Bemoaning thus, by dumous path, they crushed the cycad's growth, </p> +<p class="i2"> And many a crash, and thunder, marked the progress of them both. </p> +<p class="i2"> And when they reached the estuary, the excandescent sun </p> +<p class="i2"> Was setting o'er the hefted sea; their saurian day was done. </p> +<p class="i2"> Then raised they paraseline eyes unto the flaming moon, </p> +<p class="i2"> And wept—the Neocomian Age was passing all too soon! </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> O Iguanodon! O Earth! O Ichthyosaurus! </p> +<p class="i2"> O Melanocephalous saurians! Oh! oh! oh! </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i24" style="text-align:right;"> (Here the Platypus was sobbing) </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> Oh, Troglyodites obscure—oh! oh! </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +At this point of the song, the poor Platypus, whose voice had trembled +with increasing emotion and sobbing in each verse, broke down, overcome +by the extreme sensitiveness of its fifth pair of nerves and the sadness +of its song, and wept in terrible grief. +</p> +<p> +The gentle Kangaroo was also deeply moved, seeing the Platypus in such +sorrow, and Dot mastered her aversion to touching cold, damp fur, and +stroked the little creature's head. +</p> +<p> +The Platypus seemed much soothed by their sympathy, but hurriedly bid +them + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page26" name="page26"></a>[26]</span> + +farewell. It said it must try and restore its shattered fifth pair of +nerves by a few hydrophilus latipalpus beetles for lunch, and a sleep. +</p> +<p> +It wearily dragged itself down to the edge of the pool, and looked +backwards to the Kangaroo and Dot, who called out "Good-bye" to it. Its +eyes were dim with tears, for it was still thinking of the Iguanodon and +Ichthyosaurus, and of the good old days before the Flood. +</p> +<p> +"It breaks my heart to think that they are all fossils," it exclaimed, +mournfully shaking its head. "Fossils!" it repeated, as it plunged into +the pool and swam away. "Fossils!" it cried once more, in far, faint +accents; and a second later it dived out of sight. +</p> +<p> +For several moments after the Platypus had disappeared from view, the +Kangaroo and Dot remained just as it had left them. Then Dot broke the +silence. +</p> +<p> +"Dear Kangaroo," said she, "what was that song about?" +</p> +<p> +"I don't know," said the animal wistfully, "no one ever knows what the +Platypus sings about." +</p> +<p> +"It was very sad," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Dreadfully sad!" sighed the Kangaroo; "but the Platypus is a most +learned and interesting creature," she added hastily. "Its conversation +and songs are most edifying; everyone in the bush admits it." +</p> +<p> +"Does anyone understand its conversation?" asked Dot. She was afraid she +must be very stupid, for she hadn't understood anything except that +Willy Wagtail could help them to find her way. +</p> +<p> +"That is the beauty of it all," said the Kangaroo. "The Platypus is so +learned and so instructive, that no one tries to understand it; it is +not expected that anyone should." +</p> +<a name="image-0007"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-05.jpg"><img src="images/ill-05-t.jpg" width="400" height="502" +alt="DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS" /></a> +<br /> +DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page27" name="page27"></a>[27]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0005" id="h2HCH0005"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER V +</h2> +<p> +"Now we must find Willy Wagtail," said the Kangaroo. "The chances are +Click-i-ti-clack, his big cousin who lives in the bush, will be able to +tell us where to find him; for he doesn't care for the bush, and lives +almost entirely with Humans, and the queer creatures they have brought +into the country now-a-days. We may have to go a long way, so hop into +my pouch, and we will get on our way." +</p> +<p> +Once more Dot was in the kind Kangaroo's pouch. It was in the latter end +of autumn, and the air was so keen, that, as her torn little frock was +now very little protection to her against the cold, she was glad to be +back in that nice fur bag. She was used now to the springy bounding of +the great Kangaroo, and felt quite safe; so that she quite enjoyed the +wonderful and seemingly dangerous things the animal did in its great +leaps and jumps. +</p> +<p> +With many rests and stops to eat berries or grass on their way, they +searched the bush for the rest of the day without finding the big bush +Wagtail. All kinds of creatures had seen him, or heard his strange +rattling, chattering song; but it always seemed that he had just flown +off a few minutes before they heard of him. It was most vexatious, and +Dot saw that another night must pass before they would be able to hear +of her home. She did not like to think of that, for she could picture to +herself all those great men, on their big rough horses, coming back to +her father's cottage that night, and how they would begin to be quiet +and sad. +</p> +<p> +She thought it would not be half so bad to be lost, if the people at +home could only know that one was safe and snug in a kind Kangaroo's +pouch; but she knew that her parents could never suppose that she was so +well cared for, and would only think that she was dying alone in the +terrible bush—dying for want of food and water, and from fear and +exposure. How strange it seemed that people should die like that in the +bush, where so many creatures lived well, and happily! But then they had +not bush friends to tell them what berries and roots to eat, and where +to get water, and to cuddle them up in a nice warm fur during the cold +night. As she thought of this she rubbed her face against the Kangaroo's +soft coat, and patted her with her little hands; and the affectionate +animal was so + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page28" name="page28"></a>[28]</span> + + pleased at these caresses, that she jumped clean over a watercourse, +twenty feet at least, in one bound. +</p> +<p> +It was getting evening time, and the sun was setting with a beautiful +rosy colour, as they came upon a lovely scene. They had followed the +watercourse until it widened out into a great shallow creek beside a +grassy plain. As they emerged from the last scattered bushes and trees +of the forest, and hopped out into the open side of a range of hills, +miles and miles of grass country, with dim distant hills, stretched +before them. The great shining surface of the creek caught the rosy +evening light, and every pink cloudlet in the sky looked doubly +beautiful reflected in the water. Here and there out of the water arose +giant skeleton trees, with huge silver trunks and contorted dead +branches. On these twisted limbs were numbers of birds: Shag, blue and +white Cranes, and black and white Ibis with their bent bills. Slowly +paddling on the creek, with graceful movements, were twenty or thirty +black Swans, and in and out of their ranks, as they passed in stately +procession, shot wild Ducks and Moor Hens, like a flotilla of little +boats amongst a fleet of big ships. All these birds were watching a +pretty sight that arrested Dot's attention at once. By the margin of the +creek, where tufted rushes and tall sedges shed their graceful +reflection on the pink waters, were a party of Native Companions +dancing. +</p> +<p> +"In these times it is seldom we can see a sight like this," said the +Kangaroo. "The water is generally too unsafe for the birds to enjoy +themselves. It often means death to them to have a little pleasure." +</p> +<p> +As the Kangaroo spoke, one of the Native Companions caught sight of her, +and leaving the dance, opened her wings, and still making dainty steps +with her long legs, half danced and half flew to where the Kangaroo was +sitting. +</p> +<p> +"Good evening, Kangaroo," she said, gracefully bowing; "will you not +come a little nearer to see the dance?" Then the Native Companion saw +Dot in the Kangaroo's pouch, and made a little spring of surprise. "Dear +me!" she said, "what have you in your pouch?" +</p> +<p> +"It's a Human," said the Kangaroo, apologetically; "it's quite a little +harmless one. Let me introduce you." +</p> +<p> +So Dot alighted from the pouch, and joined in the conversation, and the +Native Companion was much interested in hearing her story. +</p> +<p> +"Do you dance?" asked the Native Companion, with a quick turn of her +head, on its long, graceful neck. Dot said that she loved dancing. So +the Native + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page29" name="page29"></a>[29]</span> + + Companion took her down to the creek, and all the other Companions +stopped dancing and gathered round her, whilst she was introduced and +her story told. Then they spread their wings, and with stately steps +escorted her to the edge of the water, whilst the Kangaroo sat a little +way off, and delightedly watched the proceedings. +</p> +<p> +Dot didn't understand any of the figures of the dance; but the scenery +was so lovely, and so was the pink sunset, and the Native Companions +were so elegant and gay, that, catching up her ragged little skirts in +both hands, she followed their movements with her bare brown feet as +best she could, and enjoyed herself very much. To Dot, the eight birds +that took part in the entertainment were very tall and splendid, with +their lovely grey plumage and greeny heads, and she felt quite small as +they gathered round her sometimes, and enclosed her within their +outspread wings. And how beautiful their dancing was! How light their +dainty steps! as their feet scarcely touched the earth; and what +fantastic measures they danced! advancing, retreating, circling +round—with their beautiful wings keeping the rhythm of their feet. +There was one figure that Dot thought the prettiest of all—when they +danced in line at the margin of the water; stepping, and bowing, and +gracefully gyrating to their shadows, which were reflected with the pink +clouds of evening on the surface of the creek. +</p> +<p> +Dot was very sorry, and hot, and breathless, when the dance came to an +end. The sun had been gone a long time, and all the pink shades had +slowly turned to grey; the creek had lost its radiant colour, and looked +like a silver mirror, and so desolate and sombre, that no one could have +imagined it to have been the scene of so much gaiety shortly before. +</p> +<p> +Dot hastily returned to the Kangaroo, and all the Native Companions came +daintily, and made graceful adieus to them both. Afterwards, they spread +their great, soft wings, and, stretching their long legs behind them, +wheeled upwards to the darkening sky. Then all the birds in the bare +trees preened their feathers, and settled down for the night; and the +Kangaroo took her little Human charge back to the bush, where there was +a cosy sheltering rock, under which to pass the night, and they lay down +together, with the stars peeping at them through the branches of the +trees. +</p> +<p> +They had slept for a long time, as it seemed to Dot, when they were +awakened by a little voice saying: +</p> +<p> +"Wake up, Kangaroo! you are in danger. Get away, as soon as possible!" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page30" name="page30"></a>[30]</span> +</p> +<p> +The moon was shining fitfully, as it broke through swift flying clouds. +In the uncertain light, Dot could see a little creature near them, and +knew at once that it was an Opossum. +</p> +<p> +"What is the matter?" asked the Kangaroo, softly. "Blacks!" said the +Opossum. And as it spoke, Dot heard a sound as of a half dingo dog +howling and snapping in the distance. As that sound was heard, the +Opossum made one flying leap to the nearest tree, and scrambled out of +sight in a moment. +</p> +<p> +"I wish he had told us a little more," said the Kangaroo. "Still, for +a 'possum, it was a good-natured act to wake me up. They are selfish, +spiteful little beasts, as a rule. Now I wonder where those Blacks are? +I shall have to go a little way to sniff and listen. I won't go far, so +don't be afraid, but stay quietly here until I come back." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page31" name="page31"></a>[31]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0006" id="h2HCH0006"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER VI +</h2> +<p> +It was terrible to Dot to see the Kangaroo hop off into the dark bush, +and to find herself all alone; so she crawled out from under the ledge +of rock into the moonlight, and sat on a stone where she could see the +sky, and watch the black ragged clouds hurry over the moon. But the bush +was not altogether quiet. She could hear an owl hooting at the moon. Not +far off was a camp of quarrelsome Flying Foxes, and the melancholy +Nightjar in the distance was fulfilling its mission of making all the +bush creatures miserable with its incessant, mournful "mo-poke! +mo-poke!" As Dot could understand all the voices, it amused her to +listen to the wrangles of the Flying Foxes, as they ate the fruit of a +wild fig tree near by. She saw them swoop past on their huge black wings +with a solemn flapping. Then, as each little Fox approached the tree, +the Foxes who were there already screamed, and swore in dreadfully bad +language at the visitor. For every little Fox on the tree was afraid +some other Flying Fox would eat all the figs, and as each visitor +arrived he was assailed with cries of, "Get away! you're not wanted +here!" +</p> +<p> +"This is my branch, my figs!" +</p> +<p> +"Go and find figs for yourself!" +</p> +<p> +"These figs are not half ripe like the juicy ones on the other side of +the tree!" +</p> +<p> +Then the new-comer Flying Fox, with a spiteful squeal, would pounce down +on a branch already occupied, and angry spluttering and screams would +arise, followed by a heavy fall of fighting Foxes tumbling with a crash +through the trees. Then out into the open sky swept dozens of black +wings, accompanied by abusive swearing from dozens of wicked little +brown Foxes; and, as they settled again on the tree, all the fighting +would begin again, so that the squealing, screaming, and swearing never +ended. +</p> +<p> +As Dot was listening to the fighting of the Flying Foxes, she heard a +sound near her that alarmed her greatly. It was impossible to say what +the noise was like. It might have been the braying of a donkey mixed up +with the clattering of palings tumbled together, and with grunts and +snorts. Dot started to her feet in fright, and would have run away, only +she was afraid of being lost worse than ever, so she stood still and +looked round for the terrible monster that could make such extraordinary +sounds. The grunts and clattering stopped, and the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page32" name="page32"></a>[32]</span> + +noise died away in a long doleful bray, but she could not see where it +came from. Having peered into the dark shadows, Dot went more into the +open, and sat with her back to a fallen tree, keeping an anxious watch +all round. +</p> +<p> +"Perhaps it is the Blacks. What would they do with me if they found me? +What will happen if they have killed my dear Kangaroo?" and she covered +her face with her hands as this terrible thought came into her head. +Soon she heard something coming towards her stealthily and slowly. She +would not look up she was so frightened. She was sure it was some +fierce-looking Black man, with his spear, about to kill her. She shut +her eyes closer, and held her breath. "Perhaps," she thought, "he will +not see me." Then a cold shiver went through her little body, as she +felt something claw hold of her hair, and she thought she was about to +be killed. She kept her eyes shut, and the clawing went on, and then to +her astonishment she heard an animal voice say in wondering tones: +</p> +<p> +"Why, it's fur! how funny it looked in the moonlight!" Then Dot opened +her eyes very wide and looked round, and saw a funny Native Bear on the +tree trunk behind her. He was quite clearly to be seen in the moonlight. +His thick, grey fur, that looked as if he was wrapped up to keep out the +most terrible cold weather; his short, stumpy, big legs, and little +sharp face with big bushy ears, could be seen as distinctly as in +daylight. Dot had never seen one so near before, and she loved it at +once, it looked so innocent and kind. +</p> +<p> +"You dear little Native Bear!" she exclaimed, at once stroking its head. +</p> +<p> +"Am I a Native Bear?" asked the animal in a meek voice. "I never heard +that before. I thought I was a Koala. I've always been told so, but of +course one never knows oneself. What are you? Do you know?" +</p> +<p> +"I'm a little girl," replied Dot, proudly. +</p> +<p> +The Koala saw that Dot was proud, but as it didn't see any reason why +she should be, it was not a bit afraid of her. +</p> +<p> +"I never heard of one or saw one before," it said, simply. "Do you +burrow, or live in a tree?" +</p> +<p> +"I live at home," said Dot; but, wishing to be quite correct, she added, +"that is, when I am there." +</p> +<p> +"Then, where are you now?" asked the Koala, rather perplexed. +</p> +<p> +"I'm not at home," replied Dot, not knowing how to make her position +clear to the little animal. +</p> +<p> +"Then you live where you don't live?" said the Koala; "where is it?" and +the little Bear looked quite unhappy in its attempt to understand what +Dot meant. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page33" name="page33"></a>[33]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I've lost it," said Dot. "I don't know where it is." +</p> +<p> +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala, sadly. "I live in the gum +tree over there. Do you eat gum leaves?" +</p> +<p> +"No. When I'm at home I have milk, and bread, and eggs, and meat." +</p> +<p> +"Dear me!" said the Koala. "They're all new to one. Is it far? I should +like to see the trees they grow on. Please show me the way." +</p> +<p> +"But I can't," said Dot; "they don't grow on trees, and I don't know my +way home. It's lost, you see." +</p> +<p> +"I don't see," said the Native Bear. "I never can see far at night, and +not at all in daylight. That is why I came here. I saw your fur shining +in the moonlight, and I couldn't make out what it was, so I came to see. +If there is anything new to be seen, I must get a near view of it. I +don't feel happy if I don't know all about it. Aren't you cold?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes, I am, a little, since my Kangaroo left me," Dot said. +</p> +<p> +"Now you make my head feel empty again," said the Koala, plaintively. +"What has a Kangaroo got to do with your feeling cold? What have you +done with your fur?" +</p> +<p> +"I never had any," said Dot, "only these curls," and she touched her +little head. +</p> +<p> +"Then you ought to be black," argued the Koala. "You're not the right +colour. Only Blacks have no fur, but what they steal from the proper +owners. Do you steal fur?" it asked in an anxious voice. +</p> +<p> +"How do they steal fur?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +The Koala looked very miserable, and spoke with horror. "They kill us +with spears, and tear off our skins and wear them because their own +skins are no good." +</p> +<p> +"That's not stealing," said Dot; "that's killing"; and, although it +seemed very difficult to make the little Bear understand, she explained, +"Stealing is taking away another person's things; and when a person is +dead he hasn't anything belonging to him, so it's not stealing to take +what belonged to him before, because it isn't his any longer—that is, +if it doesn't belong to anyone else." +</p> +<p> +"You make my head feel empty," complained the Koala. "I'm sure you're +all wrong; for an animal's skin and fur is his own, and it's his life's +business to keep it whole. Everyone in the bush is trying to keep his +skin whole, all day long, and all night too. Good gracious! what is the +matter up there?" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page34" name="page34"></a>[34]</span> +</p> +<p> +A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum +tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala. Presently the +sounds of snarling, spitting, and screaming ended, and an Opossum +climbed out to the far end of a branch, where the moonlight shone on his +grey fur like silver. There he remained snapping and barking +disagreeable things to his mate, who climbed up to the topmost branch, +and snarled and growled back equally unpleasant remarks. +</p> +<p> +"Why don't you bring in gum leaves for to-morrow, instead of sleeping +all day and half the night too?" shouted the Opossum on the branch to +his wife. "You know I get hungry before daylight is over and hate going +out in the light." +</p> +<p> +"Get them yourself, you lazy loon!" retorted the lady Opossum. "If you +disturb my dreams again this way, I'll make your fur fly." +</p> +<p> +"Take care!" barked back her husband, "or I'll bring you off that branch +pretty quickly." +</p> +<p> +"You'd better try!" sneered his wife. "Remember how I landed you into +the billabong the other night!" +</p> +<p> +The taunt was too much for the Opossum on the branch; he scuttled up the +tree to reach his mate, who sprang forward from her perch into the air. +Dot saw her spring with her legs all spread out, so that the skinny +flaps were like furry wings. By this means she was able to break her +fall, and softly alighting on the earth, a moment after, she had +scrambled up another tree, followed by her mate. From tree to tree, from +branch to branch, they fled or pursued one another, with growls, +screams, and splutters, until they disappeared from sight. +</p> +<p> +"How unhappy those poor Opossums must be, living in the same tree," said +Dot; "why don't they live in different trees?" +</p> +<p> +"They wouldn't be happy," observed the Koala, "they are so fond of one +another." +</p> +<p> +"Then why do they quarrel?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Because they live in the same tree of course," said the Koala. "If they +lived in different trees, and never quarrelled, they wouldn't like it at +all. They'd find life dull, and they'd get sulky. There's nothing worse +than a sulky 'possum. They are champions at that." +</p> +<p> +"They make a dreadful noise with their quarrelling," said Dot. "They are +nearly as bad as the Flying Foxes over there. I wonder if they made that +fearful sound I heard just before you came?" +</p> +<a name="image-0008"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-06.jpg"><img src="images/ill-06-t.jpg" width="400" height="491" +alt="DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM" /></a> +<br /> +DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page35" name="page35"></a>[35]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I expect what you heard was from me," said the Koala; "I had just +awakened, and when I saw the moon was up I felt pleased." +</p> +<p> +"Was all that sound and many noises yours?" asked Dot with astonishment, +as she regarded the shaggy little animal on the tree trunk. +</p> +<p> +The Koala smiled modestly. "Yes!" it said; "when I'm pleased there is no +creature in the bush can make such a noise, or so many different noises +at once. I waken everyone for a quarter of a mile round. You wouldn't +think it, to see me as I am, would you?" The Koala was evidently very +pleased with this accomplishment. +</p> +<p> +"It isn't kind of you to wake up all the sleeping creatures," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Why not?" asked the Koala. "You are a night creature, I suppose, or you +wouldn't be awake now. Well, don't you think it unfair the way +everything is arranged for the day creatures?" +</p> +<p> +"But then," said Dot, "there are so many more day creatures." +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't make any difference," observed the Koala. +</p> +<p> +"But it does," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"How?" asked the Native Bear. +</p> +<p> +"Because if you had the day it wouldn't be any good to you, and if they +had the night it wouldn't be any good to them. So your night couldn't be +their day, and their day couldn't be your night." +</p> +<p> +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala. "But you'd think +differently if a flock of Kookooburras settled on your tree, and +guffawed idiotically when you wanted to sleep." +</p> +<p> +"As you don't like being waked yourself, why do you wake others then?" +asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Because this is a free country," said the Koala. While Dot was trying +to understand why the Koala's reason should suffice for one animal +making another's life uncomfortable, she was rejoiced to see the +Kangaroo bound into sight. She forgot all about the Koala, and rushed +forward to meet it. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page36" name="page36"></a>[36]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0007" id="h2HCH0007"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER VII +</h2> +<p> +"I'm so glad you've come back!" she exclaimed. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo was a little breathless and excited. "We are not in danger +at present," she said, "but one never knows when one will be, so we must +move; and that will be more dangerous than staying where we are." +</p> +<p> +"Then let us stay," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"That won't do," replied the Kangaroo. "This is the conclusion I have +jumped to. If we stay here, the Blacks might come this way and their +dingo dogs hunt us to death. To get to a safe place we must pass their +camp. That is a little risky, but we must go that way. We can do this +easily if the dogs don't get scent of us, as all the Blacks are prancing +about and making a noise, having a kind of game in fact, and they are so +amused that we ought to get past quite safely. I've done it many times +before at night." +</p> +<p> +Dot looked round to say good-bye to the Koala, but the little animal had +heard the Kangaroo speak of Blacks, and that word suggested to its empty +little head that it must keep its skin whole, so, without waiting to be +polite to Dot, it had sneaked up its gum tree and was well out of sight. +</p> +<p> +Without wasting time, Dot settled in the Kangaroo's pouch, and they +started upon their perilous way. +</p> +<p> +For some distance the Kangaroo hopped along boldly, with an occasional +warning to Dot to shut her eyes as they plunged through the bushes; but +after crossing a watercourse, and climbing a stiff hill, she whispered +that they must both keep quite silent, and told Dot to listen as she +stopped for a moment. +</p> +<p> +Dot could hear to their right a murmuring of voices, and a steady +beating sound. "Their camp is over there," said the Kangaroo, "that is +the sound of their game." +</p> +<p> +"Can't we go some other way?" asked Dot. "No," answered the Kangaroo, +"because past that place we can reach some very wild country where it +would be hard for them to pursue us. We shall have to pass quite close +to their playground." So in perfect silence they went on. +</p> +<a name="image-0009"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-07.jpg"><img src="images/ill-07-t.jpg" width="400" height="511" +alt="THE CORROBOREE" /></a> +<br /> +THE CORROBOREE +</div> +<p> +The Kangaroo seemed to Dot to approach the whereabouts of the +Blackfellows as cautiously as when they had visited the water-hole the +first night. Dot's little heart beat fast as the sound of the Blacks' +corroboree became clearer + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page37" name="page37"></a>[37]</span> + + and clearer, and they neared the scene of the dance. Soon she could hear +the stamping of feet, the beating of weapons together, and the wild +chanting; and sometimes there were the whimpering of dogs, and the cry +of children at the camp a little distance from the corroboree ground. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo showed no signs of fear at the increasing noise of the +Blacks, but every sound of a dog caused it to stop and twist about its +big ears and sensitive nose, as it sniffed and listened. +</p> +<p> +Soon Dot could see a great red glare of firelight through the trees +ahead of their track, and she knew that in that place the tribe of Black +men were having a festive dance. +</p> +<p> +If they had gone on their way it is possible that they would have +slipped past the Blacks without danger. But although the Kangaroo is as +timid an animal as any in the bush, it is also very curious, and Dot's +Kangaroo wished to peep at the corroboree. She whispered to Dot that it +would be nice for a little Human to see some other Humans after being so +long amongst bush creatures, and said, also, that there would be no +great danger in hopping to a rock that would command a view of the open +ground where the corroboree was being held. Of course Dot thought this +would be great fun, so the Kangaroo took her to the rock, where they +peeped through the trees and saw before them the weird scene and dance. +</p> +<p> +Dot nearly screamed with fright at the sight. She had thought she would +see a few Black folk, not a crowd of such terrible people as she beheld. +They did not look like human beings at all, but like dreadful demons, +they were so wicked and ugly in appearance. The men who were dancing +were without clothes, but their black bodies were painted with red and +white stripes, and bits of down and feathers were stuck on their skin. +Some had only white stripes over the places where their bones were, +which made them look like skeletons flitting before the fire, or in and +out of the surrounding darkness. The dancing men were divided from the +rest of the tribe by a row of fires, which, burning brightly, lit the +horrid scene with a lurid red light. The firelight seemed to make the +ferocious faces of the tribe still more hideous. The tribe people were +squatting in rows on the ground, beating boomerangs and spears together, +or striking bags of skin with sticks, to make an accompaniment to the +wailing song they sang. Sometimes the women would cease beating the skin +bags to clap their hands and strike their sides, yelling the words of +the corroboree song, as the painted figures, like fiends and skeletons, +danced before the row of fires. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page38" name="page38"></a>[38]</span> +</p> +<p> +It was a terrifying sight to Dot. "Oh, Kangaroo!" she whispered, "they +are dreadful, horrid creatures." +</p> +<p> +"They're just Humans," replied the Kangaroo, indulgently. +</p> +<p> +"But white Humans are not like that," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"All Humans are the same underneath, they all kill kangaroos," said the +Kangaroo. "Look there! they are playing at killing us in their dance." +</p> +<p> +Dot looked once more at the hideous figures as they left the fire and +began acting like actors. One of the Blackfellows had come from a little +bower of trees, and wore a few skins so arranged as to make him look as +much like a kangaroo as possible, whilst he worked a stick which he +pretended was a kangaroo's tail, and hopped about. The other painted +savages were creeping in and out of the bushes with their spears and +boomerangs as if they were hunting, and the dressed-up kangaroo made +believe not to see them, but stooped down, nibbling grass. +</p> +<p> +"What an idea of a kangaroo!" sniffed Dot's friend, "why, a real +kangaroo would have smelt or heard those Humans, and have bounded away +far out of sight by now." +</p> +<p> +"But it's all sham," said Dot; "the Black man couldn't be a real +kangaroo." +</p> +<p> +"Then it just shows how stupid Humans are to try and be one," said her +friend. "Humans think themselves so clever," she continued, "but just +see what bad kangaroos they make—such a simple thing to do, too! But +their legs bend the wrong way for jumping, and that stick isn't any good +for a tail, and it has to be worked with those big, clumsy arms. Just +see, too, how those skins fit! Why it's enough to make a kangaroo's +sides split with laughter to see such foolery!" Dot's friend peeped at +the Black's acting with the contempt to be expected of a real kangaroo, +who saw human beings pretending to be one of those noble animals. Dot +thought the Kangaroo had never looked so grand before. She was so tall, +so big, and yet so graceful: a really beautiful creature. +</p> +<p> +"Well, that's over!" remarked the Kangaroo, as one of the Blacks +pretended to spear the dressed-up Blackfellow, and all the rest began to +dance around, whilst the sham kangaroo made believe to be dead. "Well, I +forgive their killing such a silly creature! There wasn't a jump in it." +</p> +<p> +After more dancing to the singing and noise of the on-lookers, a +Blackfellow came from the little bower in the dim background, with a +battered straw hat on, and a few rags tied round his neck and wrist, in +imitation of a collar and cuffs. The fellow tried to act the part of a +white man, although he had no more clothes + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page39" name="page39"></a>[39]</span> + + on than the old hat and rags. But, after a great deal of dancing, he +strutted about, pulled up the rag collar, made a great fuss with his rag +cuffs, and kept taking off his old straw hat to the other Blackfellows, +and to the rest of the tribe, who kept up the noise on the other side of +the fires. +</p> +<p> +"Now this is better!" said the Kangaroo, with a smile. "It's very silly, +but Willy Wagtail says that is just the way Humans go on in the town. +Black Humans can act being white Humans, but they are of no good as +kangaroos." +</p> +<p> +Dot thought that if men behaved like that in towns it must be very +strange. She had not seen any like the acting Blackfellow at her cottage +home. But she did not say anything, for it was quite clear in her little +mind that Blackfellows, kangaroos, and willy wagtails had a very poor +opinion of white people. She felt that they must all be wrong; but, all +the same, she sometimes wished she could be a noble kangaroo, and not a +despised human being. +</p> +<p> +"I wish I were not a little white girl," she whispered to the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +The gentle animal patted her kindly with her delicate black hands. +</p> +<p> +"You are as nice now as my baby kangaroo," she said sadly, "but you will +have to grow into a real white Human. For some reason there have to be +all sorts of creatures on the earth. There are hawks, snakes, dingoes +and humans, and no one can tell for what good they exist. They must have +dropped on to this world by mistake for another, where there could only +have been themselves. After all," said the kind animal, "it wouldn't do +for every one to be a kangaroo, for I doubt if there would be enough +grass; but you may become an improved Human." +</p> +<p> +"How could I be that?" asked Dot, eagerly. +</p> +<p> +"Never wear kangaroo leather boots—never use kangaroo skin rugs, +and,"—here it hesitated a little, as though the subject were a most +unpleasant one to mention. +</p> +<p> +"Never do what?" enquired Dot, anxious to know all that she should do, +so as to be improved. +</p> +<p> +"Never, never eat kangaroo-tail soup!" said the Kangaroo, solemnly. +</p> +<p> +"I never will," said Dot, earnestly, "I will be an improved Human." +</p> +<p> +This conversation had been so serious to both Dot and the Kangaroo, that +they had quite forgotten the perilousness of their position. Perhaps +this was because the kangaroo cannot think, but it quickly jumped to the +conclusion that they were in danger. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page40" name="page40"></a>[40]</span> +</p> +<p> +Whilst they had been peeping at the corroboree, and talking, the dingo +dogs that had been prowling around the camp, had caught scent of the +Kangaroo; and, following the trail, had set up an angry snapping and +howling. +</p> +<p> +The instant this sound was heard by the Kangaroo, she made an immense +bound, and as she seemed to fly through the bush, Dot could hear the +sounds of the corroboree give place to a noise of shouting and disorder: +the dingo dogs and the Blacks were all in pursuit, and Dot's Kangaroo, +with little Dot in her pouch, was leaping and bounding at a terrific +pace to save both their lives! +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page41" name="page41"></a>[41]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0008" id="h2HCH0008"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER VIII +</h2> +<p> +It was fortunate that the Kangaroo could not think of all that might +befall them, or she never could have had the courage for the wonderful +feats of jumping she performed. Poor little Dot, whose busy brain +pictured all kinds of terrible fates, was so overcome with fear that she +seemed hardly to know what had happened; and the more she thought, the +more terrified she became. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo did not attempt to continue the upward ascent, but followed +a slope of the rugged hill, leaping from rock to rock. This was better +than trying to escape where the trees and shrubs would have prevented +her making those astonishing bounds. But the clouds had left the moon +clear for a while, so that the Blackfellows and the dogs easily followed +every movement, as they pursued the hunt on a smoother level below. The +Blacks were trying to hurry on, so as to cut off the Kangaroo's retreat +at a spur of the hill, where, to get away, she would have to leave the +rocks and descend towards them. In the meantime Dot's ears were filled +with the sounds of snarling snaps from the dingo dogs, and hideous +noises from the Blacks, encouraging the animals to attack the Kangaroo. +But what pained her most were the gasps and little moans of her good +friend, as she put such tremendous power into every leap she made for +their lives; crashing through twigs, and scattering stones and pebbles, +in the wild speed of their flight. +</p> +<p> +Then Dot's busy little brain told her another thing, which made her more +miserable. It was becoming quite clear that the poor Kangaroo was +getting rapidly exhausted, owing to her having to bear Dot's weight. Her +panting became more and more distressing, and so did her sad moans; and +flecks of foam from her straining lips fell on Dot's face and hands. Dot +knew that her Kangaroo was trying to save her at the risk of her own +life. Without the little girl in her pouch, she might get away safely; +but, with her to carry, they would both probably fall victims to the +fierce Blacks and their dogs. +</p> +<p> +"Kangaroo! Kangaroo!" she cried, "put me down; drop Dot anywhere, +anywhere, but don't get killed yourself!" +</p> +<p> +But all Dot heard was a little hissing sound from the brave animal, +which sounded like, "Never again!" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page42" name="page42"></a>[42]</span> +</p> +<p> +"You will be killed," moaned Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Together!" said the little hissing voice, as another great bound +brought them to the spur of the hill; and then the Kangaroo had to +pause. +</p> +<p> +In that moment Dot seemed to hear and see everything. They were perched +on a rock, and the moonlight lit all their surroundings like day. To the +right was a deep black chasm, with a white foaming waterfall pouring +into the darkness below. In front was the same wide chasm, only less +wide, and beyond it, on the other side of the great yawning cleft in the +earth, was a wild spread of morass country—a gloomy, terrible-looking +place. To the left was a steep slope of small rocks and stones, leading +downwards to the hollow of sedgy land that fringed the cliffs of the +chasm. The only retreat possible was to pass down this declivity, and +try to escape by the sedgy land, and this is what the Black huntsmen had +expected. It was a very weird and desolate place; and everything looked +dark and dismal, under the moonlight, as it streamed between stormy +black clouds. In that light Dot could see the Blacks hurrying forward. +Already one of the dogs had far outrun the others, and with wolfish gait +and savage sounds, was pressing towards their place of observation. +</p> +<p> +The panting, trembling Kangaroo saw the approaching dog, also, and +leaped down from the crag. As she dropped to earth, she stooped, and +quickly lifted Dot out of her pouch, and, almost before Dot could +realize the movement, she found herself standing alone, whilst the +Kangaroo hopped forward to the front of a big boulder, as if to meet the +dog. Here the poor hunted creature took her stand, with her back close +to the rock. Gentle and timid as she was, and unfitted by nature to +fight for her life against fierce odds, it was brave indeed of the poor +Kangaroo to face her enemies, prepared to do battle for the lives of +little Dot and herself. +</p> +<p> +So noble did Dot's Kangaroo look in that desperate moment, standing +erect, waiting for her foe, and conquering her naturally frightened +nature by a grand effort of courage, that it seemed impossible that +either dogs or men should be so cruel as to take her life. For a moment +the dingo hound seemed daunted by her bravery, and paused a little way +off, panting, with its great tongue lolling out of its mouth. Dot could +see its sharp wicked teeth gleaming in the moonlight. For a few seconds +it hesitated to make the attack, and looked back down the slope, to see +if the other dogs were coming to help; but they were only just beginning +the ascent, and the shouting Blackfellows were further off still. Then +the dog could no longer control its savage nature. It longed to leap at +the poor Kangaroo's + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page43" name="page43"></a>[43]</span> + + throat—that pretty furry throat that Dot's arms had so often +encircled lovingly, and it was impatient to fix its terrible teeth +there, and hold, and hold, in a wild struggle, until the poor Kangaroo +should gradually weaken from fear and exhaustion, and be choked to +death. These thoughts filled the dog with a wicked joy. It wouldn't wait +any longer for the other dingo hounds. It wanted to murder the Kangaroo +all by itself; so, with a toss of its head, and a terrible snarl, it +sprang forward ferociously, with open jaws, aiming at the victim's +throat. +</p> +<p> +Dot clasped her cold hands together. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and +her little voice, choking with sobs, could only wail, "Oh! dear +Kangaroo! my dear Kangaroo! Don't kill my dear Kangaroo!" and she ran +forward to throw herself upon the dog and try to save her friend. +</p> +<p> +But before the terrified little girl could reach the big rock, the dog +had made its spring upon her friend. The brave Kangaroo, instead of +trying to avoid her fierce enemy, opened her little arms, and stood +erect and tall to receive the attack. The dog in its eagerness, and +owing to the nature of the ground, misjudged the distance it had to +spring. It failed to reach the throat it had aimed at, and in a moment +the Kangaroo had seized the hound in a tight embrace. There was a +momentary struggle, the dog snapping and trying to free itself, and the +Kangaroo holding it firmly. Then she used the only weapon she had to +defend herself from dogs and men,—the long sharp claw in her foot. +Whilst she held the dog in her arms, she raised her powerful leg, and +with that long, strong claw, tore open the dog's body. The dog yelped in +pain as the Kangaroo threw it to the ground, where it lay rolling in +agony and dying; for the Kangaroo had given it a terrible wound. The +other dogs were still some distance below, and the cries of their +companion caused them to pause in fear and wonder, while the Black men +could be seen advancing in the dim light, flourishing their spears and +boomerangs. +</p> +<p> +It was quite impossible to retreat that way; and where Dot and her +Kangaroo were, they were hemmed in by a rocky cliff and the deep black +chasm. The Kangaroo saw at a glance where lay their only chance of life. +She picked up Dot, placed her in her pouch, and without a word leaped +forward towards that fearful gulf of darkness and foaming waters. As +they neared the spot, Dot saw that the hunted animal was going to try +and leap across to the other side. It seemed impossible that with one +bound she could span that terrible place and reach the sedged morass +beyond; and still more impossible that it should be done by the poor +animal with heavy Dot in her pouch. Again Dot cried, "Oh! darling + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page44" name="page44"></a>[44]</span> + +Kangaroo, leave me here, and save yourself. You can never, never do it +carrying me!" +</p> +<p> +All she heard was something like "try," or "we'll die." She could not +make out what the Kangaroo said, for the crashing of the waterfall, the +whistling of the wind, and the scattering of stones as they dashed +forward, made such a storm of noises in her ears. She could see when +they reached the grassy fringe of the precipice, where the Kangaroo was +able to quicken her pace, and literally seemed to fly to their fate. +Then came the last bound before the great spring. Dot held her breath, +and a feeling of sickness came over her. Her head seemed giddy, and she +could not see, but she clasped her hands together and said, "God help my +Kangaroo!" and then she felt the fearful leap and rush through the air. +</p> +<p> +Yes! they had just reached the other side. No! they had not quite: what +was the matter? What a struggle! stones falling, twigs and grasses +wrenching, the courageous Kangaroo fighting for a foothold on the very +brink of the precipice. What a terrible moment! Every second Dot felt +sure they would fall backward and drop deep into the gully below, to be +dashed to pieces on the rocks and the tree tops. But God did help Dot's +Kangaroo; the little reeds and rushes held tightly in the earth, and the +poor struggling animal, exerting all her remaining strength, gained the +reedy slope safely. She staggered forward a few reeling hops, and then +fell to the earth like a dead creature. In an instant Dot was out of the +pouch and had her arm round the poor animal's neck, crying, as she saw +blood and foam oozing from her mouth, and a strange dim look in her sad +eyes. "Don't die, dear Kangaroo! Oh, please don't die!" cried Dot, +wringing her hands, and burying her face in the fur of the poor gasping +creature. +</p> +<p> +"Dot," panted the Kangaroo, "make a noise,—Cry loud!—not safe yet!" +</p> +<p> +The little girl didn't understand why the Kangaroo wanted her to make a +noise, and she had, in her fear and sorrow, quite forgotten their +pursuers. But now she turned, and could hear the Blacks urging on their +dogs as they were making an attempt to skirt round the precipice, and +gain the other side of the chasm. So Dot did as she was told, and +screamed and cried like the most naughty of children; and the gasping +Kangaroo told her to go on doing so. +</p> +<a name="image-0010"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-08.jpg"><img src="images/ill-08-t.jpg" width="400" height="496" +alt="A LEAP FOR LIFE" /></a> +<br /> +A LEAP FOR LIFE +</div> +<p> +Then what seemed to Dot a very terrifying thing happened; for she soon +heard other cries mingle with hers. From the desolate morass, and from +the gully in darkness below, came the sound of a bellowing. She stopped +crying and listened, and could hear those awesome voices all around, and +the echoes made them still more hobgoblinish. The Kangaroo's eyes +brightened, as she restrained + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page45" name="page45"></a>[45]</span> + + her panting, and listened also. "Go on," she said, "we're safe now," so +Dot made more crying, and her noises and the others would have +frightened anyone who had heard them in that lonely place, with the wind +storming in the trees, and the black clouds flying over the moon. It +frightened the Blackfellows directly. +</p> +<p> +They stopped in their headlong speed, shouting together in their shrill +voices, "The Bunyip! the Bunyip!" and they tumbled over one another in +their hurry to get away from a place haunted, as they thought, by that +wicked demon which they fear so much. At full speed they fled back to +their camp, with the sound of Dot's cries, and the mysterious bellowing +noise, following them on the breeze; and they never stopped running +until they regained the light of their camp fires. There they told the +"Gins," in awe-struck voices, how it had been no Kangaroo they had +hunted, but the "Bunyip," who had pretended to be one. And the Black +gins' eyes grew wider and wider, and they made strange noises and +exclamations, as they listened to the story of how the "Bunyip" had led +the huntsmen to that dreadful place. How it had torn one of the dogs to +pieces, and had leaped over the precipice into Dead Man's Gully, where +it had cried like a picaninny, and bellowed like a bull. No one slept in +the camp that night, and early next morning the whole tribe went away, +being afraid to remain so near the haunt of the dreaded "Bunyip." +</p> +<p> +Dot saw the flight of the Blacks in the dim distance, and told the good +news to the Kangaroo, who, however, was too exhausted to rejoice at +their escape. She still lay where she had fallen, gasping, and with her +tongue hanging down from her mouth like that of a dog. +</p> +<p> +In vain Dot caressed her, and called her by endearing names; she lay +quite still, as if unable to hear or feel. Dot's little heart swelled +within her, and taking the poor animal's drooping head on her lap, she +sat quite still and tearless; waiting in that solitude for her one +friend to die—leaving her lonely and helpless. +</p> +<p> +Presently she was startled by hearing a brisk voice, "Then it was a +human picaninny, after all! Well, my dear, what are you doing here?" Dot +turned her head without moving, and saw a little way behind her a brown +bird on long legs, standing with its feet close together, with the +self-satisfied air of a dancing master about to begin a lesson. +</p> +<p> +Dot did not care for any other creature in the Bush just then but her +Kangaroo, and the perky air of the bird annoyed her in her sorrow. +Without answering, she bent her head closer down to that of her poor +friend, to see if her eyes + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page46" name="page46"></a>[46]</span> + + were still shut, and wondered if they would ever open and look bright +and gentle again. +</p> +<p> +The little brown bird strutted with an important air to where it had a +better view of Dot and her companion, and eyed them both in the same +perky manner. "Friend Kangaroo's in a bad way," it said; "why don't you +do something, sensible, instead of messing about with its head?" +</p> +<p> +"What can I do?" whimpered Dot. +</p> +<p> +"Give it water, and damp its skin, of course," said the little Bird, +contemptuously. "What fools Humans are," it exclaimed to itself. "And I +suppose you will tell me there is no water here, when all the time you +are sitting on a spring." +</p> +<p> +"But I'm sitting on grass," said Dot, now fully attentive to the bird's +remarks. +</p> +<p> +"Well, booby," sneered the bird, "and under the grass is wet moss, +which, if you make a hole in it, will fill with water. Why, I'd do it +myself, in a moment, only your claws are better suited for the purpose +than mine. Set about it at once!" it said sharply. +</p> +<p> +In an instant Dot did what the bird directed, and thrust her little +hands into the soft grass roots and moss, out of which water pressed, +as if from a sponge. She had soon made a little hole, and the most +beautiful clear water welled up into it at once. Then, in the hollows of +her little hands, she collected it, and dashed it over the Kangaroo's +parched tongue, and, further instructed by the kindly though rude little +bird, she had soon well wetted the suffering animal's fur. Gradually the +breathing of the Kangaroo became less of an effort, her tongue moistened +and returned to the mouth, and at last Dot saw with joy the brown eyes +open, and she knew that her good friend was not going to die, but would +get well again. +</p> +<p> +Whilst all this took place, the little brown bird stood on one leg, with +its head cocked on one side, watching the exhausted Kangaroo's recovery +with a comic expression of curiosity and conceit. When it spoke to Dot, +it did so without any attempt at being polite, and Dot thought it the +strangest possible creature, because it was really very kind in helping +her to save the Kangaroo's life, and yet it seemed to delight in +spoiling its kindheartedness by its rudeness. Afterwards the Kangaroo +told her that the little Bittern is a really tender-hearted fellow, but +he has an idea that kindness in rather small creatures provokes the +contempt of the big ones. As he always wants to be thought a bigger bird +than he is, he pretends to be hard-hearted by being rough; consequently, +nearly all + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page47" name="page47"></a>[47]</span> + + the Bush creatures simply regard him as a rude little bird, because bad +manners are no proof of being grown-up; rather the contrary. +</p> +<p> +"How do you feel now?" asked the Bittern, as the Kangaroo presently +struggled up and squatted rather feebly on her haunches, looking about +in a somewhat dazed way. +</p> +<p> +"I'm better now," said the Kangaroo, "but, dear me! how everything seems +to dance up and down!" She shut her eyes, for she felt giddy. +</p> +<p> +"That was rather a good jump of yours," said the Bittern, patronizingly, +as if jumps for life like that of Dot's Kangaroo were made every day, +and he was a judge of them! +</p> +<p> +"Ah! I remember!" said the Kangaroo, opening her eyes again and looking +round. "Where is Dot?" +</p> +<p> +"Umph! that silly!" exclaimed the Bittern, as Dot came forward, and she +and the Kangaroo rejoiced over each other's safety. "Much good she'd +have been to you with the Blacks, and their dogs after you, if we +Bitterns hadn't played that old trick of ours of scaring them with our +big voices. He! he! he!" it chuckled, "how they did run when we tuned +up! They thought the Bunyip had got them this time. Didn't we laugh!" +</p> +<p> +"It was very good of you," said the Kangaroo gratefully, "and it is not +the first time you have saved Kangaroos by your cleverness. I didn't +know you Bitterns were near, so I told Dot to make a noise in the hope +of frightening them." +</p> +<p> +The Bittern was really touched by the Kangaroo's gratitude, and was +delighted at being called clever, so it became still more ungracious. +"You needn't trouble me with thanks," it said indifferently, "we didn't +do it to save you, but for our own fun. As for that little stupid," it +continued, with a nod of the head towards Dot, "her squeals were no more +good than the squeak of a tree frog in a Bittern's beak." +</p> +<p> +"But you were very kind," said Dot, "and showed me how to get water to +save Kangaroo's life." +</p> +<p> +The Bittern was greatly pleased at this praise, and in consequence it +got still ruder, and making a face at Dot, exclaimed, "yah!" and stalked +off. But when it had gone a few steps it turned round and said to the +Kangaroo, roughly, "If you hop that way, keeping to the side of the +sedges, and go half a dozen small hops beyond that white gum tree, +you'll find a little cave. It's dry and warm, and good enough for +Kangaroos." And without waiting for thanks for this last kind act, it +spread its wings and flew away. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page48" name="page48"></a>[48]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0009" id="h2HCH0009"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER IX +</h2> +<p> +The Kangaroo, hopping very weakly, and little Dot trudging over the oozy +ground, followed the Bittern's directions and found the cave, which +proved a very snug retreat. Here they lay down together, full of +happiness at their escape, and being worn out with fatigue and +excitement, they were soon fast asleep. +</p> +<p> +The next day, before the sun rose, the Bittern visited the cave. "Hullo, +you precious lazy pair! I've been over there," and it tossed its beak in +the direction of the Black's camp. "They're off northward. Too +frightened to stay. I thought you might like the news brought you, since +you're too lazy to get it for yourselves!" and off it went again without +saying good-bye. +</p> +<p> +"Now isn't he a kind little fellow?" said the Kangaroo. "That's his way +of telling us that we are safe." +</p> +<p> +"Thanks, Bittern! thanks!" they both cried, but the creamy brown bird +paid no attention to their gratitude: it seemed absorbed in looking for +frogs on its way. +</p> +<p> +All that day the Kangaroo and Dot stayed near the cave, so that the poor +animal might get quite well again. The Kangaroo said she did not know +that part of the country, and so she had better get her legs again +before they faced fresh dangers. Neither of them was so bright and merry +as before. The weather was showery, and Dot kept thinking that perhaps +she would never get home, now she had been so long away, and she kept +remembering the time when the little boy was lost and everyone's +sadness. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo too seemed melancholy. "What makes you sad?" asked Dot. +</p> +<p> +"I am thinking of the last time before this that I was hunted. It was +then I lost my baby Kangaroo," she replied. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! you poor dear thing!" exclaimed Dot, "and have you been hunted +before last night?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," said the Kangaroo with a little weary sigh. "It was just a few +days before I found you. White Humans did it that time." +</p> +<p> +"Tell me all about it," said Dot, "how did you escape?" +</p> +<a name="image-0011"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-09.jpg"><img src="images/ill-09-t.jpg" width="400" height="492" +alt="THE BITTERN HELPS DOT" /></a> +<br /> +THE BITTERN HELPS DOT +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page49" name="page49"></a>[49]</span> +</p> +<p> +"I escaped then," said the Kangaroo, settling herself on her haunches to +tell the tale, "in a way I could have done last night. But I will die +sooner than do it again." +</p> +<p> +"Tell me," repeated Dot. +</p> +<p> +"There is not much to tell," said the Kangaroo. "My little Joey was +getting quite big, and we were very happy. It was a lovely Joey. It was +so strong, and could jump so well for its size. It had the blackest of +little noses and hands and tail you ever saw, and big soft ears which +heard more quickly than mine. All day long I taught it jumping, and we +played and were merry from sunrise to sunset. Until that day I had never +been sad, and I thought all the creatures must be wrong to say that in +this beautiful world there could be such cruel beings as they said White +Humans were. That day taught me I was wrong, and I know now that the +world is a sad place because Humans make it so; although it was made to +be a happy place. We were playing on the side of a plain that day, and +our game was hide-and-seek in the long grass. We were having great fun, +when suddenly little Joey said, 'Strange creatures are coming, big +ones.' +</p> +<p> +"I hopped up the stony rise that fringed the plain, and thought as I did +so I could hear a new sound on the breeze. Joey hid in the grass, but +I went boldly into the open on the hillside to see where the danger was. +I saw, far off, Humans on their big animals that go so quickly, and +directly I hopped into the open, they raised a great noise like the +Blacks did last night, and I could see by the movement in the grass that +they had those dreadful dogs they teach to kill us: they are far worse +than dingoes. Joey heard the shouting and bounded into my pouch, and I +went off as fast as I could. It was a worse hunt than last night, for it +was longer, and there was no darkness to help me. I gradually got ahead +in the chase, and I knew if I were alone I could distance them all; for +we had seen them a long way off. But little Joey was heavy, though not +so heavy as you are, and in the long distance I began to feel weak, as +I did last night. +</p> +<p> +"I knew if I tried to go on as we were, that those cruel Humans, sitting +quietly on those big beasts (which have four legs and never get tired) +would overtake us, and their dogs (which carry no weight and go so fast) +would tear me down before their masters even arrived, for I was going +gradually slower. So I asked Joey if I dropped him into a soft bush +whether he would hide until I came back for him. It was our only chance. +I had an idea that if I did that he would be safe—even if I got killed; +as they would be more likely to follow me, and never think I had parted +from my little Joey. So we did this, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page50" name="page50"></a>[50]</span> + + and I crossed a creek, which put the hounds off the scent, and I got +away. In the dusk I came back again to find Joey, but he had gone, and I +could not find a trace of him. All night and all day I searched, but +I've never seen my Joey since," said the Kangaroo sadly, and Dot saw the +tears dim her eyes. +</p> +<p> +Dot could not speak all she felt. She was so sorry for the Kangaroo, and +so ashamed of being a Human. She realized too, how good and forgiving +this dear animal was; how she had cared for her, and nearly died to save +her life, in spite of the wrongs done to her by human beings. +</p> +<p> +"When I grow up," she said, "I will never let anyone hurt a bush +creature. They shall all be happy where I am." +</p> +<p> +"But there are so many Humans. They're getting to be as many as +Kangaroos," said the animal reflectively, and shook her head. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page51" name="page51"></a>[51]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0010" id="h2HCH0010"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER X +</h2> +<p> +The fourth day of Dot's wanderings in the Bush dawned brightly. The sun +arose in a sky all gorgeous in gold and crimson, and flashed upon a +world glittering with dewy freshness. Sweet odours from the aromatic +bush filled the air, and every living creature made what noise it could, +to show its joy in being happy and free in the beautiful Bush. Rich and +gurgling came the note of the magpies, the jovial Kookooburras saluted +the sun with rollicking laughter, the crickets chirruped, frogs croaked +in chorus, or solemnly "popped" in deep vibrating tones, like the ring +of a woodman's axe. Every now and then came the shriek of the plover, or +the shrill cry of the peeweet; and gayer and more lively than all the +others was the merry clattering of the big bush wagtail in the distance. +</p> +<p> +As soon as the Kangaroo heard the Bush Wagtail, she and Dot hurried away +to find him. No Christy Minstrel rattling his bones ever made a merrier +sound. "Click-i-ti-clack, click-i-ti-clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, +click-i-ti-clack," he rattled away as fast as he could, just as if he +hadn't a moment to waste for taking breath, and as if the whole lovely +world was made for the enjoyment of Bush Wagtails. +</p> +<p> +When Dot and the Kangaroo found him, he was swaying about on a branch, +spreading his big tail like a fan, and clattering gaily; but he stopped +in surprise as soon as he saw his visitors. +</p> +<p> +After greetings, he opened the conversation by talking of the weather, +so as to conceal his astonishment at seeing Dot and the Kangaroo +together. +</p> +<p> +"Lovely weather after the rain," he said; "the showers were needed very +much, for insects were getting scarce, and I believe grass was getting +rank, and not very plentiful. There will be a green shoot in a few days, +which will be very welcome to Kangaroos. I heard about you losing your +Joey—my cousin told me. I was very sorry; so sad. Ah! well, such things +will happen in the Bush to anyone. We were most fortunate in our brood; +none of the chicks fell out of the nest, every one of them escaped the +Butcher Birds and were strong of wing. They are all doing well in the +world." +</p> +<p> +Then the vivacious bird came a little nearer to the Kangaroo, and, +dropping his voice, said: +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page52" name="page52"></a>[52]</span> +</p> +<p> +"But, friend Kangaroo, I'm sorry to see you've taken up with Humans. +You know I have quite set my face against them, although my cousin +is intimate with the whole race. Take my word for it, they're most +uncertain friends. Two Kookooburras were shot last week, in spite of +Government protection. Fact!" And as the bird spoke he nodded his head +warningly towards the place where Dot was standing. +</p> +<p> +"This little Human has been lost in our Bush," said the Kangaroo; "one +had to take care of her, you know." +</p> +<p> +"Of course, of course; there are exceptions to all rules," chattered the +Wagtail. "And so this is really the lost little Human there has been +such a fuss about!" added he, eyeing Dot, and making a long whistle of +surprise. "My cousin told me all about it." +</p> +<p> +"Then your cousin, Willy Wagtail, knows her lost way," said the Kangaroo +joyfully, and Dot came a little nearer in her eagerness to hear the good +news. +</p> +<p> +"Of course he does," answered the bird; "there's nothing happens that he +doesn't know. You should have hunted him up." +</p> +<p> +"I didn't know where to find him," said the Kangaroo, "and I got into +this country, which is new to me." +</p> +<p> +"Why he is in the same part that he nested in last season. It's no +distance off," exclaimed the Wagtail. "If you could fly, you'd be there +almost directly!" Then the bird gave a long description of the way they +were to follow to find his cousin Willy, and with many warm thanks the +Kangaroo and Dot bade him adieu. +</p> +<p> +As they left the Bush Wagtail they could hear him singing this song, +which shows what a merry, happy fellow he is: +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! </p> +<p class="i6"> Clack! clack! clack! clack! </p> +<p class="i3"> Who could cry in such weather, 'alack!' </p> +<p class="i3"> With a sky so blue, and a sun so bright, </p> +<p class="i6"> Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' </p> +<p class="i3"> Sportive in flight, chatter delight, </p> +<p class="i6"> Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! </p> +</div> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "I'm so glad that I have the knack </p> +<p class="i6"> Of singing clack! clack! clack! </p> +<p class="i3"> If you wish to be happy, just follow my track, </p> +<p class="i3"> Take this for a motto, this for a code, </p> +<p class="i6"> Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' </p> +<p class="i3"> Leave care to a toad, and live <i>à la mode</i>! </p> +<p class="i6"> Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack!" </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page53" name="page53"></a>[53]</span> +</p> +<p> +They had no difficulty in following the Wagtail's directions. They soon +struck a creek they had been told to pursue to its end, and about noon +they found themselves in very pretty country. It reminded Dot of the +journey they had made to find the Platypus, for there were the same +beautiful growths of fern and shrubs. There were also great trailing +creepers which hung down like ropes from the tops of the tall trees they +had climbed. These rope-like coils of the creepers made capital swings, +and often Dot clambered into one of the big loops and sat swinging +herself to and fro, laughing and singing, much to the delight and +amusement of the Kangaroo. +</p> +<div class="poem"> +<div class="stanza"> +<p class="i2"> "Swing! swing! a bird on the wing </p> +<p class="i5"> Is not more happy than I! </p> +<p class="i3"> Stooping to earth, and seeking the sky. </p> +<p class="i5"> Swing! swing! swing! </p> +<p class="i3"> See how high upward I fly! </p> +<p class="i5"> Here, midst the leaves I swing; </p> +<p class="i3"> Then, as fast to my swing I cling, </p> +<p class="i5"> Down I come from the sky! </p> +<p class="i3"> Swing! swing! a bird on the wing </p> +<p class="i5"> Is not more happy than I!" </p> +</div> +</div> + +<p> +Thus sang little Dot, tossing herself backwards and forwards, and the +Kangaroo came to the conclusion that there was something very sweet +about little Humans, and that Dot was certainly quite as nice as a Joey +Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +In the middle of one of these little swinging diversions, a bird about +the size of a pigeon, with the most wonderfully shiny plumage, flew to +the tree on which Dot was swinging. Dot was so struck by the bird's +beautiful blue-black glossy appearance, and its brightly contrasting +yellow beak and legs, that she stopped swinging at once. "You <i>are</i> a +pretty bird!" she said. +</p> +<p> +"I am a Satin Bower Bird," it said. "We heard you singing, and we +thought, therefore, that you probably enjoy parties, so I have come +to invite you to one of our assemblies which will take place shortly. +Friend Kangaroo, we know, is of a somewhat serious nature, but probably +she will do us the pleasure of accompanying you to our little +entertainment." +</p> +<p> +"I shall have great pleasure in doing so," said the Kangaroo; "I have +not been at any of your parties for a long time. You know, I suppose, +that I lost my little Joey very sadly." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page54" name="page54"></a>[54]</span> +</p> +<p> +"We heard all about it," replied the Bower Bird in a tone of +exaggerated, almost ridiculous sadness, for it was so anxious that the +Kangaroo should think that it felt very deeply for her loss. "We were in +the middle of a meeting at the time the Wallaby brought the news, and we +were so sad that we nearly broke up our assembly. But it would have been +a pity to do so, really, as the young birds enjoy themselves so much at +the 'Bower of Pleasure.' But," said the Satin Bird, with a sudden change +of tone from extreme sorrow to one of vivacious interest, "I must show +you the way to the bower, or you would never find it." +</p> +<p> +Dot jumped down from the swing, and she and the Kangaroo, guided by the +Satin Bird, made their way through some very thickly-grown bush. The +bird was certainly right in saying that they would never have found the +Bower of Pleasure without a guide. It was carefully concealed in the +most densely-grown scrub. As they were pushing their way through a +thicket of shrubs, before reaching the open space where the Satin Birds' +bower was built, they heard an increasing noise of birds all talking to +one another. The din of this chattering was enhanced considerably by the +shrill sounds of tree-frogs and crickets, and the hubbub made Dot feel +like the little Native Bear—as if her "head was empty." +</p> +<p> +"This will be a very pleasant party," said the Satin Bird, "there is +plenty of conversation, so everyone's in a good humour." +</p> +<p> +"Do you think anyone is listening, or are they all talking?" enquired +the Kangaroo timidly. +</p> +<p> +"Nobody would attempt to listen," answered the Satin Bird, "it would be +impossible against the music of the tree frogs and crickets, so everyone +talks." +</p> +<p> +"I should tell the tree-frogs and crickets to be quiet," said Dot, "no +one seems to care for their music." +</p> +<p> +"Oh, without music it would be very dull," explained the Satin Bird, "no +one would care to talk. You understand, it would be awkward, someone +might overhear what was said." +</p> +<p> +As the bird spoke the trio reached the place where the bower was +situated. +</p> +<p> +Dot thought it a most curious sight. In the middle of an open space the +birds had built a flooring of twigs, and upon that they had erected a +bower about three feet high, also constructed of twigs interwoven with +grass, and arranged so as nearly to meet at the top in an arched form. +</p> +<p> +"It's a new bower, and more commodious than our last," said the Satin +Bird with an air of satisfaction. "What do you think of the +decorations?" +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page55" name="page55"></a>[55]</span> +</p> +<p> +In a temporary lull of the frog and cricket band and the conversation, +Dot and the Kangaroo praised the bower and its decorations, and enquired +politely how the birds had managed to procure such a collection of +ornaments for their pleasure hall. Several young bower birds came and +joined in the chat, and Dot was surprised to see how different their +plumage was from the satin blue-black of the old birds. These younger +members of the community were of a greenish yellow colour, with dark +pencillings on their feathers, and had no glossy sheen like their +elders. +</p> +<p> +Each of them pointed out some ornament that it had brought with which to +deck the bower. One had brought the pink feathers of a Galah, which had +been stuck here and there amongst the twigs. Others had collected the +delicate shells of land snails, and put them round about the entrance. +But the birds that were proudest of their contributions were those who +had picked up odds and ends at the camps of bushmen. +</p> +<p> +"That beautiful bright thing I brought from a camp a mile away," said a +bird, indicating a tag from a cake of tobacco. +</p> +<p> +"But it isn't so pretty as mine," said another, pointing to the glass +stopper of a sauce bottle. +</p> +<p> +"Or mine," chimed in another bird, as it claimed a bright piece of tin +from a milk-can that was inserted in the twigs just above the entrance +of the bower. +</p> +<p> +"Nonsense, children!" said a grave old Satin Bird, "your trifles are not +to be compared with that beautiful object I found to-day and arranged +along the top of the bower. The effect is splendid!" +</p> +<p> +As he spoke, Dot observed that, twined amidst the topmost twigs of the +construction was a strip of red flannel from an old shirt, a bedraggled +red rag that must have been found in an extinct camp fire, judging by +its singed edges. +</p> +<p> +The day Dot had lost her way she had been threading beads, and she still +had upon her finger a ring of the pretty coloured pieces of glass. She +saw the old Satin Bird look at this ring longingly, so she pulled it +off, and begged that it might be added to the other decorations. It was +instantly given the place of honour—over the entrance and above the +piece of milk tin. +</p> +<p> +This gift from Dot caused an immediate flow of conversation, because +every bird was pleased to have something to talk about. They all began +to say how beautiful the beads were. "Quite too lovely!" said one. "What +a charming little Human!" exclaimed another. "Just the finish that our +bower required," was a general remark, and a great many kept exclaiming, +"So tasteful!" "So + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page56" name="page56"></a>[56]</span> + + sweet!" "How elegant!" "Exquisite!" "It's a love!" "It's a dear!" and so +on. A great deal more was said, but the oldest bower bird, thinking that +all the adjectives were getting used up, told the frogs and crickets to +start the music again, so as to keep the excitement going, and all +further observations were drowned in the noise. +</p> +<p> +Presently the younger birds flew down to the bower, and began to play +and dance. Like a troop of children, they ran round and round the bower, +and to and fro through it, gleefully chasing each other. Then they would +assemble in groups, and hop up and down, and dance to one another in +what Dot thought a rather awkward fashion; but she was thinking of the +elegance and grace of the Native Companions, who can make beautiful +movements with their long legs and necks, whilst these little bower +birds are rather ungainly in their steps. +</p> +<p> +What amused her was to see how the young cock birds showed off to the +little hens. They were conceited fellows, and only seemed happy when +they had five or six little hens looking admiringly at their every +movement. At such times they would dance and hop with great delight; and +the little hens, in a circle round them, watched their hops and steps +with absorbed interest. Immensely pleased with himself, the young dancer +would fluff out his feathers, so as to look as big as possible, and +after strutting about, would suddenly shoot out a leg and a wing, first +on one side and then on the other, then spring high into the air, and do +a sort of step dance when his feet touched the earth again. Endless were +the tricks he resorted to, to show off his feathers and dancing to the +best advantage; and the little hens watched it all with silent +intentness. +</p> +<p> +In the meantime the frogs and crickets stopped to rest, and Dot could +hear the conversation of some of the old birds perched near her. A +little party of elderly hens were discussing the young birds who were +dancing at the bower. +</p> +<p> +"I must say I don't admire that new step which is becoming so popular +amongst the young birds," said one elderly hen; and all her companions +rustled their feathers, closed their beaks tightly, and nodded their +heads in various ways. One said it was "rough," another that it was +"ungainly," and others that it was "unmannerly." +</p> +<p> +"As for manners," said the first speaker, "the bower birds of this day +can't be said to have any!" and all her companions chorused, "No, +indeed!" +</p> +<a name="image-0012"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-10.jpg"><img src="images/ill-10-t.jpg" width="400" height="489" +alt="THE BOWER BIRDS" /></a> +<br /> +THE BOWER BIRDS +</div> +<p> +"In my young day," continued the elderly hen, and all the group were +sighing, "Ah! in our young days!" when a young hen perched on a bough +above them, and interrupted pertly, "Dear me! can't you good birds find +anything more + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page57" name="page57"></a>[57]</span> + + interesting to talk about than ancient history?" At this the groups of +gossips whispered angrily to one another "Minx!" "Hussy!" "Wild Cat!" +etc., and the rude young bird flew back to her companions. +</p> +<p> +"What I object to most in young birds," said another elderly hen, +"is their appearance. Some of them do nothing all day but preen their +feathers. Look at the over-studied arrangements of their wing flights, +and the affected exactness of their tail feathers! One looks in vain for +sweetness and simplicity in the present-day young bower birds." +</p> +<p> +"Even that is better than the newer fashion of scarcely preening the +feathers at all," observed yet another of the group. "Many of the young +birds take no pride in their feathers whatever, but devote all their +time to studying the habits of out-of-the-way insects." A chorus of +disapproval from all present supported this remark. "Studies that +interfere with a young hen's appearance should not be permitted," said +one bird. +</p> +<p> +"What is the good of knowing all about insects, when we live on berries +and fruit?" asked another. +</p> +<p> +"The sight of insects gives one the creeps!" said a third. +</p> +<p> +"I am thankful to say all my little hens care for nothing beyond playing +at the Bower and preening their feathers," said an affectionate bower +bird mother, "They get a deal of attention paid to them." +</p> +<p> +"No young Satin Bird would look at a learned little bower-hen," said the +bird who had first objected to untidy and studious young hens. "For my +part, I never allow a chick of mine even to mention insects, unless they +are well-known beetles!" +</p> +<p> +Dot thought this chattering very stupid, so she went round a bush to +where the old fathers of the bower birds were perched. They were grave +old fellows, arrayed in their satin blue-black plumage, and she found +them all, more or less, in a grumbling humour. +</p> +<p> +"Birds at our time of life should not have to attend parties," said +several, and Dot wondered why they came. "How are you, old neighbour?" +said one to another. "Terribly bored!" was the reply. "How long must we +stay, do you think?" asked another. "Oh! until these young fools have +finished amusing themselves," answered its friend. The only satin birds +who seemed to Dot to be interested in one another, were some engaged in +discussing the scarcity of berries and the wrongs done to bower birds by +White Humans destroying the wild fig and lillipilli trees. This +grievance, and the question as to what berries + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page58" name="page58"></a>[58]</span> + + or figs agreed best with each old bower bird's digestion, were the only +topics discussed with any animation. +</p> +<p> +Dot soon tired of listening to the birds, and returned to the Kangaroo, +who asked her if she cared to stay any longer. The little girl said she +had seen and heard enough, and, judging by this one, she didn't care for +parties. +</p> +<p> +"Neither do I," whispered the Kangaroo; "they make me feel tired; and, +somehow, they seem to remind one of everything one knows that's sad, in +spite of all the gaiety." +</p> +<p> +"Is it gay?" enquired Dot, hesitating a little in her speech, for she +had felt rather dull and miserable. +</p> +<p> +"Well, everyone says it's gay, and there is always a deal of noise, so I +suppose it is," answered the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +"I'd rather be in your pouch, so let us go away," entreated Dot; and +they left the bower place without any of the birds noticing their +departure, for they were all busy gossiping, or discussing the great +berry or digestion questions. +</p> +<p> +It was towards evening when they reached an open plain, and here they +met an Emu. As both Dot and the Kangaroo were thirsty, they asked the +Emu the way to a waterhole or tank. +</p> +<p> +"I am going to a tank now," replied the Emu; "let us proceed together." +</p> +<p> +"Do you think it will be safe to drink to-night"; enquired the Kangaroo +anxiously. +</p> +<p> +"Well, to tell the truth," said the Emu lightly, "it is likely to be a +little difficult. There is a somewhat strained feeling between the White +Humans and ourselves just now. In consequence, we have to resort to a +little strategy on our visits to the tanks, and we avoid eating anything +tempting left about at camping places." +</p> +<p> +"Are they laying poison for <i>you</i>?" asked the Kangaroo in horrified tones. +</p> +<p> +"They are doing something of the kind, we think," answered the Emu +airily, "for some of us have had most unpleasant symptoms after picking +up morsels at camping grounds. Several have died. We were quite +surprised, for hitherto there has been no better cure for Emu +indigestion than wire nails, hoop iron, and preserved milk cans. The +worst symptoms have yielded to scraps of barbed wire in my own case. But +these Emus died in spite of all remedies." +</p> +<p> +"But I heard," said the Kangaroo, "that Emus were protected by the +Government. I never understood why." +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page59" name="page59"></a>[59]</span> +</p> +<p> +"We are protected," said the huge bird, "because we form part of the +Australian Arms." +</p> +<p> +"So do we," said the Kangaroo, "but we are not protected." +</p> +<p> +"True," said the bird, "but the Humans can make some money out of you +when you are dead, whereas we serve no purpose at all, excepting alive, +when we add a charm to the scenery; and, moreover, each of our eggs will +make a pound cake. But the time will come, friend, when there will be +neither Emu nor Kangaroo for Australia's Arms; no creature will be left +to represent the land but the Bunny Rabbit and the Sheep." +</p> +<p> +"I hate sheep!" said the Kangaroo, "they eat all our grass." +</p> +<p> +"You have not studied them as we have," answered the Emu. "They are most +entertaining. We have great fun with them, and we've learnt some capital +sheep games from those dogs Humans drive them with. It's really exciting +to drive a big mob, when they want to break and scatter. We were chasing +them, here and there, all over the plain to-day." +</p> +<p> +"I don't like sheep!" said Dot, "they are so stupid." +</p> +<p> +"So they are," agreed the Emu, "and that is what puzzles me. What is it +about the sight of sheep that excites one so? When one gets into a big +flock, one has to dance, one can't help oneself. We had a great dance in +a flock to-day, and the lambs would get under our feet, so I'm sorry to +say a good many of them were killed." +</p> +<p> +"Men will certainly kill you, if you do that," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"We know it," chuckled the Emu; "that is why the tank is not quite safe +just now. But this evening I will show you a new plan by which to learn +if Humans are camped at a tank, or not. We have played the trick with +great success for several nights." +</p> +<p> +Conversing thus, the Emu, the Kangaroo, and Dot wandered on until the +Emu requested them to wait for a few minutes, whilst it peeped at the +tank, which was still a long way off. +</p> +<p> +It presently returned and said that it felt quite suspicious, because +everything looked so clear and safe. "From this point of high ground," +said the bird, "you can watch our proceedings. I will now give the +signal and return to my post here." +</p> +<p> +The Emu then ran at a great pace along the edge of the plain, and +emitted a strange rattling cry. After disappearing from sight for a +time, it returned hurriedly to where Dot and her friend were waiting. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page60" name="page60"></a>[60]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Now, see!" said the Emu, nodding at the distant side of the plain. +</p> +<p> +Dot's eyes were not so keen of sight as those of an Emu; but she thought +she could see something like a little cloud of dust, far, far away +across the dry brown grass of the plain. Soon she was quite sure that +the little cloud was advancing towards her side of the plain, and in the +direction of the tank. As it came nearer she could see the bobbing heads +of Emus, popping up above the dust, and she could see some of the birds +running round the little cloud. +</p> +<p> +"What is the cause of all that dust?" she asked the Emu. +</p> +<p> +"Sheep!" it answered with a merry chuckle. +</p> +<p> +"But what are the Emus doing with the sheep?" asked Dot and the +Kangaroo, now fully interested in the Emu's manœuvre. +</p> +<p> +"They are driving them to water at the tank," said the bird, highly +delighted with the scheme. "The sheep will soon know that they are near +water, and will go to it without driving. Then we shall watch, and if +they quietly drink and scatter, it will be safe for us, but if they see +anything unusual and break, and run—well, we shan't drink at the tank +to-night. There will be Humans and dogs there, and we don't cultivate +their society just now." +</p> +<p> +"Really that is the cleverest thing I have heard for a long time," said +the Kangaroo, full of admiration for the trick. "How did you jump to +that conclusion?" +</p> +<p> +"The idea sprang upon us," answered the Emu, with an immense hop in the +air, and a dancing movement when it came to the ground again. "Dear me!" +it exclaimed, "the sight of those sheep is beginning to excite me, and I +can hardly keep still! I wonder what there is so exciting about sheep!" +</p> +<p> +Dot could now see the advancing flock of sheep, with their attendant mob +of Emu, quite well. The animals had got scent of the water, and with +contented bleatings were slowly moving with a rippling effect across the +dusty plain. The mob of Emu soon left the sheep to go their own way, +and, grouped in a cluster, watched, with bobbing heads, every movement +of the flock. +</p> +<p> +Dot, the Kangaroo, and the Emu looked towards the tank with silent +interest. "I'm stationed here," whispered the bird, "to give a warning +in case there is any danger in this direction. Emus are posted all round +the tank on the same duty." +</p> +<p> +Dot could see the whole scene well, for beyond a few low shrubs on the +opposite side of the sheet of water, there was no sheltering bush near +the great tank which had been excavated on the bare plain. +</p> +<a name="image-0013"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-11.jpg"><img src="images/ill-11-t.jpg" width="400" height="504" +alt="THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP" /></a> +<br /> +THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page61" name="page61"></a>[61]</span> +</p> +<p> +Onward came the sheep, and quite stationary in the distance remained the +Emu mob. Just as the first sheep were descending the deep slope of the +tank, a Plover rose from amongst the bushes with a shrill cry. The Emu +started at the sound, and whispered to the Kangaroo, "There'll be no +drink to-night: watch!" +</p> +<p> +The cry of the Plover seemed to arrest the advance of the timid sheep: +they waited in a closely-packed flock, looking around. But presently the +old leader gave a deep bleat, and they moved forward towards the water. +"Shriek! Shriek!" cried the Plover from the bushes, screaming as they +rose and flew away; and suddenly the flock of sheep broke and hurried +back to the open plain. At the same instant Dot could hear the sharp +barking of a sheep dog, a noise that produced an instant effect on the +creatures she was with. With lightning speed the Kangaroo had popped her +into her pouch and was hopping away, and the Emu was striding with its +long legs as fast as it could for the cover of the Bush. +</p> +<p> +Just as they entered the Bush shelter, Dot peeped out of the pouch, +across the plain, and could see the mob of Emu in a cloud of dust, +running, and almost out of sight. +</p> +<p> +When they had reached a place of safety, the friendly Emu bid the +Kangaroo and Dot good-night. "We shall have to go thirsty to-night," it +said, "but there will be a heavy dew, and the grass will be wet enough +to cool one's mouth. That pretty trick of ours was such a success that +it is almost worth one's while to lose one's drink in proving it." +Turning to Dot it said, "You will be able to tell the big Humans that we +Emus are not such fools as they think, and that we find their flocks of +silly sheep most useful and entertaining animals." +</p> +<p> +Chuckling to itself, the Emu strode off, leaving Dot and the Kangaroo to +pass another night in the solitude of the Bush. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page62" name="page62"></a>[62]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0011" id="h2HCH0011"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XI +</h2> +<p> +The next day they travelled a long distance. At about noon they came to +a part of the country which the Kangaroo said she knew well. "But we +must be careful," she added, "as we are very near Humans in this part." +</p> +<p> +As Dot was tired (for she had had to walk much more than usual) the +Kangaroo suggested that she should rest at the pretty spot they had +reached, whilst she herself went in search of Willy Wagtail. Dot had to +promise the Kangaroo over and over again, not to leave the spot during +her absence. She was afraid lest the little girl should get lost, like +the little Joey. +</p> +<p> +After many farewells, and much hopping back to give Dot warnings and +make promises of returning soon, the Kangaroo went in search of Willy +Wagtail; and the little girl was left all alone. +</p> +<p> +Dot looked for a nice shady nook, in which to lie down and rest; and she +found the place so cheerful and pretty, that she was not afraid of being +alone. She was in the hollow of an old watercourse. It was rather like +an English forest glade, it was so open and grassy; and here and there +were pretty shrubs, and little hillocks and hollows. At first Dot +thought that she would sit on the branch of a huge tree that had but +recently fallen, and lay forlornly clothed in withered leaves; but +opposite to this dead giant of the Bush was a thick shrub with a decayed +tree stump beside it, that made a nice sheltered corner which she liked +better. So Dot laid herself down there, and in a few minutes she was +fast asleep; though, as she dropped off into the land of dreams, she +thought how wonderfully quiet that little glade was, and felt somewhat +surprised to find no Bush creatures to keep her company. +</p> +<p> +Some time before Dot woke, her dreams became confused and strange. There +seemed to be great crowds in them, and the murmur of many voices talking +together. As she gradually awakened, she realized that the voices were +real, and not a part of her dreams. There was a great hubbub, a +fluttering of wings, and rustling of leaves and grass. Through all this +confusion, odd sentences became clear to her drowsy senses. Such phrases +as, "You'd better perch here!" "This isn't your place!" "Go over there!" +"No! no! I'm sure I'm right! the Welcome Swallow says so." "Has anyone +gone for the Opossum?" "He says + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page63" name="page63"></a>[63]</span> + + the Court ought to be held at night!" "Don't make such a noise or you +will wake the prisoner;" "Who is to be the Judge?" This last enquiry +provoked such a noise of diverse opinions, that Dot became fully awake, +and sitting up, gazed around with eyes full of astonishment. +</p> +<p> +When she had fallen asleep there had not been a creature near her; +but now she was literally hemmed in on every side by birds and small +animals. The branches of the fallen tree were covered with a feathered +company, and in the open space between it and Dot's nook, was a +constantly increasing crowd of larger birds, such as cranes, plover, +duck, turkey-buzzards, black swan, and amongst them a great grave +Pelican. The animals were few, and apparently came late. There was a +little timid Wallaby, a Bandicoot, some Kangaroo Rats, a shy Wombat who +grumbled about the daylight, as also did a Native Bear and an Opossum, +who were really driven to the gathering by a bevy of screaming parrots. +</p> +<p> +Dot was wide awake at once with delight. Nearly every creature she had +ever heard of seemed to be present, and the brilliant colours of the +parrots and parrakeets made the scene as gay as a rainbow in a summer +noonday sky. +</p> +<p> +"Oh! you darlings!" she said, "how good of you all to come and see me!" +</p> +<p> +This greeting from Dot caused an instant silence amongst the creatures, +and she could not help seeing that they looked very uncomfortable. There +was soon a faint whispering from bird to bird, which rose higher and +higher, until Dot made out that they were all saying, "She ought to be +told!" "You tell her!" "No, you tell her yourself, it's not my +business!" and every bird—for it was the birds who by reason of their +larger numbers took the lead in the proceedings—seemed to be trying to +shift an unpleasant task upon its neighbours. +</p> +<p> +Presently the solemn Pelican waddled forward and stood before Dot, +saying to the assemblage, "I will explain our presence." Addressing the +little girl it said, "We are here to place you on trial for the wrongs +we Bush creatures have suffered from the cruelties of White Humans. You +will meet with all fairness in your trial, as the proceedings will be +conducted according to the custom of your own Courts of Justice. The +Welcome Swallow, having built its nest for three successive seasons +under the eaves of the Gabblebabble Court House, is deeply learned in +human law business, and will instruct us how to proceed. Your conviction +will, therefore, leave you no room for complaint so far as your trial is +concerned." +</p> +<p> +All the birds clapped their wings in applause at the conclusion of this +speech, + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page64" name="page64"></a>[64]</span> + + and the Pelican was told by the Welcome Swallow that he should plead as +Prosecutor. +</p> +<p> +"What do you mean by 'Plead as Prosecutor?'" asked the Pelican gravely. +</p> +<p> +"You've got to get the prisoner convicted as guilty, whether she is so +or not," answered the Swallow, making a dart at a mosquito, which it ate +with relish. +</p> +<p> +"Oh!" said the Pelican, doubtfully; and all the creatures looked at one +another as if they didn't quite understand the justice of the +arrangement. +</p> +<p> +"But," said the Pelican, hesitating a little, "suppose I don't think the +prisoner guilty? She seems very small, and harmless." +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't matter at all, you've got to get her made out as guilty by +the jury. It's good human law," snapped the Swallow, and all the +creatures said "<i>Oh!</i>" "Now for the defence," said the Swallow briskly; +"there ought to be someone for that. Who is friendly with the King?" +</p> +<p> +"Who's the King?" asked all the creatures breathlessly. +</p> +<p> +"He's a bigger Human than the rest, and everybody's business is his +business, so he's always going to law." +</p> +<p> +"I know," said the Magpie, and she piped out six bars of "God save the +King." +</p> +<p> +"You are the one for the defence!" said the Swallow, quite delighted, as +were all the other creatures, at the Magpie's accomplishment; "you must +save the prisoner from the jury finding her guilty." +</p> +<p> +"But," objected the Magpie, "how can I? when only last fruit season my +brother, and two sisters, and six cousins were shot just because they +ate a few grapes." +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't matter! you've got to get her off, I tell you!" said the +Swallow, irritably; "go over there, and ask her what you are to say." So +the Magpie flew over to Dot's side, and she at once began to teach it +the rest of "God save the King." +</p> +<p> +"I like this game," Dot presently said to the Magpie. +</p> +<p> +"Do you?" said the Magpie with surprise; "It seems to me very slow, and +there's no sense in it." +</p> +<p> +"Why are the birds all perching together over there?" asked Dot, +pointing to a branch of the dead tree, "since they all hate one another +and want to get away. The Galahs have pecked the Butcher Bird twice in +five minutes, the Peeweet keeps quarrelling with the Soldier Bird, and +none of them can bear the English Sparrow." +</p> +<a name="image-0014"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-12.jpg"><img src="images/ill-12-t.jpg" width="400" height="486" +alt="THE COURT OF ANIMALS" /></a> +<br /> +THE COURT OF ANIMALS +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page65" name="page65"></a>[65]</span> +</p> +<p> +"The Swallow says that's the jury," answered the Magpie. "Their business +is to do just what they like with you when all the talking is done, and +whether they find you guilty or not, will depend on if they are tired, +or hungry, and feel cross; or if the trial lasts only a short time, and +they are pleased with the grubs that will be brought them presently." +</p> +<p> +"How funny," said Dot, not a bit alarmed at all these preparations for +her trial, for she loved all the creatures so much, that she could not +think that any of them wished to hurt her. +</p> +<p> +"If this is human law," said the Magpie, "it isn't funny at all; it is +mad, or wicked. Fancy my having to defend a Human!" +</p> +<p> +At this point of their conversation, the ill-feeling amongst the jury +broke out into open fighting, because the English Sparrow was a +foreigner, and they said that it would certainly sympathize with the +Humans who had brought it to Australia. This was just an excuse to get +rid of it. The Sparrow said that it wanted to go out of the jury, and +had never wished to belong to it, and flew away joyfully. Then all the +rest of the jury grumbled at the good luck of the Sparrow in getting out +of the trial—for they could see it picking up grass seed and enjoying +itself greatly, whilst they were all crowded together on one branch, and +were feeling hungry before the trial had even begun. +</p> +<p> +There was great suspense and quiet while the Judge was being chosen. +Although Dot had eaten the berries of understanding, it was generally +considered that, to be quite fair, the Judge must be able to understand +human talk; and, amidst much clapping of wings, a large white Cockatoo +was appointed. +</p> +<p> +The Cockatoo lost no time in clambering "into position" on the stump +near Dot. "You're quite sure you understand human talk?" Said the little +Wallaby to the Cockatoo. It was the first remark he had made, for he had +been quite bewildered by all the noise and fuss. +</p> +<p> +"My word! yes," replied the Cockatoo, who had been taught in a public +refreshment room. Then, thinking that he would give a display of his +learning, he elevated his sulphur crest and gabbled off, "Go to Jericho! +Twenty to one on the favourite! I'm your man! Now then, ma'am; hurry up, +don't keep the coach waiting! Give 'um their 'eds, Bill! So long! +Ta-ra-ra, boom-di-ay! God save the King!" +</p> +<p> +All the creatures present looked gravely at Dot, to see what effect this +harangue in her own language would have upon her, and were somewhat +surprised to see her holding her little sides, and rolling about with +laughter. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page66" name="page66"></a>[66]</span> +</p> +<p> +The Cockatoo was quite annoyed at Dot's amusement. He fluffed out all +his feathers, and let off a scream that could have been heard a quarter +of a mile away. This seemed to impress every one with his importance, +and the whole Court became attentive to the proceedings. +</p> +<p> +At this moment the Swallow skimmed overhead, and having caught the words +"God save the King," called out, "That's the way to do it! keep that +up!" and the Cockatoo, thinking that the Swallow meant him to scream +still more, set up another yell, which he continued until everyone felt +deafened by the noise. +</p> +<p> +"We have chosen quite the right Judge," said an elegant blue crane to a +wild duck; "he will make himself heard and respected." Whereat the +Cockatoo winked at the Crane, and said, "You bet I will!" +</p> +<p> +The Pelican now advanced to the space before the stump, and there was a +murmur of excitement, because it was about to open the trial by a +recital of wrongs done to the Bush creatures by white humanity. +</p> +<p> +Dot could not realize that she was being tried seriously, and was +delighted that the Pelican had come nearer to her stump, so that she had +a better view of him. She thought him such an old, odd-looking bird, +with his big bald head, and gigantic beak. She could not help thinking +that his beak must be too heavy for him, and asked if he would like to +rest it on the stump. The Pelican did not understand Dot's kindness, and +gave her a look of offended dignity that was quite withering; so Dot did +not speak to him again; but she longed to feel if the bag of skin that +drooped under his beak had anything in it. The Pelican's legs seemed to +Dot to be too frail and short to bear such a big bird, not to mention +the immense beak; and, when the creature stood on one leg only, she +laughed; whereat the Pelican gave her another offended look, which +effectually prevented their becoming friends. +</p> +<p> +The Pelican was beginning to open his beak to speak (and, being such a +large beak, opening it took some time), when the Welcome Swallow fussed +into court, and said that "nothing could be done until they had some +horsehair!" +</p> +<a name="image-0015"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-13.jpg"><img src="images/ill-13-t.jpg" width="400" height="496" +alt="THE COCKATOO JUDGE" /></a> +<br /> +THE COCKATOO JUDGE +</div> +<p> +This interruption, and the Swallow's repeated assurance that no human +trial of importance could take place without horsehair, set all the +creatures chattering with astonishment and questions. Some said the +Swallow was joking; others said that it was making senseless delays, and +that night would fall before they could bring the prisoner to justice. +There was much grumbling on all sides, and complaints of hunger, and the +jury began to clamour for the grubs that they had been promised, at +which the Magpie whispered to Dot that she certainly would + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page67" name="page67"></a>[67]</span> + + be found guilty. The fact was now quite clear to the jury before the +trial began. +</p> +<p> +But the Swallow persisted that they must have horsehair. +</p> +<p> +"What for?" asked everyone, sulkily. +</p> +<p> +"Don't you see for yourselves," squeaked the Swallow, excitedly; "the +Judge looks like a Cockatoo." +</p> +<p> +"Well, of course he does," said all the creatures. "He is a Cockatoo, so +he looks like one!" +</p> +<p> +"Yes," cried the Swallow, "but you must stick horse hairs on his head. +Human justice must be done with horsehair. The prisoner won't believe +the Cockatoo is a judge without. Good Gracious!" exclaimed the Swallow, +"just look! The prisoner is scratching the Judge's poll! We really +<i>must</i> have horsehair!" +</p> +<p> +Dot, seeing the Swallow's indignation, drew away from the stump, and the +Cockatoo tried to look as if he had never seen her before, and as if the +idea of having his poll scratched by the prisoner was one that could +never have entered his head. +</p> +<p> +"But if we do put horsehair on the Cockatoo's head," argued the +creatures, "what will it do?" +</p> +<p> +"It will impress the prisoner," said the Swallow. +</p> +<p> +"How?" they all asked curiously. +</p> +<p> +"Because the Cockatoo won't look like a Cockatoo," replied the Swallow, +with exasperation. +</p> +<p> +"Then what will he look like?" asked every creature in breathless +excitement. +</p> +<p> +"He won't look like any creature that ever lived," retorted the Swallow. +</p> +<p> +Perfect silence followed this explanation, for every bird and animal was +trying to understand human sense and reason. Then the smallest Kangaroo +Rat broke the stillness. +</p> +<p> +"If," said the Kangaroo Rat, "only a little horsehair can do that, +surely the prisoner can imagine the Judge isn't a Cockatoo, without our +having to wait for the horsehair. Let's get on with the trial." +</p> +<p> +This idea was received with applause, and the Swallow flew off in a +huff; whilst the Kookooburra, on a tree near the Court, softly laughed +to himself. +</p> +<p> +Once more the Pelican took up his position to open the trial. The +Cockatoo puffed himself out as big as he could, fluffed out his cheek +feathers, and half closed his eyes. His solemnly attentive attitude won +the admiration of all the Court, and the absence of horsehair was not +felt by anyone. The Welcome + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page68" name="page68"></a>[68]</span> + + Swallow, having got over its ill temper, returned to help the +proceedings; and the jury all put their heads under their wings and went +to sleep. +</p> +<p> +"Fire away!" screamed the Cockatoo, and the trial began. +</p> +<p> +"My duty is a most painful one," said the Pelican; "for" ("whereas," +said the Swallow) "the prisoner known" ("named and described," added the +Swallow), "as Dot is now before you," ("to be tried, heard, determined +and adjudged," gabbled the Swallow) "on a charge of cruelty" ("and +feloniously killing and slaying," prompted the Swallow) "to birds and +animals," ("the term not applying to horse, mare, pony, bull, ox, dog, +cat, heifer, steer, calf, mule, ass, sheep, lamb, hog, pig, sow, goat, +or other domestic animal," interposed in one breath the Swallow, quoting +the Cruelty to Animals Act) "she is" ("hereby," put in the Swallow) +"brought to trial on" ("divers," whispered the Swallow) "charges," +("hereinafter," said the Swallow) "to be named and described by the" +("aforesaid," interjected the Swallow) "birds and animals," +("hereinbefore mentioned," stated the Swallow) "the said animals being +denizens of the Bush" ("and in no wise relating to horse, mare, pony, +bull, ox,"—began the Swallow again, when the Cockatoo raised his crest, +and screamed out "<span class="sc">STOP THAT, I TELL YOU!</span>" and the Pelican +continued stating the charge.) "Bush law" ("enacts," said the Swallow) +"that" ("whereas," prompted the Swallow) "all individual rights" +("whatsoever," put in the Swallow) "shall be according to the statute +Victoria—" +</p> +<p> +"Victoria! Twenty to one against the field," shouted the Judge. +</p> +<p> +"Between you two," said the Pelican, looking angrily at the Swallow and +the Cockatoo, "I've forgotten everything I was going to say! I shan't go +on!" +</p> +<p> +"Never mind," said the Swallow cheerfully, "you've said quite enough, +and no one has understood a word of the charge, so it's all right. Now +then for the witnesses." +</p> +<p> +As the Swallow spoke, there was a great disturbance amongst the +creatures. The swan, ducks, cranes, and waterfowl, besides honeysuckers, +and many other birds, were all fanning the air with their wings, and +crying, "Turn him out!" "Disgusting!" "I never heard of such a thing in +my life! the smell of it always gives me a headache!" and there was such +a noise that the jury all woke up, and Dot covered her ears with her +hands. The Cockatoo, seeing Dot's distress at the screams and hubbub, +and thinking that she wanted to say something, but could not make +herself heard in the general riot, decided to speak for her; so he +screamed louder than all the rest, and shouted, "Apples, oranges, pears, +lemonade, cigarettes, <i>and</i> cigars! I say! what's the row?" +</p> +<a name="image-0016"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-14.jpg"><img src="images/ill-14-t.jpg" width="400" height="499" +alt="THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE" /></a> +<br /> +THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page69" name="page69"></a>[69]</span> +</p> +<p> +When quiet was restored, it was explained that the Opossum had brought +into Court a pouch full of gum leaves, which it was eating. It had also +given some to the Native Bear, and Wallaby, and in consequence the whole +air was laden with the odour of eucalyptus. +</p> +<p> +"Oh, dear!" said Dot, "it smells just like when I have a cold!" +</p> +<p> +"Eating eucalyptus leaves in Court is contempt of Court," cried the +Swallow; and everyone echoed, "Contempt of Court! contempt of Court! +Turn them out!" +</p> +<p> +"But they are witnesses," objected the Pelican. +</p> +<p> +"That doesn't matter!" shouted the Waterfowl, "it's a disgusting smell! +Turn them out!" +</p> +<p> +"Hurrah!" shouted the Wallaby, as it leaped off. "What luck!" laughed +the Opossum, as it cleared into the nearest tree. "I am glad," sighed +the Koala, as it slowly moved away; "that trial made my head feel +empty." +</p> +<p> +"Well, there go three of the most important witnesses," grumbled the +Pelican. +</p> +<p> +"My eye! what a spree!" said the Judge. +</p> +<p> +A Galah amongst the Jury, wishing to be thought intelligent, enquired +what charge the Wallaby, Native Bear, and Opossum were to bear witness +to. +</p> +<p> +"It is a matter of skins, included in the fur rugs clause, and the +wickedness known as 'Sport,'" answered the Pelican. +</p> +<p> +Whilst the Pelican was making this explanation, the Judge, who had been +longing to have his poll scratched again, sidled up to Dot, and +whispered softly to her, "Scratch Cockie!" But, just as he was enjoying +the delicious sensation Dot's fingers produced amongst his neck +feathers, as he held his head down, the Pelican caught sight of the +proceeding. The Pelican said nothing, but stared at the Judge with an +eye of such astonishment and stern contempt, that the Cockatoo instantly +remembered that he was a judge, and, getting into a proper attitude, +said hastily, "Advance Australia! who's the next witness?" And again the +Kookooburra laughed to himself on the tree. +</p> +<p> +"Fur first!" exclaimed a white Ibis. "Call the Platypus!" +</p> +<p> +"The Platypus won't come!" cried the Kangaroo Rat. +</p> +<p> +"Well, I never!" exclaimed the Judge. +</p> +<p> +"It says that if a Court is held at all, it should be conducted by the +representative of Antediluvian custom, the most ancient and learned +creatures, such as the Iguana, the Snake, and Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. +That it would prefer + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page70" name="page70"></a>[70]</span> + + to associate with the meanest Troglodite, rather than appear amongst the +present company. I understood it to say," continued the Kangaroo Rat, +"that real law could only be understood by those deeply learned in +fossils." +</p> +<p> +"'Pon my word!" ejaculated the Judge. "Shiver my timbers! What blooming +impudence!" +</p> +<p> +"Oh! you naughty bird to use such words!" exclaimed Dot. But all the +Court murmured "How clever!" and the Cockatoo was pleased. +</p> +<p> +"Native Cat, next!" shouted the white Ibis. But at the first mention of +the Native Cat nearly every bird, and all the small game, prepared to +get away. +</p> +<p> +"Why don't you call the Dingo at once?" laughed the Kookooburra, who was +really keeping guard over Dot, although she did not know it. "Humans +kill Dingoes." +</p> +<p> +"The Dingo! the Dingo!" every creature repeated in horror and +consternation; and they all looked about in fear, while the Kookooburra +chuckled to himself at all the stir his words had made. +</p> +<p> +"It's quite true that animals and birds kill one another," said the +Magpie, who thought he ought to say something in Dot's defence, as that +was his part in the trial, "therefore it is the same nature that makes +Humans kill us. If it is the nature of Humans to kill, the same as it is +the nature of birds and animals to kill, where is the sense and justice +of trying the prisoner for what she can't help doing?" +</p> +<p> +"Good!" said the Welcome Swallow, "argued like a lawyer." +</p> +<p> +At this unexpected turn of the trial the Judge softly whistled to +himself, "Pop goes the weasel." +</p> +<p> +"Don't talk to us about nature and justice and sense," replied the +Pelican, contemptuously. "This is a Court of law, we have nothing to do +with any of them!" +</p> +<p> +The Court all cheered at this reply, and the Magpie subsided in the +sulks. +</p> +<p> +"Call the Kangaroo!" cried the white Ibis. +</p> +<p> +"It's no good," jeered the Kookooburra. "Kangaroo and Dot are great +friends. She won't come if you called——" +</p> +<p> +"'Till all's blue!" interrupted the Judge, and he went on with "Pop goes +the weasel." This news caused a buzz of excitement. Everyone was +astounded that the Kangaroo, who had the heaviest grievances of all, +wouldn't appear against the prisoner. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page71" name="page71"></a>[71]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Is it possible," said the Pelican, addressing the Kookooburra in slow +stern accents, "Is it possible that the Kangaroo has forgiven all her +grievances?" +</p> +<p> +"All," said the Kookooburra. +</p> +<p> +"The hunting?" asked the Pelican. +</p> +<p> +"Yes," answered the Kookooburra. +</p> +<p> +"The rugs?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes." +</p> +<p> +"The boots?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes." +</p> +<p> +"And," said the Pelican, still more solemnly and slowly, while all the +Court listened in breathless attention, "and has she forgiven +<i>Kangaroo-tail soup</i>?" +</p> +<p> +"Yes! she's forgiven that too," answered the Kookooburra cheerfully. +</p> +<p> +"Then," said the Pelican, hotly, "I throw up the case," and he spread +his huge black wings, and flapped his way up into the sky and away. +</p> +<p> +"What a go!" said the Judge; and he might have said more, only Dot could +not hear anything on account of the racket and confusion. The trial had +failed, and every creature was making all the noise it could, and +preparing to hurry away. In the middle of the turmoil, Dot's Kangaroo +bounded into the open space, panting with excitement and delight. +</p> +<p> +"Dot! Dot!" she cried, "I've found Willy Wagtail, and he knows your way! +Come along at once!" And, putting Dot in her pouch, the Kangaroo leaped +clean over the Judge and carried her off! +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page72" name="page72"></a>[72]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0012" id="h2HCH0012"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XII +</h2> +<p> +Although the Kangaroo was longing to hear the reason why so many Bush +creatures had collected round Dot whilst she was away, she was too +anxious to carry her to Willy Wagtail before nightfall to wait and +enquire what had happened. Dot, too, was so excited at hearing that her +way home had been found, that she could only think of the delight of +seeing her father and mother again. So the Kangaroo had hopped until she +was tired and needed rest, before they spoke. Then Dot described the +Trial, and made the Kangaroo laugh about the Cockatoo Judge, but she did +not say how it had all ended because the Kangaroo had forgiven Dot for +Humans making rugs of her fur, boots of her skin, and soup of her tail. +She was afraid of hurting her feelings by mentioning such delicate +subjects. The Kangaroo never noticed that anything was left out, because +she was bursting to relate her interview with Willy Wagtail. +</p> +<p> +She told Dot how she had found Willy Wagtail near his old haunt; how +that gossiping little bird had told all the news of the Gabblebabble +town and district in ten minutes, and how he had said he believed he +knew Dot by sight, and that if such were the case he would show Dot and +the Kangaroo the way to the little girl's home. Then Dot and the +Kangaroo hurried on their way again, the little girl sometimes running +and walking to rest the kind animal, and sometimes being carried in that +soft cosy pouch that had been her cradle and carriage for all those +days. +</p> +<p> +It was quite dusk by the time they arrived at a split-rail fence, and +heard a little bird singing, "Sweet pretty creature! sweet pretty +creature!" +</p> +<p> +"That is Willy Wagtail making love," said the Kangaroo, with a humorous +twinkle in her quiet eyes. "Peep round the bush," she said to Dot, "and +you'll see them spooning." +</p> +<a name="image-0017"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-15.jpg"><img src="images/ill-15-t.jpg" width="400" height="495" +alt="THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT" /></a> +<br /> +THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT +</div> +<p> +Dot glanced through the branches, and saw two wagtails, who looked very +smart with their black coats and white waistcoats, sitting on two posts of the +fence a little way off. They were each pretending that their long big tails were +too heavy to balance them properly, and they seemed to be always just saving +themselves from toppling off their perch. Occasionally Willy would dart into +the air, to show what an expert in flying he was; he would shoot straight + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page73" name="page73"></a>[73]</span> + + upwards, turn a double somersault backwards, and wing off in the +direction one least expected. Afterwards he would return to his post as +calm and cool as if he had done nothing surprising, and say "Pretty +pretty Chip-pi-ti-chip!" that name meaning the other wagtail. Then +Chip-pi-ti-chip showed off <i>her</i> flying, and they both said to one +another "Sweet pretty creature!" +</p> +<p> +At the sound of Dot and the Kangaroo's approach "Chip-pi-ti-chip" hid +herself in a tree, and Willy Wagtail, not knowing who was disturbing +them, scolded angrily; but when he saw the Kangaroo and the little girl, +he gave them the most cordial greeting, and wobbled about on a rail as +if he must tumble off every second. +</p> +<p> +"This is Dot," said the Kangaroo a little anxiously, and rather +breathless with the speed she had made. +</p> +<p> +"Just as I had expected!" exclaimed Willy Wagtail, with a jerk of his +tail which nearly sent him headlong off the rail. "I should know you +anywhere, little Human, though you do look a bit different. You want +preening," he added. +</p> +<p> +This last remark was in allusion to Dot's appearance, which certainly +was most untidy and dirty, for, beyond an occasional lick from the +Kangaroo, she had been five days without being tidied and cleaned. +</p> +<p> +"I couldn't do it better," said the Kangaroo apologetically. +</p> +<p> +"It doesn't matter at all," said Dot, putting her tangled curls back +from her eyes. +</p> +<p> +"Well! I know where you live," gabbled off the Wagtail. "It's the second +big paddock from here, if you follow the belt of the sheoak trees over +there. It's a house just like those things in Gabblebabble township. +There's a yellow sheep dog, who's very good tempered, and a black one +that made a snap at my tail the other day. There is an old grey cart +horse, an honest fellow, but rather dull; and a bay mare who is much +better company. There is a little red cow who is a great friend of mine, +and she had a calf a few days before you were lost. Dear me!" exclaimed +the gossiping bird, "what a fuss there has been these five days over +trying to find you! I've been over there every day to see the sight. +Such a lot of Humans! and such horses. I enjoyed myself immensely, and +made a lot of friends amongst the horses, but I didn't care so much for +the dogs; I thought them a nasty quarrelsome lot. +</p> +<p> +"I went with the whole turnout to see the search. Goodness! the +distances they went, and the noise and the big fires they made, it <i>was</i> +exciting fun! They brought over some black Humans—'Trackers' is what +they are called, at least + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page74" name="page74"></a>[74]</span> + + the Mounted Troopers' horses told me so (my word! the Troopers' horses +are jolly fellows!) Well, these black trackers went in front of each +party just like dogs, with their heads to the ground, and they turned +over every leaf and twig, and said if a Human, a horse or a kangaroo had +broken it or been that way. They found your track fast enough, but one +evening it came to an end quite suddenly, and weren't they all +surprised! I heard from a Trooper's horse—(such a nice horse he +was!)—that the trackers and white Humans said it was just as if you had +disappeared into the sky! There was just a bit of your fur on a bush, +and nothing anywhere else but a Kangaroo's trail. No one could make it +out." +</p> +<p> +"That was when I took you in my pouch!" exclaimed the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +"Now," said the Wagtail, "most of them have given up the search. Just +this evening Dot's father and a few other Humans came back, and the +yellow sheep dog told me the last big party is to start at noon +to-morrow, and after that there will be no more attempt to find Dot. +Only the sheep dog said he heard his master say he would go on hunting +alone, until he found her body. I haven't been over there to-day," wound +up the bird, "they are all so miserable and tired, it gave me the blues +yesterday." +</p> +<p> +"What are we to do? It is quite dark and late!" asked the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +"You had better stay here," counselled the Wagtail. "One night more or +less doesn't matter, and I don't like leaving Chip-pi-ti-chip at +night-time. She likes me to sing to her all night, because she is +nervous. I will go with you to-morrow morning early, if you will wait +here until then." +</p> +<p> +"Having found your lost way so far!" said the Kangaroo to Dot, "it would +be a pity to risk losing it again, so we had better wait for Willy +Wagtail to guide us to-morrow." +</p> +<p> +To tell the truth, the Kangaroo was very glad of the excuse to keep Dot +one night more before parting from her. "It will seem like losing my +little Joey again, when I am once more alone," she said sadly. +</p> +<p> +"But you will never go far away," said Dot. "I should cry, if I thought +you would never come to see me. You will live on our selection, won't +you?" +</p> +<p> +But the Kangaroo looked very doubtful, and said that she loved Dot, but +she was afraid of Humans and their dogs. +</p> +<a name="image-0018"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-16.jpg"><img src="images/ill-16-t.jpg" width="400" height="493" +alt="DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO" /></a> +<br /> +DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO +</div> +<p> +After a supper of berries and grass, Dot and the Kangaroo lay down for +the night in a little bower of bushes. But they talked until very late, +of how they were to manage to reach Dot's home without danger from guns +and dogs. At + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page75" name="page75"></a>[75]</span> + + last, when they tried to sleep, they could not do so on account of Willy +Wagtail's singing to his sweetheart, "Sweet pretty creature! Sweet +pretty creature!" without stopping, for more than five minutes at a +time. +</p> +<p> +"I wonder Chip-pi-ti-chip doesn't get tired of that song," said Dot. +</p> +<p> +"She never does," yawned the Kangaroo, "and he never tires of singing it." +</p> +<p> +"Sweet pretty creature," sang Willy Wagtail. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page76" name="page76"></a>[76]</span> +</p> +<a name="h2HCH0013" id="h2HCH0013"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + CHAPTER XIII +</h2> +<p> +Two men were walking near a cottage in the winter sunlight of the early +morning. There came to the door a young woman, who looked pale and +tired. She carried a bowl of milk to a little calf, and on her way back +to the cottage she paused, and shading her eyes, that were red with +weeping, lingered awhile, looking far and near. Then, with a sigh, she +returned indoors and worked restlessly at her household duties. +</p> +<p> +"It breaks my heart to see my wife do that," said the taller man, who +carried a gun. "All day long she comes out and looks for the child. One +knows, now, that the poor little one can never come back to us," and as +the big man spoke there was a queer choking in his voice. +</p> +<p> +The younger man did not speak, but he patted his friend's shoulder in a +kindly manner, which showed that he too was very sorry. +</p> +<p> +"Even you have lost heart, Jack," said the big bushman, "but we shall +find her yet; the wife shall have that comfort." +</p> +<p> +"You'll never do it now," said the young fellow with a mournful shake of +the head. "There is not an inch of ground that so young a child could +reach that we have not searched. The mystery is, what could have become +of her?" +</p> +<p> +"That's what beats me," said the tall man, who was Dot's father. "I +think of it all day and all night. There is the track of the dear little +mite as clear as possible for five miles, as far as the dry creek. The +trackers say she rested her poor weary legs by sitting under the +blackbutt tree. At that point she vanishes completely. The blacks say +there isn't a trace of man, or beast, beyond that place excepting the +trail of a big kangaroo. As you say, it's a mystery!" +</p> +<p> +As the men walked towards the bush, close to the place where Dot had run +after the hare the day she was lost, neither of them noticed the fuss +and scolding made by a Willy Wagtail; although the little bird seemed +likely to die of excitement. +</p> +<p> +Willy Wagtail was really saying, "Dot and her Kangaroo are coming this +way. Whatever you do, don't shoot them with that gun." +</p> +<p> +Presently the young man, Jack, noticed the little bird. "What friendly +little chaps those wagtails are," he said, "and see how tame and +fearless this one is. Upon my word, he nearly flew in your face that +time!" +</p> +<a name="image-0019"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-17.jpg"><img src="images/ill-17-t.jpg" width="400" height="497" +alt="DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO" /></a> +<br /> +DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO +</div> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page77" name="page77"></a>[77]</span> +</p> +<p> +Dot's father did not notice the remark, for he had stopped suddenly, and +was peering into the bush whilst he quietly shifted his gun into +position, ready to raise it and fire. +</p> +<p> +"By Jove!" he said, "I saw the head of a Kangaroo a moment ago behind +that iron-bark. Fancy it's coming so near the house. Next time it shows, +I'll get a shot at it." +</p> +<p> +Both men waited for the moment when the Kangaroo should be seen again. +</p> +<p> +The next instant the Kangaroo bounded out of the Bush into the open +paddock. Swift as lightning up went the cruel gun, but, as it exploded +with a terrible report, the man, Jack, struck it upwards, and the fatal +bullet lodged in the branch of a tall gum tree. +</p> +<p> +"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at the Kangaroo. +</p> +<p> +"Dot!" cried her father, dropping his gun, and stumbling blindly forward +with outstretched arms, towards his little girl, who had just tumbled +out of the Kangaroo's pouch in her hurry to reach her father. +</p> +<p> +"Hoo! hoo! ho! ho! he! he! ha! ha! ha! ha!" laughed a Kookooburra on a +tree, as he saw Dot clasped in her father's great strong arms, and the +little face hidden in his big brown beard. +</p> +<p> +"Wife! wife!" shouted Dot's father, "Dot's come back! Dot's come back!" +</p> +<p> +"Dot's here!" yelled the young man, as he ran like mad to the house. And +all the time the good Kangaroo sat up on her haunches, still panting +with fear from the sound of the gun, and a little afraid to stay, yet so +interested in all the excitement and delight, that she couldn't make up +her mind to hop away. +</p> +<p> +"Dadda," said Dot, "You nearly killed Dot and her Kangaroo! Oh! if you'd +killed my Kangaroo, I'd never have been happy any more!" +</p> +<p> +"But I don't understand," said her father. "How did you come to be in +the Kangaroo's pouch?" +</p> +<p> +"Oh! I've got lots and lots to tell you!" said Dot; "but come and stroke +dear Kangaroo, who saved little Dot and brought her home." +</p> +<p> +"That I will!" said Dot's father, "and never more will I hurt a +Kangaroo!" +</p> +<p> +"Nor any of the Bush creatures," said Dot. "Promise, Dadda!" +</p> +<p> +"I promise," said the big man, in a queer-sounding voice, as he kissed +Dot over and over again, and walked towards the frightened animal. +</p> +<p> +Dot wriggled down from her father's arms, and said to the Kangaroo, +"It's all right; no one's ever going to be shot or hurt here again!" and +the Kangaroo looked delighted at the good news. +</p> +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page78" name="page78"></a>[78]</span> +</p> +<p> +"Dadda," said Dot, holding her father's hand, and, with her disengaged +hand touching the Kangaroo's little paw. "This is my own dear Kangaroo." +Dot's father, not knowing quite how to show his gratitude, stroked the +Kangaroo's head, and said "How do you do?" which, when he came to think +of it afterwards, seemed rather a foolish thing to say. But he wasn't +used, like Dot, to talking to Bush creatures, and had not eaten the +berries of understanding. +</p> +<p> +The Kangaroo saw that Dot's father was grateful, and so she was pleased, +but she did not like to be stroked by a man who let off guns, so she was +glad that Dot's mother had run to where they were standing, and was +hugging and kissing the little girl, and crying all the time; for then +Dot's father turned and watched his wife and child, and kept doing +something to his eyes with a handkerchief, so that there was no +attention to spare for Kangaroos. +</p> +<p> +The good Kangaroo, seeing how happy these people were, and knowing that +her life was quite safe, wanted to peep about Dot's home and see what it +was like—for kangaroos can't help being curious. So presently she +quietly hopped off towards the cottage, and then a very strange thing +happened. Just as the Kangaroo was wondering what the great iron tank by +the kitchen door was meant for, there popped out of the open door a joey +Kangaroo. Now, to human beings, all joey Kangaroos look alike, but +amongst Kangaroos there are no two the same, and Dot's Kangaroo at once +recognised in the little Joey her own baby Kangaroo. The Joey knew its +mother directly, and, whilst Dot's Kangaroo was too astonished to move, +and not being able to think, was trying to get at a conclusion why her +Joey was coming out of a cottage, the little Kangaroo, with a +hop-skip-and-a-jump, had landed itself comfortably in the nice pouch Dot +had just vacated. +</p> +<p> +Then Dot's mother, rejoicing over the safe return of her little girl, +was not more happy than the Kangaroo with her Joey once more in her +pouch. With big bounds she leapt towards Dot, and the little girl +suddenly looking round for her Kangaroo friend, clapped her hands with +delight as she saw a little grey nose, a pair of tiny black paws, and +the point of a little black tail, hanging out of the pouch that had +carried her so often. +</p> +<p> +"Why!" exclaimed Dot's mother, "if she hasn't got the little Joey, Jack +brought me yesterday! He picked it up after a Kangaroo hunt some time +ago." +</p> +<p> +"It's her Joey; her lost Joey!" cried Dot, running to the Kangaroo. "Oh! +dear Kangaroo, I am so glad!" she said, "for now we are all happy; as +happy as can be!" Dot hugged her Kangaroo, and kissed the little Joey, +and they all three + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page79" name="page79"></a>[79]</span> + + talked together, so that none of them understood what the others were +saying, only that they were all much pleased and delighted. +</p> +<p> +"Wife," said Dot's father, "I'll tell you what's mighty queer, our +little girl is talking away to those animals, and they're all +understanding one another, as if it was the most natural thing in the +world to treat Kangaroos as if they were human beings!" +</p> +<p> +"I expect," said his wife, "that their feelings are not much different +from ours. See how that poor animal is rejoicing in getting back its +little one, just as we are over having our little Dot again." +</p> +<p> +"To think of all the poor things I have killed," said Dot's father +sadly; "I'll never do it again." +</p> +<p> +"No," said his wife, "we must try and get everyone to be kind to the +bush creatures, and protect them all we can." +</p> +<p> +This book would never come to an end if it told all that passed that +day. How Dot explained the wonderful power of the berries of +understanding, and how she told the kangaroos all that her parents +wanted her to say on their behalf, and what kind things the Kangaroo +said in return. +</p> +<p> +All day long the Kangaroo stayed near Dot's home, and the little girl +persuaded her to eat bread, which she said was "most delicious, but one +would get tired of it sooner than of grass." +</p> +<p> +Every effort was made by Dot and her parents to get the Kangaroo to live +on their selection, so that they might protect her from harm. But she +said that she liked her own free life best, only she would never go far +away and would come often to see Dot. At sunset she said good-bye to +Dot, a little sadly, and the child stood in the rosy light of the +afterglow, waving her hand, as she saw her kind animal friend hop away +and disappear into the dark shadow of the Bush. +</p> +<p> +She wandered about for some time listening to the voices of birds and +creatures, who came to tell her how glad everyone was that her way had +been found, and that no harm was to befall them in future. The news of +her safe return, and of the Kangaroo's finding her Joey, had been spread +far and near, by Willy Wagtail and the Kookooburra; and she could hear +the shouts of laughter from kookooburras telling the story until nearly +dark. +</p> +<p> +Quite late at night she was visited by the Opossum, the Native Bear, +and the Nightjar, who entered by the open window, and, sitting in the +moonlight, conversed about the day's events. They said that their whole +rest and sleep had been disturbed by the noise and excitement of the day +creatures spreading the + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page80" name="page80"></a>[80]</span> + + news through the Bush. The Mo-poke wished to sing a sad song because Dot +was feeling happy, but the Opossum warned it that it was sitting in a +draught on the window sill and might spoil its beautiful voice, so it +flew away and only sang in the distance. The Native Bear said that the +story of Dot's return and the finding of Kangaroo's Joey was so strange +that it made its head feel quite empty. The Opossum inspected everything +in Dot's room, and tried to fight itself in the looking-glass. It then +got the Koala to look into the mirror also, and said it would get an +idea into its little empty head if it did. When the Koala had taken a +timid peep at itself, the Opossum said that the Koala now had an idea of +how stupid it looked, and the little bear went off to get used to having +an idea in its head. The Opossum was so pleased with its spiteful joke +that it hastily said good night, and hurried away to tell it to the +other 'possums. +</p> +<p> +Gradually the voices of the creatures outside became more and more faint +and indistinct; and then Dot slept in the grey light of the dawn. +</p> +<p> +When she went out in the morning, the kookooburras were gurgling and +laughing, the magpies were warbling, the parrakeets made their +twittering, and Willy Wagtail was most lively; but Dot was astonished to +find that she could not understand what any of the creatures said, +although they were all very friendly towards her. When the Kangaroo came +to see her she made signs that she wanted some berries of understanding, +but, strange as it may seem, the Kangaroo pretended not to understand. +Dot has often wondered why the Kangaroo would not understand, but, +remembering what that considerate animal had said when she first gave +her the berries, she is inclined to think that the Kangaroo is afraid of +her learning too much, and thereby getting indigestion. Dot and her +parents have often sought for the berries, but up to now they have +failed to find them. There is something very mysterious about those +berries! +</p> +<p> +During that day every creature Dot had known in the Bush came to see +her, for they all knew that their lives were safe now, so they were not +afraid. It greatly surprised Dot's parents to see such numbers of birds +and animals coming around their little girl, and they thought it very +pretty when in the evening a flock of Native Companions settled down, +and danced their graceful dance with the little girl joining in the +game. +</p> +<p> +"It seems to me, wife," said Dot's father with a glad laugh, "that the +place has become a regular menagerie!" +</p> +<a name="image-0020"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/ill-18.jpg"><img src="images/ill-18-t.jpg" width="400" height="499" +alt="BY THE LAKE (EVENING)" /></a> +<br /> +BY THE LAKE (EVENING) +</div> +<p> +Later on, Dot's father made a dam on a hollow piece of ground near the +house, which soon became full of water, and is surrounded by beautiful +willow + +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page81" name="page81"></a>[81]</span> + + trees. There all the thirsty creatures come to drink in safety. And very +pretty it is, to sit on the verandah of that happy home, and see Dot +playing near the water surrounded by her Bush friends, who come and go +as they please, and play with the little girl beside the pretty lake. +And no one in all the Gabblebabble district hurts a bush creature, +because they are all called "Dot's friends." +</p> + +<hr /> + +<a name="h2H_4_0020" id="h2H_4_0020"><!-- H2 anchor --></a> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + FINALE. +</h2> +<p> +Before putting away the pen and closing the inkstand, now that Dot has +said all she wishes to be recorded of her bewildering adventures, the +writer would like to warn little people, that the best thing to do when +one is lost in the bush, is to sit still in one place, and not to try to +find one's way home at all. If Dot had done this, and had not gone off +in the Kangaroo's pouch, she would have been found almost directly. As +the more one tries to find one's way home, the more one gets lost, and +as helpful Kangaroos like Dot's are very scarce, the best way to get +found quickly, is to wait in one place until the search parties find +one. Don't forget this advice! And don't eat any strange berries in the +bush, unless a Kangaroo brings them to you. +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="pagexx" name="pagexx"></a>[xx]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> + W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, Sydney, Australia +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-j-ib" name="page-j-ib"></a>[j-ib]</span> +</p> + +<div style="height: 4em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + +<h2> + <i>Australian Publications.</i> +</h2> + +<p class="quote"> +POEMS OF HENRY KENDALL. Enlarged edition, with biographic note by +<span class="sc">Bertram Stevens</span>, and portraits, 7s, 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +CASTLE VANE: An Australian Historical Novel. By <span class="sc">J. H. M. +Abbott</span>. 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +POEMS BY RODERIC QUINN. With portrait, 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS. By <span class="sc">Hon. H. Y. Braddon</span>, ex-Commissioner +for the Commonwealth. 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +JIM OF THE HILLS. A Story in Rhyme. By C. J. <span class="sc">Dennis</span>, With +frontispiece, title-page, and jacket in colour, by <span class="sc">Hal Gye</span>. +7-1/2 × 6 inches, 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DIGGER SMITH: <span class="sc">Poems</span>. By <span class="sc">C. J. Dennis</span>. With +frontispiece, title page and jacket in colour, and other illustrations, +by <span class="sc">Hal Gye</span>. 7-1/2 × 6 inches, 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE SONGS OF A SENTIMENTAL BLOKE. By <span class="sc">C. J. Dennis</span>. With +frontispiece, title-page and jacket in colour and other illustrations by +<span class="sc">Hal Gye</span>, 7-1/2 × 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DOREEN: A Sequel to "The Sentimental Bloke." By <span class="sc">C. J. Dennis</span>. +With coloured and other illustrations, 7-1/4 × 5-1/4 inches, 1s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE MOODS OF GINGER MICK: Poems. By <span class="sc">C.J. Dennis</span>, With +frontispiece, title-page and jacket in colour, and other illustrations +by <span class="sc">Hal Gye</span>, 7-1/2 × 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +BACKBLOCK BALLADS AND LATER VERSES. By <span class="sc">C. J. Dennis</span>, author of +"The Sentimental Bloke," etc. New edition, revised, with 16 new pieces, +wholly printed from new type, with frontispiece, title-page and jacket +in colour, by <span class="sc">Hal Gye</span>. 7-1/2 × 6 inches. 5s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +THE GLUGS OF GOSH: Poems. By <span class="sc">C. J. Dennis</span>. With frontispiece, +title-page, and jacket in colour, and other illustrations by <span class="sc">Hal +Gye</span>, 7-1/2 × 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +BUSHLAND STORIES (For Children). By <span class="sc">Amy Eleanor Mack</span>. With +coloured illustrations. 4s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +SCRIBBLING SUE, and Other Stories for Children. By <span class="sc">Amy Eleanor +Mack</span>. With coloured illustrations, 4s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +GEM OF THE FLAT. A Story of Young Australians. By <span class="sc">Constance +Mackness</span>. With coloured and other illustrations, 4s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +CHRISTOPHER COCKLE'S AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCES. By <span class="sc">J. R. Houlding</span> +("Old Boomerang"). 465 pages, 3s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +TALES OF SNUGGLEPOT AND CUDDLEPIE. By <span class="sc">May Gibbs</span>. With +frontispiece in colour, 22 full-page and many other illustrations. 10 × +7-1/2 inches, 6s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +LITTLE RAGGED BLOSSOM, and more about Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. By +<span class="sc">May Gibbs</span>. With 21 full-page plates (2 in colour) and many +other illustrations. 10 × 7-1/2 inches, 6s. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +BORONIA BABIES. By <span class="sc">May Gibbs</span>. With 2 coloured and 12 other +pictures, 8-3/4 × 5-3/4 inches. 1s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +WATTLE BABIES. By <span class="sc">May Gibbs</span>. With 2 coloured and 12 other +pictures, 8-3/4 × 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +GUM-BLOSSOM BABIES. By <span class="sc">May Gibbs</span> With 2 coloured and 12 other +pictures, 8-3/4 × 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +GUM-NUT BABIES. By <span class="sc">May Gibbs</span>. With 2 coloured and 12 other +pictures, 8-3/4 × 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. +</p> +<p class="quote"> +DOT AND THE KANGAROO. By <span class="sc">Ethel C. Pedley</span>. With 19 full-page +illustrations (1 in colour) by <span class="sc">F. P. Mahony</span>. New edition, 10 × +7-1/2 inches, 6s. +</p> + +<p style="text-align:center;text-indent:0;"> +<span class="sc">Angus</span> & <span class="sc">Robertson, Ltd</span>., Publishers, Sydney +<br /> +And at all Booksellers +</p> + +<p> +<span class="pagenum"><a id="page-backcover" name="page-backcover"></a>[back cover]</span> +</p> + +<a name="image-0022"><!--IMG--></a> +<div class="figure"> +<a href="images/cover-b.jpg"><img src="images/cover-b-t.jpg" width="400" height="518" +alt="Back Cover" /></a> +</div> + +<div style="height: 6em;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. 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index 0000000..2541130 --- /dev/null +++ b/18891-h/images/ill-18.jpg diff --git a/18891.txt b/18891.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..761d3bd --- /dev/null +++ b/18891.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4372 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. Pedley + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Dot and the Kangaroo + +Author: Ethel C. Pedley + +Illustrator: Frank P. Mahony + +Release Date: July 22, 2006 [EBook #18891] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DOT AND THE KANGAROO *** + + + + +Produced by Jason Isbell, David Garcia and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +[Illustration: Dot and the Kangaroo] + + + * * * * * + + + + +_Australian Publications._ + + +CONRAD MARTENS, THE MAN AND HIS ART. By LIONEL LINDSAY, assisted by + G. V. F. MANN, Director of the National Art Gallery of New South + Wales. With reproductions of 60 of Martens' pictures, mostly in + colour. A handsome volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard box, + 42s. + +THE ART OF HANS HEYSEN. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, BERTRAM STEVENS + and C. LLOYD JONES, with critical article by LIONEL LINDSAY and + reproductions of 60 of Heysen's pictures, mostly in colour. A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. [_Ready in November_ + +THE ART OF ARTHUR STREETON. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, BERTRAM STEVENS + and C. LLOYD JONES, with critical and biographical articles by P. G. + KONODY and LIONEL LINDSAY, reproductions in colour of 36 of Mr. + Streeton's landscapes and 20 others in black and white. A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. + +THE ART OF J. J. HILDER. Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH, with Life by + BERTRAM STEVENS, contributions by JULIAN ASHTON and HARRY JULIUS, and + reproductions of 56 of Mr. Hilder's pictures (36 in color). A handsome + volume 10-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, in cardboard box, 42s. + +DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN AUSTRALIA. Special Number of Art in Australia. + Edited by SYDNEY URE SMITH and BERTRAM STEVENS, in collaboration with + W. HARDY WILSON. With articles by leading Australian Architects and 45 + full-page illustrations. 11-1/4 x 9 inches, 21s. + +AUSTRALIA IN PALESTINE. A Record of the Work of the A.I.F. in Palestine + and Egypt, with 263 coloured and other illustrations, 4 maps and 3 + battle plans, 10-3/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 10s. 6d. + +SOCIETY OF ARTISTS PICTURES. Special Number of Art in Australia. With + History of the Society by JULIAN ASHTON, 20 plates in colour and 50 in + black and white. 11 x 8-3/4 inches, 12s. 6d. + +ART IN AUSTRALIA, No. VII. With reproductions in colour of pictures by + GEORGE W. LAMBERT, CLEWIN HARCOURT, ARTHUR STREETON, J. FORD PATERSON, + CHARLES WHEELER, PENLEIGH BOYD, HERBERT HARRISON, LESLIE WILKIE, THEA + PROCTOR, A. J. MUNNINGS, F. McCOMAS, and other illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 + inches. 12s. 6d. + +CROSSING THE LINE WITH H.R.H. THE PRINCE OF WALES IN H.M.S. "RENOWN." + By VICTOR E. MARSDEN. With 40 illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 5s. + +SELECTED POEMS OF HENRY LAWSON. Selected and carefully revised by the + author, with several new poems, portrait in colour by JOHN LONGSTAFF, + and 9 full-page illustrations by PERCY LEASON. 9-1/2 x 7-1/4 inches, + handsomely bound, in cardboard box, 12s. 6d. + +COLOMBINE, AND OTHER POEMS. By HUGH McCRAE. With 11 illustrations by + NORMAN LINDSAY. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 10s. 6d. + +AN ANTHOGRAPHY OF THE EUCALYPTS. By W. RUSSELL GRIMWADE. With 79 + beautiful plates, 11-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches, 42s. + +THE MAGIC PUDDING. A Story by NORMAN LINDSAY, in Prose and Verse, and + illustrated by him in 100 pictures, mostly full-page, the title-page in + colour. 11-1/4 x 8-3/4 inches. 7s. 6d. + +THE FIRST AEROPLANE VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRALIA. By SIR ROSS SMITH, + K.B.E. With portraits and 27 full-page aeroviews of Sydney, its Harbour, + the Suburbs, and many Country Towns. 10 x 7-1/2 ins. 2s. 6d. + +DIGGERS ABROAD: Jottings on the Australian Front. By Capt. T. A. WHITE. + Illustrated by DAVID BARKER. 6s. + + +ANGUS & ROBERTSON, LTD., Publishers, Sydney + +And at all Booksellers + + + * * * * * + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + +By ETHEL C. PEDLEY + +WITH 19 FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS + +By FRANK P. MAHONY + + +THE BOOKMAN (London):--"Miss Pedley has written a story for Australian +children, but children of all countries will be the better for reading +it.... In the end a double joy is waiting for the reader, for Dot finds +again her home and her loving mother, and the faithful kangaroo finds +its lost baby. Quite the right ending for Christmas-tide." + +SYDNEY MORNING HERALD:--"'Dot and the Kangaroo' is without doubt one of +the most charming books that could be put into the hands of a child. It +is admirably illustrated by Frank P. Mahony, who seems to have entered +thoroughly into the animal world of Australia. The story is altogether +Australian.... It is told so simply, and yet so artistically, that even +the 'grown-ups' amongst us must enjoy it." + +DAILY MAIL (Brisbane):--"A more fascinating study for Australian +children is hardly conceivable, and it endows the numerous bush animals +with human speech, and reproduces a variety of amusing conversations +between them and Dot, the little heroine of the book.... Adults may read +it with pleasure." + +FREEMAN'S JOURNAL (Sydney):--"Miss Pedley brings much of graceful fancy +and happy descriptive faculty to her narrative of 'Dot and the +Kangaroo.'... The volume furnishes excellent reading for young folk." + + +Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, +51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and all other Booksellers; and +(_wholesale only_) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon +Avenue, London, E.C. 4. + +_Price 6s._ + + * * * * * + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + + + + +[Illustration: THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS] + + + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + +BY + +ETHEL C. PEDLEY + +_With 19 Illustrations by Frank P. Mahony_ + + + AUSTRALIA: + ANGUS & ROBERTSON LTD. + 89 CASTLEREAGH STREET, SYDNEY + 1920 + + + + + Printed by W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd. + 88 Pitt Street, Sydney, Australia + + + Obtainable in Great Britain from The British Australasian Book-store, + 51 High Holborn, London, W.C. 1., and from all Booksellers; and + (_wholesale only_) from The Australian Book Company, 16 Farringdon + Avenue, London, E.C. 4. + + + + + TO THE + CHILDREN OF AUSTRALIA + IN THE HOPE OF ENLISTING THEIR SYMPATHIES + FOR THE MANY + BEAUTIFUL, AMIABLE, AND FROLICSOME CREATURES + OF THEIR FAIR LAND, + WHOSE EXTINCTION, THROUGH RUTHLESS DESTRUCTION, + IS BEING SURELY ACCOMPLISHED + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + PAGE + + THE PLATYPUS SINGS OF ANTEDILUVIAN DAYS _frontispiece_ + THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT 2 + THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE 14 + DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS 18 + THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE SONG 22 + DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS 26 + DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM 34 + THE CORROBOREE 36 + A LEAP FOR LIFE 44 + THE BITTERN HELPS DOT 48 + THE BOWER BIRDS 56 + THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP 60 + THE COURT OF ANIMALS 64 + THE COCKATOO JUDGE 66 + THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE 68 + THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT 72 + DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO 74 + DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO 76 + BY THE LAKE (EVENING) 80 + + + + + + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO + + + + +CHAPTER I + + +Little Dot had lost her way in the bush. She knew it, and was very +frightened. + +She was too frightened in fact to cry, but stood in the middle of a +little dry, bare space, looking around her at the scraggy growths of +prickly shrubs that had torn her little dress to rags, scratched her +bare legs and feet till they bled, and pricked her hands and arms as +she had pushed madly through the bushes, for hours, seeking her home. +Sometimes she looked up to the sky. But little of it could be seen +because of the great tall trees that seemed to her to be trying to reach +heaven with their far-off crooked branches. She could see little patches +of blue sky between the tangled tufts of drooping leaves, and, as the +dazzling sunlight had faded, she began to think it was getting late, and +that very soon it would be night. + +The thought of being lost and alone in the wild bush at night, took her +breath away with fear, and made her tired little legs tremble under her. +She gave up all hope of finding her home, and sat down at the foot of +the biggest blackbutt tree, with her face buried in her hands and knees, +and thought of all that had happened, and what might happen yet. + +It seemed such a long, long time since her mother had told her that she +might gather some bush flowers whilst she cooked the dinner, and Dot +recollected how she was bid not to go out of sight of the cottage. How +she wished now that she had remembered this sooner! But whilst she was +picking the pretty flowers, a hare suddenly started at her feet and +sprang away into the bush, and she had run after it. When she found that +she could not catch the hare, she discovered that she could no longer +see the cottage. After wandering for a while she got frightened and ran, +and ran, little knowing that she was going further away from her home at +every step. + +Where she was sitting under the blackbutt tree, she was miles away from +her father's selection, and it would be very difficult for anyone to +find her. She felt that she was a long way off, and she began to think +of what was happening at home. She remembered how, not very long ago, a +neighbour's little boy had been lost, and how his mother had come to +their cottage for help to find him, and that her father had ridden off +on the big bay horse to bring men from all the selections around to help +in the search. She remembered their coming back in the darkness; numbers +of strange men she had never seen before. Old men, young men, and boys, +all on their rough-coated horses, and how they came indoors, and what a +noise they made all talking together in their big deep voices. They +looked terrible men, so tall and brown and fierce, with their rough +bristly beards; and they all spoke in such funny tones to her, as if +they were trying to make their voices small. + +During many days these men came and went, and every time they were more +sad, and less noisy. The little boy's mother used to come and stay, +crying, whilst the men were searching the bush for her little son. Then, +one evening, Dot's father came home alone, and both her mother and the +little boy's mother went away in a great hurry. Then, very late, her +mother came back crying, and her father sat smoking by the fire looking +very sad, and she never saw that little boy again, although he had been +found. + +She wondered now if all these rough, big men were riding into the bush +to find her, and if, after many days, they would find her, and no one +ever see her again. She seemed to see her mother crying, and her father +very sad, and all the men very solemn. These thoughts made her so +miserable that she began to cry herself. + +Dot does not know how long she was sobbing in loneliness and fear, with +her head on her knees, and with her little hands covering her eyes so as +not to see the cruel wild bush in which she was lost. It seemed a long +time before she summoned up courage to uncover her weeping eyes, and +look once more at the bare, dry earth, and the wilderness of scrub and +trees that seemed to close her in as if she were in a prison. When she +did look up, she was surprised to see that she was no longer alone. She +forgot all her trouble and fear in her astonishment at seeing a big grey +Kangaroo squatting quite close to her, in front of her. + +[Illustration: THE KANGAROO FINDS DOT] + +What was most surprising was that the Kangaroo evidently understood that +Dot was in trouble, and was sorry for her; for down the animal's nice +soft grey muzzle two tiny little tears were slowly trickling. When Dot +looked up at it with wonder in her round blue eyes, the Kangaroo did not +jump away, but remained gazing sympathetically at Dot with a slightly +puzzled air. Suddenly the big animal seemed to have an idea, and it +lightly hopped off into the scrub, where Dot could just see it bobbing +up and down as if it were hunting for something. Presently back came the +strange Kangaroo with a spray of berries in her funny black hands. They +were pretty berries. Some were green, some were red, some blue, and +others white. Dot was quite glad to take them when the Kangaroo offered +them to her; and as this friendly animal seemed to wish her to eat them, +she did so gladly, because she was beginning to feel hungry. + +After she had eaten a few berries a very strange thing happened. While +Dot had been alone in the bush it had all seemed so dreadfully still. +There had been no sound but the gentle stir of a light, fitful breeze +in the far-away tree-tops. All around had been so quiet, that her +loneliness had seemed twenty times more lonely. Now, however, under the +influence of these small, sweet berries, Dot was surprised to hear +voices everywhere. At first it seemed like hearing sounds in a dream, +they were so faint and distant, but soon the talking grew nearer and +nearer, louder and clearer, until the whole bush seemed filled with +talking. + +They were all little voices, some indeed quite tiny whispers and +squeaks, but they were very numerous, and seemed to be everywhere. They +came from the earth, from the bushes, from the trees, and from the very +air. The little girl looked round to see where they came from, but +everything looked just the same. Hundreds of ants, of all kinds and +sizes, were hurrying to their nests; a few lizards were scuttling about +amongst the dry twigs and sparse grasses; there were some grasshoppers, +and in the trees birds fluttered to and fro. Then Dot knew that she was +hearing, and understanding, everything that was being said by all the +insects and creatures in the bush. + +All this time the Kangaroo had been speaking, only Dot had been too +surprised to listen. But now the gentle, soft voice of the kind animal +caught her attention, and she found that the Kangaroo was in the middle +of a speech. + +"I understood what was the matter with you at once," she was saying, +"for I feel just the same myself. I have been miserable, like you, ever +since I lost my baby kangaroo. You also must have lost something. Tell +me what it is?" + +"I've lost my way," said Dot; rather wondering if the Kangaroo would +understand her. + +"Ah!" said the Kangaroo, quite delighted at her own cleverness, "I knew +you had lost something! Isn't it a dreadful feeling? You feel as if you +had no inside, don't you? And you're not inclined to eat anything--not +even the youngest grass. I have been like that ever since I lost my baby +kangaroo. Now tell me," said the creature confidentially, "what your way +is like, I may be able to find it for you." + +Dot found that she must explain what she meant by saying she had "lost +her way," and the Kangaroo was much interested. + +"Well," said she, after listening to the little girl, "that is just like +you Humans; you are not fit for this country at all! Of course, if you +have only one home in one place, you _must_ lose it! If you made your +home everywhere and anywhere, it would never be lost. Humans are no good +in our bush," she continued. "Just look at yourself now. How do you +compare with a kangaroo? There is your ridiculous sham coat. Well, you +have lost bits of it all the way you have come to-day, and you're nearly +left in your bare skin. Now look at _my_ coat. I've done ever so much +more hopping than you to-day, and you see I'm none the worse. I wonder +why all your fur grows upon the top of your head," she said +reflectively, as she looked curiously at Dot's long flaxen curls. "It's +such a silly place to have one's fur the thickest! You see, we have very +little there; for we don't want our heads made any hotter under the +Australian sun. See how much better off you would be, now that nearly +all your sham coat is gone, if that useless fur had been chopped into +little, short lengths, and spread all over your poor bare body. I wonder +why you Humans are made so badly," she ended, with a puzzled air. + +Dot felt for a moment as if she ought to apologise for being so unfit +for the bush, and for having all the fur on the top of her head. But, +somehow, she had an idea that a little girl must be something better +than a kangaroo, although the Kangaroo certainly seemed a very superior +person; so she said nothing, but again began to eat the berries. + +"You must not eat any more of these berries," said the Kangaroo, +anxiously. + +"Why?" asked Dot, "they are very nice, and I'm very hungry." + +The Kangaroo gently took the spray out of Dot's hand, and threw it away. +"You see," she said, "if you eat too many of them, you'll know too +much." + +"One can't know too much," argued the little girl. + +"Yes you can, though," said the Kangaroo, quickly. "If you eat too many +of those berries, you'll learn too much, and that gives you indigestion, +and then you become miserable. I don't want you to be miserable any +more, for I'm going to find your 'lost way.'" + +The mention of finding her way reminded the little girl of her sad +position, which, in her wonder at talking with the Kangaroo, had been +quite forgotten for a little while. She became sad again; and seeing how +dim the light was getting, her thoughts went back to her parents. She +longed to be with them to be kissed and cuddled, and her blue eyes +filled with tears. + +"Your eyes just now remind me of two fringed violets, with the morning +dew on them, or after a shower," said the Kangaroo. "Why are you +crying?" + +"I was thinking," said Dot. + +"Oh! don't think!" pleaded the Kangaroo; "I never do myself." + +"I can't help it!" explained the little girl. "What do you do instead?" +she asked. + +"I always jump to conclusions," said the Kangaroo, and she promptly +bounded ten feet at one hop. Lightly springing back again to her +position in front of the child, she added, "and that's why I never have +a headache." + +"Dear Kangaroo," said Dot, "do you know where I can get some water? I'm +very thirsty!" + +"Of course you are," said her friend; "everyone is at sundown. I'm +thirsty myself. But the nearest water-hole is a longish way off, so we +had better start at once." + +Little Dot got up with an effort. After her long run and fatigue, she +was very stiff, and her little legs were so tired and weak, that after a +few steps she staggered and fell. + +The Kangaroo looked at the child compassionately. "Poor little Human," +she said, "your legs aren't much good, and, for the life of me, I don't +understand how you can expect to get along without a tail. The +water-hole is a good way off," she added, with a sigh, as she looked +down at Dot, lying on the ground, and she was very puzzled what to do. +But suddenly she brightened up. "I have an idea," she said joyfully. +"Just step into my pouch, and I'll hop you down to the water-hole in +less time than it takes a locust to shrill." + +Timidly and carefully, Dot did the Kangaroo's bidding, and found herself +in the cosiest, softest little bag imaginable. The Kangaroo seemed +overjoyed, when Dot was comfortably settled in her pouch. "I feel as if +I had my dear baby kangaroo again!" she exclaimed; and immediately she +bounded away through the tangled scrub, over stones and bushes, over dry +water-courses and great fallen trees. And all Dot felt was a gentle +rocking motion, and a fresh breeze in her face, which made her so +cheerful that she sang this song:-- + + + If you want to go quick, + I will tell you a trick + For the bush, where there isn't a train. + With a hulla-buloo, + Hail a big kangaroo-- + But be sure that your weight she'll sustain-- + Then with hop, and with skip, + She will take you a trip + With the speed of the very best steed; + And, this is a truth for which I can vouch, + There's no carriage can equal a kangaroo's pouch. + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + "Good bye! Good bye!" + The lizards all cry, + Each drying its eyes with its tail. + "Adieu! Adieu! + Dear kangaroo!" + The scared little grasshoppers wail. + "They're going express + To a distant address," + Says the bandicoot, ready to scoot; + And your path is well cleared for your progress, I vouch, + When you ride through the bush in a kangaroo's pouch. + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + "Away and away!" + You will certainly say, + "To the end of the farthest blue-- + To the verge of the sky, + And the far hills high, + O take me with thee, kangaroo! + We will seek for the end, + Where the broad plains tend, + E'en as far as the evening star. + Why, the end of the world we can reach, I vouch, + Dear kangaroo, with me in your pouch." + Oh! where is a friend so strong and true + As a dear big, bounding kangaroo? + + + + +CHAPTER II + + +"That is a nice song of yours," said the Kangaroo, "and I like it very +much, but please stop singing now, as we are getting near the water-hole, +for it's not etiquette to make a noise near water at sundown." + +Dot would have asked why everything must be so quiet; but as she peeped +out, she saw that the Kangaroo was making a very dangerous descent, and +she did not like to trouble her friend with questions just then. They +seemed to be going down to a great deep gully that looked almost like a +hole in the earth, the depth was so great, and the hills around came so +closely together. The way the Kangaroo was hopping was like going down +the side of a wall. Huge rocks were tumbled about here and there. Some +looked as if they would come rolling down upon them; and others appeared +as if a little jolt would send them crashing and tumbling into the +darkness below. Where the Kangaroo found room to land on its feet after +each bound puzzled Dot, for there seemed no foothold anywhere. It all +looked so dangerous to the little girl that she shut her eyes, so as not +to see the terrible places they bounded over, or rested on: she felt +sure that the Kangaroo must lose her balance, or hop just a little too +far or a little too near, and that they would fall together over the +side of that terrible wild cliff. At last she said: + +"Oh, Kangaroo, shall we get safely to the bottom do you think?" + +"I never think," said the Kangaroo, "but I know we shall. This is the +easiest way. If I went through the thick bush on the other side, I +should stand a chance of running my head against a tree at every leap, +unless I got a stiff neck with holding my head on one side looking out +of one eye all the time. My nose gets in the way when I look straight in +front," she explained. "Don't be afraid," she continued. "I know every +jump of the way. We kangaroos have gone this way ever since Australia +began to have kangaroos. Look here!" she said, pausing on a big boulder +that hung right over the gully, "we have made a history book for +ourselves out of these rocks; and so long as these rocks last, long, +long after the time when there will be no more kangaroos, and no more +humans, the sun, and the moon, and the stars will look down upon what +we have traced on these stones." + +Dot peered out from her little refuge in the Kangaroo's pouch, and +saw the glow of the twilight sky reflected on the top of the boulder. +The rough surface of the stone shone with a beautiful polish like a +looking-glass, for the rock had been rubbed for thousands of years by +the soft feet and tails of millions of kangaroos; kangaroos that had +hopped down that way to get water. When Dot saw that, she didn't know +why it all seemed solemn, or why she felt such a very little girl. She +was a little sad, and the Kangaroo, after a short sigh, continued her +way. + +As they neared the bottom of the gully the Kangaroo became extremely +cautious. She no longer hopped in the open, but made her way with little +leaps through the thick scrub. She peeped out carefully before each +movement. Her long, soft ears kept moving to catch every sound, and her +black sensitive little nose was constantly lifted, sniffing the air. +Every now and then she gave little backward starts, as if she were going +to retreat by the way she had come, and Dot, with her face pressed +against the Kangaroo's soft furry coat, could hear her heart beating so +fast that she knew she was very frightened. + +They were not alone. Dot could hear whispers from unseen little +creatures everywhere in the scrub, and from birds in the trees. High up +in the branches were numbers of pigeons--sweet little Bronze-Wings; and +above all the other sounds she could hear their plaintive voices crying, +"We're so frightened! we're so frightened! so thirsty and so frightened! +so thirsty and so frightened!" + +"Why don't they drink at the water-hole?" whispered Dot. + +"Because they're frightened," was the answer. + +"Frightened of what?" asked Dot. + +"Humans!" said the Kangaroo, in frightened tones; and as she spoke she +reared up upon her long legs and tail, so that she stood at least six +feet high, and peeped over the bushes; her nose working all round, and +her ears wagging. + +"I think it's safe," she said, as she squatted down again. + +"Friend Kangaroo," said a Bronze-Wing that had sidled out to the end +of a neighbouring branch, "you are so courageous, will you go first to +the water, and let us know if it is all safe? We haven't tasted a drop +of water for two days," she said, sadly, "and we're dying of thirst. +Last night, when we had waited for hours, to make certain there were +no cruel Humans about, we flew down for a drink--and we wanted, oh! so +little, just three little sips; but the terrible Humans, with their +'bang-bangs,' murdered numbers of us. Then we flew back, and some were +hurt and bleeding, and died of their wounds, and none of us have dared +to get a drink since." Dot could see that the poor pigeon was suffering +great thirst, for its wings were drooping, and its poor dry beak was +open. + +The Kangaroo was very distressed at hearing the pigeon's story. "It is +dreadful for you pigeons," she said, "because you can only drink at +evening; we sometimes can quench our thirst in the day, I wish we could +do without water! The Humans know all the water-holes, and sooner or +later we all get murdered, or die of thirst. How cruel they are!" + +Still the pigeons cried on, "we're so thirsty and so frightened;" and +the Bronze-Wing asked the Kangaroo to try again, if she could either +smell or hear a Human near the water-hole. + +"I think we are safe," said the Kangaroo, having sniffed and listened as +before; "I will now try a nearer view." + +The news soon spread that the Kangaroo was going to venture near the +water, to see if all was safe. The light was very dim, and there was a +general whisper that the attempt to get a drink of water should not be +left later; as some feared such foes as dingoes and night birds, should +they venture into the open space at night. As the Kangaroo moved +stealthily forward, pushing aside the branches of the scrub, or standing +erect to peep here and there, there was absolute silence in the bush. +Even the pigeons ceased to say they were afraid, but hopped silently +from bough to bough, following the movements of the Kangaroo with eager +little eyes. The Brush Turkey and the Mound-Builder left their heaped-up +nests and joined the other thirsty creatures, and only by the crackling +of the dry scrub, or the falling of a few leaves, could one tell that so +many live creatures were together in that wild place. + +Presently the Kangaroo had reached the last bushes of the scrub, behind +which she crouched. + +"There's not a smell or a sound," she said. "Get out, Dot, and wait here +until I return, and the Bronze-Wings have had their drink; for, did they +see you, they would be too frightened to come down, and would have to +wait another night and day." + +Dot got out of the pouch, and she was very sorry when she saw how +terrified her friend looked. She could see the fur on the Kangaroo's +chest moving with the frightened beating of her heart; and her beautiful +brown eyes looked wild and strange with fear. + +Instantly, the Kangaroo leaped into the open. For a second she paused +erect, sniffing and listening, and then she hastened to the water. As +she stooped to drink, Dot heard a "whrr, whrr, whrr," and, like falling +leaves, down swept the Bronze-Wings. It was a wonderful sight. The +water-hole shone in the dim light, with the great black darkness of the +trees surrounding it, and from all parts came the thirsty creatures of +the bush. The Bronze-Wings were all together. Hundred of little heads +bobbed by the edge of the pool, as the little bills were filled, and +the precious water was swallowed; then, together, a minute afterwards, +"whrr, whrr, whrr," up they flew, and in one great sweeping circle +they regained their tree-tops. Like the bush creatures, Dot also was +frightened, and running to the water, hurriedly drank, and fled back +to the shelter of the bush, where the Kangaroo was waiting for her. + +"Jump in!" said the Kangaroo, "It's never safe by the water," and, a +minute after, Dot was again in the cosy pouch, and was hurrying away, +like all the others from the water where men are wont to camp, and kill +with their guns the poor creatures that come to drink. + +That evening the Kangaroo tried to persuade Dot to eat some grass, but +as Dot said she had never eaten grass, it got some roots from a friendly +Bandicoot, which the little girl ate because she was hungry; but she +thought she wouldn't like to be a Bandicoot always to eat such food. +Then in a nice dry cave she nestled into the fur of the gentle Kangaroo, +and was so tired that she slept immediately. + +She only woke up once. She had been dreaming that she was at home, and +was playing with the new little Calf that had come the day before she +was lost, and she couldn't remember, at first waking, what had happened, +or where she was. It was dark in the cave, and outside the bushes and +trees looked quite black--for there was but little light in that place +from the starry sky. It seemed terribly lonesome and wild. When the +Kangaroo spoke she remembered everything, and they both sat up and +talked a little. + +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" sang the Nightjar in the distance. "I wish the +Nightjar wouldn't make that noise when one wants to sleep," said the +Kangaroo. "It hasn't got any voice to speak of, and the tune is stupid. +It gives me the jim-jams, for it reminds me I've lost my baby kangaroo. +There is something wrong about some birds that think themselves +musical," she continued: "they are well behaved and considerate enough +in the day, but as soon as it is a nice, quiet, calm night, or a bit of +a moon is in the sky, they make night hideous to everyone within +earshot--'Mo-poke! mo-poke!' Oh! it gives me the blues!" + +As the Kangaroo spoke she hopped to the front of the cave. + +"I say, Nightjar," she said, "I'm a little sad to-night, please go and +sing elsewhere." + +"Ah!" said the Nightjar, "I'm so glad I've given you deliciously dismal +thoughts with my song! I'm a great artist, and can touch all hearts. +That is my mission in the world: when all the bush is quiet, and +everyone has time to be miserable, I make them more so--isn't it lovely +to be like that?" + +"I'd rather you sang something cheerful," said the Kangaroo to herself, +but out loud she said, "I find it really too beautiful, it is more than +I can bear. Please go a little farther off." + +"Mo-poke! mo-poke!" croaked the Nightjar, farther and farther in the +distance, as it flew away. + +"What a pity!" said the Kangaroo, as she returned to the cave, "the +'possum made that unlucky joke of telling the Nightjar it has a touching +voice, and can sing: everyone has to suffer for that joke of the +'possum's. It doesn't matter to him, for he is awake all night, but it +is too bad for his neighbours who want to sleep." + +Just then there arose from the bush a shrill wailing and shrieking that +made Dot's heart stop with fear. It sounded terrible, as if something +was wailing in great pain and suffering. + +"O Kangaroo!" she cried, "what is the matter?" "That," said the +Kangaroo, as she laid herself down to rest, "is the sound of the Curlew +enjoying itself. They are sociable birds, and entertain a great deal. +There is a party to-night, I suppose, and that is the expression of +their enjoyment. I believe," she continued, with a suppressed yawn, +"it's not so painful as it sounds. Willy Wagtail, who goes a great deal +amongst Humans, says they do that sort of thing also; he has often heard +them when he lived near the town." + +Dot had never been in the town, but she was certain she had never heard +anything like the Curlew's wailing in her home; and she wondered what +Willy Wagtail meant, but she was too sleepy to ask; so she nestled a +little closer to the Kangaroo, and with the shrieking of the Curlews, +and the mournful note of the distant mo-poke in her ears, she fell +asleep again. + + + + +CHAPTER III + + +When Dot awoke, she did so with a start of fear. Something in her sleep +had seemed to tell her that she was in danger. At a first glance she saw +that the Kangaroo had left her, and coiled upon her body was a young +black Snake. Before Dot could move, she heard a voice from a tree, +outside the cave, say, very softly, "Don't be afraid! keep quite still, +and you will not get hurt. Presently I'll kill that Snake. If I tried to +do so now it might bite you; so let it sleep on." + +She looked up in the direction of the tree, and saw a big Kookooburra +perched on a bough, with all the creamy feathers of its breast fluffed +out, and its crest very high. The Kookooburra is one of the jolliest +birds in the bush, and is always cracking jokes, and laughing, but this +one was keeping as quiet as he could. Still he could not be quite +serious, and a smile played all round his huge beak. Dot could see that +he was nearly bursting with suppressed laughter. He kept on saying, +under his breath, "what a joke this is! what a capital joke! How they'll +all laugh when I tell them." Just as if it was the funniest thing in the +world to have a Snake coiled up on one's body; when the horrid thing +might bite one with its poisonous fangs, at any moment! + +Dot said she didn't see any joke, and it was no laughing matter. + +"To be sure _you_ don't see the joke," said the jovial bird. "On-lookers +always see the jokes, and I'm an on-looker. It's not to be expected of +you, because you're not an on-looker;" and he shook with suppressed +laughter again. + +"Where is my dear Kangaroo?" asked Dot. + +"She has gone to get you some berries for breakfast," said the +Kookooburra, "and she asked me to look after you, and that's why I'm +here. That Snake got on you whilst I flew away to consult my doctor, the +White Owl, about the terrible indigestion I have. He's very difficult +to catch awake; for he's out all night and sleepy all day. He says +cockchafers have caused it. The horny wing-cases and legs are most +indigestible, he assures me. I didn't fancy them much when I ate them +last night, so I took his advice and coughed them up, and I'm no longer +feeling depressed. Take my advice, and don't eat cockchafers, little +Human." + +Dot did not really hear all this, nor heed the excellent advice of the +Kookooburra, not to eat those hard green beetles that had disagreed with +it, for a little shivering movement had gone through the Snake, and +presently all the scales of its shining black back and rosy underpart +began to move. Dot felt quite sick, as she saw the reptile begin to +uncoil itself, as it lay upon her. She hardly dared to breathe, but lay +as still as if she were dead, so as not to frighten or anger the horrid +creature, which presently seemed to slip like a slimy cord over her bare +legs, and wriggled away to the entrance of the cave. + +With a quick, delighted movement, she sat up, eager to see where the +deadly Snake would go. It was very drowsy, having slept heavily on Dot's +warm little body; so it went slowly towards the bush, to get some frogs +or birds for breakfast. But as it wriggled into the warm morning +sunlight outside, Dot saw a sight that made her clap her hands together +with anxiety for the life of the jolly Kookooburra. + +No sooner did the black Snake get outside the cave, than she saw the +Kookooburra fall like a stone from its branch, right on top of the +Snake. For a second, Dot thought the bird must have tumbled down dead, +it was such a sudden fall; but a moment later she saw it flutter on the +ground, in battle with the poisonous reptile, whilst the Snake wriggled, +and coiled its body into hoops and rings. The Kookooburra's strong +wings, beating the air just above the writhing Snake, made a great +noise, and the serpent hissed in its fierce hatred and anger. Then Dot +saw that the Kookooburra's big beak had a firm hold of the Snake by the +back of the neck, and that it was trying to fly upwards with its enemy. +In vain the dreadful creature tried to bite the gallant bird; in vain it +hissed and stuck out its wicked little spiky tongue; in vain it tried to +coil itself round the bird's body; the Kookooburra was too strong and +too clever to lose its hold, or to let the Snake get power over it. + +At last Dot saw that the Snake was getting weaker and weaker, for, +little by little, the Kookooburra was able to rise higher with it, until +it reached the high bough. All the time the Snake was held in the bird's +beak, writhing and coiling in agony; for he knew that the Kookooburra +had won the battle. But, when the noble bird had reached its perch, it +did a strange thing; for it dropped the Snake right down to the ground. +Then it flew down again, and brought the reptile back to the bough, and +dropped it once more--and this it did many times. Each time the Snake +moved less and less, for its back was being broken by these falls. At +last the Kookooburra flew up with its victim for the last time, and, +holding it on the branch with its foot, beat the serpent's head with +its great strong beak. Dot could hear the blows fall,--whack, whack, +whack,--as the beak smote the Snake's head; first on one side, then on +the other, until it lay limp and dead across the bough. + +"Ah! ah! ah!--Ah! ah! ah!" laughed the Kookooburra, and said to Dot, +"Did you see all that? Wasn't it a joke? What a capital joke! Ha! ha! +ha! ha! ha! Oh! oh! oh! how my sides do ache! What a joke! How they'll +laugh when I tell them." Then came a great flight of kookooburras, for +they had heard the laughter, and all wanted to know what the joke was. +Proudly the Kookooburra told them all about the Snake sleeping on Dot, +and the great fight! All the time, first one kookooburra, and then +another, chuckled over the story, and when it came to an end every bird +dropped its wings, cocked up its tail, and throwing back its head, +opened its great beak, and all laughed uproariously together. Dot was +nearly deafened by the noise; for some chuckled, some cackled; some +said, "Ha! ha! ha!" others said, "Oh! oh! oh!" and as soon as one left +off, another began, until it seemed as though they couldn't stop. They +all said it was a splendid joke, and that they really must go and tell +it to the whole bush. So they flew away, and far and near, for hours, +the bush echoed with chuckling and cackling, and wild bursts of +laughter, as the kookooburras told that grand joke everywhere. + +"Now," said the Kookooburra, when all the others had gone, "a bit of +snake is just the right thing for breakfast. Will you have some, little +Human?" + +Dot shuddered at the idea of eating snake for breakfast, and the +Kookooburra thought she was afraid of being poisoned. + +"It won't hurt you," he said kindly, "I took care that it did not bite +itself. Sometimes they do that when they are dying, and then they're not +good to eat. But this snake is all right, and won't disagree like +cockchafers: the scales are quite soft and digestible," he added. + +But Dot said she would rather wait for the berries the Kangaroo was +bringing, so the Kookooburra remarked that if she would excuse it he +would like to begin breakfast at once, as the fight had made him hungry. +Then Dot saw him hold the reptile on the branch with his foot, whilst he +took its tail into his beak, and proceeded to swallow it in a leisurely +way. In fact the Kookooburra was so slow that very little of the snake +had disappeared when the Kangaroo returned. + +[Illustration: THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE KOOKOOBURRA AND THE SNAKE] + +The Kangaroo had brought a pouch full of berries, and in her hand +a small spray of the magic ones, by eating which Dot was able to +understand the talk of all the bush creatures. All the time she was +wandering in the bush the Kangaroo gave her some of these to eat daily, +and Dot soon found that the effect of these strange berries only lasted +until the next day. + +The Kangaroo emptied out her pouch, and Dot found quite a large +collection of roots, buds, and berries, which she ate with good +appetite. + +The Kangaroo watched her eating with a look of quiet satisfaction. + +"See," she said, "how easily one can live in the bush without hurting +anyone; and yet Humans live by murdering creatures and devouring them. +If they are lost in the scrub they die, because they know no other way +to live than that cruel one of destroying us all. Humans have become so +cruel, that they kill, and kill, not even for food, but for the love of +murdering. I often wonder," she said, "why they and the dingoes are +allowed to live on this beautiful kind earth. The Black Humans kill and +devour us; but they, even, are not so terrible as the Whites, who +delight in taking our lives, and torturing us just as an amusement. +Every creature in the bush weeps that they should have come to take the +beautiful bush away from us." + +Dot saw that the sad brown eyes of the Kangaroo were full of tears, and +she cried too, as she thought of all that the poor animals and birds +suffer at the hands of white men. "Dear Kangaroo," she said, "if I ever +get home, I'll tell everyone of how you unhappy creatures live in fear, +and suffer, and ask them not to kill you poor things any more." + +But the Kangaroo sadly shook her head, and said, "White Humans are +cruel, and love to murder. We must all die. But about your lost way," +she continued in a brisk tone, by way of changing this painful subject; +"I've been asking about it, and no one has seen it anywhere. Of course +someone must know where it is, but the difficulty is to find the right +one to ask." Then she dropped her voice, and came a little nearer to +Dot, and stooping down until her little black hands hung close to the +ground, she whispered in Dot's ear, "They say I ought to consult the +Platypus." + +"Could the Platypus help, do you think?" Dot asked. + +"I _never_ think," said the Kangaroo, "but as the Platypus never goes +anywhere, never associates with any other creature, and is hardly ever +seen, I conclude it knows everything--it must, you know." + +"Of course," said Dot, with some doubt in her tone. + +"The only thing is," continued the Kangaroo, once more sitting up and +pensively scratching her nose. "The only thing is, I can't bear the +Platypus; the sight of it gives me the creeps: it's such a queer +creature!" + +"I've never seen a Platypus," said Dot. "Do tell me what it is like!" + +"I couldn't describe it," said the Kangaroo, with a shudder, "it seems +made up of parts of two or three different sorts of creatures. None of +us can account for it. It must have been an experiment, when all the +rest of us were made: or else it was made up of the odds and ends of the +birds and beasts that were left over after we were all finished." + +Little Dot clapped her hands. "Oh, dear Kangaroo," she said, "do take me +to see the Platypus! there was nothing like that in my Noah's ark." + +"I should say not!" remarked the Kangaroo. "The animals in the Ark said +they were each to be of its kind, and every sort of bird and beast +refused to admit the Platypus, because it was of so many kinds; and at +last Noah turned it out to swim for itself, because there was such a +row. That's why the Platypus is so secluded. Ever since then no Platypus +is friendly with any other creature, and no animal or bird is more than +just polite to it. They couldn't be, you see, because of that trouble in +the Ark." + +"But that was so long ago," said Dot, filled with compassion for the +lonely Platypus; "and, after all, this is not the same Platypus, nor are +all the bush creatures the same now as then." + +"No," returned the Kangaroo, "and some say there was no Ark, and no fuss +over the matter, but that, of course, doesn't make any difference, for +it's a very ancient quarrel, so it must be kept up. But if we are to go +to the Platypus we had better start now; it is a good time to see it--so +come along, little Dot," said the Kangaroo. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + + +"Good-bye, Kookooburra!" cried Dot, as they left the cave; and the bird +gave her a nod of the head, followed by a wink, which was supposed to +mean hearty good-will at parting. He would have spoken, only he had +swallowed but part of the Snake, and the rest hung out of the side of +his beak, like an old man's pipe; so he couldn't speak. It wouldn't have +been polite to do so with his beak full. + +Dot was so rested by her sleep all night that she did not ride in the +Kangaroo's pouch; but they proceeded together, she walking, and her +friend making as small hops as she could, so as not to get too far +ahead. This was very difficult for the Kangaroo, because even the +smallest hops carried her far in front. After a time they arranged that +the friendly animal should hop a few yards, then wait for Dot to catch +her up, and then go on again. This she did, nibbling bits of grass as +she waited, or playing a little game of hide-and-seek behind the bushes. + +Sometimes when she hid like this, Dot would be afraid that she had lost +her Kangaroo, and would run here and there, hunting round trees, and +clusters of ferns, until she felt quite certain she had lost the kind +animal; when suddenly, clean over a big bush, the Kangaroo would bound +into view, landing right in front of her. Then Dot would laugh, and rush +forward, and throw her arms around her friend; and the Kangaroo, with a +quiet smile, would rub her little head against Dot's curls, and they +were both very happy. So, although it was a long and rough way to the +little creek where the Platypus lived, it did not seem at all far. + +The stream ran at the bottom of a deep gully, that had high rocky sides, +with strangely shaped trees growing between the rocks. But, by the +stream, Dot thought they must be in fairyland; it was so beautiful. In +the dark hollows of the rocks were wonderful ferns; such delicate ones +that the little girl was afraid to touch them. They were so tender and +green that they could only grow far away from the sun, and as she peeped +into the hollows and caves where they grew, it seemed as if she was +being shown the secret store-house of Nature, where she kept all the +most lovely plants, out of sight of the world. A soft carpet seemed to +spring under Dot's feet, like a nice springy mattress, as she trotted +along. She asked the Kangaroo why the earth was so soft, and was told +that it was not earth, but the dead leaves of the tree-ferns above them, +that had been falling for such a long, long time, that no kangaroo could +remember the beginning. + +Then Dot looked up, and saw that there was no sky to be seen; for they +were passing under a forest of tree-ferns, and their lovely spreading +fronds made a perfect green tent over their heads. The sunlight that +came through was green, as if you were in a house made of green glass. +All up the slender stems of these tall tree-ferns were the most +beautiful little plants, and many stems were twined, from the earth to +their feather-like fronds, with tender creeping ferns--the fronds of +which were so fine and close, that it seemed as if the tree-fern were +wrapped up in a lovely little fern coat. Even crumbling dead trees, and +decaying tree-ferns, did not look dead, because some beautiful moss, or +lichen, or little ferns had clung to them, and made them more beautiful +than when alive. + +Dot kept crying out with pleasure at all she saw; especially when little +Parrakeets, with feathers as green as the ferns, and gorgeous red +breasts, came in flocks, and welcomed her to their favourite haunt; and, +as she had eaten the berries of understanding, and was the friend of the +Kangaroo, they were not frightened, but perched on her shoulders and +hands, and chatted their merry talk together. The Kangaroo did not share +Dot's enthusiasm for the beauties of the gully. She said it was pretty, +certainly, but a bad place for kangaroos, because there was no grass. +For her part, she didn't think any sight in nature so lovely as a big +plain, green with the little blades of new spring grass. The gully was +very showy, but not to her mind so beautiful as the other. + +Then they came to a stream that gurgled melodiously as it rippled over +stones in its shallow course, or crept round big grey boulders that were +wrapped in thick mosses, in which were mingled flowers of the pink and +red wild fuchsia, or the creamy great blossoms of the rock lily. Dot ran +down the stream with bare feet, laughing as she paddled in and out among +the rocks and ferns, and the sun shone down on the gleaming foam of the +water, and made golden lights in Dot's wild curls. The Kangaroo, too, +was very merry, and bounded from rock to rock over the stream, showing +what wonderful things she could do in that way; and sometimes they +paused, side by side, and peeped down upon some still pool that showed +their two reflections as in a mirror; and that seemed so funny to Dot, +that her silvery laugh woke the silence in happy peals, until more +green-and-red Parrakeets flew out of the bush to join in the fun. + +[Illustration: DOT AND THE KANGAROO ON THEIR WAY TO THE PLATYPUS] + +When they had followed the stream some distance, the gully opened out +into bush scrub. The little Parrakeets then said "Good-bye," and flew +back to their favourite tree-ferns and bush growth; and the Kangaroo +said, that as they were nearing the home of the Platypus, they must not +play in the stream any more; to do so might warn the creature of their +approach and frighten it. "We shall have to be very careful," she said, +"so that the Platypus will neither hear nor smell you. We will therefore +walk on the opposite shore, as the wind will then blow away from its +home." + +The stream no longer chattered over rocky beds, but slid between soft +banks of earth, under tufts of tall rushes, grasses, and ferns, and soon +it opened into a broad pool, which was smooth as glass. The clouds in +the sky, the tall surrounding trees, and the graceful ferns and rushes +of the banks, were all reflected in the water, so that it looked to Dot +like a strange upside-down picture. This, then, was the home of that +wonderful animal; and Dot felt quite frightened, because she thought she +was going to see something terrible. + +At the Kangaroo's bidding, she hid a little way from the edge of the +pool, but she was able to see all that happened. + +The Kangaroo evidently did not enjoy the prospect of conversing with the +Platypus. She kept on fidgetting about, putting off calling to the +Platypus by one excuse and another: she was decidedly ill at ease. + +"Are you frightened of the Platypus?" asked Dot. + +"Dear me, no!" replied the Kangaroo, "but I'd rather have a talk with +any other bush creature. First of all, the sight of it makes me so +uncomfortable, that I want to hop away the instant I set eyes upon it. +Then, too, it's so difficult to be polite to the Platypus, because one +never knows how to behave towards it. If you treat it as an animal, you +offend its bird nature, and if you treat it as a bird, the animal in it +is mighty indignant. One never knows where one is with a creature that +is two creatures," said the Kangaroo. + +Dot was so sorry for the perplexity of her friend, that she suggested +that they should not consult the Platypus. But the Kangaroo said it must +be done, because no one in the bush was so learned. Being such a strange +creature, and living in such seclusion, and being so difficult to +approach, was a proof that it was the right adviser to seek. So, with a +half desperate air, the Kangaroo left the little girl, and went down to +the water's edge. + +Pausing a moment, she made a strange little noise that was something +between a grunt and a hiss: and she repeated this many times. At last +Dot saw what looked like a bit of black stick, just above the surface of +the pool, coming towards their side, and, as it moved forward, leaving +two little silvery ripples that widened out behind it on the smooth +waters. Presently the black stick, which was the bill of the Platypus, +reached the bank, and the strangest little creature climbed into view. +Dot had expected to see something big and hideous; but here was quite a +small object after all! It seemed quite ridiculous that the great +Kangaroo should be evidently discomposed by the sight. + +Dot could not hear what the Kangaroo said, but she saw the Platypus +hurriedly prepare to regain the water. It began to stumble clumsily down +the bank. The Kangaroo then raised her voice in pleading accents. + +"But," she said, "it's such a little Human! I have treated it like my +baby kangaroo, and have carried it in my pouch." + +This information seemed to arrest the movements of the Platypus; it had +reached the water's edge, but it paused, and turned. + +"I tell you," it said in a high-pitched and irritable voice, "that all +Humans are alike! They all come here to interview me for the same +purpose, and I'm resolved it shall not happen again; I have been +insulted enough by their ignorance." + +"I assure you," urged the Kangaroo, "that she will not annoy you in that +way. She wouldn't think of doing such a thing to any animal." + +As the Kangaroo called the Platypus an animal, Dot saw at once that it +was offended, and in a great huff it turned towards the pool again. "I +beg your pardon," said the Kangaroo nervously. "I didn't mean an +altogether animal, or even a bird, but any a--a--a--." She seemed +puzzled how to speak of the Platypus, when the strange creature, seeing +the well-meaning embarrassment of the Kangaroo, said affably, "any +mammal or Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus." + +"Exactly," said the Kangaroo, brightening up, although she hadn't the +least idea what a mammal was. + +"Well, bring the little Human here," said the Platypus in a more +friendly tone, "and if I feel quite sure on that point I will permit an +interview." + +Two bounds brought the Kangaroo to where Dot was hidden. She seemed +anxious that the child should make a good impression on the Platypus, +and tried with the long claws on her little black hands to comb through +Dot's long gleaming curls; but they were so tangled that the child +called out at this awkward method of hairdressing, and the Kangaroo +stopped. She then licked a black smudge off Dot's forehead, which was +all she could do to tidy her. Then she started back a hop, and eyed the +child with her head on one side. She was not quite satisfied. "Ah!" she +said, "if only you were a baby kangaroo I could make you look so nice! +but I can't do anything to your sham coat, which gets worse every day, +and your fur is all wrong, for one can't get one's claws through it. You +Humans are no good in the bush!" + +"Never mind, dear Kangaroo," said the little girl; "when I get home +mother will put me on a new frock, and will get the tangles out of my +hair. Let us go to the Platypus now." + +The Kangaroo felt sad as Dot spoke of returning home, for she had become +really fond of the little Human. She began to feel that she would be +lonely when they parted. However, she did not speak of what was in her +mind, but bounded back to the Platypus to wait for Dot. + +When the little girl reached the pool, she was still more surprised, on +a nearer view of the Platypus, that the Kangaroo should think so much of +it. At her feet she beheld a creature like a shapeless bit of wet matted +fur. She thought it looked like an empty fur bag that had been fished +out of the water. Projecting from the head, that seemed much nearer to +the ground than the back, was a broad duck's bill, of a dirty grey +colour; and peeping out underneath were two fore feet that were like a +duck's also. Altogether it was such a funny object that she was inclined +to laugh, only the Kangaroo looked so serious, that she tried to look +serious too, as if there was nothing strange in the appearance of the +Platypus. + +"I am the Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus!" said the Platypus pompously. + +"I am Dot," said the little girl. + +"Now we know one another's names," said the Platypus, with satisfaction. +"If the Kangaroo had introduced us, it would have stumbled over my name, +and mumbled yours, and we should have been none the wiser. Now tell me, +little Human, are you going to write a book about me? because if you +are, I'm off. I can't stand any more books being written about me; I've +been annoyed enough that way." + +"I couldn't write a book," said Dot, with surprise; inwardly wondering +what anyone could find to make a book of, out of such a small, ugly +creature. + +"You're quite sure?" asked the Platypus, doubtfully, and evidently more +than half inclined to dive into the pool. + +"Quite," said Dot. + +"Then I'll try to believe you," said the Platypus, clumsily waddling +towards some grass, amongst which it settled itself comfortably. "But +it's very difficult to believe you Humans, for you tell such dreadful +fibs," it continued, as it squirted some dirty water out of the bag that +surrounded its bill, and swallowed some water beetles, small snails and +mud that it had stored there. "See, for instance, the way you have all +quarrelled and lied about me! One great Human, the biggest fool of all, +said I wasn't a live creature at all, but a joke another Human had +played upon him. Then they squabbled together--one saying I was a +Beaver; another that I was a Duck; another, that I was a Mole, or a Rat. +Then they argued whether I was a bird, or an animal, or if we laid eggs, +or not; and everyone wrote a book, full of lies, all out of his head. + +"That's the way Humans amuse themselves. They write books about things +they don't understand, and each new book says all the others are all +wrong. It's a silly game, and very insulting to the creatures they write +about. Humans at the other end of the world, who never took the trouble +to come here to see me, wrote books about me. Those who did come were +more impudent than those who stayed away. Their idea of learning all +about a creature was to dig up its home, and frighten it out of its +wits, and kill it; and after a few moons of that sort of foolery they +claimed to know all about us. Us! whose ancestors knew the world +millions of years before the ignorant Humans came on the earth at all." +The Platypus spluttered out more dirty water, in its indignation. + +The Kangaroo became very timid, as it saw the rising anger of the +Platypus, and it whispered to Dot to say something to calm the little +creature. + +"A million years is a very long time," said Dot; unable at the moment to +think of anything better to say. But this remark angered the Platypus +more, for it seemed to suspect Dot of doubting what it said. + +It clambered up into a more erect position, and its little brown eyes +became quite fiery. + +"I didn't say a million; I said millions! I can prove by a bone in my +body that my ancestors were the Amphitherium, the Amphilestes, the +Phascolotherium, and the Stereognathus!" almost shrieked the little +creature. + +[Illustration: THE PREHISTORIC CREATURES OF THE PLATYPUS'S SONG] + +Dot didn't understand what all these words meant, and looked at the +Kangaroo for an explanation; but she saw that the Kangaroo didn't +understand either, only she was trying to hide her ignorance by a calm +appearance, while she nibbled the end of a long grass she held in her +fore paw. But Dot noticed, by the slight trembling of the little black +paw, that the Kangaroo was very nervous. She thought she would try and +say something to please Platypus; so she asked, very kindly, if the bone +ever hurt it. But this strange creature did not seem to notice the +remark. Settling itself more comfortably amongst the grass, it muttered +in calmer tones, "I trace my ancestry back to the Oolite Age. Where does +man come in?" + +"I don't know," said Dot. + +"Of course you don't!" replied the Platypus, contemptuously, "Humans are +so ignorant! That is because they are so new. When they have existed a +few more million years, they will be more like us of old families; they +will respect quiet, exclusive living, like that of the Ornithorhynchus +Paradoxus, and will not be so inquisitive, pushing, and dangerous as +now. The age will come when they will understand, and will cease to +write books, and there will be peace for everyone." + +The Kangaroo now thought it a good opportunity to change the subject, +and gently introduced the topic of Dot's lost way, saying how she had +found the little girl, and had taken care of her ever since. + +The Platypus did not seem interested, and yawned more than once whilst +the Kangaroo spoke. + +"The question is," concluded the Kangaroo, "who shall I ask to find it? +Someone must know where it is." + +"Of course," said the Platypus, yawning again, without so much as +putting its web foot in front of its bill, which Dot thought very rude, +or else very ancient manners. "Little Human," it said, "tell me what +kind of bush creatures come about your burrow." + +"We live in a cottage," she said, but seeing that the Platypus did not +like to be corrected, and that the Kangaroo looked quite shocked at her +doing so, she hurriedly described the creatures she had seen there. She +said there were Crickets, Grasshoppers, Mice, Lizards, Swallows, +Opossums, Flying Foxes, Kookooburras, Magpies, and Shepherd's +Companions---- + +"Stop!" interrupted the Platypus, with a wave of its web foot; "that is +the right one." + +"Who?" asked the Kangaroo and Dot anxiously, together. + +"The bird you call Shepherd's Companion. Some of you call it Rickety +Dick, or Willy Wagtail." Turning to the Kangaroo especially, it +continued. "If you can bring yourself to speak to anything so obtrusive +and gossiping, without any ancestry or manners whatever, you will be +able to learn all you need from that bird. Humans and Wagtails +fraternise together. They're both post-glacial." + +"I knew you could advise me," said the Kangaroo, gratefully. + +"Oh! Platypus, how clever you are!" cried Dot, clapping her hands. + +Directly Dot had spoken she saw that she had offended the queer little +creature before her. It raised itself with an air of offended dignity +that was unmistakable. + +"The name Platypus is insulting," it remarked, looking at the child +severely, "it means _broad-footed_, a vulgar pseudonym which could only +have emanated from the brutally coarse expressions of a Human. My name +is Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. Besides, even if my front feet can expand, +they can also contract; see! as narrow and refined as a bird's claw. +Observe, too, that my hind feet are narrow, and like a seal's fin, +though it has been described as a mole's foot." + +As the Platypus spoke, and thrust out its strangely different feet, the +Kangaroo edged a little closer to Dot and whispered in her ear. "It's +getting angry, and is beginning to use long words; do be careful what +you say or it will be terrible!" + +"I beg your pardon," said Dot; "I did not wish to hurt your feelings, +Para--, Pa--ra--dox--us." + +"_Ornithorhynchus_ Paradoxus, if you please," insisted the little +creature. "How would you like it if your name was Jones-Smith-Jones, and +I called you one Jones, or one Smith, and did not say both the Jones and +the Smiths? You have no idea how sensitive our race is. You Humans have +no feelings at all compared with ours. Why! my fifth pair of nerves are +larger than a man's! Humans get on my nerves dreadfully!" it ended in +disgusted accents. + +"She did not mean to hurt you," said the gentle Kangaroo, soothingly. +"Is there anything we can do to make you feel comfortable again?" + +"There is nothing you can do," sighed the Platypus, now mournful and +depressed. "I must sing. Only music can quiet my nerves. I will sing a +little threnody composed by myself, about the good old days of this +world before the Flood." And as it spoke, the Platypus moved into an +upright position amongst the tussock grass, and after a little cough +opened its bill to sing. + +The Kangaroo kept very close to Dot, and warned her to be very attentive +to the song, and not to interrupt it on any account. Almost before the +Kangaroo had ceased to whisper in her ear, Dot heard this strange song, +sung to the most peculiar tune she had ever heard, and in the funniest +of little squeaky voices. + + + The fairest Iguanodon reposed upon the shore; + Extended lay her beauteous form, a hundred feet and more. + The sun, with rays flammivomous, beat on the blue-black sand; + And sportive little Saurians disported on the strand; + But oft the Iguanodon reproved them in their glee, + And said, "Alas! this Saurian Age is not what it should be!" + + Then, forth from that archaic sea, the Ichthyosaurus + Uprose upon his finny wings, with neocomian fuss, + "O Iguanodon!" he cried, as he approached the shore, + "Why art thou thus dysthynic, love? Come, rise with me, and soar, + Or leave these estuarian seas, and wander in the grove; + Behold! a bird-like reptile fish is dying for thy love!" + + Then, through the dark coniferous grove they wandered side by side, + The tender Iguanodon and Ichthyosaurian bride; + And through the enubilious air, the carboniferous breeze, + Awoke, with _their_ amphibious sighs, the silence in the trees. + "To think," they cried, botaurus-toned, "when ages intervene, + Our osseous fossil forms will be in some museum seen!" + + Bemoaning thus, by dumous path, they crushed the cycad's growth, + And many a crash, and thunder, marked the progress of them both. + And when they reached the estuary, the excandescent sun + Was setting o'er the hefted sea; their saurian day was done. + Then raised they paraseline eyes unto the flaming moon, + And wept--the Neocomian Age was passing all too soon! + + O Iguanodon! O Earth! O Ichthyosaurus! + O Melanocephalous saurians! Oh! oh! oh! + + (Here the Platypus was sobbing) + + Oh, Troglyodites obscure--oh! oh! + + +At this point of the song, the poor Platypus, whose voice had trembled +with increasing emotion and sobbing in each verse, broke down, overcome +by the extreme sensitiveness of its fifth pair of nerves and the sadness +of its song, and wept in terrible grief. + +The gentle Kangaroo was also deeply moved, seeing the Platypus in such +sorrow, and Dot mastered her aversion to touching cold, damp fur, and +stroked the little creature's head. + +The Platypus seemed much soothed by their sympathy, but hurriedly bid +them farewell. It said it must try and restore its shattered fifth pair +of nerves by a few hydrophilus latipalpus beetles for lunch, and a +sleep. + +It wearily dragged itself down to the edge of the pool, and looked +backwards to the Kangaroo and Dot, who called out "Good-bye" to it. Its +eyes were dim with tears, for it was still thinking of the Iguanodon and +Ichthyosaurus, and of the good old days before the Flood. + +"It breaks my heart to think that they are all fossils," it exclaimed, +mournfully shaking its head. "Fossils!" it repeated, as it plunged into +the pool and swam away. "Fossils!" it cried once more, in far, faint +accents; and a second later it dived out of sight. + +For several moments after the Platypus had disappeared from view, the +Kangaroo and Dot remained just as it had left them. Then Dot broke the +silence. + +"Dear Kangaroo," said she, "what was that song about?" + +"I don't know," said the animal wistfully, "no one ever knows what the +Platypus sings about." + +"It was very sad," said Dot. + +"Dreadfully sad!" sighed the Kangaroo; "but the Platypus is a most +learned and interesting creature," she added hastily. "Its conversation +and songs are most edifying; everyone in the bush admits it." + +"Does anyone understand its conversation?" asked Dot. She was afraid she +must be very stupid, for she hadn't understood anything except that +Willy Wagtail could help them to find her way. + +"That is the beauty of it all," said the Kangaroo. "The Platypus is so +learned and so instructive, that no one tries to understand it; it is +not expected that anyone should." + +[Illustration: DOT DANCES WITH THE NATIVE COMPANIONS] + + + + +CHAPTER V + + +"Now we must find Willy Wagtail," said the Kangaroo. "The chances are +Click-i-ti-clack, his big cousin who lives in the bush, will be able to +tell us where to find him; for he doesn't care for the bush, and lives +almost entirely with Humans, and the queer creatures they have brought +into the country now-a-days. We may have to go a long way, so hop into +my pouch, and we will get on our way." + +Once more Dot was in the kind Kangaroo's pouch. It was in the latter end +of autumn, and the air was so keen, that, as her torn little frock was +now very little protection to her against the cold, she was glad to be +back in that nice fur bag. She was used now to the springy bounding of +the great Kangaroo, and felt quite safe; so that she quite enjoyed the +wonderful and seemingly dangerous things the animal did in its great +leaps and jumps. + +With many rests and stops to eat berries or grass on their way, they +searched the bush for the rest of the day without finding the big bush +Wagtail. All kinds of creatures had seen him, or heard his strange +rattling, chattering song; but it always seemed that he had just flown +off a few minutes before they heard of him. It was most vexatious, and +Dot saw that another night must pass before they would be able to hear +of her home. She did not like to think of that, for she could picture to +herself all those great men, on their big rough horses, coming back to +her father's cottage that night, and how they would begin to be quiet +and sad. + +She thought it would not be half so bad to be lost, if the people at +home could only know that one was safe and snug in a kind Kangaroo's +pouch; but she knew that her parents could never suppose that she was +so well cared for, and would only think that she was dying alone in +the terrible bush--dying for want of food and water, and from fear and +exposure. How strange it seemed that people should die like that in the +bush, where so many creatures lived well, and happily! But then they had +not bush friends to tell them what berries and roots to eat, and where +to get water, and to cuddle them up in a nice warm fur during the cold +night. As she thought of this she rubbed her face against the Kangaroo's +soft coat, and patted her with her little hands; and the affectionate +animal was so pleased at these caresses, that she jumped clean over a +watercourse, twenty feet at least, in one bound. + +It was getting evening time, and the sun was setting with a beautiful +rosy colour, as they came upon a lovely scene. They had followed the +watercourse until it widened out into a great shallow creek beside a +grassy plain. As they emerged from the last scattered bushes and trees +of the forest, and hopped out into the open side of a range of hills, +miles and miles of grass country, with dim distant hills, stretched +before them. The great shining surface of the creek caught the rosy +evening light, and every pink cloudlet in the sky looked doubly +beautiful reflected in the water. Here and there out of the water arose +giant skeleton trees, with huge silver trunks and contorted dead +branches. On these twisted limbs were numbers of birds: Shag, blue and +white Cranes, and black and white Ibis with their bent bills. Slowly +paddling on the creek, with graceful movements, were twenty or thirty +black Swans, and in and out of their ranks, as they passed in stately +procession, shot wild Ducks and Moor Hens, like a flotilla of little +boats amongst a fleet of big ships. All these birds were watching a +pretty sight that arrested Dot's attention at once. By the margin of the +creek, where tufted rushes and tall sedges shed their graceful +reflection on the pink waters, were a party of Native Companions +dancing. + +"In these times it is seldom we can see a sight like this," said the +Kangaroo. "The water is generally too unsafe for the birds to enjoy +themselves. It often means death to them to have a little pleasure." + +As the Kangaroo spoke, one of the Native Companions caught sight of her, +and leaving the dance, opened her wings, and still making dainty steps +with her long legs, half danced and half flew to where the Kangaroo was +sitting. + +"Good evening, Kangaroo," she said, gracefully bowing; "will you not +come a little nearer to see the dance?" Then the Native Companion saw +Dot in the Kangaroo's pouch, and made a little spring of surprise. "Dear +me!" she said, "what have you in your pouch?" + +"It's a Human," said the Kangaroo, apologetically; "it's quite a little +harmless one. Let me introduce you." + +So Dot alighted from the pouch, and joined in the conversation, and the +Native Companion was much interested in hearing her story. + +"Do you dance?" asked the Native Companion, with a quick turn of her +head, on its long, graceful neck. Dot said that she loved dancing. So +the Native Companion took her down to the creek, and all the other +Companions stopped dancing and gathered round her, whilst she was +introduced and her story told. Then they spread their wings, and with +stately steps escorted her to the edge of the water, whilst the Kangaroo +sat a little way off, and delightedly watched the proceedings. + +Dot didn't understand any of the figures of the dance; but the scenery +was so lovely, and so was the pink sunset, and the Native Companions +were so elegant and gay, that, catching up her ragged little skirts in +both hands, she followed their movements with her bare brown feet as +best she could, and enjoyed herself very much. To Dot, the eight birds +that took part in the entertainment were very tall and splendid, with +their lovely grey plumage and greeny heads, and she felt quite small as +they gathered round her sometimes, and enclosed her within their +outspread wings. And how beautiful their dancing was! How light their +dainty steps! as their feet scarcely touched the earth; and what +fantastic measures they danced! advancing, retreating, circling +round--with their beautiful wings keeping the rhythm of their feet. +There was one figure that Dot thought the prettiest of all--when they +danced in line at the margin of the water; stepping, and bowing, and +gracefully gyrating to their shadows, which were reflected with the pink +clouds of evening on the surface of the creek. + +Dot was very sorry, and hot, and breathless, when the dance came to an +end. The sun had been gone a long time, and all the pink shades had +slowly turned to grey; the creek had lost its radiant colour, and looked +like a silver mirror, and so desolate and sombre, that no one could have +imagined it to have been the scene of so much gaiety shortly before. + +Dot hastily returned to the Kangaroo, and all the Native Companions came +daintily, and made graceful adieus to them both. Afterwards, they spread +their great, soft wings, and, stretching their long legs behind them, +wheeled upwards to the darkening sky. Then all the birds in the bare +trees preened their feathers, and settled down for the night; and the +Kangaroo took her little Human charge back to the bush, where there was +a cosy sheltering rock, under which to pass the night, and they lay down +together, with the stars peeping at them through the branches of the +trees. + +They had slept for a long time, as it seemed to Dot, when they were +awakened by a little voice saying: + +"Wake up, Kangaroo! you are in danger. Get away, as soon as possible!" + +The moon was shining fitfully, as it broke through swift flying clouds. +In the uncertain light, Dot could see a little creature near them, and +knew at once that it was an Opossum. + +"What is the matter?" asked the Kangaroo, softly. "Blacks!" said the +Opossum. And as it spoke, Dot heard a sound as of a half dingo dog +howling and snapping in the distance. As that sound was heard, the +Opossum made one flying leap to the nearest tree, and scrambled out of +sight in a moment. + +"I wish he had told us a little more," said the Kangaroo. "Still, for +a 'possum, it was a good-natured act to wake me up. They are selfish, +spiteful little beasts, as a rule. Now I wonder where those Blacks are? +I shall have to go a little way to sniff and listen. I won't go far, so +don't be afraid, but stay quietly here until I come back." + + + + +CHAPTER VI + + +It was terrible to Dot to see the Kangaroo hop off into the dark bush, +and to find herself all alone; so she crawled out from under the ledge +of rock into the moonlight, and sat on a stone where she could see the +sky, and watch the black ragged clouds hurry over the moon. But the bush +was not altogether quiet. She could hear an owl hooting at the moon. Not +far off was a camp of quarrelsome Flying Foxes, and the melancholy +Nightjar in the distance was fulfilling its mission of making all the +bush creatures miserable with its incessant, mournful "mo-poke! +mo-poke!" As Dot could understand all the voices, it amused her to +listen to the wrangles of the Flying Foxes, as they ate the fruit of a +wild fig tree near by. She saw them swoop past on their huge black wings +with a solemn flapping. Then, as each little Fox approached the tree, +the Foxes who were there already screamed, and swore in dreadfully bad +language at the visitor. For every little Fox on the tree was afraid +some other Flying Fox would eat all the figs, and as each visitor +arrived he was assailed with cries of, "Get away! you're not wanted +here!" + +"This is my branch, my figs!" + +"Go and find figs for yourself!" + +"These figs are not half ripe like the juicy ones on the other side of +the tree!" + +Then the new-comer Flying Fox, with a spiteful squeal, would pounce down +on a branch already occupied, and angry spluttering and screams would +arise, followed by a heavy fall of fighting Foxes tumbling with a crash +through the trees. Then out into the open sky swept dozens of black +wings, accompanied by abusive swearing from dozens of wicked little +brown Foxes; and, as they settled again on the tree, all the fighting +would begin again, so that the squealing, screaming, and swearing never +ended. + +As Dot was listening to the fighting of the Flying Foxes, she heard a +sound near her that alarmed her greatly. It was impossible to say what +the noise was like. It might have been the braying of a donkey mixed up +with the clattering of palings tumbled together, and with grunts and +snorts. Dot started to her feet in fright, and would have run away, only +she was afraid of being lost worse than ever, so she stood still and +looked round for the terrible monster that could make such extraordinary +sounds. The grunts and clattering stopped, and the noise died away in a +long doleful bray, but she could not see where it came from. Having +peered into the dark shadows, Dot went more into the open, and sat with +her back to a fallen tree, keeping an anxious watch all round. + +"Perhaps it is the Blacks. What would they do with me if they found me? +What will happen if they have killed my dear Kangaroo?" and she covered +her face with her hands as this terrible thought came into her head. +Soon she heard something coming towards her stealthily and slowly. She +would not look up she was so frightened. She was sure it was some +fierce-looking Black man, with his spear, about to kill her. She shut +her eyes closer, and held her breath. "Perhaps," she thought, "he will +not see me." Then a cold shiver went through her little body, as she +felt something claw hold of her hair, and she thought she was about to +be killed. She kept her eyes shut, and the clawing went on, and then to +her astonishment she heard an animal voice say in wondering tones: + +"Why, it's fur! how funny it looked in the moonlight!" Then Dot opened +her eyes very wide and looked round, and saw a funny Native Bear on the +tree trunk behind her. He was quite clearly to be seen in the moonlight. +His thick, grey fur, that looked as if he was wrapped up to keep out the +most terrible cold weather; his short, stumpy, big legs, and little +sharp face with big bushy ears, could be seen as distinctly as in +daylight. Dot had never seen one so near before, and she loved it at +once, it looked so innocent and kind. + +"You dear little Native Bear!" she exclaimed, at once stroking its head. + +"Am I a Native Bear?" asked the animal in a meek voice. "I never heard +that before. I thought I was a Koala. I've always been told so, but of +course one never knows oneself. What are you? Do you know?" + +"I'm a little girl," replied Dot, proudly. + +The Koala saw that Dot was proud, but as it didn't see any reason why +she should be, it was not a bit afraid of her. + +"I never heard of one or saw one before," it said, simply. "Do you +burrow, or live in a tree?" + +"I live at home," said Dot; but, wishing to be quite correct, she added, +"that is, when I am there." + +"Then, where are you now?" asked the Koala, rather perplexed. + +"I'm not at home," replied Dot, not knowing how to make her position +clear to the little animal. + +"Then you live where you don't live?" said the Koala; "where is it?" and +the little Bear looked quite unhappy in its attempt to understand what +Dot meant. + +"I've lost it," said Dot. "I don't know where it is." + +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala, sadly. "I live in the gum +tree over there. Do you eat gum leaves?" + +"No. When I'm at home I have milk, and bread, and eggs, and meat." + +"Dear me!" said the Koala. "They're all new to one. Is it far? I should +like to see the trees they grow on. Please show me the way." + +"But I can't," said Dot; "they don't grow on trees, and I don't know my +way home. It's lost, you see." + +"I don't see," said the Native Bear. "I never can see far at night, and +not at all in daylight. That is why I came here. I saw your fur shining +in the moonlight, and I couldn't make out what it was, so I came to see. +If there is anything new to be seen, I must get a near view of it. I +don't feel happy if I don't know all about it. Aren't you cold?" + +"Yes, I am, a little, since my Kangaroo left me," Dot said. + +"Now you make my head feel empty again," said the Koala, plaintively. +"What has a Kangaroo got to do with your feeling cold? What have you +done with your fur?" + +"I never had any," said Dot, "only these curls," and she touched her +little head. + +"Then you ought to be black," argued the Koala. "You're not the right +colour. Only Blacks have no fur, but what they steal from the proper +owners. Do you steal fur?" it asked in an anxious voice. + +"How do they steal fur?" asked Dot. + +The Koala looked very miserable, and spoke with horror. "They kill us +with spears, and tear off our skins and wear them because their own +skins are no good." + +"That's not stealing," said Dot; "that's killing"; and, although it +seemed very difficult to make the little Bear understand, she explained, +"Stealing is taking away another person's things; and when a person is +dead he hasn't anything belonging to him, so it's not stealing to take +what belonged to him before, because it isn't his any longer--that is, +if it doesn't belong to anyone else." + +"You make my head feel empty," complained the Koala. "I'm sure you're +all wrong; for an animal's skin and fur is his own, and it's his life's +business to keep it whole. Everyone in the bush is trying to keep his +skin whole, all day long, and all night too. Good gracious! what is the +matter up there?" + +A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum +tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala. Presently the +sounds of snarling, spitting, and screaming ended, and an Opossum +climbed out to the far end of a branch, where the moonlight shone on his +grey fur like silver. There he remained snapping and barking +disagreeable things to his mate, who climbed up to the topmost branch, +and snarled and growled back equally unpleasant remarks. + +"Why don't you bring in gum leaves for to-morrow, instead of sleeping +all day and half the night too?" shouted the Opossum on the branch to +his wife. "You know I get hungry before daylight is over and hate going +out in the light." + +"Get them yourself, you lazy loon!" retorted the lady Opossum. "If you +disturb my dreams again this way, I'll make your fur fly." + +"Take care!" barked back her husband, "or I'll bring you off that branch +pretty quickly." + +"You'd better try!" sneered his wife. "Remember how I landed you into +the billabong the other night!" + +The taunt was too much for the Opossum on the branch; he scuttled up the +tree to reach his mate, who sprang forward from her perch into the air. +Dot saw her spring with her legs all spread out, so that the skinny +flaps were like furry wings. By this means she was able to break her +fall, and softly alighting on the earth, a moment after, she had +scrambled up another tree, followed by her mate. From tree to tree, from +branch to branch, they fled or pursued one another, with growls, +screams, and splutters, until they disappeared from sight. + +"How unhappy those poor Opossums must be, living in the same tree," said +Dot; "why don't they live in different trees?" + +"They wouldn't be happy," observed the Koala, "they are so fond of one +another." + +"Then why do they quarrel?" asked Dot. + +"Because they live in the same tree of course," said the Koala. "If they +lived in different trees, and never quarrelled, they wouldn't like it at +all. They'd find life dull, and they'd get sulky. There's nothing worse +than a sulky 'possum. They are champions at that." + +"They make a dreadful noise with their quarrelling," said Dot. "They are +nearly as bad as the Flying Foxes over there. I wonder if they made that +fearful sound I heard just before you came?" + +[Illustration: DOT, THE NATIVE BEAR, AND THE OPOSSUM] + +"I expect what you heard was from me," said the Koala; "I had just +awakened, and when I saw the moon was up I felt pleased." + +"Was all that sound and many noises yours?" asked Dot with astonishment, +as she regarded the shaggy little animal on the tree trunk. + +The Koala smiled modestly. "Yes!" it said; "when I'm pleased there is no +creature in the bush can make such a noise, or so many different noises +at once. I waken everyone for a quarter of a mile round. You wouldn't +think it, to see me as I am, would you?" The Koala was evidently very +pleased with this accomplishment. + +"It isn't kind of you to wake up all the sleeping creatures," said Dot. + +"Why not?" asked the Koala. "You are a night creature, I suppose, or you +wouldn't be awake now. Well, don't you think it unfair the way +everything is arranged for the day creatures?" + +"But then," said Dot, "there are so many more day creatures." + +"That doesn't make any difference," observed the Koala. + +"But it does," said Dot. + +"How?" asked the Native Bear. + +"Because if you had the day it wouldn't be any good to you, and if they +had the night it wouldn't be any good to them. So your night couldn't be +their day, and their day couldn't be your night." + +"You make my head feel empty," said the Koala. "But you'd think +differently if a flock of Kookooburras settled on your tree, and +guffawed idiotically when you wanted to sleep." + +"As you don't like being waked yourself, why do you wake others then?" +asked Dot. + +"Because this is a free country," said the Koala. While Dot was trying +to understand why the Koala's reason should suffice for one animal +making another's life uncomfortable, she was rejoiced to see the +Kangaroo bound into sight. She forgot all about the Koala, and rushed +forward to meet it. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + + +"I'm so glad you've come back!" she exclaimed. + +The Kangaroo was a little breathless and excited. "We are not in danger +at present," she said, "but one never knows when one will be, so we must +move; and that will be more dangerous than staying where we are." + +"Then let us stay," said Dot. + +"That won't do," replied the Kangaroo. "This is the conclusion I have +jumped to. If we stay here, the Blacks might come this way and their +dingo dogs hunt us to death. To get to a safe place we must pass their +camp. That is a little risky, but we must go that way. We can do this +easily if the dogs don't get scent of us, as all the Blacks are prancing +about and making a noise, having a kind of game in fact, and they are so +amused that we ought to get past quite safely. I've done it many times +before at night." + +Dot looked round to say good-bye to the Koala, but the little animal had +heard the Kangaroo speak of Blacks, and that word suggested to its empty +little head that it must keep its skin whole, so, without waiting to be +polite to Dot, it had sneaked up its gum tree and was well out of sight. + +Without wasting time, Dot settled in the Kangaroo's pouch, and they +started upon their perilous way. + +For some distance the Kangaroo hopped along boldly, with an occasional +warning to Dot to shut her eyes as they plunged through the bushes; but +after crossing a watercourse, and climbing a stiff hill, she whispered +that they must both keep quite silent, and told Dot to listen as she +stopped for a moment. + +Dot could hear to their right a murmuring of voices, and a steady +beating sound. "Their camp is over there," said the Kangaroo, "that is +the sound of their game." + +"Can't we go some other way?" asked Dot. "No," answered the Kangaroo, +"because past that place we can reach some very wild country where it +would be hard for them to pursue us. We shall have to pass quite close +to their playground." So in perfect silence they went on. + +[Illustration: THE CORROBOREE] + +The Kangaroo seemed to Dot to approach the whereabouts of the +Blackfellows as cautiously as when they had visited the water-hole the +first night. Dot's little heart beat fast as the sound of the Blacks' +corroboree became clearer and clearer, and they neared the scene of the +dance. Soon she could hear the stamping of feet, the beating of weapons +together, and the wild chanting; and sometimes there were the whimpering +of dogs, and the cry of children at the camp a little distance from the +corroboree ground. + +The Kangaroo showed no signs of fear at the increasing noise of the +Blacks, but every sound of a dog caused it to stop and twist about its +big ears and sensitive nose, as it sniffed and listened. + +Soon Dot could see a great red glare of firelight through the trees +ahead of their track, and she knew that in that place the tribe of Black +men were having a festive dance. + +If they had gone on their way it is possible that they would have +slipped past the Blacks without danger. But although the Kangaroo is as +timid an animal as any in the bush, it is also very curious, and Dot's +Kangaroo wished to peep at the corroboree. She whispered to Dot that it +would be nice for a little Human to see some other Humans after being so +long amongst bush creatures, and said, also, that there would be no +great danger in hopping to a rock that would command a view of the open +ground where the corroboree was being held. Of course Dot thought this +would be great fun, so the Kangaroo took her to the rock, where they +peeped through the trees and saw before them the weird scene and dance. + +Dot nearly screamed with fright at the sight. She had thought she would +see a few Black folk, not a crowd of such terrible people as she beheld. +They did not look like human beings at all, but like dreadful demons, +they were so wicked and ugly in appearance. The men who were dancing +were without clothes, but their black bodies were painted with red and +white stripes, and bits of down and feathers were stuck on their skin. +Some had only white stripes over the places where their bones were, +which made them look like skeletons flitting before the fire, or in and +out of the surrounding darkness. The dancing men were divided from the +rest of the tribe by a row of fires, which, burning brightly, lit the +horrid scene with a lurid red light. The firelight seemed to make the +ferocious faces of the tribe still more hideous. The tribe people were +squatting in rows on the ground, beating boomerangs and spears together, +or striking bags of skin with sticks, to make an accompaniment to the +wailing song they sang. Sometimes the women would cease beating the skin +bags to clap their hands and strike their sides, yelling the words of +the corroboree song, as the painted figures, like fiends and skeletons, +danced before the row of fires. + +It was a terrifying sight to Dot. "Oh, Kangaroo!" she whispered, "they +are dreadful, horrid creatures." + +"They're just Humans," replied the Kangaroo, indulgently. + +"But white Humans are not like that," said Dot. + +"All Humans are the same underneath, they all kill kangaroos," said the +Kangaroo. "Look there! they are playing at killing us in their dance." + +Dot looked once more at the hideous figures as they left the fire and +began acting like actors. One of the Blackfellows had come from a little +bower of trees, and wore a few skins so arranged as to make him look as +much like a kangaroo as possible, whilst he worked a stick which he +pretended was a kangaroo's tail, and hopped about. The other painted +savages were creeping in and out of the bushes with their spears and +boomerangs as if they were hunting, and the dressed-up kangaroo made +believe not to see them, but stooped down, nibbling grass. + +"What an idea of a kangaroo!" sniffed Dot's friend, "why, a real +kangaroo would have smelt or heard those Humans, and have bounded away +far out of sight by now." + +"But it's all sham," said Dot; "the Black man couldn't be a real +kangaroo." + +"Then it just shows how stupid Humans are to try and be one," said her +friend. "Humans think themselves so clever," she continued, "but just +see what bad kangaroos they make--such a simple thing to do, too! But +their legs bend the wrong way for jumping, and that stick isn't any good +for a tail, and it has to be worked with those big, clumsy arms. Just +see, too, how those skins fit! Why it's enough to make a kangaroo's +sides split with laughter to see such foolery!" Dot's friend peeped at +the Black's acting with the contempt to be expected of a real kangaroo, +who saw human beings pretending to be one of those noble animals. Dot +thought the Kangaroo had never looked so grand before. She was so tall, +so big, and yet so graceful: a really beautiful creature. + +"Well, that's over!" remarked the Kangaroo, as one of the Blacks +pretended to spear the dressed-up Blackfellow, and all the rest began to +dance around, whilst the sham kangaroo made believe to be dead. "Well, I +forgive their killing such a silly creature! There wasn't a jump in it." + +After more dancing to the singing and noise of the on-lookers, a +Blackfellow came from the little bower in the dim background, with a +battered straw hat on, and a few rags tied round his neck and wrist, in +imitation of a collar and cuffs. The fellow tried to act the part of a +white man, although he had no more clothes on than the old hat and rags. +But, after a great deal of dancing, he strutted about, pulled up the rag +collar, made a great fuss with his rag cuffs, and kept taking off his +old straw hat to the other Blackfellows, and to the rest of the tribe, +who kept up the noise on the other side of the fires. + +"Now this is better!" said the Kangaroo, with a smile. "It's very silly, +but Willy Wagtail says that is just the way Humans go on in the town. +Black Humans can act being white Humans, but they are of no good as +kangaroos." + +Dot thought that if men behaved like that in towns it must be very +strange. She had not seen any like the acting Blackfellow at her cottage +home. But she did not say anything, for it was quite clear in her little +mind that Blackfellows, kangaroos, and willy wagtails had a very poor +opinion of white people. She felt that they must all be wrong; but, all +the same, she sometimes wished she could be a noble kangaroo, and not a +despised human being. + +"I wish I were not a little white girl," she whispered to the Kangaroo. + +The gentle animal patted her kindly with her delicate black hands. + +"You are as nice now as my baby kangaroo," she said sadly, "but you will +have to grow into a real white Human. For some reason there have to be +all sorts of creatures on the earth. There are hawks, snakes, dingoes +and humans, and no one can tell for what good they exist. They must have +dropped on to this world by mistake for another, where there could only +have been themselves. After all," said the kind animal, "it wouldn't do +for every one to be a kangaroo, for I doubt if there would be enough +grass; but you may become an improved Human." + +"How could I be that?" asked Dot, eagerly. + +"Never wear kangaroo leather boots--never use kangaroo skin rugs, +and,"--here it hesitated a little, as though the subject were a most +unpleasant one to mention. + +"Never do what?" enquired Dot, anxious to know all that she should do, +so as to be improved. + +"Never, never eat kangaroo-tail soup!" said the Kangaroo, solemnly. + +"I never will," said Dot, earnestly, "I will be an improved Human." + +This conversation had been so serious to both Dot and the Kangaroo, that +they had quite forgotten the perilousness of their position. Perhaps +this was because the kangaroo cannot think, but it quickly jumped to the +conclusion that they were in danger. + +Whilst they had been peeping at the corroboree, and talking, the dingo +dogs that had been prowling around the camp, had caught scent of the +Kangaroo; and, following the trail, had set up an angry snapping and +howling. + +The instant this sound was heard by the Kangaroo, she made an immense +bound, and as she seemed to fly through the bush, Dot could hear the +sounds of the corroboree give place to a noise of shouting and disorder: +the dingo dogs and the Blacks were all in pursuit, and Dot's Kangaroo, +with little Dot in her pouch, was leaping and bounding at a terrific +pace to save both their lives! + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + + +It was fortunate that the Kangaroo could not think of all that might +befall them, or she never could have had the courage for the wonderful +feats of jumping she performed. Poor little Dot, whose busy brain +pictured all kinds of terrible fates, was so overcome with fear that she +seemed hardly to know what had happened; and the more she thought, the +more terrified she became. + +The Kangaroo did not attempt to continue the upward ascent, but followed +a slope of the rugged hill, leaping from rock to rock. This was better +than trying to escape where the trees and shrubs would have prevented +her making those astonishing bounds. But the clouds had left the moon +clear for a while, so that the Blackfellows and the dogs easily followed +every movement, as they pursued the hunt on a smoother level below. The +Blacks were trying to hurry on, so as to cut off the Kangaroo's retreat +at a spur of the hill, where, to get away, she would have to leave the +rocks and descend towards them. In the meantime Dot's ears were filled +with the sounds of snarling snaps from the dingo dogs, and hideous +noises from the Blacks, encouraging the animals to attack the Kangaroo. +But what pained her most were the gasps and little moans of her good +friend, as she put such tremendous power into every leap she made for +their lives; crashing through twigs, and scattering stones and pebbles, +in the wild speed of their flight. + +Then Dot's busy little brain told her another thing, which made her more +miserable. It was becoming quite clear that the poor Kangaroo was +getting rapidly exhausted, owing to her having to bear Dot's weight. Her +panting became more and more distressing, and so did her sad moans; and +flecks of foam from her straining lips fell on Dot's face and hands. Dot +knew that her Kangaroo was trying to save her at the risk of her own +life. Without the little girl in her pouch, she might get away safely; +but, with her to carry, they would both probably fall victims to the +fierce Blacks and their dogs. + +"Kangaroo! Kangaroo!" she cried, "put me down; drop Dot anywhere, +anywhere, but don't get killed yourself!" + +But all Dot heard was a little hissing sound from the brave animal, +which sounded like, "Never again!" + +"You will be killed," moaned Dot. + +"Together!" said the little hissing voice, as another great bound +brought them to the spur of the hill; and then the Kangaroo had to +pause. + +In that moment Dot seemed to hear and see everything. They were perched +on a rock, and the moonlight lit all their surroundings like day. To the +right was a deep black chasm, with a white foaming waterfall pouring +into the darkness below. In front was the same wide chasm, only less +wide, and beyond it, on the other side of the great yawning cleft in the +earth, was a wild spread of morass country--a gloomy, terrible-looking +place. To the left was a steep slope of small rocks and stones, leading +downwards to the hollow of sedgy land that fringed the cliffs of the +chasm. The only retreat possible was to pass down this declivity, and +try to escape by the sedgy land, and this is what the Black huntsmen had +expected. It was a very weird and desolate place; and everything looked +dark and dismal, under the moonlight, as it streamed between stormy +black clouds. In that light Dot could see the Blacks hurrying forward. +Already one of the dogs had far outrun the others, and with wolfish gait +and savage sounds, was pressing towards their place of observation. + +The panting, trembling Kangaroo saw the approaching dog, also, and +leaped down from the crag. As she dropped to earth, she stooped, and +quickly lifted Dot out of her pouch, and, almost before Dot could +realize the movement, she found herself standing alone, whilst the +Kangaroo hopped forward to the front of a big boulder, as if to meet the +dog. Here the poor hunted creature took her stand, with her back close +to the rock. Gentle and timid as she was, and unfitted by nature to +fight for her life against fierce odds, it was brave indeed of the poor +Kangaroo to face her enemies, prepared to do battle for the lives of +little Dot and herself. + +So noble did Dot's Kangaroo look in that desperate moment, standing +erect, waiting for her foe, and conquering her naturally frightened +nature by a grand effort of courage, that it seemed impossible that +either dogs or men should be so cruel as to take her life. For a moment +the dingo hound seemed daunted by her bravery, and paused a little way +off, panting, with its great tongue lolling out of its mouth. Dot could +see its sharp wicked teeth gleaming in the moonlight. For a few seconds +it hesitated to make the attack, and looked back down the slope, to see +if the other dogs were coming to help; but they were only just beginning +the ascent, and the shouting Blackfellows were further off still. Then +the dog could no longer control its savage nature. It longed to leap at +the poor Kangaroo's throat--that pretty furry throat that Dot's arms had +so often encircled lovingly, and it was impatient to fix its terrible +teeth there, and hold, and hold, in a wild struggle, until the poor +Kangaroo should gradually weaken from fear and exhaustion, and be choked +to death. These thoughts filled the dog with a wicked joy. It wouldn't +wait any longer for the other dingo hounds. It wanted to murder the +Kangaroo all by itself; so, with a toss of its head, and a terrible +snarl, it sprang forward ferociously, with open jaws, aiming at the +victim's throat. + +Dot clasped her cold hands together. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and +her little voice, choking with sobs, could only wail, "Oh! dear +Kangaroo! my dear Kangaroo! Don't kill my dear Kangaroo!" and she ran +forward to throw herself upon the dog and try to save her friend. + +But before the terrified little girl could reach the big rock, the dog +had made its spring upon her friend. The brave Kangaroo, instead of +trying to avoid her fierce enemy, opened her little arms, and stood +erect and tall to receive the attack. The dog in its eagerness, and +owing to the nature of the ground, misjudged the distance it had to +spring. It failed to reach the throat it had aimed at, and in a moment +the Kangaroo had seized the hound in a tight embrace. There was a +momentary struggle, the dog snapping and trying to free itself, and the +Kangaroo holding it firmly. Then she used the only weapon she had to +defend herself from dogs and men,--the long sharp claw in her foot. +Whilst she held the dog in her arms, she raised her powerful leg, and +with that long, strong claw, tore open the dog's body. The dog yelped in +pain as the Kangaroo threw it to the ground, where it lay rolling in +agony and dying; for the Kangaroo had given it a terrible wound. The +other dogs were still some distance below, and the cries of their +companion caused them to pause in fear and wonder, while the Black men +could be seen advancing in the dim light, flourishing their spears and +boomerangs. + +It was quite impossible to retreat that way; and where Dot and her +Kangaroo were, they were hemmed in by a rocky cliff and the deep black +chasm. The Kangaroo saw at a glance where lay their only chance of life. +She picked up Dot, placed her in her pouch, and without a word leaped +forward towards that fearful gulf of darkness and foaming waters. As +they neared the spot, Dot saw that the hunted animal was going to try +and leap across to the other side. It seemed impossible that with one +bound she could span that terrible place and reach the sedged morass +beyond; and still more impossible that it should be done by the poor +animal with heavy Dot in her pouch. Again Dot cried, "Oh! darling +Kangaroo, leave me here, and save yourself. You can never, never do it +carrying me!" + +All she heard was something like "try," or "we'll die." She could not +make out what the Kangaroo said, for the crashing of the waterfall, the +whistling of the wind, and the scattering of stones as they dashed +forward, made such a storm of noises in her ears. She could see when +they reached the grassy fringe of the precipice, where the Kangaroo was +able to quicken her pace, and literally seemed to fly to their fate. +Then came the last bound before the great spring. Dot held her breath, +and a feeling of sickness came over her. Her head seemed giddy, and she +could not see, but she clasped her hands together and said, "God help my +Kangaroo!" and then she felt the fearful leap and rush through the air. + +Yes! they had just reached the other side. No! they had not quite: what +was the matter? What a struggle! stones falling, twigs and grasses +wrenching, the courageous Kangaroo fighting for a foothold on the very +brink of the precipice. What a terrible moment! Every second Dot felt +sure they would fall backward and drop deep into the gully below, to be +dashed to pieces on the rocks and the tree tops. But God did help Dot's +Kangaroo; the little reeds and rushes held tightly in the earth, and the +poor struggling animal, exerting all her remaining strength, gained the +reedy slope safely. She staggered forward a few reeling hops, and then +fell to the earth like a dead creature. In an instant Dot was out of the +pouch and had her arm round the poor animal's neck, crying, as she saw +blood and foam oozing from her mouth, and a strange dim look in her sad +eyes. "Don't die, dear Kangaroo! Oh, please don't die!" cried Dot, +wringing her hands, and burying her face in the fur of the poor gasping +creature. + +"Dot," panted the Kangaroo, "make a noise,--Cry loud!--not safe yet!" + +The little girl didn't understand why the Kangaroo wanted her to make a +noise, and she had, in her fear and sorrow, quite forgotten their +pursuers. But now she turned, and could hear the Blacks urging on their +dogs as they were making an attempt to skirt round the precipice, and +gain the other side of the chasm. So Dot did as she was told, and +screamed and cried like the most naughty of children; and the gasping +Kangaroo told her to go on doing so. + +[Illustration: A LEAP FOR LIFE] + +Then what seemed to Dot a very terrifying thing happened; for she soon +heard other cries mingle with hers. From the desolate morass, and from +the gully in darkness below, came the sound of a bellowing. She stopped +crying and listened, and could hear those awesome voices all around, and +the echoes made them still more hobgoblinish. The Kangaroo's eyes +brightened, as she restrained her panting, and listened also. "Go on," +she said, "we're safe now," so Dot made more crying, and her noises and +the others would have frightened anyone who had heard them in that +lonely place, with the wind storming in the trees, and the black clouds +flying over the moon. It frightened the Blackfellows directly. + +They stopped in their headlong speed, shouting together in their shrill +voices, "The Bunyip! the Bunyip!" and they tumbled over one another in +their hurry to get away from a place haunted, as they thought, by that +wicked demon which they fear so much. At full speed they fled back to +their camp, with the sound of Dot's cries, and the mysterious bellowing +noise, following them on the breeze; and they never stopped running +until they regained the light of their camp fires. There they told the +"Gins," in awe-struck voices, how it had been no Kangaroo they had +hunted, but the "Bunyip," who had pretended to be one. And the Black +gins' eyes grew wider and wider, and they made strange noises and +exclamations, as they listened to the story of how the "Bunyip" had led +the huntsmen to that dreadful place. How it had torn one of the dogs to +pieces, and had leaped over the precipice into Dead Man's Gully, where +it had cried like a picaninny, and bellowed like a bull. No one slept in +the camp that night, and early next morning the whole tribe went away, +being afraid to remain so near the haunt of the dreaded "Bunyip." + +Dot saw the flight of the Blacks in the dim distance, and told the good +news to the Kangaroo, who, however, was too exhausted to rejoice at +their escape. She still lay where she had fallen, gasping, and with her +tongue hanging down from her mouth like that of a dog. + +In vain Dot caressed her, and called her by endearing names; she lay +quite still, as if unable to hear or feel. Dot's little heart swelled +within her, and taking the poor animal's drooping head on her lap, she +sat quite still and tearless; waiting in that solitude for her one +friend to die--leaving her lonely and helpless. + +Presently she was startled by hearing a brisk voice, "Then it was a +human picaninny, after all! Well, my dear, what are you doing here?" Dot +turned her head without moving, and saw a little way behind her a brown +bird on long legs, standing with its feet close together, with the +self-satisfied air of a dancing master about to begin a lesson. + +Dot did not care for any other creature in the Bush just then but her +Kangaroo, and the perky air of the bird annoyed her in her sorrow. +Without answering, she bent her head closer down to that of her poor +friend, to see if her eyes were still shut, and wondered if they would +ever open and look bright and gentle again. + +The little brown bird strutted with an important air to where it had a +better view of Dot and her companion, and eyed them both in the same +perky manner. "Friend Kangaroo's in a bad way," it said; "why don't you +do something, sensible, instead of messing about with its head?" + +"What can I do?" whimpered Dot. + +"Give it water, and damp its skin, of course," said the little Bird, +contemptuously. "What fools Humans are," it exclaimed to itself. "And I +suppose you will tell me there is no water here, when all the time you +are sitting on a spring." + +"But I'm sitting on grass," said Dot, now fully attentive to the bird's +remarks. + +"Well, booby," sneered the bird, "and under the grass is wet moss, +which, if you make a hole in it, will fill with water. Why, I'd do it +myself, in a moment, only your claws are better suited for the purpose +than mine. Set about it at once!" it said sharply. + +In an instant Dot did what the bird directed, and thrust her little +hands into the soft grass roots and moss, out of which water pressed, +as if from a sponge. She had soon made a little hole, and the most +beautiful clear water welled up into it at once. Then, in the hollows of +her little hands, she collected it, and dashed it over the Kangaroo's +parched tongue, and, further instructed by the kindly though rude little +bird, she had soon well wetted the suffering animal's fur. Gradually the +breathing of the Kangaroo became less of an effort, her tongue moistened +and returned to the mouth, and at last Dot saw with joy the brown eyes +open, and she knew that her good friend was not going to die, but would +get well again. + +Whilst all this took place, the little brown bird stood on one leg, with +its head cocked on one side, watching the exhausted Kangaroo's recovery +with a comic expression of curiosity and conceit. When it spoke to Dot, +it did so without any attempt at being polite, and Dot thought it the +strangest possible creature, because it was really very kind in helping +her to save the Kangaroo's life, and yet it seemed to delight in +spoiling its kindheartedness by its rudeness. Afterwards the Kangaroo +told her that the little Bittern is a really tender-hearted fellow, but +he has an idea that kindness in rather small creatures provokes the +contempt of the big ones. As he always wants to be thought a bigger bird +than he is, he pretends to be hard-hearted by being rough; consequently, +nearly all the Bush creatures simply regard him as a rude little bird, +because bad manners are no proof of being grown-up; rather the contrary. + +"How do you feel now?" asked the Bittern, as the Kangaroo presently +struggled up and squatted rather feebly on her haunches, looking about +in a somewhat dazed way. + +"I'm better now," said the Kangaroo, "but, dear me! how everything seems +to dance up and down!" She shut her eyes, for she felt giddy. + +"That was rather a good jump of yours," said the Bittern, patronizingly, +as if jumps for life like that of Dot's Kangaroo were made every day, +and he was a judge of them! + +"Ah! I remember!" said the Kangaroo, opening her eyes again and looking +round. "Where is Dot?" + +"Umph! that silly!" exclaimed the Bittern, as Dot came forward, and she +and the Kangaroo rejoiced over each other's safety. "Much good she'd +have been to you with the Blacks, and their dogs after you, if we +Bitterns hadn't played that old trick of ours of scaring them with our +big voices. He! he! he!" it chuckled, "how they did run when we tuned +up! They thought the Bunyip had got them this time. Didn't we laugh!" + +"It was very good of you," said the Kangaroo gratefully, "and it is not +the first time you have saved Kangaroos by your cleverness. I didn't +know you Bitterns were near, so I told Dot to make a noise in the hope +of frightening them." + +The Bittern was really touched by the Kangaroo's gratitude, and was +delighted at being called clever, so it became still more ungracious. +"You needn't trouble me with thanks," it said indifferently, "we didn't +do it to save you, but for our own fun. As for that little stupid," it +continued, with a nod of the head towards Dot, "her squeals were no more +good than the squeak of a tree frog in a Bittern's beak." + +"But you were very kind," said Dot, "and showed me how to get water to +save Kangaroo's life." + +The Bittern was greatly pleased at this praise, and in consequence it +got still ruder, and making a face at Dot, exclaimed, "yah!" and stalked +off. But when it had gone a few steps it turned round and said to the +Kangaroo, roughly, "If you hop that way, keeping to the side of the +sedges, and go half a dozen small hops beyond that white gum tree, +you'll find a little cave. It's dry and warm, and good enough for +Kangaroos." And without waiting for thanks for this last kind act, it +spread its wings and flew away. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + + +The Kangaroo, hopping very weakly, and little Dot trudging over the oozy +ground, followed the Bittern's directions and found the cave, which +proved a very snug retreat. Here they lay down together, full of +happiness at their escape, and being worn out with fatigue and +excitement, they were soon fast asleep. + +The next day, before the sun rose, the Bittern visited the cave. "Hullo, +you precious lazy pair! I've been over there," and it tossed its beak in +the direction of the Black's camp. "They're off northward. Too +frightened to stay. I thought you might like the news brought you, since +you're too lazy to get it for yourselves!" and off it went again without +saying good-bye. + +"Now isn't he a kind little fellow?" said the Kangaroo. "That's his way +of telling us that we are safe." + +"Thanks, Bittern! thanks!" they both cried, but the creamy brown bird +paid no attention to their gratitude: it seemed absorbed in looking for +frogs on its way. + +All that day the Kangaroo and Dot stayed near the cave, so that the poor +animal might get quite well again. The Kangaroo said she did not know +that part of the country, and so she had better get her legs again +before they faced fresh dangers. Neither of them was so bright and merry +as before. The weather was showery, and Dot kept thinking that perhaps +she would never get home, now she had been so long away, and she kept +remembering the time when the little boy was lost and everyone's +sadness. + +The Kangaroo too seemed melancholy. "What makes you sad?" asked Dot. + +"I am thinking of the last time before this that I was hunted. It was +then I lost my baby Kangaroo," she replied. + +"Oh! you poor dear thing!" exclaimed Dot, "and have you been hunted +before last night?" + +"Yes," said the Kangaroo with a little weary sigh. "It was just a few +days before I found you. White Humans did it that time." + +"Tell me all about it," said Dot, "how did you escape?" + +[Illustration: THE BITTERN HELPS DOT] + +"I escaped then," said the Kangaroo, settling herself on her haunches to +tell the tale, "in a way I could have done last night. But I will die +sooner than do it again." + +"Tell me," repeated Dot. + +"There is not much to tell," said the Kangaroo. "My little Joey was +getting quite big, and we were very happy. It was a lovely Joey. It was +so strong, and could jump so well for its size. It had the blackest of +little noses and hands and tail you ever saw, and big soft ears which +heard more quickly than mine. All day long I taught it jumping, and we +played and were merry from sunrise to sunset. Until that day I had never +been sad, and I thought all the creatures must be wrong to say that in +this beautiful world there could be such cruel beings as they said White +Humans were. That day taught me I was wrong, and I know now that the +world is a sad place because Humans make it so; although it was made to +be a happy place. We were playing on the side of a plain that day, and +our game was hide-and-seek in the long grass. We were having great fun, +when suddenly little Joey said, 'Strange creatures are coming, big +ones.' + +"I hopped up the stony rise that fringed the plain, and thought as I did +so I could hear a new sound on the breeze. Joey hid in the grass, but +I went boldly into the open on the hillside to see where the danger was. +I saw, far off, Humans on their big animals that go so quickly, and +directly I hopped into the open, they raised a great noise like the +Blacks did last night, and I could see by the movement in the grass that +they had those dreadful dogs they teach to kill us: they are far worse +than dingoes. Joey heard the shouting and bounded into my pouch, and I +went off as fast as I could. It was a worse hunt than last night, for it +was longer, and there was no darkness to help me. I gradually got ahead +in the chase, and I knew if I were alone I could distance them all; for +we had seen them a long way off. But little Joey was heavy, though not +so heavy as you are, and in the long distance I began to feel weak, as +I did last night. + +"I knew if I tried to go on as we were, that those cruel Humans, sitting +quietly on those big beasts (which have four legs and never get tired) +would overtake us, and their dogs (which carry no weight and go so fast) +would tear me down before their masters even arrived, for I was going +gradually slower. So I asked Joey if I dropped him into a soft bush +whether he would hide until I came back for him. It was our only chance. +I had an idea that if I did that he would be safe--even if I got killed; +as they would be more likely to follow me, and never think I had parted +from my little Joey. So we did this, and I crossed a creek, which put +the hounds off the scent, and I got away. In the dusk I came back again +to find Joey, but he had gone, and I could not find a trace of him. All +night and all day I searched, but I've never seen my Joey since," said +the Kangaroo sadly, and Dot saw the tears dim her eyes. + +Dot could not speak all she felt. She was so sorry for the Kangaroo, and +so ashamed of being a Human. She realized too, how good and forgiving +this dear animal was; how she had cared for her, and nearly died to save +her life, in spite of the wrongs done to her by human beings. + +"When I grow up," she said, "I will never let anyone hurt a bush +creature. They shall all be happy where I am." + +"But there are so many Humans. They're getting to be as many as +Kangaroos," said the animal reflectively, and shook her head. + + + + +CHAPTER X + + +The fourth day of Dot's wanderings in the Bush dawned brightly. The sun +arose in a sky all gorgeous in gold and crimson, and flashed upon a +world glittering with dewy freshness. Sweet odours from the aromatic +bush filled the air, and every living creature made what noise it could, +to show its joy in being happy and free in the beautiful Bush. Rich and +gurgling came the note of the magpies, the jovial Kookooburras saluted +the sun with rollicking laughter, the crickets chirruped, frogs croaked +in chorus, or solemnly "popped" in deep vibrating tones, like the ring +of a woodman's axe. Every now and then came the shriek of the plover, or +the shrill cry of the peeweet; and gayer and more lively than all the +others was the merry clattering of the big bush wagtail in the distance. + +As soon as the Kangaroo heard the Bush Wagtail, she and Dot hurried away +to find him. No Christy Minstrel rattling his bones ever made a merrier +sound. "Click-i-ti-clack, click-i-ti-clack, clack, clack, clack, clack, +click-i-ti-clack," he rattled away as fast as he could, just as if he +hadn't a moment to waste for taking breath, and as if the whole lovely +world was made for the enjoyment of Bush Wagtails. + +When Dot and the Kangaroo found him, he was swaying about on a branch, +spreading his big tail like a fan, and clattering gaily; but he stopped +in surprise as soon as he saw his visitors. + +After greetings, he opened the conversation by talking of the weather, +so as to conceal his astonishment at seeing Dot and the Kangaroo +together. + +"Lovely weather after the rain," he said; "the showers were needed very +much, for insects were getting scarce, and I believe grass was getting +rank, and not very plentiful. There will be a green shoot in a few days, +which will be very welcome to Kangaroos. I heard about you losing your +Joey--my cousin told me. I was very sorry; so sad. Ah! well, such things +will happen in the Bush to anyone. We were most fortunate in our brood; +none of the chicks fell out of the nest, every one of them escaped the +Butcher Birds and were strong of wing. They are all doing well in the +world." + +Then the vivacious bird came a little nearer to the Kangaroo, and, +dropping his voice, said: + +"But, friend Kangaroo, I'm sorry to see you've taken up with Humans. +You know I have quite set my face against them, although my cousin +is intimate with the whole race. Take my word for it, they're most +uncertain friends. Two Kookooburras were shot last week, in spite of +Government protection. Fact!" And as the bird spoke he nodded his head +warningly towards the place where Dot was standing. + +"This little Human has been lost in our Bush," said the Kangaroo; "one +had to take care of her, you know." + +"Of course, of course; there are exceptions to all rules," chattered the +Wagtail. "And so this is really the lost little Human there has been +such a fuss about!" added he, eyeing Dot, and making a long whistle of +surprise. "My cousin told me all about it." + +"Then your cousin, Willy Wagtail, knows her lost way," said the Kangaroo +joyfully, and Dot came a little nearer in her eagerness to hear the good +news. + +"Of course he does," answered the bird; "there's nothing happens that he +doesn't know. You should have hunted him up." + +"I didn't know where to find him," said the Kangaroo, "and I got into +this country, which is new to me." + +"Why he is in the same part that he nested in last season. It's no +distance off," exclaimed the Wagtail. "If you could fly, you'd be there +almost directly!" Then the bird gave a long description of the way they +were to follow to find his cousin Willy, and with many warm thanks the +Kangaroo and Dot bade him adieu. + +As they left the Bush Wagtail they could hear him singing this song, +which shows what a merry, happy fellow he is: + + + "Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! + Clack! clack! clack! clack! + Who could cry in such weather, 'alack!' + With a sky so blue, and a sun so bright, + Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' + Sportive in flight, chatter delight, + Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack! + + "I'm so glad that I have the knack + Of singing clack! clack! clack! + If you wish to be happy, just follow my track, + Take this for a motto, this for a code, + Sing 'winter, winter, winter is back!' + Leave care to a toad, and live _a la mode_! + Click-i-ti, click-i-ti-clack!" + + +They had no difficulty in following the Wagtail's directions. They soon +struck a creek they had been told to pursue to its end, and about noon +they found themselves in very pretty country. It reminded Dot of the +journey they had made to find the Platypus, for there were the same +beautiful growths of fern and shrubs. There were also great trailing +creepers which hung down like ropes from the tops of the tall trees they +had climbed. These rope-like coils of the creepers made capital swings, +and often Dot clambered into one of the big loops and sat swinging +herself to and fro, laughing and singing, much to the delight and +amusement of the Kangaroo. + + + "Swing! swing! a bird on the wing + Is not more happy than I! + Stooping to earth, and seeking the sky. + Swing! swing! swing! + See how high upward I fly! + Here, midst the leaves I swing; + Then, as fast to my swing I cling, + Down I come from the sky! + Swing! swing! a bird on the wing + Is not more happy than I!" + + +Thus sang little Dot, tossing herself backwards and forwards, and the +Kangaroo came to the conclusion that there was something very sweet +about little Humans, and that Dot was certainly quite as nice as a Joey +Kangaroo. + +In the middle of one of these little swinging diversions, a bird about +the size of a pigeon, with the most wonderfully shiny plumage, flew to +the tree on which Dot was swinging. Dot was so struck by the bird's +beautiful blue-black glossy appearance, and its brightly contrasting +yellow beak and legs, that she stopped swinging at once. "You _are_ a +pretty bird!" she said. + +"I am a Satin Bower Bird," it said. "We heard you singing, and we +thought, therefore, that you probably enjoy parties, so I have come +to invite you to one of our assemblies which will take place shortly. +Friend Kangaroo, we know, is of a somewhat serious nature, but probably +she will do us the pleasure of accompanying you to our little +entertainment." + +"I shall have great pleasure in doing so," said the Kangaroo; "I have +not been at any of your parties for a long time. You know, I suppose, +that I lost my little Joey very sadly." + +"We heard all about it," replied the Bower Bird in a tone of +exaggerated, almost ridiculous sadness, for it was so anxious that the +Kangaroo should think that it felt very deeply for her loss. "We were in +the middle of a meeting at the time the Wallaby brought the news, and we +were so sad that we nearly broke up our assembly. But it would have been +a pity to do so, really, as the young birds enjoy themselves so much at +the 'Bower of Pleasure.' But," said the Satin Bird, with a sudden change +of tone from extreme sorrow to one of vivacious interest, "I must show +you the way to the bower, or you would never find it." + +Dot jumped down from the swing, and she and the Kangaroo, guided by the +Satin Bird, made their way through some very thickly-grown bush. The +bird was certainly right in saying that they would never have found the +Bower of Pleasure without a guide. It was carefully concealed in the +most densely-grown scrub. As they were pushing their way through a +thicket of shrubs, before reaching the open space where the Satin Birds' +bower was built, they heard an increasing noise of birds all talking to +one another. The din of this chattering was enhanced considerably by the +shrill sounds of tree-frogs and crickets, and the hubbub made Dot feel +like the little Native Bear--as if her "head was empty." + +"This will be a very pleasant party," said the Satin Bird, "there is +plenty of conversation, so everyone's in a good humour." + +"Do you think anyone is listening, or are they all talking?" enquired +the Kangaroo timidly. + +"Nobody would attempt to listen," answered the Satin Bird, "it would be +impossible against the music of the tree frogs and crickets, so everyone +talks." + +"I should tell the tree-frogs and crickets to be quiet," said Dot, "no +one seems to care for their music." + +"Oh, without music it would be very dull," explained the Satin Bird, "no +one would care to talk. You understand, it would be awkward, someone +might overhear what was said." + +As the bird spoke the trio reached the place where the bower was +situated. + +Dot thought it a most curious sight. In the middle of an open space the +birds had built a flooring of twigs, and upon that they had erected a +bower about three feet high, also constructed of twigs interwoven with +grass, and arranged so as nearly to meet at the top in an arched form. + +"It's a new bower, and more commodious than our last," said the Satin +Bird with an air of satisfaction. "What do you think of the +decorations?" + +In a temporary lull of the frog and cricket band and the conversation, +Dot and the Kangaroo praised the bower and its decorations, and enquired +politely how the birds had managed to procure such a collection of +ornaments for their pleasure hall. Several young bower birds came and +joined in the chat, and Dot was surprised to see how different their +plumage was from the satin blue-black of the old birds. These younger +members of the community were of a greenish yellow colour, with dark +pencillings on their feathers, and had no glossy sheen like their +elders. + +Each of them pointed out some ornament that it had brought with which to +deck the bower. One had brought the pink feathers of a Galah, which had +been stuck here and there amongst the twigs. Others had collected the +delicate shells of land snails, and put them round about the entrance. +But the birds that were proudest of their contributions were those who +had picked up odds and ends at the camps of bushmen. + +"That beautiful bright thing I brought from a camp a mile away," said a +bird, indicating a tag from a cake of tobacco. + +"But it isn't so pretty as mine," said another, pointing to the glass +stopper of a sauce bottle. + +"Or mine," chimed in another bird, as it claimed a bright piece of tin +from a milk-can that was inserted in the twigs just above the entrance +of the bower. + +"Nonsense, children!" said a grave old Satin Bird, "your trifles are not +to be compared with that beautiful object I found to-day and arranged +along the top of the bower. The effect is splendid!" + +As he spoke, Dot observed that, twined amidst the topmost twigs of the +construction was a strip of red flannel from an old shirt, a bedraggled +red rag that must have been found in an extinct camp fire, judging by +its singed edges. + +The day Dot had lost her way she had been threading beads, and she still +had upon her finger a ring of the pretty coloured pieces of glass. She +saw the old Satin Bird look at this ring longingly, so she pulled it +off, and begged that it might be added to the other decorations. It was +instantly given the place of honour--over the entrance and above the +piece of milk tin. + +This gift from Dot caused an immediate flow of conversation, because +every bird was pleased to have something to talk about. They all began +to say how beautiful the beads were. "Quite too lovely!" said one. "What +a charming little Human!" exclaimed another. "Just the finish that our +bower required," was a general remark, and a great many kept exclaiming, +"So tasteful!" "So sweet!" "How elegant!" "Exquisite!" "It's a love!" +"It's a dear!" and so on. A great deal more was said, but the oldest +bower bird, thinking that all the adjectives were getting used up, told +the frogs and crickets to start the music again, so as to keep the +excitement going, and all further observations were drowned in the +noise. + +Presently the younger birds flew down to the bower, and began to play +and dance. Like a troop of children, they ran round and round the bower, +and to and fro through it, gleefully chasing each other. Then they would +assemble in groups, and hop up and down, and dance to one another in +what Dot thought a rather awkward fashion; but she was thinking of the +elegance and grace of the Native Companions, who can make beautiful +movements with their long legs and necks, whilst these little bower +birds are rather ungainly in their steps. + +What amused her was to see how the young cock birds showed off to the +little hens. They were conceited fellows, and only seemed happy when +they had five or six little hens looking admiringly at their every +movement. At such times they would dance and hop with great delight; and +the little hens, in a circle round them, watched their hops and steps +with absorbed interest. Immensely pleased with himself, the young dancer +would fluff out his feathers, so as to look as big as possible, and +after strutting about, would suddenly shoot out a leg and a wing, first +on one side and then on the other, then spring high into the air, and do +a sort of step dance when his feet touched the earth again. Endless were +the tricks he resorted to, to show off his feathers and dancing to the +best advantage; and the little hens watched it all with silent +intentness. + +In the meantime the frogs and crickets stopped to rest, and Dot could +hear the conversation of some of the old birds perched near her. A +little party of elderly hens were discussing the young birds who were +dancing at the bower. + +"I must say I don't admire that new step which is becoming so popular +amongst the young birds," said one elderly hen; and all her companions +rustled their feathers, closed their beaks tightly, and nodded their +heads in various ways. One said it was "rough," another that it was +"ungainly," and others that it was "unmannerly." + +"As for manners," said the first speaker, "the bower birds of this day +can't be said to have any!" and all her companions chorused, "No, +indeed!" + +[Illustration: THE BOWER BIRDS] + +"In my young day," continued the elderly hen, and all the group were +sighing, "Ah! in our young days!" when a young hen perched on a bough +above them, and interrupted pertly, "Dear me! can't you good birds find +anything more interesting to talk about than ancient history?" At this +the groups of gossips whispered angrily to one another "Minx!" "Hussy!" +"Wild Cat!" etc., and the rude young bird flew back to her companions. + +"What I object to most in young birds," said another elderly hen, +"is their appearance. Some of them do nothing all day but preen their +feathers. Look at the over-studied arrangements of their wing flights, +and the affected exactness of their tail feathers! One looks in vain for +sweetness and simplicity in the present-day young bower birds." + +"Even that is better than the newer fashion of scarcely preening the +feathers at all," observed yet another of the group. "Many of the young +birds take no pride in their feathers whatever, but devote all their +time to studying the habits of out-of-the-way insects." A chorus of +disapproval from all present supported this remark. "Studies that +interfere with a young hen's appearance should not be permitted," said +one bird. + +"What is the good of knowing all about insects, when we live on berries +and fruit?" asked another. + +"The sight of insects gives one the creeps!" said a third. + +"I am thankful to say all my little hens care for nothing beyond playing +at the Bower and preening their feathers," said an affectionate bower +bird mother, "They get a deal of attention paid to them." + +"No young Satin Bird would look at a learned little bower-hen," said the +bird who had first objected to untidy and studious young hens. "For my +part, I never allow a chick of mine even to mention insects, unless they +are well-known beetles!" + +Dot thought this chattering very stupid, so she went round a bush to +where the old fathers of the bower birds were perched. They were grave +old fellows, arrayed in their satin blue-black plumage, and she found +them all, more or less, in a grumbling humour. + +"Birds at our time of life should not have to attend parties," said +several, and Dot wondered why they came. "How are you, old neighbour?" +said one to another. "Terribly bored!" was the reply. "How long must we +stay, do you think?" asked another. "Oh! until these young fools have +finished amusing themselves," answered its friend. The only satin birds +who seemed to Dot to be interested in one another, were some engaged in +discussing the scarcity of berries and the wrongs done to bower birds +by White Humans destroying the wild fig and lillipilli trees. This +grievance, and the question as to what berries or figs agreed best with +each old bower bird's digestion, were the only topics discussed with any +animation. + +Dot soon tired of listening to the birds, and returned to the Kangaroo, +who asked her if she cared to stay any longer. The little girl said she +had seen and heard enough, and, judging by this one, she didn't care for +parties. + +"Neither do I," whispered the Kangaroo; "they make me feel tired; and, +somehow, they seem to remind one of everything one knows that's sad, in +spite of all the gaiety." + +"Is it gay?" enquired Dot, hesitating a little in her speech, for she +had felt rather dull and miserable. + +"Well, everyone says it's gay, and there is always a deal of noise, so I +suppose it is," answered the Kangaroo. + +"I'd rather be in your pouch, so let us go away," entreated Dot; and +they left the bower place without any of the birds noticing their +departure, for they were all busy gossiping, or discussing the great +berry or digestion questions. + +It was towards evening when they reached an open plain, and here they +met an Emu. As both Dot and the Kangaroo were thirsty, they asked the +Emu the way to a waterhole or tank. + +"I am going to a tank now," replied the Emu; "let us proceed together." + +"Do you think it will be safe to drink to-night"; enquired the Kangaroo +anxiously. + +"Well, to tell the truth," said the Emu lightly, "it is likely to be a +little difficult. There is a somewhat strained feeling between the White +Humans and ourselves just now. In consequence, we have to resort to a +little strategy on our visits to the tanks, and we avoid eating anything +tempting left about at camping places." + +"Are they laying poison for _you_?" asked the Kangaroo in horrified tones. + +"They are doing something of the kind, we think," answered the Emu +airily, "for some of us have had most unpleasant symptoms after picking +up morsels at camping grounds. Several have died. We were quite +surprised, for hitherto there has been no better cure for Emu +indigestion than wire nails, hoop iron, and preserved milk cans. The +worst symptoms have yielded to scraps of barbed wire in my own case. But +these Emus died in spite of all remedies." + +"But I heard," said the Kangaroo, "that Emus were protected by the +Government. I never understood why." + +"We are protected," said the huge bird, "because we form part of the +Australian Arms." + +"So do we," said the Kangaroo, "but we are not protected." + +"True," said the bird, "but the Humans can make some money out of you +when you are dead, whereas we serve no purpose at all, excepting alive, +when we add a charm to the scenery; and, moreover, each of our eggs will +make a pound cake. But the time will come, friend, when there will be +neither Emu nor Kangaroo for Australia's Arms; no creature will be left +to represent the land but the Bunny Rabbit and the Sheep." + +"I hate sheep!" said the Kangaroo, "they eat all our grass." + +"You have not studied them as we have," answered the Emu. "They are most +entertaining. We have great fun with them, and we've learnt some capital +sheep games from those dogs Humans drive them with. It's really exciting +to drive a big mob, when they want to break and scatter. We were chasing +them, here and there, all over the plain to-day." + +"I don't like sheep!" said Dot, "they are so stupid." + +"So they are," agreed the Emu, "and that is what puzzles me. What is it +about the sight of sheep that excites one so? When one gets into a big +flock, one has to dance, one can't help oneself. We had a great dance in +a flock to-day, and the lambs would get under our feet, so I'm sorry to +say a good many of them were killed." + +"Men will certainly kill you, if you do that," said Dot. + +"We know it," chuckled the Emu; "that is why the tank is not quite safe +just now. But this evening I will show you a new plan by which to learn +if Humans are camped at a tank, or not. We have played the trick with +great success for several nights." + +Conversing thus, the Emu, the Kangaroo, and Dot wandered on until the +Emu requested them to wait for a few minutes, whilst it peeped at the +tank, which was still a long way off. + +It presently returned and said that it felt quite suspicious, because +everything looked so clear and safe. "From this point of high ground," +said the bird, "you can watch our proceedings. I will now give the +signal and return to my post here." + +The Emu then ran at a great pace along the edge of the plain, and +emitted a strange rattling cry. After disappearing from sight for a +time, it returned hurriedly to where Dot and her friend were waiting. + +"Now, see!" said the Emu, nodding at the distant side of the plain. + +Dot's eyes were not so keen of sight as those of an Emu; but she thought +she could see something like a little cloud of dust, far, far away +across the dry brown grass of the plain. Soon she was quite sure that +the little cloud was advancing towards her side of the plain, and in the +direction of the tank. As it came nearer she could see the bobbing heads +of Emus, popping up above the dust, and she could see some of the birds +running round the little cloud. + +"What is the cause of all that dust?" she asked the Emu. + +"Sheep!" it answered with a merry chuckle. + +"But what are the Emus doing with the sheep?" asked Dot and the +Kangaroo, now fully interested in the Emu's manoeuvre. + +"They are driving them to water at the tank," said the bird, highly +delighted with the scheme. "The sheep will soon know that they are near +water, and will go to it without driving. Then we shall watch, and if +they quietly drink and scatter, it will be safe for us, but if they see +anything unusual and break, and run--well, we shan't drink at the tank +to-night. There will be Humans and dogs there, and we don't cultivate +their society just now." + +"Really that is the cleverest thing I have heard for a long time," said +the Kangaroo, full of admiration for the trick. "How did you jump to +that conclusion?" + +"The idea sprang upon us," answered the Emu, with an immense hop in the +air, and a dancing movement when it came to the ground again. "Dear me!" +it exclaimed, "the sight of those sheep is beginning to excite me, and I +can hardly keep still! I wonder what there is so exciting about sheep!" + +Dot could now see the advancing flock of sheep, with their attendant mob +of Emu, quite well. The animals had got scent of the water, and with +contented bleatings were slowly moving with a rippling effect across the +dusty plain. The mob of Emu soon left the sheep to go their own way, +and, grouped in a cluster, watched, with bobbing heads, every movement +of the flock. + +Dot, the Kangaroo, and the Emu looked towards the tank with silent +interest. "I'm stationed here," whispered the bird, "to give a warning +in case there is any danger in this direction. Emus are posted all round +the tank on the same duty." + +Dot could see the whole scene well, for beyond a few low shrubs on the +opposite side of the sheet of water, there was no sheltering bush near +the great tank which had been excavated on the bare plain. + +[Illustration: THE EMUS HUNTING THE SHEEP] + +Onward came the sheep, and quite stationary in the distance remained the +Emu mob. Just as the first sheep were descending the deep slope of the +tank, a Plover rose from amongst the bushes with a shrill cry. The Emu +started at the sound, and whispered to the Kangaroo, "There'll be no +drink to-night: watch!" + +The cry of the Plover seemed to arrest the advance of the timid sheep: +they waited in a closely-packed flock, looking around. But presently the +old leader gave a deep bleat, and they moved forward towards the water. +"Shriek! Shriek!" cried the Plover from the bushes, screaming as they +rose and flew away; and suddenly the flock of sheep broke and hurried +back to the open plain. At the same instant Dot could hear the sharp +barking of a sheep dog, a noise that produced an instant effect on the +creatures she was with. With lightning speed the Kangaroo had popped her +into her pouch and was hopping away, and the Emu was striding with its +long legs as fast as it could for the cover of the Bush. + +Just as they entered the Bush shelter, Dot peeped out of the pouch, +across the plain, and could see the mob of Emu in a cloud of dust, +running, and almost out of sight. + +When they had reached a place of safety, the friendly Emu bid the +Kangaroo and Dot good-night. "We shall have to go thirsty to-night," it +said, "but there will be a heavy dew, and the grass will be wet enough +to cool one's mouth. That pretty trick of ours was such a success that +it is almost worth one's while to lose one's drink in proving it." +Turning to Dot it said, "You will be able to tell the big Humans that we +Emus are not such fools as they think, and that we find their flocks of +silly sheep most useful and entertaining animals." + +Chuckling to itself, the Emu strode off, leaving Dot and the Kangaroo to +pass another night in the solitude of the Bush. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + + +The next day they travelled a long distance. At about noon they came to +a part of the country which the Kangaroo said she knew well. "But we +must be careful," she added, "as we are very near Humans in this part." + +As Dot was tired (for she had had to walk much more than usual) the +Kangaroo suggested that she should rest at the pretty spot they had +reached, whilst she herself went in search of Willy Wagtail. Dot had to +promise the Kangaroo over and over again, not to leave the spot during +her absence. She was afraid lest the little girl should get lost, like +the little Joey. + +After many farewells, and much hopping back to give Dot warnings and +make promises of returning soon, the Kangaroo went in search of Willy +Wagtail; and the little girl was left all alone. + +Dot looked for a nice shady nook, in which to lie down and rest; and she +found the place so cheerful and pretty, that she was not afraid of being +alone. She was in the hollow of an old watercourse. It was rather like +an English forest glade, it was so open and grassy; and here and there +were pretty shrubs, and little hillocks and hollows. At first Dot +thought that she would sit on the branch of a huge tree that had but +recently fallen, and lay forlornly clothed in withered leaves; but +opposite to this dead giant of the Bush was a thick shrub with a decayed +tree stump beside it, that made a nice sheltered corner which she liked +better. So Dot laid herself down there, and in a few minutes she was +fast asleep; though, as she dropped off into the land of dreams, she +thought how wonderfully quiet that little glade was, and felt somewhat +surprised to find no Bush creatures to keep her company. + +Some time before Dot woke, her dreams became confused and strange. There +seemed to be great crowds in them, and the murmur of many voices talking +together. As she gradually awakened, she realized that the voices were +real, and not a part of her dreams. There was a great hubbub, a +fluttering of wings, and rustling of leaves and grass. Through all this +confusion, odd sentences became clear to her drowsy senses. Such phrases +as, "You'd better perch here!" "This isn't your place!" "Go over there!" +"No! no! I'm sure I'm right! the Welcome Swallow says so." "Has anyone +gone for the Opossum?" "He says the Court ought to be held at night!" +"Don't make such a noise or you will wake the prisoner;" "Who is to be +the Judge?" This last enquiry provoked such a noise of diverse opinions, +that Dot became fully awake, and sitting up, gazed around with eyes full +of astonishment. + +When she had fallen asleep there had not been a creature near her; +but now she was literally hemmed in on every side by birds and small +animals. The branches of the fallen tree were covered with a feathered +company, and in the open space between it and Dot's nook, was a +constantly increasing crowd of larger birds, such as cranes, plover, +duck, turkey-buzzards, black swan, and amongst them a great grave +Pelican. The animals were few, and apparently came late. There was a +little timid Wallaby, a Bandicoot, some Kangaroo Rats, a shy Wombat who +grumbled about the daylight, as also did a Native Bear and an Opossum, +who were really driven to the gathering by a bevy of screaming parrots. + +Dot was wide awake at once with delight. Nearly every creature she had +ever heard of seemed to be present, and the brilliant colours of the +parrots and parrakeets made the scene as gay as a rainbow in a summer +noonday sky. + +"Oh! you darlings!" she said, "how good of you all to come and see me!" + +This greeting from Dot caused an instant silence amongst the creatures, +and she could not help seeing that they looked very uncomfortable. There +was soon a faint whispering from bird to bird, which rose higher and +higher, until Dot made out that they were all saying, "She ought to be +told!" "You tell her!" "No, you tell her yourself, it's not my +business!" and every bird--for it was the birds who by reason of their +larger numbers took the lead in the proceedings--seemed to be trying to +shift an unpleasant task upon its neighbours. + +Presently the solemn Pelican waddled forward and stood before Dot, +saying to the assemblage, "I will explain our presence." Addressing the +little girl it said, "We are here to place you on trial for the wrongs +we Bush creatures have suffered from the cruelties of White Humans. You +will meet with all fairness in your trial, as the proceedings will be +conducted according to the custom of your own Courts of Justice. The +Welcome Swallow, having built its nest for three successive seasons +under the eaves of the Gabblebabble Court House, is deeply learned in +human law business, and will instruct us how to proceed. Your conviction +will, therefore, leave you no room for complaint so far as your trial is +concerned." + +All the birds clapped their wings in applause at the conclusion of this +speech, and the Pelican was told by the Welcome Swallow that he should +plead as Prosecutor. + +"What do you mean by 'Plead as Prosecutor?'" asked the Pelican gravely. + +"You've got to get the prisoner convicted as guilty, whether she is so +or not," answered the Swallow, making a dart at a mosquito, which it ate +with relish. + +"Oh!" said the Pelican, doubtfully; and all the creatures looked at one +another as if they didn't quite understand the justice of the +arrangement. + +"But," said the Pelican, hesitating a little, "suppose I don't think the +prisoner guilty? She seems very small, and harmless." + +"That doesn't matter at all, you've got to get her made out as guilty by +the jury. It's good human law," snapped the Swallow, and all the +creatures said "_Oh!_" "Now for the defence," said the Swallow briskly; +"there ought to be someone for that. Who is friendly with the King?" + +"Who's the King?" asked all the creatures breathlessly. + +"He's a bigger Human than the rest, and everybody's business is his +business, so he's always going to law." + +"I know," said the Magpie, and she piped out six bars of "God save the +King." + +"You are the one for the defence!" said the Swallow, quite delighted, as +were all the other creatures, at the Magpie's accomplishment; "you must +save the prisoner from the jury finding her guilty." + +"But," objected the Magpie, "how can I? when only last fruit season my +brother, and two sisters, and six cousins were shot just because they +ate a few grapes." + +"That doesn't matter! you've got to get her off, I tell you!" said the +Swallow, irritably; "go over there, and ask her what you are to say." So +the Magpie flew over to Dot's side, and she at once began to teach it +the rest of "God save the King." + +"I like this game," Dot presently said to the Magpie. + +"Do you?" said the Magpie with surprise; "It seems to me very slow, and +there's no sense in it." + +"Why are the birds all perching together over there?" asked Dot, +pointing to a branch of the dead tree, "since they all hate one another +and want to get away. The Galahs have pecked the Butcher Bird twice in +five minutes, the Peeweet keeps quarrelling with the Soldier Bird, and +none of them can bear the English Sparrow." + +[Illustration: THE COURT OF ANIMALS] + +"The Swallow says that's the jury," answered the Magpie. "Their business +is to do just what they like with you when all the talking is done, and +whether they find you guilty or not, will depend on if they are tired, +or hungry, and feel cross; or if the trial lasts only a short time, and +they are pleased with the grubs that will be brought them presently." + +"How funny," said Dot, not a bit alarmed at all these preparations for +her trial, for she loved all the creatures so much, that she could not +think that any of them wished to hurt her. + +"If this is human law," said the Magpie, "it isn't funny at all; it is +mad, or wicked. Fancy my having to defend a Human!" + +At this point of their conversation, the ill-feeling amongst the jury +broke out into open fighting, because the English Sparrow was a +foreigner, and they said that it would certainly sympathize with the +Humans who had brought it to Australia. This was just an excuse to get +rid of it. The Sparrow said that it wanted to go out of the jury, and +had never wished to belong to it, and flew away joyfully. Then all the +rest of the jury grumbled at the good luck of the Sparrow in getting out +of the trial--for they could see it picking up grass seed and enjoying +itself greatly, whilst they were all crowded together on one branch, and +were feeling hungry before the trial had even begun. + +There was great suspense and quiet while the Judge was being chosen. +Although Dot had eaten the berries of understanding, it was generally +considered that, to be quite fair, the Judge must be able to understand +human talk; and, amidst much clapping of wings, a large white Cockatoo +was appointed. + +The Cockatoo lost no time in clambering "into position" on the stump +near Dot. "You're quite sure you understand human talk?" Said the little +Wallaby to the Cockatoo. It was the first remark he had made, for he had +been quite bewildered by all the noise and fuss. + +"My word! yes," replied the Cockatoo, who had been taught in a public +refreshment room. Then, thinking that he would give a display of his +learning, he elevated his sulphur crest and gabbled off, "Go to Jericho! +Twenty to one on the favourite! I'm your man! Now then, ma'am; hurry up, +don't keep the coach waiting! Give 'um their 'eds, Bill! So long! +Ta-ra-ra, boom-di-ay! God save the King!" + +All the creatures present looked gravely at Dot, to see what effect this +harangue in her own language would have upon her, and were somewhat +surprised to see her holding her little sides, and rolling about with +laughter. + +The Cockatoo was quite annoyed at Dot's amusement. He fluffed out all +his feathers, and let off a scream that could have been heard a quarter +of a mile away. This seemed to impress every one with his importance, +and the whole Court became attentive to the proceedings. + +At this moment the Swallow skimmed overhead, and having caught the words +"God save the King," called out, "That's the way to do it! keep that +up!" and the Cockatoo, thinking that the Swallow meant him to scream +still more, set up another yell, which he continued until everyone felt +deafened by the noise. + +"We have chosen quite the right Judge," said an elegant blue crane to a +wild duck; "he will make himself heard and respected." Whereat the +Cockatoo winked at the Crane, and said, "You bet I will!" + +The Pelican now advanced to the space before the stump, and there was a +murmur of excitement, because it was about to open the trial by a +recital of wrongs done to the Bush creatures by white humanity. + +Dot could not realize that she was being tried seriously, and was +delighted that the Pelican had come nearer to her stump, so that she had +a better view of him. She thought him such an old, odd-looking bird, +with his big bald head, and gigantic beak. She could not help thinking +that his beak must be too heavy for him, and asked if he would like to +rest it on the stump. The Pelican did not understand Dot's kindness, and +gave her a look of offended dignity that was quite withering; so Dot did +not speak to him again; but she longed to feel if the bag of skin that +drooped under his beak had anything in it. The Pelican's legs seemed to +Dot to be too frail and short to bear such a big bird, not to mention +the immense beak; and, when the creature stood on one leg only, she +laughed; whereat the Pelican gave her another offended look, which +effectually prevented their becoming friends. + +The Pelican was beginning to open his beak to speak (and, being such a +large beak, opening it took some time), when the Welcome Swallow fussed +into court, and said that "nothing could be done until they had some +horsehair!" + +[Illustration: THE COCKATOO JUDGE] + +This interruption, and the Swallow's repeated assurance that no human +trial of importance could take place without horsehair, set all the +creatures chattering with astonishment and questions. Some said the +Swallow was joking; others said that it was making senseless delays, and +that night would fall before they could bring the prisoner to justice. +There was much grumbling on all sides, and complaints of hunger, and the +jury began to clamour for the grubs that they had been promised, at +which the Magpie whispered to Dot that she certainly would be found +guilty. The fact was now quite clear to the jury before the trial began. + +But the Swallow persisted that they must have horsehair. + +"What for?" asked everyone, sulkily. + +"Don't you see for yourselves," squeaked the Swallow, excitedly; "the +Judge looks like a Cockatoo." + +"Well, of course he does," said all the creatures. "He is a Cockatoo, so +he looks like one!" + +"Yes," cried the Swallow, "but you must stick horse hairs on his head. +Human justice must be done with horsehair. The prisoner won't believe +the Cockatoo is a judge without. Good Gracious!" exclaimed the Swallow, +"just look! The prisoner is scratching the Judge's poll! We really +_must_ have horsehair!" + +Dot, seeing the Swallow's indignation, drew away from the stump, and the +Cockatoo tried to look as if he had never seen her before, and as if the +idea of having his poll scratched by the prisoner was one that could +never have entered his head. + +"But if we do put horsehair on the Cockatoo's head," argued the +creatures, "what will it do?" + +"It will impress the prisoner," said the Swallow. + +"How?" they all asked curiously. + +"Because the Cockatoo won't look like a Cockatoo," replied the Swallow, +with exasperation. + +"Then what will he look like?" asked every creature in breathless +excitement. + +"He won't look like any creature that ever lived," retorted the Swallow. + +Perfect silence followed this explanation, for every bird and animal was +trying to understand human sense and reason. Then the smallest Kangaroo +Rat broke the stillness. + +"If," said the Kangaroo Rat, "only a little horsehair can do that, +surely the prisoner can imagine the Judge isn't a Cockatoo, without our +having to wait for the horsehair. Let's get on with the trial." + +This idea was received with applause, and the Swallow flew off in a +huff; whilst the Kookooburra, on a tree near the Court, softly laughed +to himself. + +Once more the Pelican took up his position to open the trial. The +Cockatoo puffed himself out as big as he could, fluffed out his cheek +feathers, and half closed his eyes. His solemnly attentive attitude won +the admiration of all the Court, and the absence of horsehair was not +felt by anyone. The Welcome Swallow, having got over its ill temper, +returned to help the proceedings; and the jury all put their heads under +their wings and went to sleep. + +"Fire away!" screamed the Cockatoo, and the trial began. + +"My duty is a most painful one," said the Pelican; "for" ("whereas," +said the Swallow) "the prisoner known" ("named and described," added the +Swallow), "as Dot is now before you," ("to be tried, heard, determined +and adjudged," gabbled the Swallow) "on a charge of cruelty" ("and +feloniously killing and slaying," prompted the Swallow) "to birds and +animals," ("the term not applying to horse, mare, pony, bull, ox, dog, +cat, heifer, steer, calf, mule, ass, sheep, lamb, hog, pig, sow, goat, +or other domestic animal," interposed in one breath the Swallow, quoting +the Cruelty to Animals Act) "she is" ("hereby," put in the Swallow) +"brought to trial on" ("divers," whispered the Swallow) "charges," +("hereinafter," said the Swallow) "to be named and described by the" +("aforesaid," interjected the Swallow) "birds and animals," +("hereinbefore mentioned," stated the Swallow) "the said animals being +denizens of the Bush" ("and in no wise relating to horse, mare, pony, +bull, ox,"--began the Swallow again, when the Cockatoo raised his crest, +and screamed out "STOP THAT, I TELL YOU!" and the Pelican continued +stating the charge.) "Bush law" ("enacts," said the Swallow) "that" +("whereas," prompted the Swallow) "all individual rights" ("whatsoever," +put in the Swallow) "shall be according to the statute Victoria--" + +"Victoria! Twenty to one against the field," shouted the Judge. + +"Between you two," said the Pelican, looking angrily at the Swallow and +the Cockatoo, "I've forgotten everything I was going to say! I shan't go +on!" + +"Never mind," said the Swallow cheerfully, "you've said quite enough, +and no one has understood a word of the charge, so it's all right. Now +then for the witnesses." + +As the Swallow spoke, there was a great disturbance amongst the +creatures. The swan, ducks, cranes, and waterfowl, besides honeysuckers, +and many other birds, were all fanning the air with their wings, and +crying, "Turn him out!" "Disgusting!" "I never heard of such a thing in +my life! the smell of it always gives me a headache!" and there was such +a noise that the jury all woke up, and Dot covered her ears with her +hands. The Cockatoo, seeing Dot's distress at the screams and hubbub, +and thinking that she wanted to say something, but could not make +herself heard in the general riot, decided to speak for her; so he +screamed louder than all the rest, and shouted, "Apples, oranges, pears, +lemonade, cigarettes, _and_ cigars! I say! what's the row?" + +[Illustration: THE PELICAN OPENS THE CASE] + +When quiet was restored, it was explained that the Opossum had brought +into Court a pouch full of gum leaves, which it was eating. It had also +given some to the Native Bear, and Wallaby, and in consequence the whole +air was laden with the odour of eucalyptus. + +"Oh, dear!" said Dot, "it smells just like when I have a cold!" + +"Eating eucalyptus leaves in Court is contempt of Court," cried the +Swallow; and everyone echoed, "Contempt of Court! contempt of Court! +Turn them out!" + +"But they are witnesses," objected the Pelican. + +"That doesn't matter!" shouted the Waterfowl, "it's a disgusting smell! +Turn them out!" + +"Hurrah!" shouted the Wallaby, as it leaped off. "What luck!" laughed +the Opossum, as it cleared into the nearest tree. "I am glad," sighed +the Koala, as it slowly moved away; "that trial made my head feel +empty." + +"Well, there go three of the most important witnesses," grumbled the +Pelican. + +"My eye! what a spree!" said the Judge. + +A Galah amongst the Jury, wishing to be thought intelligent, enquired +what charge the Wallaby, Native Bear, and Opossum were to bear witness +to. + +"It is a matter of skins, included in the fur rugs clause, and the +wickedness known as 'Sport,'" answered the Pelican. + +Whilst the Pelican was making this explanation, the Judge, who had been +longing to have his poll scratched again, sidled up to Dot, and +whispered softly to her, "Scratch Cockie!" But, just as he was enjoying +the delicious sensation Dot's fingers produced amongst his neck +feathers, as he held his head down, the Pelican caught sight of the +proceeding. The Pelican said nothing, but stared at the Judge with an +eye of such astonishment and stern contempt, that the Cockatoo instantly +remembered that he was a judge, and, getting into a proper attitude, +said hastily, "Advance Australia! who's the next witness?" And again the +Kookooburra laughed to himself on the tree. + +"Fur first!" exclaimed a white Ibis. "Call the Platypus!" + +"The Platypus won't come!" cried the Kangaroo Rat. + +"Well, I never!" exclaimed the Judge. + +"It says that if a Court is held at all, it should be conducted by the +representative of Antediluvian custom, the most ancient and learned +creatures, such as the Iguana, the Snake, and Ornithorhynchus Paradoxus. +That it would prefer to associate with the meanest Troglodite, rather +than appear amongst the present company. I understood it to say," +continued the Kangaroo Rat, "that real law could only be understood by +those deeply learned in fossils." + +"'Pon my word!" ejaculated the Judge. "Shiver my timbers! What blooming +impudence!" + +"Oh! you naughty bird to use such words!" exclaimed Dot. But all the +Court murmured "How clever!" and the Cockatoo was pleased. + +"Native Cat, next!" shouted the white Ibis. But at the first mention of +the Native Cat nearly every bird, and all the small game, prepared to +get away. + +"Why don't you call the Dingo at once?" laughed the Kookooburra, who was +really keeping guard over Dot, although she did not know it. "Humans +kill Dingoes." + +"The Dingo! the Dingo!" every creature repeated in horror and +consternation; and they all looked about in fear, while the Kookooburra +chuckled to himself at all the stir his words had made. + +"It's quite true that animals and birds kill one another," said the +Magpie, who thought he ought to say something in Dot's defence, as that +was his part in the trial, "therefore it is the same nature that makes +Humans kill us. If it is the nature of Humans to kill, the same as it is +the nature of birds and animals to kill, where is the sense and justice +of trying the prisoner for what she can't help doing?" + +"Good!" said the Welcome Swallow, "argued like a lawyer." + +At this unexpected turn of the trial the Judge softly whistled to +himself, "Pop goes the weasel." + +"Don't talk to us about nature and justice and sense," replied the +Pelican, contemptuously. "This is a Court of law, we have nothing to do +with any of them!" + +The Court all cheered at this reply, and the Magpie subsided in the +sulks. + +"Call the Kangaroo!" cried the white Ibis. + +"It's no good," jeered the Kookooburra. "Kangaroo and Dot are great +friends. She won't come if you called----" + +"'Till all's blue!" interrupted the Judge, and he went on with "Pop goes +the weasel." This news caused a buzz of excitement. Everyone was +astounded that the Kangaroo, who had the heaviest grievances of all, +wouldn't appear against the prisoner. + +"Is it possible," said the Pelican, addressing the Kookooburra in slow +stern accents, "Is it possible that the Kangaroo has forgiven all her +grievances?" + +"All," said the Kookooburra. + +"The hunting?" asked the Pelican. + +"Yes," answered the Kookooburra. + +"The rugs?" + +"Yes." + +"The boots?" + +"Yes." + +"And," said the Pelican, still more solemnly and slowly, while all the +Court listened in breathless attention, "and has she forgiven +_Kangaroo-tail soup_?" + +"Yes! she's forgiven that too," answered the Kookooburra cheerfully. + +"Then," said the Pelican, hotly, "I throw up the case," and he spread +his huge black wings, and flapped his way up into the sky and away. + +"What a go!" said the Judge; and he might have said more, only Dot could +not hear anything on account of the racket and confusion. The trial had +failed, and every creature was making all the noise it could, and +preparing to hurry away. In the middle of the turmoil, Dot's Kangaroo +bounded into the open space, panting with excitement and delight. + +"Dot! Dot!" she cried, "I've found Willy Wagtail, and he knows your way! +Come along at once!" And, putting Dot in her pouch, the Kangaroo leaped +clean over the Judge and carried her off! + + + + +CHAPTER XII + + +Although the Kangaroo was longing to hear the reason why so many Bush +creatures had collected round Dot whilst she was away, she was too +anxious to carry her to Willy Wagtail before nightfall to wait and +enquire what had happened. Dot, too, was so excited at hearing that her +way home had been found, that she could only think of the delight of +seeing her father and mother again. So the Kangaroo had hopped until she +was tired and needed rest, before they spoke. Then Dot described the +Trial, and made the Kangaroo laugh about the Cockatoo Judge, but she did +not say how it had all ended because the Kangaroo had forgiven Dot for +Humans making rugs of her fur, boots of her skin, and soup of her tail. +She was afraid of hurting her feelings by mentioning such delicate +subjects. The Kangaroo never noticed that anything was left out, because +she was bursting to relate her interview with Willy Wagtail. + +She told Dot how she had found Willy Wagtail near his old haunt; how +that gossiping little bird had told all the news of the Gabblebabble +town and district in ten minutes, and how he had said he believed he +knew Dot by sight, and that if such were the case he would show Dot and +the Kangaroo the way to the little girl's home. Then Dot and the +Kangaroo hurried on their way again, the little girl sometimes running +and walking to rest the kind animal, and sometimes being carried in that +soft cosy pouch that had been her cradle and carriage for all those +days. + +It was quite dusk by the time they arrived at a split-rail fence, and +heard a little bird singing, "Sweet pretty creature! sweet pretty +creature!" + +"That is Willy Wagtail making love," said the Kangaroo, with a humorous +twinkle in her quiet eyes. "Peep round the bush," she said to Dot, "and +you'll see them spooning." + +[Illustration: THE KANGAROO CARRIES DOT OUT OF COURT] + +Dot glanced through the branches, and saw two wagtails, who looked very +smart with their black coats and white waistcoats, sitting on two posts +of the fence a little way off. They were each pretending that their +long big tails were too heavy to balance them properly, and they seemed +to be always just saving themselves from toppling off their perch. +Occasionally Willy would dart into the air, to show what an expert in +flying he was; he would shoot straight upwards, turn a double somersault +backwards, and wing off in the direction one least expected. Afterwards +he would return to his post as calm and cool as if he had done nothing +surprising, and say "Pretty pretty Chip-pi-ti-chip!" that name meaning +the other wagtail. Then Chip-pi-ti-chip showed off _her_ flying, and +they both said to one another "Sweet pretty creature!" + +At the sound of Dot and the Kangaroo's approach "Chip-pi-ti-chip" hid +herself in a tree, and Willy Wagtail, not knowing who was disturbing +them, scolded angrily; but when he saw the Kangaroo and the little girl, +he gave them the most cordial greeting, and wobbled about on a rail as +if he must tumble off every second. + +"This is Dot," said the Kangaroo a little anxiously, and rather +breathless with the speed she had made. + +"Just as I had expected!" exclaimed Willy Wagtail, with a jerk of his +tail which nearly sent him headlong off the rail. "I should know you +anywhere, little Human, though you do look a bit different. You want +preening," he added. + +This last remark was in allusion to Dot's appearance, which certainly +was most untidy and dirty, for, beyond an occasional lick from the +Kangaroo, she had been five days without being tidied and cleaned. + +"I couldn't do it better," said the Kangaroo apologetically. + +"It doesn't matter at all," said Dot, putting her tangled curls back +from her eyes. + +"Well! I know where you live," gabbled off the Wagtail. "It's the second +big paddock from here, if you follow the belt of the sheoak trees over +there. It's a house just like those things in Gabblebabble township. +There's a yellow sheep dog, who's very good tempered, and a black one +that made a snap at my tail the other day. There is an old grey cart +horse, an honest fellow, but rather dull; and a bay mare who is much +better company. There is a little red cow who is a great friend of mine, +and she had a calf a few days before you were lost. Dear me!" exclaimed +the gossiping bird, "what a fuss there has been these five days over +trying to find you! I've been over there every day to see the sight. +Such a lot of Humans! and such horses. I enjoyed myself immensely, and +made a lot of friends amongst the horses, but I didn't care so much for +the dogs; I thought them a nasty quarrelsome lot. + +"I went with the whole turnout to see the search. Goodness! the +distances they went, and the noise and the big fires they made, it _was_ +exciting fun! They brought over some black Humans--'Trackers' is what +they are called, at least the Mounted Troopers' horses told me so (my +word! the Troopers' horses are jolly fellows!) Well, these black +trackers went in front of each party just like dogs, with their heads +to the ground, and they turned over every leaf and twig, and said if +a Human, a horse or a kangaroo had broken it or been that way. They +found your track fast enough, but one evening it came to an end quite +suddenly, and weren't they all surprised! I heard from a Trooper's +horse--(such a nice horse he was!)--that the trackers and white Humans +said it was just as if you had disappeared into the sky! There was just +a bit of your fur on a bush, and nothing anywhere else but a Kangaroo's +trail. No one could make it out." + +"That was when I took you in my pouch!" exclaimed the Kangaroo. + +"Now," said the Wagtail, "most of them have given up the search. Just +this evening Dot's father and a few other Humans came back, and the +yellow sheep dog told me the last big party is to start at noon +to-morrow, and after that there will be no more attempt to find Dot. +Only the sheep dog said he heard his master say he would go on hunting +alone, until he found her body. I haven't been over there to-day," wound +up the bird, "they are all so miserable and tired, it gave me the blues +yesterday." + +"What are we to do? It is quite dark and late!" asked the Kangaroo. + +"You had better stay here," counselled the Wagtail. "One night more or +less doesn't matter, and I don't like leaving Chip-pi-ti-chip at +night-time. She likes me to sing to her all night, because she is +nervous. I will go with you to-morrow morning early, if you will wait +here until then." + +"Having found your lost way so far!" said the Kangaroo to Dot, "it would +be a pity to risk losing it again, so we had better wait for Willy +Wagtail to guide us to-morrow." + +To tell the truth, the Kangaroo was very glad of the excuse to keep Dot +one night more before parting from her. "It will seem like losing my +little Joey again, when I am once more alone," she said sadly. + +"But you will never go far away," said Dot. "I should cry, if I thought +you would never come to see me. You will live on our selection, won't +you?" + +But the Kangaroo looked very doubtful, and said that she loved Dot, but +she was afraid of Humans and their dogs. + +[Illustration: DOT'S FATHER ABOUT TO SHOOT THE KANGAROO] + +After a supper of berries and grass, Dot and the Kangaroo lay down for +the night in a little bower of bushes. But they talked until very late, +of how they were to manage to reach Dot's home without danger from guns +and dogs. At last, when they tried to sleep, they could not do so on +account of Willy Wagtail's singing to his sweetheart, "Sweet pretty +creature! Sweet pretty creature!" without stopping, for more than five +minutes at a time. + +"I wonder Chip-pi-ti-chip doesn't get tired of that song," said Dot. + +"She never does," yawned the Kangaroo, "and he never tires of singing it." + +"Sweet pretty creature," sang Willy Wagtail. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + + +Two men were walking near a cottage in the winter sunlight of the early +morning. There came to the door a young woman, who looked pale and +tired. She carried a bowl of milk to a little calf, and on her way back +to the cottage she paused, and shading her eyes, that were red with +weeping, lingered awhile, looking far and near. Then, with a sigh, she +returned indoors and worked restlessly at her household duties. + +"It breaks my heart to see my wife do that," said the taller man, who +carried a gun. "All day long she comes out and looks for the child. One +knows, now, that the poor little one can never come back to us," and as +the big man spoke there was a queer choking in his voice. + +The younger man did not speak, but he patted his friend's shoulder in a +kindly manner, which showed that he too was very sorry. + +"Even you have lost heart, Jack," said the big bushman, "but we shall +find her yet; the wife shall have that comfort." + +"You'll never do it now," said the young fellow with a mournful shake of +the head. "There is not an inch of ground that so young a child could +reach that we have not searched. The mystery is, what could have become +of her?" + +"That's what beats me," said the tall man, who was Dot's father. "I +think of it all day and all night. There is the track of the dear little +mite as clear as possible for five miles, as far as the dry creek. The +trackers say she rested her poor weary legs by sitting under the +blackbutt tree. At that point she vanishes completely. The blacks say +there isn't a trace of man, or beast, beyond that place excepting the +trail of a big kangaroo. As you say, it's a mystery!" + +As the men walked towards the bush, close to the place where Dot had run +after the hare the day she was lost, neither of them noticed the fuss +and scolding made by a Willy Wagtail; although the little bird seemed +likely to die of excitement. + +Willy Wagtail was really saying, "Dot and her Kangaroo are coming this +way. Whatever you do, don't shoot them with that gun." + +Presently the young man, Jack, noticed the little bird. "What friendly +little chaps those wagtails are," he said, "and see how tame and +fearless this one is. Upon my word, he nearly flew in your face that +time!" + +[Illustration: DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO] + +Dot's father did not notice the remark, for he had stopped suddenly, and +was peering into the bush whilst he quietly shifted his gun into +position, ready to raise it and fire. + +"By Jove!" he said, "I saw the head of a Kangaroo a moment ago behind +that iron-bark. Fancy it's coming so near the house. Next time it shows, +I'll get a shot at it." + +Both men waited for the moment when the Kangaroo should be seen again. + +The next instant the Kangaroo bounded out of the Bush into the open +paddock. Swift as lightning up went the cruel gun, but, as it exploded +with a terrible report, the man, Jack, struck it upwards, and the fatal +bullet lodged in the branch of a tall gum tree. + +"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at the Kangaroo. + +"Dot!" cried her father, dropping his gun, and stumbling blindly forward +with outstretched arms, towards his little girl, who had just tumbled +out of the Kangaroo's pouch in her hurry to reach her father. + +"Hoo! hoo! ho! ho! he! he! ha! ha! ha! ha!" laughed a Kookooburra on a +tree, as he saw Dot clasped in her father's great strong arms, and the +little face hidden in his big brown beard. + +"Wife! wife!" shouted Dot's father, "Dot's come back! Dot's come back!" + +"Dot's here!" yelled the young man, as he ran like mad to the house. And +all the time the good Kangaroo sat up on her haunches, still panting +with fear from the sound of the gun, and a little afraid to stay, yet so +interested in all the excitement and delight, that she couldn't make up +her mind to hop away. + +"Dadda," said Dot, "You nearly killed Dot and her Kangaroo! Oh! if you'd +killed my Kangaroo, I'd never have been happy any more!" + +"But I don't understand," said her father. "How did you come to be in +the Kangaroo's pouch?" + +"Oh! I've got lots and lots to tell you!" said Dot; "but come and stroke +dear Kangaroo, who saved little Dot and brought her home." + +"That I will!" said Dot's father, "and never more will I hurt a +Kangaroo!" + +"Nor any of the Bush creatures," said Dot. "Promise, Dadda!" + +"I promise," said the big man, in a queer-sounding voice, as he kissed +Dot over and over again, and walked towards the frightened animal. + +Dot wriggled down from her father's arms, and said to the Kangaroo, +"It's all right; no one's ever going to be shot or hurt here again!" and +the Kangaroo looked delighted at the good news. + +"Dadda," said Dot, holding her father's hand, and, with her disengaged +hand touching the Kangaroo's little paw. "This is my own dear Kangaroo." +Dot's father, not knowing quite how to show his gratitude, stroked the +Kangaroo's head, and said "How do you do?" which, when he came to think +of it afterwards, seemed rather a foolish thing to say. But he wasn't +used, like Dot, to talking to Bush creatures, and had not eaten the +berries of understanding. + +The Kangaroo saw that Dot's father was grateful, and so she was pleased, +but she did not like to be stroked by a man who let off guns, so she was +glad that Dot's mother had run to where they were standing, and was +hugging and kissing the little girl, and crying all the time; for then +Dot's father turned and watched his wife and child, and kept doing +something to his eyes with a handkerchief, so that there was no +attention to spare for Kangaroos. + +The good Kangaroo, seeing how happy these people were, and knowing that +her life was quite safe, wanted to peep about Dot's home and see what it +was like--for kangaroos can't help being curious. So presently she +quietly hopped off towards the cottage, and then a very strange thing +happened. Just as the Kangaroo was wondering what the great iron tank by +the kitchen door was meant for, there popped out of the open door a joey +Kangaroo. Now, to human beings, all joey Kangaroos look alike, but +amongst Kangaroos there are no two the same, and Dot's Kangaroo at once +recognised in the little Joey her own baby Kangaroo. The Joey knew its +mother directly, and, whilst Dot's Kangaroo was too astonished to move, +and not being able to think, was trying to get at a conclusion why her +Joey was coming out of a cottage, the little Kangaroo, with a +hop-skip-and-a-jump, had landed itself comfortably in the nice pouch Dot +had just vacated. + +Then Dot's mother, rejoicing over the safe return of her little girl, +was not more happy than the Kangaroo with her Joey once more in her +pouch. With big bounds she leapt towards Dot, and the little girl +suddenly looking round for her Kangaroo friend, clapped her hands with +delight as she saw a little grey nose, a pair of tiny black paws, and +the point of a little black tail, hanging out of the pouch that had +carried her so often. + +"Why!" exclaimed Dot's mother, "if she hasn't got the little Joey, Jack +brought me yesterday! He picked it up after a Kangaroo hunt some time +ago." + +"It's her Joey; her lost Joey!" cried Dot, running to the Kangaroo. "Oh! +dear Kangaroo, I am so glad!" she said, "for now we are all happy; as +happy as can be!" Dot hugged her Kangaroo, and kissed the little Joey, +and they all three talked together, so that none of them understood what +the others were saying, only that they were all much pleased and +delighted. + +"Wife," said Dot's father, "I'll tell you what's mighty queer, our +little girl is talking away to those animals, and they're all +understanding one another, as if it was the most natural thing in the +world to treat Kangaroos as if they were human beings!" + +"I expect," said his wife, "that their feelings are not much different +from ours. See how that poor animal is rejoicing in getting back its +little one, just as we are over having our little Dot again." + +"To think of all the poor things I have killed," said Dot's father +sadly; "I'll never do it again." + +"No," said his wife, "we must try and get everyone to be kind to the +bush creatures, and protect them all we can." + +This book would never come to an end if it told all that passed that +day. How Dot explained the wonderful power of the berries of +understanding, and how she told the kangaroos all that her parents +wanted her to say on their behalf, and what kind things the Kangaroo +said in return. + +All day long the Kangaroo stayed near Dot's home, and the little girl +persuaded her to eat bread, which she said was "most delicious, but one +would get tired of it sooner than of grass." + +Every effort was made by Dot and her parents to get the Kangaroo to live +on their selection, so that they might protect her from harm. But she +said that she liked her own free life best, only she would never go far +away and would come often to see Dot. At sunset she said good-bye to +Dot, a little sadly, and the child stood in the rosy light of the +afterglow, waving her hand, as she saw her kind animal friend hop away +and disappear into the dark shadow of the Bush. + +She wandered about for some time listening to the voices of birds and +creatures, who came to tell her how glad everyone was that her way had +been found, and that no harm was to befall them in future. The news of +her safe return, and of the Kangaroo's finding her Joey, had been spread +far and near, by Willy Wagtail and the Kookooburra; and she could hear +the shouts of laughter from kookooburras telling the story until nearly +dark. + +Quite late at night she was visited by the Opossum, the Native Bear, +and the Nightjar, who entered by the open window, and, sitting in the +moonlight, conversed about the day's events. They said that their whole +rest and sleep had been disturbed by the noise and excitement of the day +creatures spreading the news through the Bush. The Mo-poke wished to +sing a sad song because Dot was feeling happy, but the Opossum warned it +that it was sitting in a draught on the window sill and might spoil its +beautiful voice, so it flew away and only sang in the distance. The +Native Bear said that the story of Dot's return and the finding of +Kangaroo's Joey was so strange that it made its head feel quite empty. +The Opossum inspected everything in Dot's room, and tried to fight +itself in the looking-glass. It then got the Koala to look into the +mirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head if +it did. When the Koala had taken a timid peep at itself, the Opossum +said that the Koala now had an idea of how stupid it looked, and the +little bear went off to get used to having an idea in its head. The +Opossum was so pleased with its spiteful joke that it hastily said good +night, and hurried away to tell it to the other 'possums. + +Gradually the voices of the creatures outside became more and more faint +and indistinct; and then Dot slept in the grey light of the dawn. + +When she went out in the morning, the kookooburras were gurgling and +laughing, the magpies were warbling, the parrakeets made their +twittering, and Willy Wagtail was most lively; but Dot was astonished to +find that she could not understand what any of the creatures said, +although they were all very friendly towards her. When the Kangaroo came +to see her she made signs that she wanted some berries of understanding, +but, strange as it may seem, the Kangaroo pretended not to understand. +Dot has often wondered why the Kangaroo would not understand, but, +remembering what that considerate animal had said when she first gave +her the berries, she is inclined to think that the Kangaroo is afraid of +her learning too much, and thereby getting indigestion. Dot and her +parents have often sought for the berries, but up to now they have +failed to find them. There is something very mysterious about those +berries! + +During that day every creature Dot had known in the Bush came to see +her, for they all knew that their lives were safe now, so they were not +afraid. It greatly surprised Dot's parents to see such numbers of birds +and animals coming around their little girl, and they thought it very +pretty when in the evening a flock of Native Companions settled down, +and danced their graceful dance with the little girl joining in the +game. + +"It seems to me, wife," said Dot's father with a glad laugh, "that the +place has become a regular menagerie!" + +[Illustration: BY THE LAKE (EVENING)] + +Later on, Dot's father made a dam on a hollow piece of ground near the +house, which soon became full of water, and is surrounded by beautiful +willow trees. There all the thirsty creatures come to drink in safety. +And very pretty it is, to sit on the verandah of that happy home, and +see Dot playing near the water surrounded by her Bush friends, who come +and go as they please, and play with the little girl beside the pretty +lake. And no one in all the Gabblebabble district hurts a bush creature, +because they are all called "Dot's friends." + + * * * * * + + + + +FINALE. + + +Before putting away the pen and closing the inkstand, now that Dot has +said all she wishes to be recorded of her bewildering adventures, the +writer would like to warn little people, that the best thing to do when +one is lost in the bush, is to sit still in one place, and not to try to +find one's way home at all. If Dot had done this, and had not gone off +in the Kangaroo's pouch, she would have been found almost directly. As +the more one tries to find one's way home, the more one gets lost, and +as helpful Kangaroos like Dot's are very scarce, the best way to get +found quickly, is to wait in one place until the search parties find +one. Don't forget this advice! And don't eat any strange berries in the +bush, unless a Kangaroo brings them to you. + + * * * * * + + + + +W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, Sydney, Australia + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration] + + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +_Australian Publications._ + + +POEMS OF HENRY KENDALL. Enlarged edition, with biographic note by + BERTRAM STEVENS, and portraits, 7s, 6d. + +CASTLE VANE: An Australian Historical Novel. By J. H. M. ABBOTT. 5s. + +POEMS BY RODERIC QUINN. With portrait, 5s. + +AMERICAN IMPRESSIONS. By HON. H. Y. BRADDON, ex-Commissioner for the + Commonwealth. 5s. + +JIM OF THE HILLS. A Story in Rhyme. By C. J. DENNIS, With frontispiece, + title-page, and jacket in colour, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. + +DIGGER SMITH: POEMS. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, title page and + jacket in colour, and other illustrations, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 + inches, 5s. + +THE SONGS OF A SENTIMENTAL BLOKE. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, + title-page and jacket in colour and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +DOREEN: A Sequel to "The Sentimental Bloke." By C. J. DENNIS. With + coloured and other illustrations, 7-1/4 x 5-1/4 inches, 1s. + +THE MOODS OF GINGER MICK: Poems. By C.J. DENNIS, With frontispiece, + title-page and jacket in colour, and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +BACKBLOCK BALLADS AND LATER VERSES. By C. J. DENNIS, author of "The + Sentimental Bloke," etc. New edition, revised, with 16 new pieces, + wholly printed from new type, with frontispiece, title-page and jacket + in colour, by HAL GYE. 7-1/2 x 6 inches. 5s. + +THE GLUGS OF GOSH: Poems. By C. J. DENNIS. With frontispiece, + title-page, and jacket in colour, and other illustrations by HAL GYE, + 7-1/2 x 6 inches, 5s. Pocket Edition, 4s. + +BUSHLAND STORIES (For Children). By AMY ELEANOR MACK. With coloured + illustrations. 4s. 6d. + +SCRIBBLING SUE, and Other Stories for Children. By AMY ELEANOR MACK. + With coloured illustrations, 4s. 6d. + +GEM OF THE FLAT. A Story of Young Australians. By CONSTANCE MACKNESS. + With coloured and other illustrations, 4s. 6d. + +CHRISTOPHER COCKLE'S AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCES. By J. R. HOULDING ("Old + Boomerang"). 465 pages, 3s. 6d. + +TALES OF SNUGGLEPOT AND CUDDLEPIE. By MAY GIBBS. With frontispiece in + colour, 22 full-page and many other illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, + 6s. + +LITTLE RAGGED BLOSSOM, and more about Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. By MAY + GIBBS. With 21 full-page plates (2 in colour) and many other + illustrations. 10 x 7-1/2 inches, 6s. + +BORONIA BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches. 1s. 6d. + +WATTLE BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +GUM-BLOSSOM BABIES. By MAY GIBBS With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +GUM-NUT BABIES. By MAY GIBBS. With 2 coloured and 12 other pictures, + 8-3/4 x 5-3/4 inches, 1s. 6d. + +DOT AND THE KANGAROO. By ETHEL C. PEDLEY. With 19 full-page + illustrations (1 in colour) by F. P. MAHONY. New edition, 10 x 7-1/2 + inches, 6s. + + +ANGUS & ROBERTSON, LTD., Publishers, Sydney + +And at all Booksellers + + * * * * * + +[Illustration: Back Cover] + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. 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