AUSTRALIAN LEGENDARY TALES

FOLK-LORE OF THE NOONGAHBURRAHS

AS TOLD TO THE PICCANINNIES

COLLECTED BY MRS. K. LANGLOH PARKER

WITH INTRODUCTION BY ANDREW LANG, M. A. 

 DEDICATED TO PETER HIPPI KING OF THE NOONGAHBURRAHS

CONTENTS

 PREFACE INTRODUCTION, BY ANDREW LANG, M. A. 1 DINEWAN THE EMU, AND GOOMBLEGUBBON THE BUSTARD 2 THE GALAH, AND OOLAH THE LIZARD 3 BAHLOO THE MOON, AND THE DAENS 4 THE ORIGIN OF THE NARRAN LAKE 5 GOOLOO THE MAGPIE, AND THE WAHROOGAH 6 THE WEEOOMBEENS AND THE PIGGIEBILLAH 7 BOOTOOLGAH THE CRANE AND GOONUR THE KANGAROO RAT, THE FIRE MAKERS 8 WEEDAH THE MOCKING BIRD 9 THE GWINERBOOS THE REDBREASTS 10 MEAMEI THE SEVEN SISTERS 11 THE COOKOOBURRAHS AND THE GOOLAHGOOL 12 THE MAYAMAH 13 THE BUNBUNDOOLOOEYS 14 OONGNAIRWAH AND GUINAREY 15 NARAHDARN THE BAT 16 MULLYANGAH THE MORNING STAR 17 GOOMBLEGUBBON, BEEARGAII, AND OUYAN 18 MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON 19 OUYAN THE CURLEW 20 DINEWAN THE EMU, AND WAHN THE CROWS 21 GOOLAHWILLEEL THE TOPKNOT PIGEONS 22 GOONUR, THE WOMAN-DOCTOR 23 DEEREEREE THE WAGTAIL, AND THE RAINBOW 24 MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND MOONINGUGGAHGUL THE MOSQUITO BIRD 25 BOUGOODOOGAHDAH THE RAIN BIRD 26 THE BORAH OF BYAMEE 27 BUNNYYARL THE FLIES AND WURRUNNUNNAH THE BEES 28 DEEGEENBOYAH THE SOLDIER-BIRD 29 MAYRAH, THE WIND THAT BLOWS THE WINTER AWAY 30 WAYAMBEH THE TURTLE 31 WIRREENUN THE RAINMAKER NATIVE TEXT OF THE FIRST TALE (APPENDIX) GLOSSARY

PREFACE

A neighbour of mine exclaimed, when I mentioned that I proposed making asmall collection of the folk-lore legends of the tribe of blacks I knewso well living on this station, "But have the blacks any legends?"--thusshowing that people may live in a country and yet know little of theaboriginal inhabitants; and though there are probably many who do knowthese particular legends, yet I think that this is the first attemptthat has been made to collect the tales of any particular tribe, andpublish them alone. At all events, I know that no attempt has been madepreviously, as far as the folklore of the Noongahburrahs is concerned. Therefore, on the authority of Professor Max Muller, that folk-lore ofany country is worth collecting, I am emboldened to offer my smallattempt, at a collection, to the public. There are probably many who, knowing these legends, would not think them worth recording; but, onthe other hand, I hope there are many who think, as I do, that weshould try, while there is yet time, to gather all the informationpossible of a race fast dying out, and the origin of which is soobscure. I cannot affect to think that these little legends will domuch to remove that obscurity, but undoubtedly a scientific and patientstudy of the folk-lore throughout Australia would greatly assistthereto. I, alas! am but an amateur, moved to my work by interest inthe subject, and in the blacks, of whom I have had some experience. 

The time is coming when it will be impossible to make even such acollection as this, for the old blacks are quickly dying out, and theyoung ones will probably think it beneath the dignity of theirso-called civilisation even to remember such old-women's stories. Thosewho have themselves attempted the study of an unknown folk-lore will beable to appreciate the difficulties a student has to surmount before hecan even induce those to talk who have the knowledge he desires. Inthis, as in so much else, those who are ready to be garrulous knowlittle. 

I have confined this little book to the legends of the Narran tribe, known among themselves as Noongahburrahs. It is astonishing to find, within comparatively short distances, a diversity of language andcustom. You may even find the same word in different tribes bearing atotally different meaning. Many words, too, have been introduced whichthe blacks think are English, and the English think are native. Such, for example, as piccaninny, and, as far as these outside blacks areconcerned, boomerang is regarded as English, their local word beingburren; yet nine out of ten people whom you meet think both are localnative words. 

Though I have written my little book in the interests of folk-lore, Ihope it will gain the attention of, and have some interest for, children--of Australian children, because they will find stories of oldfriends among the Bush birds; and of English children, because I hopethat they will be glad to make new friends, and so establish a freetrade between the Australian and English nurseries--wingless, andlaughing birds, in exchange for fairy godmothers, and princes indisguise. 

I must also acknowledge my great indebtedness to the blacks, who, whenonce they understood what I wanted to know, were most ready to repeatto me the legends repeating with the utmost patience, time after time, not only the legends, but the names, that I might manage to spell themso as to be understood when repeated. In particular I should like tomention my indebtedness to Peter Hippi, king of the Noongahburrahs; andto Hippitha, Matah, Barahgurrie, and Beemunny. 

I have dedicated my booklet to Peter Hippi, in grateful recognition ofhis long and faithful service to myself and my husband, which hasextended, with few intervals, over a period of twenty years. He, too, is probably the last king of the Noongabburrahs, who are fast dyingout--, and soon their weapons, bartered by them for tobacco or whisky, alone will prove that they ever existed. It seemed to me a pity thatsome attempt should not be made to collect the folk-lore of the quicklydisappearing tribe--a folk-lore embodying, probably, the thoughts, fancies, and beliefs of the genuine aboriginal race, and which, assuch, deserves to be, indeed, as Max Muller says, "might be and oughtto be, collected in every part of the world. "

The legends were told to me by the blacks themselves, some of whomremember the coming of Mitchellan, as they call Major Mitchell, theexplorer of these back creeks. The old blacks laugh now when they tellyou how frightened their mothers were of the first wheel tracks theysaw. They would not let the children tread on them, but carefullylifted them over, lest their feet should break out in sores, as theywere supposed to do if they trod on a snake's track. But with all theirfear, little did they realise that the coming of Mitchellan was thebeginning of their end, or that fifty years afterwards, from theremnant of their once numerous tribe, would be collected the legendsthey told in those days to their piccaninnies round their camp-fires, and those legends used to make a Christmas booklet for the children oftheir white supplanters. 

I can only hope that the white children will be as ready to listen tothese stories as were, and indeed are, the little piccaninnies, andthus the sale of this booklet be such as to enable me to add frocks andtobacco when I give their Christmas dinner, as is my yearly custom, tothe remnant of the Noongahburrahs. 

K. LANGLOH PARKER, BANGATE, NARRAN RIVER, NEW SOUTH WALES, June 24th, 1895. 

INTRODUCTION

Australia makes an appeal to the fancy which is all its own. WhenCortes entered Mexico, in the most romantic moment of history, it wasas if men had found their way to a new planet, so strange, so longhidden from Europe was all that they beheld. Still they found kings, nobles, peasants, palaces, temples, a great organised society, faunaand flora not so very different from what they had left behind inSpain. In Australia all was novel, and, while seeming fresh, wasinestimably old. The vegetation differs from ours; the monotonous greygum-trees did not resemble our varied forests, but were antique, melancholy, featureless, like their own continent of rare hills, infrequent streams and interminable deserts, concealing nothing withintheir wastes, yet promising a secret. The birds and beasts--kangaroo, platypus, emu--are ancient types, rough grotesques of Nature, sketchingas a child draws. The natives were a race without a history, far moreantique than Egypt, nearer the beginnings than any other people. Theirweapons are the most primitive: those of the extinct Tasmanians wereactually palaeolithic. The soil holds no pottery, the cave walls nopictures drawn by men more advanced; the sea hides no ruined palaces;no cities are buried in the plains; there is not a trace ofinscriptions or of agriculture. The burying places contain relics ofmen perhaps even lower than the existing tribes; nothing attests thepresence in any age of men more cultivated. Perhaps myriads of yearshave gone by since the Delta, or the lands beside Euphrates and Tigriswere as blank of human modification as was the whole Australiancontinent. 

The manners and rites of the natives were far the most archaic of allwith which we are acquainted. Temples they had none: no images of gods, no altars of sacrifice; scarce any memorials of the dead. Their worshipat best was offered in hymns to some vague, half-forgotten deity orFirst Maker of things, a god decrepit from age or all but careless ofhis children. Spirits were known and feared, but scarcely defined ordescribed. Sympathetic magic, and perhaps a little hypnotism, were alltheir science. Kings and nations they knew not; they were wanderers, houseless and homeless. Custom was king; yet custom was tenacious, irresistible, and as complex in minute details as the etiquette ofSpanish kings, or the ritual of the Flamens of Rome. The archaicintricacies and taboos of the customs and regulations of marriage mightpuzzle a mathematician, and may, when unravelled, explain the lesscomplicated prohibitions of a totemism less antique. The peoplethemselves in their struggle for existence had developed greatingenuities. They had the boomerang and the weet-weet, but not the bow;the throwing stick, but not, of course, the sword; the message stick, but no hieroglyphs; and their art was almost purely decorative, ingeometrical patterns, not representative. They deemed themselves akinto all nature, and called cousins with rain and smoke, with clouds andsky, as well as with beasts and trees. They were adroit hunters, skilled trackers, born sportsmen; they now ride well, and, for savages, play cricket fairly. But, being invaded by the practical emigrant orthe careless convict, the natives were not studied when in their prime, and science began to examine them almost too late. We have the works ofSir George Grey, the too brief pamphlet of Mr. Gideon Lang, the morelearned labours of Messrs. Fison and Howitt, and the collections of Mr. Brough Smyth. The mysteries (Bora) of the natives, the initiatoryrites, a little of the magic, a great deal of the social customs areknown to us, and we have fragments of the myths. But, till Mrs. LanglohParker wrote this book, we had but few of the stories which Australiannatives tell by the camp-fire or in the gum-tree shade. 

These, for the most part, are KINDER MARCHEN, though they include manyaetiological myths, explanatory of the markings and habits of animals, the origin of constellations, and so forth. They are a savage editionof the METAMORPHOSES, and few unbiased students now doubt that theMETAMORPHOSES are a very late and very artificial version oftraditional tales as savage in origin as those of the Noongahburrah. Ihave read Mrs. Parker's collection with very great interest, with"human pleasure, " merely for the story's sake. Children will find herethe Jungle Book, never before printed, of black little boys and girls. The sympathy with, and knowledge of beast-life and bird-life are worthyof Mr. Kipling, and the grotesque names are just what children like. Dinewan and Goomblegubbon should take their place with Rikki Tikki andMr. Kipling's other delightful creatures. But there is here no Mowgli, set apart in the jungle as a man. Man, bird, and beast are all blendedin the Australian fancy as in that of Bushmen and Red Indians. All areof one kindred, all shade into each other; all obey the Bush Law asthey obey the Jungle Law in Mr. Kipling's fascinating stories. Thisconfusion, of course, is not peculiar to Australian MARCHEN; it is theprevalent feature of our own popular tales. But the Australians "do itmore natural:" the stories are not the heritage of a traditional anddead, but the flowers of a living and actual condition of the mind. Thestories have not the ingenious dramatic turns of our own MARCHEN. Wherethere are no distinctions of wealth and rank, there can be noCINDERELLA and no PUSS IN BOOTS. Many stories are rude aetiologicalmyths; they explain the habits and characteristics of the birds andbeasts, and account in a familiar way for the origin of death ("Bahloo, the Moon, and the Daens"). The origin of fire is also accounted for inwhat may almost be called a scientific way. Once discovered, it is, ofcourse, stolen from the original proprietors. A savage cannot believethat the first owners of fire would give the secret away. The inventorsof the myth of Prometheus were of the same mind. 

On the whole the stories, perhaps, most resemble those from the Zulu incharacter, though these represent a much higher grade of civilisation. The struggle for food and water, desperately absorbing, is theperpetual theme, and no wonder, for the narrators dwell in a dry andthirsty land, and till not, nor sow, nor keep any domestic animals. Wesee the cunning of the savage in the devices for hunting, especiallyfor chasing honey bees. The Rain-magic, actually practised, is ofcurious interest. In brief, we have pictures of savage life by savages, romances which are truly realistic. We understand that condition whichDr. Johnson did not think happy--the state from which we came, and towhich we shall probably return. "Equality, " "Liberty", "Community ofGoods, " all mean savagery, and even savages, if equal, are not reallyfree. Custom is the tyrant. 

The designs are from the sketch-book of an untaught Australian native;they were given to me some years ago by my brother, Dr. Lang, ofCorowa. The artist has a good deal of spirit in his hunting scenes; histrees are not ill done, his emus and kangaroos are better than his menand labras. Using ink, a pointed stick, and paper, the artist shows anunwonted freedom of execution. Nothing like this occurs in Australianscratches with a sharp stone on hard wood. Probably no other member ofhis dying race ever illustrated a book. 

ANDREW LANG. 

* * * * *

1. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND GOOMBLEGUBBON THE BUSTARD

Dinewan the emu, being the largest bird, was acknowledged as king by theother birds. The Goomblegubbons, the bustards, were jealous of theDinewans. Particularly was Goomblegubbon, the mother, jealous of theDiriewan mother. She would watch with envy the high flight of theDinewans, and their swift running. And she always fancied that theDinewan mother flaunted her superiority in her face, for wheneverDinewan alighted near Goomblegubbon, after a long, high flight, shewould flap her big wings and begin booing in her pride, not the loudbooing of the male bird, but a little, triumphant, satisfied booingnoise of her own, which never failed to irritate Goomblegubbon when sheheard it. 

Goomblegubbon used to wonder how she could put an end to Dinewan'ssupremacy. She decided that she would only be able to do so by injuringher wings and checking her power of flight. But the question thattroubled her was how to effect this end. She knew she would gainnothing by having a quarrel with Dinewan and fighting her, for noGoomblegubbon would stand any chance against a Dinewan, There wasevidently nothing to be gained by an open fight. She would have toeffect her end by cunning. 

One day, when Goomblegubbon saw in the distance Dinewan coming towardsher, she squatted down and doubled in her wings in such a way as tolook as if she had none. After Dinewan had been talking to her for sometime, Goomblegubbon said: "Why do you not imitate me and do withoutwings? Every bird flies. The Dinewans, to be the king of birds, shoulddo without wings. When all the birds see that I can do without wings, they will think I am the cleverest bird and they will make aGoomblegubbon king. "

"But you have wings, " said Dinewan. 

"No, I have no wings. " And indeed she looked as if her words were true, so well were her wings hidden, as she squatted in the grass. Dinewanwent away after awhile, and thought much of what she had heard. Shetalked it all over with her mate, who was as disturbed as she was. Theymade up their minds that it would never do to let the Goomblegubbonsreign in their stead, even if they had to lose their wings to savetheir kingship. 

At length they decided on the sacrifice of their wings. The Dinewanmother showed the example by persuading her mate to cut off hers with acombo or stone tomahawk, and then she did the same to his. As soon asthe operations were over, the Dinewan mother lost no time in lettingGoomblegubbon know what they had done. She ran swiftly down to theplain on which she had left Goomblegubbon, and, finding her stillsquatting there, she said: "See, I have followed your example. I havenow no wings. They are cut off. "

"Ha! ha! ha!" laughed Goomblegubbon, jumping up and dancing round withjoy at the success of her plot. As she danced round, she spread out herwings, flapped them, and said: "I have taken you in, old stumpy wings. I have my wings yet. You are fine birds, you Dinewans, to be chosenkings, when you are so easily taken in. Ha! ha! ha!" And, laughingderisively, Goomblegubbon flapped her wings right in front of Dinewan, who rushed towards her to chastise her treachery. But Goomblegubbonflew away, and, alas! the now wingless Dinewan could not follow her. 

Brooding over her wrongs, Dinewan walked away, vowing she would berevenged. But how? That was the question which she and her mate failedto answer for some time. At length the Dinewan mother thought of a planand prepared at once to execute it. She hid all her young Dinewans buttwo, under a big salt bush. Then she walked off to Goomblegubbons'plain with the two young ones following her. As she walked off themorilla ridge, where her home was, on to the plain, she sawGoomblegubbon out feeding with her twelve young ones. 

After exchanging a few remarks in a friendly manner with Goomblegubbon, she said to her, "Why do you not imitate me and only have two children?Twelve are too many to feed. If you keep so many they will never growbig birds like the Dinewans. The food that would make big birds of twowould only starve twelve. " Goomblegubbon said nothing, but she thoughtit might be so. It was impossible to deny that the young Dinewans weremuch bigger than the young Goomblegubbons, and, discontentedly, Goomblegubbon walked away, wondering whether the smallness of her youngones was owing to the number of them being so much greater than that ofthe Dinewans. It would be grand, she thought, to grow as big as theDinewans. But she remembered the trick she had played on Dinewan, andshe thought that perhaps she was being fooled in her turn. She lookedback to where the Dinewans fed, and as she saw how much bigger the twoyoung ones were than any of hers, once more mad envy of Dinewanpossessed her. She determined she would not be outdone. Rather wouldshe kill all her young ones but two. She said, "The Dinewans shall notbe the king birds of the plains. The Goomblegubbons shall replace them. They shall grow as big as the Dinewans, and shall keep their wings andfly, which now the Dinewans cannot do. " And straightway Goomblegubbonkilled all her young ones but two. Then back she came to where theDinewans were still feeding. When Dinewan saw her coming and noticedshe had only two young ones with her, she called out: "Where are allyour young ones?"

Goomblegubbon answered, "I have killed them, and have only two left. Those will have plenty to eat now, and will soon grow as big as youryoung ones. "

"You cruel mother to kill your children. You greedy mother. Why, I havetwelve children and I find food for them all. I would not kill one foranything, not even if by so doing I could get back my wings. There isplenty for all. Look at the emu bush how it covers itself with berriesto feed my big family. See how the grasshoppers come hopping round, sothat we can catch them and fatten on them. "

"But you have only two children. "

"I have twelve. I will go and bring them to show you. " Dinewan ran offto her salt bush where she had hidden her ten young ones. Soon she wasto be seen coming back. Running with her neck stretched forward, herhead thrown back with pride, and the feathers of her boobootellaswinging as she ran, booming out the while her queer throat noise, theDinewan song of joy, the pretty, soft-looking little ones with theirzebra-striped skins, running beside her whistling their baby Dinewannote. When Dinewan reached the place where Goomblegubbon was, shestopped her booing and said in a solemn tone, "Now you see my words aretrue, I have twelve young ones, as I said. You can gaze at my lovedones and think of your poor murdered children. And while you do so Iwill tell you the fate of your descendants for ever. By trickery anddeceit you lost the Dinewans their wings, and now for evermore, as longas a Dinewan has no wings, so long shall a Goomblegubbon lay only twoeggs and have only two young ones. We are quits now. You have yourwings and I my children. "

And ever since that time a Dinewan, or emu, has had no wings, and aGoomblegubbon, or bustard of the plains, has laid only two eggs in aseason. 

2. THE GALAH, AND OOLAH THE LIZARD

Oolah the lizard was tired of lying in the sun, doing nothing. So hesaid, "I will go and play. " He took his boomerangs out, and began topractise throwing them. While he was doing so a Galah came up, andstood near, watching the boomerangs come flying back, for the kind ofboomerangs Oolah was throwing were the bubberahs. They are smaller thanothers, and more curved, and when they are properly thrown they returnto the thrower, which other boomerangs do not. 

Oolah was proud of having the gay Galah to watch his skill. In hispride he gave the bubberah an extra twist, and threw it with all hismight. Whizz, whizzing through the air, back it came, hitting, as itpassed her, the Galah on the top of her head, taking both feathers andskin clean off. The Galah set up a hideous, cawing, croaking shriek, and flew about, stopping every few minutes to knock her head on theground like a mad bird. Oolah was so frightened when he saw what he haddone, and noticed that the blood was flowing from the Galah's head, that he glided away to hide under a bindeah bush. But the Galah sawhim. She never stopped the hideous noise she was making for a minute, but, still shrieking, followed Oolah. When she reached the bindeah bushshe rushed at Oolah, seized him with her beak, rolled him on the bushuntil every bindeah had made a hole in his skin. Then she rubbed hisskin with her own bleeding head. "Now then, " she said, "you Oolah shallcarry bindeahs on you always, and the stain of my blood. "

"And you, " said Oolah, as he hissed with pain from the tingling of theprickles, "shall be a bald-headed bird as long as I am a red pricklylizard. "

So to this day, underneath the Galah's crest you can always find thebald patch which the bubberah of Oolah first made. And in the countryof the Galahs are lizards coloured reddish brown, and covered withspikes like bindeah prickles. 

3. BAHLOO THE MOON AND THE DAENS

Bahloo the moon looked down at the earth one night, when his light wasshining quite brightly, to see if any one was moving. When the earthpeople were all asleep was the time he chose for playing with his threedogs. He called them dogs, but the earth people called them snakes, thedeath adder, the black snake, and the tiger snake. As he looked down onto the earth, with his three dogs beside him, Bahloo saw about a dozendaens, or black fellows, crossing a Creek. He called to them saying, "Stop, I want you to carry my dogs across that creek. " But the blackfellows, though they liked Bahloo well, did not like his dogs, forsometimes when he had brought these dogs to play on the earth, they hadbitten not only the earth dogs but their masters; and the poison leftby the bites had killed those bitten. So the black fellows said, "No, Bahloo, we are too frightened; your dogs might bite us. They are notlike our dogs, whose bite would not kill us. "

Bahloo said, "If you do what I ask you, when you die you shall come tolife again, not die and stay always where you are put when you aredead. See this piece of bark. I throw it into the water. " And he threwa piece of bark into the creek. "See it comes to the top again andfloats. That is what would happen to you if you would do what I askyou: first under when you die, then up again at once. If you will nottake my dogs over, you foolish daens, you will die like this, " and hethrew a stone into the creek, which sank to the bottom. "You will belike that stone, never rise again, Wombah daens!"

But the black fellows said, "We cannot do it, Bahloo. We are toofrightened of your dogs. "

"I will come down and carry them over myself to show you that they arequite safe and harmless. " And down he came, the black snake coiledround one arm, the tiger snake round the other, and the death adder onhis shoulder, coiled towards his neck. He carried them over. When hehad crossed the creek he picked up a big stone, and he threw it intothe water, saying, "Now, you cowardly daens, you would not do what I, Bahloo, asked you to do, and so forever you have lost the chance ofrising again after you die. You will just stay where you are put, likethat stone does under the water, and grow, as it does, to be part ofthe earth. If you had done what I asked you, you could have died asoften as I die, and have come to life as often as I come to life. Butnow you will only be black fellows while you live, and bones when youare dead. "

Bahloo looked so cross, and the three snakes hissed so fiercely, thatthe black fellows were very glad to see them disappear from their sightbehind the trees. The black fellows had always been frightened ofBahloo's dogs, and now they hated them, and they said, "If we could getthem away from Bahloo we would kill them. " And thenceforth, wheneverthey saw a snake alone they killed it. But Babloo only sent more, forhe said, "As long as there are black fellows there shall be snakes toremind them that they would not do what I asked them. "

4. THE ORIGIN OF THE NARRAN LAKE

Old Byamee said to his two young wives, Birrahgnooloo andCunnunbeillee, "I have stuck a white feather between the hind legs of abee, and am going to let it go and then follow it to its nest, that Imay get honey. While I go for the honey, go you two out and get frogsand yams, then meet me at Coorigel Spring, where we will camp, forsweet and clear is the water there. " The wives, taking their goolaysand yam sticks, went out as he told them. Having gone far, and dug outmany yams and frogs, they were tired when they reached Coorigel, and, seeing the cool, fresh water, they longed to bathe. But first theybuilt a bough shade, and there left their goolays holding their food, and the yams and frogs they had found. When their camp was ready forthe coming of Byamee, who having wooed his wives with a nullah-nullah, kept them obedient by fear of the same weapon, then went the girls tothe spring to bathe. Gladly they plunged in, having first divested themselves of their goomillahs, which they were still young enough to wear, and which they left on the ground near the spring. Scarcely were theyenjoying the cool rest the water gave their hot, tired limbs, when theywere seized and swallowed by two kurreahs. Having swallowed the girls, the kurreahs dived into an opening in the side of the spring, which wasthe entrance to an underground watercourse leading to the Narran River. Through this passage they went, taking all the water from the springwith them into the Narran, whose course they also dried as they wentalong. 

Meantime Byamee, unwitting the fate of his wives, was honey hunting. Hehad followed the bee with the white feather on it for some distance;then the bee flew on to some budtha flowers, and would move no further. Byamee said, "Something has happened, or the bee would not stay hereand refuse to be moved on towards its nest. I must go to CoorigelSpring and see if my wives are safe. Something terrible has surelyhappened. " And Byamee turned in haste towards the spring. When hereached there he saw the bough shed his wives had made, he saw the yamsthey had dug from the ground, and he saw the frogs, but Birrahgnoolooand Cunnunbeillee he saw not. He called aloud for them. But no answer. He went towards the spring; on the edge of it he saw the goomillahs ofhis wives. He looked into the spring and, seeing it dry, he said, "Itis the work of the kurreahs; they have opened the underground passageand gone with my wives to the river, and opening the passage has driedthe spring. Well do I know where the passage joins the Narran, andthere will I swiftly go. " Arming himself with spears and woggarahs hestarted in pursuit. He soon reached the deep hole where the undergroundchannel of the Coorigel joined the Narran. There he saw what he hadnever seen before, namely, this deep hole dry. And he said: "They haveemptied the holes as they went along, taking the water with them. Butwell know I the deep holes of the river. I will not follow the bend, thus trebling the distance I have to go, but I will cut across from bighole to big hole, and by so doing I may yet get ahead of the kurreahs. "On swiftly sped Byamee, making short cuts from big hole to big hole, and his track is still marked by the morilla ridges that stretch downthe Narran, pointing in towards the deep holes. Every hole as he cameto it he found dry, until at last he reached the end of the Narran; thehole there was still quite wet and muddy, then he knew he was near hisenemies, and soon he saw them. He managed to get, unseen, a little wayahead of the kurreahs. He hid himself behind a big dheal tree. As thekurreahs came near they separated, one turning to go in anotherdirection. Quickly Byamee hurled one spear after another, wounding bothkurreahs, who writhed with pain and lashed their tails furiously, making great hollows in the ground, which the water they had broughtwith them quickly filled. Thinking they might again escape him, Byameedrove them from the water with his spears, and then, at close quarters, he killed them with his woggarahs. And ever afterwards at flood time, the Narran flowed into this hollow which the kurreahs in theirwrithings had made. 

When Byamee saw that the kurreahs were quite dead, he cut them open andtook out the bodies of his wives. They were covered with wet slime, andseemed quite lifeless; but he carried them and laid them on two nestsof red ants. Then he sat down at some little distance and watched them. The ants quickly covered the bodies, cleaned them rapidly of the wetslime, and soon Byamee noticed the muscles of the girls twitching. "Ah, " he said, "there is life, they feel the sting of the ants. "

Almost as he spoke came a sound as of a thunder-clap, but the soundseemed to come from the ears of the girls. And as the echo was dyingaway, slowly the girls rose to their feet. For a moment they stoodapart, a dazed expression on their faces. Then they clung together, shaking as if stricken with a deadly fear. But Byamee came to them andexplained how they had been rescued from the kurreahs by him. He badethem to beware of ever bathing in the deep holes of the Narran, lestsuch holes be the haunt of kurreahs. 

Then he bade them look at the water now at Boogira, and he said:

"Soon will the black swans find their way here, the pelicans and theducks; where there was dry land and stones in the past, in the futurethere will be water and water-fowl, from henceforth; when the Narranruns it will run into this hole, and by the spreading of its waterswill a big lake be made. " And what Byamee said has come to pass, as theNarran Lake shows, with its large sheet of water, spreading for miles, the home of thousands of wild fowl. 

5. GOOLOO THE MAGPIE, AND THE WAHROOGAH

Gooloo was a very old woman, and a very wicked old woman too, as thisstory will tell. During all the past season, when the grass was thickwith seed, she had gathered much doonburr, which she crushed into mealas she wanted it for food. She used to crush it on a big flat stonewith small flat stones--the big stone was called a dayoorl. Goolooground a great deal of the doonburr seed to put away for immediate use, the rest she kept whole, to be ground as required. 

Soon after she had finished her first grinding, a neighbouring tribecame along and camped near where she was. One day the men all went outhunting, leaving the women and the children in the camp. After the menhad been gone a little while, Gooloo the magpie came to their camp totalk to the women. She said, "Why do you not go hunting too? Many arethe nests of the wurranunnahs round here, and thick is the honey inthem. Many and ripe are the bumbles hanging now on the humble trees;red is the fruit of the grooees, and opening with ripeness the fruit ofthe guiebets. Yet you sit in the camp and hunger, until your husbandsreturn with the dinewan and bowrah they have gone forth to slay. Go, women, and gather of the plenty that surrounds you. I will take care ofyour children, the little Wahroogabs. "

"Your words are wise, " the women said. "It is foolish to sit here andhunger, when near at hand yams are thick in the ground, and many fruitswait but the plucking. We will go and fill quickly our comebees andgoolays, but our children we will take with us. "

"Not so, " said Gooloo, "foolish indeed were you to do that. You wouldtire the little feet of those that run, and tire yourselves with theburden of those that have to be carried. No, take forth your comebeesand goolays empty, that ye may bring back the more. Many are the spoilsthat wait only the hand of the gatherer. Look ye, I have a durrie madeof fresh doonburr seed, cooking just now on that bark between twofires; that shall your children eat, and swiftly shall I make themanother. They shall eat and be full ere their mothers are out of sight. See, they come to me now, they hunger for durrie, and well will I feedthem. Haste ye then, that ye may return in time to make ready the firesfor cooking the meat your husbands will bring. Glad will your husbandsbe when they see that ye have filled your goolays and comebees withfruits, and your wirrees with honey. Haste ye, I say, and do well. "

Having listened to the words of Gooloo, the women decided to do as shesaid, and, leaving their children with her, they started forth withempty comebees, and armed with combos, with which to chop out the bees'nests and opossums, and with yam sticks to dig up yams. 

When the women had gone, Gooloo gathered the children round her and fedthem with durrie, hot from the coals. Honey, too, she gave them, andbumbles which she had buried to ripen. When they had eaten, she hurriedthem off to her real home, built in a hollow tree, a little distanceaway from where she had been cooking her durrie. Into her house shehurriedly thrust them, followed quickly herself, and made all secure. Here she fed them again, but the children had already satisfied theirhunger, and now they missed their mothers and began to cry. Theircrying reached the ears of the women as they were returning to theircamp. Quickly they came at the sound which is not good in a mother'sears. As they quickened their steps they thought how soon the spoilsthat lay heavy in their comebees would comfort their children. Andhappy they, the mothers, would feel when they fed the Wahroogahs withthe dainties they had gathered for them. Soon they reached the camp, but, alas! where were their children? And where was Gooloo the magpie?

"They are playing wahgoo, " they said, "and have hidden themselves. "

The mothers hunted all round for them, and called aloud the names oftheir children and Gooloo. But no answer could they hear and no tracecould they find. And yet every now and then they heard the sound ofchildren wailing. But seek as they would they found them not. Thenloudly wailed the mothers themselves for their lost Wahroogahs, and, wailing, returned to the camp to wait the coming of the black fellows. Heavy were their hearts, and sad were their faces when their husbandsreturned. They hastened to tell the black fellows when they came, howGooloo had persuaded them to go hunting, promising if they did so thatshe would feed the hungry Wahroogahs, and care for them while they wereaway, but--and here they wailed again for their poor Wahroogahs. Theytold how they had listened to her words and gone; truth had she told ofthe plenty round, their comebees and goolays were full of fruits andspoils they had gathered, but, alas! they came home with them ladenonly to find their children gone and Gooloo gone too. And no tracecould they find of either, though at times they heard a sound as ofchildren wailing. 

Then wroth were the men, saying: "What mothers are ye to leave youryoung to a stranger, and that stranger a Gooloo, ever a treacherousrace? Did we not go forth to gain food for you and our children? Saw yeever your husbands return from the chase empty handed? Then why, whenye knew we were gone hunting, must ye too go forth and leave ourhelpless ones to a stranger? Oh, evil, evil indeed is the time that hascome when a mother forgets her child. Stay ye in the camp while we goforth to hunt for our lost Wahroogahs. Heavy will be our hands on thewomen if we return without them. "

The men hunted the bush round for miles, but found no trace of the lostWahroogahs, though they too heard at times a noise as of children'svoices wailing. 

But beyond the wailing which echoed in the mothers' ears for ever, notrace was found of the children. For many days the women sat in thecamp mourning for their lost Wahroogahs, and beating their headsbecause they had listened to the voice of Gooloo. 

6. THE WEEOONIBEENS AND THE PIGGIEBILLAH

Two Weeoombeen brothers went out hunting. One brother was much youngerthan the other and smaller, so when they sighted an emu, the elder onesaid to the younger: "You stay quietly here and do not make a noise, orPiggiebillah, whose camp we passed just now, will hear you and stealthe emu if I kill it. He is so strong. I'll go on and try to kill theemu with this stone. " The little Weeoombeen watched his big brothersneak up to the emu, crawling along, almost flat, on the ground. He sawhim get quite close to the emu, then spring up quickly and throw thestone with such an accurate aim as to kill the bird on the spot. Thelittle brother was so rejoiced that he forgot his brother's caution, and he called aloud in his joy. The big Weeoombeen looked round andgave him a warning sign, but too late, Piggiebillah had heard the cryand was hastening towards them. Quickly big Weeoombeen left the emu andjoined his little brother. 

Piggiebillah, when he came up, said: "What have you found?"

"Nothing, " said the big Weeoombeen, "nothing but some mistletoeberries. "

"It must have been something more than that, or your little brotherwould not have called out so loudly. "

Little Weeoombeen was so afraid that Piggiebillah would find their emuand take it, that he said: "I hit a little bird with a stone, and I wasglad I could throw so straight. "

"It was no cry for the killing of a little bird or for the finding ofmistletoe berries that I heard. It was for something much more thaneither, or you would not have called out so joyfully. If you do nottell me at once I will kill you both. "

The Weeoombeen brothers were frightened, for Piggiebillah was a greatfighter and very strong, so when they saw he was really angry, theyshowed him the dead emu. 

"Just what I want for my supper, " he said, and so saying, dragged itaway to his own camp. The Weeoombeens followed him and even helped himto make a fire to cook the emu, hoping by so doing to get a share givento them. But Piggiebillah would not give them any; he said he must haveit all for himself. 

Angry and disappointed, the Weeoombeens marched straight off and toldsome black fellows who lived near, that Piggiebillah had a fine fat emujust cooked for supper. 

Up jumped the black fellows, seized their spears, bade the Weeoombeensquickly lead them to Piggiebillah's camp, promising them for so doing ashare of the emu. 

When they were within range of spear shot, the black fellows formed acircle, took aim, and threw their spears at Piggiebillah. As the spearsfell thick on him, sticking out all over him, Piggiebillah cried aloud:"Bingehlah, Bingeblah. You can have it, you can have it. " But the blackfellows did not desist until Piggiebillah was too wounded even to cryout; then they left him a mass of spears and turned to look for theemu. But to their surprise they found it not. Then for the first timethey missed the Weeoombeens. 

Looking round they saw their tracks going to where the emu hadevidently been; then they saw that they had dragged the emu to theirnyunnoo, which was a humpy made of grass. 

When the Weeoombeens saw the black fellows coming, they caught hold ofthe emu and dragged it to a big hole they knew of, with a big stone atits entrance, which stone only they knew the secret of moving. Theymoved the stone, got the emu and themselves into the hole, and thestone in place again before the black fellows reached the place. 

The black fellows tried to move the stone, but could not. Yet they knewthat the Weeoombeens must have done so, for they had tracked them rightup to it, and they could hear the sound of their voices on the otherside of it. They saw there was a crevice on either side of the stone, between it and the ground. Through these crevices they, drove in theirspears, thinking they must surely kill the brothers. But theWeeoombeens too had seen these crevices and had anticipated the spears, so they had placed the dead emu before them to act as a shield. Andinto its body were driven the spears of the black fellows extended forthe Weeoombeens. 

Having driven the spears well in, the black fellows went off to gethelp to move the stone, but when they had gone a little way they heardthe Weeoombeens laughing. Back they came and speared again, and againstarted for help, only as they left to hear once more the laughter ofthe brothers. 

The Weeoombeens finding their laughter only brought back the blackfellows to a fresh attack, determined to keep quiet, which, after thenext spearing, they did. 

Quite sure, when they heard their spear shots followed by neitherconversation nor laughter, that they had killed the Weeoombeens atlast, the black fellows hurried away to bring back the strength andcunning of the camp, to remove the stone. 

The Weeoombeens hurriedly discussed what plan they had better adopt toelude the black fellows, for well they knew that should they ever meetany of them again they would be killed without mercy. And as theytalked they satisfied their hunger by eating some of the emu flesh. 

After a while the black fellows returned, and soon was the stoneremoved from the entrance. Some of them crept into the hole, where, totheir surprise, they found only the remains of the emu and no trace ofthe Weeoombeens. As those who had gone in first crept out and told ofthe disappearance of the Weeoombeens, others, incredulous of such astory, crept in to find it confirmed. They searched round for tracks;seeing that their spears were all in the emu it seemed to them probablethe Weeoombeens had escaped alive, but if so, whither they had gonetheir tracks would show. But search as they would no tracks could theyfind. All they could see were two little birds which sat on a bush nearthe hole, watching the black fellows all the time. The little birdsflew round the hole sometimes, but never away, always returning totheir bush and seeming to be discussing the whole affair; but what theysaid the black fellows could not understand. But as time went on and nosign was ever found of the Weeoombeens, the black fellows became surethat the brothers had turned into the little white-throated birds whichhad sat on the bush by the hole, so, they supposed, to escape theirvengeance. And ever afterwards the little white-throats were calledWeeoombeens. And the memory of Piggiebillah is perpetuated by a sort ofporcupine ant-eater, which bears his name, and whose skin is coveredclosely with miniature spears sticking all over it. 

7. BOOTOOLGAH THE CRANE AND GOONUR THE KANGAROO RAT, THE FIRE MAKERS

In the days when Bootoolgah, the crane, married Goonur, the kangaroorat, there was no fire in their country. They had to eat their food rawor just dry it in the sun. One day when Bootoolgah was rubbing twopieces of wood together, he saw a faint spark sent forth and then aslight smoke. "Look, " he said to Goonur, "see what comes when I rubthese pieces of wood together--smoke! Would it not be good if we couldmake fire for ourselves with which to cook our food, so as not to haveto wait for the sun to dry it?"

Goonur looked, and, seeing the smoke, she said: "Great indeed would bethe day when we could make fire. Split your stick, Bootoolgah, andplace in the opening bark and grass that even one spark may kindle alight. " And hearing wisdom in her words, even as she said Bootoolgahdid. And lo! after much rubbing, from the opening came a small flame. For as Goonur had said it would, the spark lit the grass, the barksmouldered and smoked, and so Bootoolgah the crane, and Goonur thekangaroo rat, discovered the art of fire making. 

"This we will keep secret, " they said, "from all the tribes. When wemake a fire to cook our fish we will go into a Bingahwingul scrub. There we will make a fire and cook our food in secret. We will hide ourfiresticks in the openmouthed seeds of the Bingahwinguls; one firestickwe will carry always hidden in our comebee. "

Bootoolgah and Goonur cooked the next fish they caught, and found itvery good. When they went back to the camp they took some of theircooked fish with them. The blacks noticed it looked quite differentfrom the usual sun-dried fish, so they asked: "What did you to thatfish?"

"Let it lie in the sun, " said they. 

"Not so, " said the others. 

But that the fish was sun-dried Bootoolgah and Goonur persisted. Day byday passed, and after catching their fish, these two alwaysdisappeared, returning with their food looking quite different fromthat of the others. At last, being unable to extract any informationfrom them, it was determined by the tribe to watch them. Boolooral, thenight owl, and Quarrian, the parrot, were appointed to follow the twowhen they disappeared, to watch where they went, and find out what theydid. Accordingly, after the next fish were caught, when Bootoolgah andGoonur gathered up their share and started for the bush, Boolooral andQuarrian followed on their tracks. They saw them disappear into aBingahwingul scrub, where they lost sight of them. Seeing a high treeon the edge of the scrub, they climbed up it, and from there they sawall that was to be seen. They saw Bootoolgah and Goonur throw downtheir load of fish, open their comebee and take from it a stick, whichstick, when they had blown upon it, they laid in the midst of a heap ofleaves and twigs, and at once from this heap they saw a flame leap, which flame the fire makers fed with bigger sticks. Then, as the flamedied down, they saw the two place their fish in the ashes that remainedfrom the burnt sticks. Then back to the camp of their tribes wentBoolooral and Quarrian, back with the news of their discovery. Greatwas the talk amongst the blacks, and many the queries as to how to getpossession of the comebee with the fire stick in it, when nextBootoolgah and Goonur came into the camp. It was at length decided tohold a corrobboree, and it was to be one on a scale not often seen, probably never before by the young of the tribes. The grey beardsproposed to so astonish Bootoolgah and Goonur as to make them forget toguard their precious comebee. As soon as they were intent on thecorrobboree and off guard, some one was to seize the comebee, steal thefirestick and start fires for the good of all. Most of them had tastedthe cooked fish brought into the camp by the fire makers and, havingfound it good, hungered for it. Beeargah, the hawk, was told to feignsickness, to tie up his head, and to lie down near wherever the two satto watch the corrobboree. Lying near them, he was to watch them all thetime, and when they were laughing and unthinking of anything but thespectacle before them, he was to steal the comebee. Having arrangedtheir plan of action, they all prepared for a big corrobboree. Theysent word to all the surrounding tribes, asking them to attend, especially they begged the Bralgahs to come, as they were celebratedfor their wonderful dancing, which was so wonderful as to be mostlikely to absorb the attention of the firemakers. 

All the tribes agreed to come, and soon all were engaged in greatpreparations. Each determined to outdo the other in the quaintness andbrightness of their painting for the corrobboree. Each tribe as theyarrived gained great applause; never before had the young people seenso much diversity in colouring and design. Beeleer, the Black Cockatootribe, came with bright splashes of orange-red on their black skins. The Pelicans came as a contrast, almost pure white, only a touch hereand there of their black skin showing where the white paint had rubbedoff. The Black Divers came in their black skins, but these polished toshine like satin. Then came the Millears, the beauties of the KangarooRat family, who had their home on the morillas. After them came theBuckandeer or Native Cat tribe, painted in dull colours, but in allsorts of patterns. Mairas or Paddymelons came too in haste to take partin the great corrobboree. After them, walking slowly, came theBralgahs, looking tall and dignified as they held up their red heads, painted so in contrast to their French-grey bodies, which they deemedtoo dull a colour, unbrightened, for such a gay occasion. Amongst themany tribes there, too numerous to mention, were the rose and greypainted Galabs, the green and crimson painted Billai; most brilliantwere they with their bodies grass green and their sides bright crimson, so afterwards gaining them the name of crimson wings. The bright littleGidgereegahs came too. 

Great was the gathering that Bootoolgah, the crane, and Goonur, thekangaroo rat, found assembled as they hurried on to the scene. Bootoolgah had warned Goonur that they must only be spectators, andtake no active part in the corrobboree, as they had to guard theircombee. Obedient to his advice, Goonur seated herself beside him andslung the comebee over her arm. Bootoolgah warned her to be careful andnot forget she had it. But as the corrobboree went on, so absorbed didshe become that she forgot the comebee, which slipped from her arm. Happily, Bootoolgah saw it do so, replaced it, and bade her take heed, so baulking Beeargah, who had been about to seize it, for his vigilancewas unceasing, and, deeming him sick almost unto death, the two whomlie was watching took no heed of him. Back he crouched, moaning as heturned, but keeping ever an eye on Goonur. And soon was he rewarded. Now came the turn of the Bralgahs to dance, and every eye but that ofthe watchful one was fixed on them as slowly they came into the ring. First they advanced, bowed and retired, then they repeated what theyhad done before, and again, each time getting faster and faster intheir movements, changing their bows into pirouettes, craning theirlong necks and making such antics as they went through the figures oftheir dance, and replacing their dignity with such grotesqueness, as tomake their large audience shake with laughter, they themselves keepingthroughout all their grotesque measures a solemn air, which only seemedto heighten the effect of their antics. 

And now came the chance of Beeargah the hawk. In the excitement of themoment Goonur forgot the comebee, as did Bootoolgah. They joined in themirthful applause of the crowd, and Goonur threw herself back helplesswith laughter. As she did so the comebee slipped from her arm. Then upjumped the sick man from behind her, seized the comebee with his combo, cut it open, snatched forth the firestick, set fire to the heap ofgrass ready near where he had lain, and all before the two realisedtheir loss. When they discovered the precious comebee was gone, upjumped Bootoolgah and Goonur. After Beeargah ran Bootoolgah, butBeeargah had a start and was fleeter of foot, so distanced his pursuerquickly. As he ran he fired the grass with the stick he still held. Bootoolgah, finding he could not catch Beeargah, and seeing fireseverywhere, retired from the pursuit, feeling it was useless now to tryand guard their secret, for it had now become the common property ofall the tribes there assembled. 

8. WEEDAH THE MOCKING BIRD

Weedah was playing a great trick on the black fellows who lived nearhim. He had built himself a number of grass nyunnoos, more than twenty. He made fires before each, to make it look as if some one lived in thenyunnoos. First he would go into one nyunnoo, or humpy, and cry like ababy, then to another and laugh like a child, then in turn, as he wentthe round of the humpies he would sing like a maiden, corrobboree likea man, call out in a quavering voice like an old man, and in a shrillvoice like an old woman; in fact, imitate any sort of voice he had everheard, and imitate them so quickly in succession that any one passingwould think there was a great crowd of blacks in that camp. His objectwas to entice as many strange black fellows into his camp as he could, one at a time; then he would kill them and gradually gain the wholecountry round for his own. His chance was when he managed to get asingle black fellow into his camp, which he very often did, then by hiscunning he always gained his end and the black fellow's death. This washow he attained that end. A black fellow, probably separated from hisfellows in the excitement of the chase, would be returning home alonepassing within earshot of Weedah's camp he would hear the variousvoices and wonder what tribe could be there. Curiosity would induce himto come near. He would probably peer into the camp, and, only seeingWeedah standing alone, would advance towards him. Weedah would bestanding at a little distance from a big glowing fire, where he wouldwait until the strange black fellow came quite close to him. Then hewould ask him what he wanted. The stranger would say he had heard manyvoices and had wondered what tribe it could be, so had come near tofind out. Weedah would say, "But only I am here. How could you haveheard voices? See; look round; I am alone. " Bewildered, the strangerwould look round and say in a puzzled tone of voice: "Where are theyall gone? As I came I heard babies crying, men calling, and womenlaughing; many voices I heard but you only I see. "

"And only I am here. The wind must have stirred the branches of thebalah trees, and you must have thought it was the wailing of children, the laughing of the gouggourgahgah you heard, and thought it thelaughter of women and mine must have been the voice as of men that youheard. Alone in the bush, as the shadows fall, a man breeds strangefancies. See by the light of this fire, where are your fancies now? Nowomen laugh, no babies cry, only I, Weedah, talk. " As Weedah wastalking he kept edging the stranger towards the fire; when they werequite close to it, he turned swiftly, seized him, and threw him rightinto the middle of the blaze. This scene was repeated time after time, until at last the ranks of the black fellows living round the camp ofWeedah began to get thin. 

Mullyan, the eagle hawk, determined to fathom the mystery, for as yetthe black fellows had no clue as to how or where their friends haddisappeared. Mullyan, when Beeargah, his cousin, returned to his campno more, made up his mind to get on his track and follow it, until atlength he solved the mystery. After following the track of Beeargah, ashe had chased the kangaroo to where he had slain it, on he followed hishomeward trail. Over stony ground he tracked him, and through sand, across plains, and through scrub. At last in a scrub and still on thetrack of Beeargah, he heard the sounds of many voices, babies crying, women singing, men talking. Peering through the bush, finding the tracktook him nearer the spot whence came the sounds, he saw the grasshumpies. "Who can these be?" he thought. The track led him right intothe camp, where alone Weedah was to be seen. Mullyan advanced towardshim and asked where were the people whose voices he had heard as hecame through the bush. 

Weedah said: "How can I tell you? I know of no people; I live alone. "

"But, " said Mullyan, the eagle hawk, "I heard babies crying, womenlaughing, and men talking, not one but many. "

"And I alone am here. Ask of your cars what trick they played you, orperhaps your eyes fail you now. Can you see any but me? Look foryourself. "

"And if, as indeed it seems, you only are here, what did you withBeeargah my cousin, and where are my friends? Many are their trailsthat I see coming into this camp, but none going out. And if you alonelive here you alone can answer me. "

"What know I of you or your friends? Nothing. Ask of the winds thatblow. Ask of Bahloo the moon, who looks down on the earth by night. Askof Yhi the sun, that looks down by day. But ask not Weedah, who dwellsalone, and knows naught of your friends. " But as Weedah was talking hewas carefully edging Mullyan towards the fire. 

Mullyan, the eagle hawk, too, was cunning, and not easy to trap. He sawa blazing fire in front of him, lie saw the track of his friend behindhim, he saw Weedah was edging him towards the fire, and it came to himin a moment the thought that if the fire could speak, well could ittell where were his friends. But the time was not yet come to show thathe had fathomed the mystery. So he affected to fall into the trap. Butwhen they reached the fire, before Weedah had time to act his usualpart, with a mighty grip Mullyan the eagle hawk seized him, saying, "Even as you served Beeargah the hawk, my cousin, and my friends, so nowserve I you. " And right into the middle of the blazing fire he threwhim. Then he turned homewards in haste, to tell the black fellows thathe had solved the fate of their friends, which had so long been amystery. When he was some distance from the Weedah's camp, he heard thesound of a thunder clap. But it was not thunder it was the bursting ofthe back of Weedah's head, which had burst with a bang as of a thunderclap. And as it burst, out from his remains had risen a bird, Weedah, the mocking bird; which bird to this day has a hole at the back of hishead, just in the same place as Weedah the black fellow's head hadburst, and whence the bird came forth. 

To this day the Weedah makes grass playgrounds, through which he runs, imitating, as he plays, in quick succession, any voices he has everheard, from the crying of a child to the laughing of a woman; from themewing of a cat to the barking of a dog, and hence his name Weedah, themocking bird. 

9. THE GWINEEBOOS THE REDBREASTS

Gwineeboo and Goomai, the water rat, were down at the creek one day, getting mussels for food, when, to their astonishment, a kangaroohopped right into the water beside them. Well they knew that he must beescaping from hunters, who were probably pressing him close. SoGwineeboo quickly seized her yam stick, and knocked the kangaroo on thehead; he was caught fast in the weeds in the creek, so could notescape. When the two old women had killed the kangaroo they hid itsbody under the weeds in the creek, fearing to take it out and cook itstraight away, lest the hunters should come up and claim it. The littleson of Gwineeboo watched them from the bank. After having hidden thekangaroo, the women picked up their mussels and started for their camp, when up came the hunters, Quarrian and Gidgereegah, who had tracked thekangaroo right to the creek. 

Seeing the women they said: "Did you see a kangaroo?"

The women answered: "No. We saw no kangaroo. "

"That is strange, for we have tracked it right up to here. "

"We have seen no kangaroo. See, we have been digging out mussels forfood. Come to our camp, and we will give you some when they arecooked. "

The young men, puzzled in their minds, followed the women to theircamp, and when the mussels were cooked the hunters joined the old womenat their dinner. The little boy would not eat the mussels; he keptcrying to his mother, "Gwineeboo, Gwineeboo. I want kangaroo. I wantkangaroo. Gwineeboo. Gwineeboo. "

"There, " said Quarrian. "Your little boy has seen the kangaroo, andwants some; it must be here somewhere. "

"Oh, no. He cries for anything he thinks of, some days for kangaroo; heis only a little boy, and does not know what he wants, " said oldGwineeboo. But still the child kept saying, "Gwineeboo. Gwinceboo. Iwant kangaroo. I want kangaroo. " Goomai was so angry with littleGwineeboo for keeping on asking for kangaroo, and thereby making theyoung men suspicious, that she hit him so hard on the mouth to keep himquiet, that the blood came, and trickled down his breast, staining itred. When she saw this, old Gwineeboo grew angry in her turn, and hitold Goomai, who returned the blow, and so a fight began, more wordsthan blows, so the noise was great, the women fighting, littleGwineeboo crying, not quite knowing whether he was crying becauseGoomai had hit him, because his mother was fighting, or because hestill wanted kangaroo. 

Quarrian said to Gidgereegah. "They have the kangaroo somewhere hidden;let us slip away now in the confusion. We will only hide, then comeback in a little while, and surprise them. "

They went quietly away, and as soon as the two women noticed they hadgone, they ceased fighting, and determined to cook the kangaroo. Theywatched the two young men out of sight, and waited some time so as tobe sure that they were safe. Then down they hurried to get thekangaroo. They dragged it out, and were just making a big fire on whichto cook it, when up came Quarrian and Gidgereegah, saying:

"Ah! we thought so. You had our kangaroo all the time; little Gwinceboowas right. "

"But we killed it, " said the women. 

"But we hunted it here, " said the men, and so saying caught hold of thekangaroo and dragged it away to some distance, where they made a fireand cooked it. Goomai, Gwineeboo, and her little boy went over toQuarrian and Gidgereegah, and begged for some of the meat, but theyoung men would give them none, though little Gwineeboo cried piteouslyfor some. But no; they said they would rather throw what they did notwant to the hawks than give it to the women or child. At last, seeingthat there was no hope of their getting any, the women went away. Theybuilt a big dardurr for themselves, shutting themselves and the littleboy up in it. Then they began singing a song which was to invoke astorm to destroy their enemies, for so now they considered Quarrian andGidgereegah. For some time they chanted:

 "Moogaray, Moogaray, May, May, Eehu, Eehu, Doongarah. "

First they would begin very slowly and softly, gradually gettingquicker and louder, until at length they almost shrieked it out. Thewords they said meant, "Come hailstones; come wind; come rain; comelightning. "

While they were chanting, little Gwineeboo kept crying, and would notbe comforted. Soon came a few big drops of rain, then a big wind, andas that lulled, more rain. Then came thunder and lightning, the airgrew bitterly cold, and there came a pitiless hailstorm, hailstonesbigger than a duck's egg fell, cutting the leaves from the trees andbruising their bark. Gidgereegah and Quarrian came running over to thedardurr and begged the women to let them in. 

"No, " shrieked Gwineeboo above the storm, "there was no kangaroo meatfor us: there is no dardurr shelter for you. Ask shelter of the hawkswhom ye fed. " The men begged to be let in, said they would hunt againand get kangaroo for the women, not one but many. "No, " again shriekedthe women. "You would not even listen to the crying of a little child;it is better such as you should perish. " And fiercer raged the stormand louder sang the women:

 "Moogaray, Moogaray, May, May, Eehu, Eehu, Doongarah. "

So long and so fierce was the storm that the young men must haveperished had they not been changed into birds. First they were changedinto birds and afterwards into stars in the sky, where they now are, Gidgereegah and Ouarrian with the kangaroo between them, still bearingthe names that they bore on the earth. 

10. MEAMEI THE SEVEN SISTERS

Wurrunnah had had a long day's hunting, and he came back to the camptired and hungry. He asked his old mother for durrie, but she saidthere was none left. Then he asked some of the other blacks to give himsome doonburr seeds that he might make durrie for himself, But no onewould give him anything. He flew into a rage and he said, "I will go toa far country and live with strangers; my own people would starve me. "And while he was yet hot and angry, he went. Gathering up his weapons, he strode forth to find a new people in a new country. After he hadgone some distance, he saw, a long way off, an old man chopping outbees' nests. The old man turned his face towards Wurrunnah, and watchedhim coming, but when Wurrunnah came close to him he saw that the oldman had no eyes, though he had seemed to be watching him long before hecould have heard him. It frightened Wurrunnah to see a stranger havingno eyes, yet turning his face towards him as if seeing him all thetime. But he determined not to show his fear, but go straight ontowards him, which he did. When he came up to him, the stranger toldhim that his name was Mooroonumildah, and that his tribe were so-calledbecause they had no eyes, but saw through their noses. Wurrunnahthought it very strange and still felt rather frightened, thoughMooroonumildah seemed hospitable and kind, for, he gave Wurrunnah, whomhe said looked hungry, a bark wirree filled with honey, told him wherehis camp was, and gave him leave to go there and stay with him. Wurrunnah took the honey and turned as if to go to the camp, but whenhe got out of sight he thought it wiser to turn in another direction. He journeyed on for some time, until he came to a large lagoon, wherehe decided to camp. He took a long drink of water, and then lay down tosleep. When he woke in the morning, he looked towards the lagoon, butsaw only a big plain. He thought he must be dreaming; he rubbed hiseyes and looked again. 

"This is a strange country, " he said. "First I meet a man who has noeyes and yet can see. Then at night I see a large lagoon full of water, I wake in the morning and see none. The water was surely there, for Idrank some, and yet now there is no water. " As he was wondering how thewater could have disappeared so quickly, he saw a big storm coming up;he hurried to get into the thick bush for shelter. When he had gone alittle way into the bush, he saw a quantity of cut bark lying on theground. 

"Now I am right, " he said. "I shall get some poles and with them andthis bark make a dardurr in which to shelter myself from the storm Isee coming. "

He quickly cut the poles he wanted, stuck them up as a framework forhis dardurr. Then he went to lift up the bark. As he lifted up a sheetof it he saw a strange-looking object of no tribe that he had ever seenbefore. 

This strange object cried out: "I am Bulgahnunnoo, " in such aterrifying tone that Wurrunnah dropped the bark, picked up his weaponsand ran away as hard as he could, quite forgetting the storm. His oneidea was to get as far as he could from Bulgahnunnoo. 

On he ran until he came to a big river, which hemmed him in on threesides. The river was too big to cross, so he had to turn back, yet hedid not retrace his steps but turned in another direction. As he turnedto leave the river he saw a flock of emus coming to water. The firsthalf of the flock were covered with feathers, but the last half had theform of emus, but no feathers. 

Wurrunnah decided to spear one for food. For that purpose he climbed upa tree, so that they should not see him; he got his spear ready to killone of the featherless birds. As they passed by, he picked out the onehe meant to have, threw his spear and killed it, then climbed down togo and get it. 

As he was running up to the dead emu, he saw that they were not emus atall but black fellows of a strange tribe. They were all standing roundtheir dead friend making savage signs, as to what they would do by wayof vengeance. Wurrunnah saw that little would avail him the excuse thathe had killed the black fellow in mistake for an emu; his only hope layin flight. Once more he took to his heels, hardly daring to look roundfor fear he would see an enemy behind him. On he sped, until at last hereached a camp, which he was almost into before he saw it; he had onlybeen thinking of danger behind him, unheeding what was before him. 

However, he had nothing to fear in the camp he reached so suddenly, forin it were only seven young girls. They did not look very terrifying, in fact, seemed more startled than he was. They were quite friendlytowards him when they found that he was alone and hungry. They gave himfood and allowed him to camp there that night. He asked them where therest of their tribe were, and what their name was. They answered thattheir name was Meamei, and that their tribe were in a far country. Theyhad only come to this country to see what it was like; they would stayfor a while and thence return whence they had come. 

The next day Wurrunnah made a fresh start, and left the camp of theMeamei, as if he were leaving for good. But he determined to hide nearand watch what they did, and if he could get a chance he would steal awife from amongst them. He was tired of travelling alone. He saw theseven sisters all start out with their yam sticks in hand. He followedat a distance, taking care not to be seen. He saw them stop by thenests of some flying ants. With their yam sticks they dug all roundthese ant holes. When they had successfully unearthed the ants they satdown, throwing their yam sticks on one side, to enjoy a feast, forthese ants were esteemed by them a great delicacy. 

While the sisters were busy at their feast, Wurrunnah sneaked up totheir yam sticks and stole two of them; then, taking the sticks withhim, sneaked back to his hiding-place. When at length the Meamei hadsatisfied their appetites, they picked up their sticks and turnedtowards their camp again. But only five could find their sticks; sothose five started off, leaving the other two to find theirs, supposingthey must be somewhere near, and, finding them, they would soon catchthem up. The two girls hunted all round the ants' nests, but could findno sticks. At last, when their backs were turned towards him, Wurrunnahcrept out and stuck the lost yam sticks near together in the ground;then he slipt back into his hiding-place. When the two girls turnedround, there in front of them they saw their sticks. With a cry ofjoyful surprise they ran to them and caught hold of them to pull themout of the ground, in which they were firmly stuck. As they were doingso, out from his hiding-place jumped Wurrunnah. He seized both girlsround their waists, holding them tightly. They struggled and screamed, but to no purpose. There were none near to hear them, and the more theystruggled the tighter Wurrunnah held them. Finding their screams andstruggles in vain they quietened at length, and then Wurrunnah toldthem not to be afraid, he would take care of them. He was lonely, hesaid, and wanted two wives. They must come quietly with him, and hewould be good to them. But they must do as he told them. If they werenot quiet, he would swiftly quieten them with his moorillah. But ifthey would come quietly with him he would be good to them. Seeing thatresistance was useless, the two young girls complied with his wish, andtravelled quietly on with him. They told him that some day their tribewould come and steal them back again; to avoid which he travelledquickly on and on still further, hoping to elude all pursuit. Someweeks passed, and, outwardly, the two Meamei seemed settled down totheir new life, and quite content in it, though when they were alonetogether they often talked of their sisters, and wondered what they haddone when they realised their loss. They wondered if the five werestill hunting for them, or whether they had gone back to their tribe toget assistance. That they might be in time forgotten and left withWurrunnali for ever, they never once for a moment thought. One day whenthey were camped Wurrunnah said: "This fire will not burn well. Go youtwo and get some bark from those two pine trees over there. "

"No, " they said, "we must not cut pine bark. If we did, you would nevermore see us. "

"Go! I tell you, cut pine bark. I want it. See you not the fire burnsbut slowly?"

"If we go, Wurrunnah, we shall never return. You will see us no more inthis country. We know it. "

"Go, women, stay not to talk. Did ye ever see talk make a fire burn?Then why stand ye there talking? Go; do as I bid you. Talk not sofoolishly; if you ran away soon should I catch you, and, catching you, would beat you hard. Go I talk no more. "

The Meamei went, taking with them their combos with which to cut thebark. They went each to a different tree, and each, with a strong hit, drove her combo into the bark. As she did so, each felt the tree thather combo had struck rising higher out of the ground and bearing herupward with it. Higher and higher grew the pine trees, and still onthem, higher and higher from the earth, went the two girls. Hearing nochopping after the first hits, Wurrunnah came towards the pines to seewhat was keeping the girls so long. As he came near them he saw thatthe pine trees were growing taller even as he looked at them, andclinging to the trunks of the trees high in the air he saw his twowives. He called to them to come down, but they made no answer. Timeafter time he called to them as higher and higher they went, but stillthey made no answer. Steadily taller grew the two pines, until at lasttheir tops touched the sky. As they did so, from the sky the fiveMeamei looked out, called to their two sisters on the pine trees, bidding them not to be afraid but to come to them. Quickly the twogirls climbed up when they heard the voices of their sisters. When theyreached the tops of the pines the five sisters in the sky stretchedforth their hands, and drew them in to live with them there in the skyfor ever. 

And there, if you look, you may see the seven sisters together. Youperhaps know them as the Pleiades, but the black fellows call them theMeamei. 

11. THE COOKOOBURRAHS AND THE GOOLAHGOOL

Googarh, the iguana, was married to Moodai, the opossum andCookooburrah, the laughing jackass. Cookooburrah was the mother ofthree sons, one grown up and living away from her, the other two onlylittle boys. They had their camps near a goolahgool, whence theyobtained water. A goolahgool is a water-holding tree, of the iron barkor box species. It is a tree with a split in the fork of it, and hollowbelow the fork. After heavy rain, this hollow trunk would be full ofwater, which water would have run into it through the split in thefork. A goolahgool would hold water for a long time. The blacks knew agoolahgool, amongst other trees, by the mark which the overflow ofwater made down the trunk of the tree, discolouring the bark. 

One day, Googarh, the iguana, and his two wives went out hunting, leaving the two little Cookooburrahs at the camp. They had taken outwater for themselves in their opossum skin water bags, but they hadleft none for the children, who were too small to get any from thegoolahgool for themselves, so nearly perished from thirst. Theirtongues were swollen in their mouths, and they were quite speechless, when they saw a man coming towards them. When he came near, they saw itwas Cookooburrah, their big brother. They could not speak to him andanswer, when he asked where his mother was. Then he asked them what wasthe matter. All they could do was to point towards the tree. He lookedat it, and saw it was a goolahgool, so he said: "Did your mother leaveyou no water?" They shook their heads. He said: "Then you are perishingfor want of a drink, my brothers?" They nodded. "Go, " he said "a littleway off, and you shall see how I will punish them for leaving my littlebrothers to perish of thirst. " He went towards the tree, climbed up it, and split it right down. As he did so, out gushed the water in aswiftly running stream. Soon the little fellows quenched their thirstand then, in their joy, bathed in the water, which grew in volume everymoment. 

In the meantime, those who had gone forth to hunt were returning, andas they came towards their camp they met a running stream of water. "What is this?" they said, "our goolahgool must have burst, " and theytried to dam the water, but it was running too strongly for them. Theygave up the effort and hurried on towards their camp. But they found adeep stream divided them from their camp. The three Cookooburrahs sawthem, and the eldest one said to the little fellows: "You call out andtell them to cross down there, where it is not deep. " The little onescalled out as they were told, and where they pointed Googarh and hiswives waded into the stream. Finding she was getting out of her depth, Cookooburrah the laughing jackass cried out: "Goug gour gah gah. Gouggour gah gah. Give me a stick. Give me a stick. "

But from the bank her sons only answered in derision: "Goug gour gahgah. Goug gour gah gah. " And the three hunters were soon engulfed inthe rushing stream, drawn down by the current and drowned. 

12. THE MAYAMAH

The blacks had all left their camp and gone away to attend a borah. Nothing was left in the camp but one very old dog, too old to travel. After the blacks had been gone about three days, one night came theirenemies, the Gooeeays, intending to surprise them and kill them. 

Painted in all the glory of their war-paint came the Gooeeays, theirhair tied in top-knots and ornamented with feathers and kangaroos'teeth. Their waywahs of paddy, melon, and kangaroo rat skins cut instrips, round their waists, were new and strong, holding firmly some oftheir boomerangs and woggoorahs, which they had stuck through them. 

But prepared as they were for conquest, they found only a deserted campcontaining naught but one old dog. They asked the old dog where theblacks were gone. But he only shook his head. Again and again theyasked him, and again and again he only shook his head. At last some ofthe black fellows raised their spears and their moorillahs ornullah-nullahs, saying:

"If you do not tell us where the blacks are gone, we shall kill you. "

Then spoke the old dog, saying only: "Gone to the borah. "

And as he spoke every one of the Gooeeays and everything they had withthem was turned to stone. Even the waywahs round their waists, thetop-knots on their heads, and the spears in their hands, even theseturned to stone. And when the blacks returned to their camp longafterwards, when the borah was over, and the boys, who had been madeyoung men, gone out into the bush to undergo their novitiate, each withhis solitary guardian, then saw the blacks, their enemies, theGooeeays, standing round their old camp, as if to attack it. Butinstead of being men of flesh, they were men of stone--they, theirweapons, their waywahs, and all that belonged to them, stone. 

And at that place are to be found stones or mayamahs of great beauty, striped and marked and coloured as were the men painted. 

And the place of the mayamah is on one of the mounts near Beemery. 

13. THE BUNBUNDOOLOOEYS

The mother Bunbundoolooey put her child, a little boy Bunbundoolooey, who could only just crawl, into her goolay. Goolay is a sort of smallnetted hammock, slung by black women on their backs, in which theycarry their babies and goods in general. Bunbundoolooey, the pigeon, put her goolay across her back, and started out hunting. 

When she had gone some distance she came to a clump of bunnia or wattletrees. At the foot of one of these she saw some large euloomarah orgrubs, which were good to cat. She picked some up, and dug with her yamstick round the roots of the tree to get more. She went from tree totree, getting grubs at every one. That she might gather them all, sheput down her goolay, and hunted further round. 

Soon in the excitement of her search, she forgot the goolay with thechild in it, and wandered away. Further and further she went from theDunnia clump, never once thinking of her poor birrahlee, or baby. Onand still on she went, until at length she reached a far country. 

The birrablee woke up, and crawled out of the goolay. First he onlycrawled about, but soon he grew stronger, and raised himself, and stoodby a tree. Then day by day he grew stronger and walked alone, andstronger still he grew, and could run. Then he grew on into a big boy, and then into a man, and his mother he never saw while he was growingfrom birrahlee to man. 

But in the far country at length one day Bunbundoolooey, the mother, remembered the birrablee she had left. 

"Oh, " she cried, "I forgot my birrahlee. I left my birrablee where theDunnias grow in a far country. I must go to my birrahlee. My poorbirrahlee! I forgot it. Mad must I have been when I forgot him. Mybirrahlee! My birrahlee!"

And away went the mother as fast as she could travel back to the Dunniaclump in the far country. When she reached the spot she saw the tracksof her birrablee, first crawling, then standing, then walking, and thenrunning. Bigger and bigger were the tracks she followed, until she sawthey were the tracks of a man. She followed them until she reached acamp. No one was in the camp, but a fire was there, so she waited, andwhile waiting looked round. She saw her son had made himself manyweapons, and many opossum rugs, which he had painted gaily inside. 

Then at last she saw a man coming towards the camp, and she knew he washer birrahlee, grown into a man. As he drew near she ran out to meethim, saying:

"Bunbundoolooey, I am your mother. The mother who forgot you as abirrahlee, and left you. But now I have come to find you, my son. Longwas the journey, my son, and your mother was weary, but now that shesees once more her birrahlee, who has grown into a man, she is nolonger weary, but glad is her heart, and loud could she sing in herjoy. Ah, Bunbundoolooey, my son! Bunbundoolooey, my son!"

And she ran forward with her arms out, as if to embrace him. 

But stern was the face of Bunbundoolooey, the son, and no answer did hemake with his tongue. But he stooped to the ground and picked therefroma big stone. This swiftly he threw at his mother, hitting her with suchforce that she fell dead to the earth. 

Then on strode Bunbundoolooey to his camp. 

14. OONGNAIRWAH AND GUINAREY

Oongnairwah, the diver, and Guinarey, the eagle hawk, told all thepelicans, black swans, cranes, and many others, that they would taketheir net to the creek and catch fish, if some of them would go andbeat the fish down towards the net. 

Gladly went the pelicans, black swans, and the rest to the creek. Inthey jumped, and splashed the water about to scare the fish downtowards where Oongnairwah and Guinarey were stationed with their net. Presently little Deereeree, the wagtail, and Burreenjin, the peewee, who were on the bank sitting on a stump, called out, "Look out, we sawthe back of an alligator in the water. " The diver and eagle hawk calledback, "Go away, then. The wind blows from you towards him. Go back orhe will smell you. "

But Deereeree and Burreenjin were watching the fishing and did not heedwhat was said to them. Soon the alligator smelt them, and he lashed outwith his tail, splashing the water so high, and lashing so furiously, that all the fishermen were drowned, even Deereeree and Burreenjin onthe bank--not one escaped, And red was the bank of the creek, and redthe stump whereon Deereeree and Burreenjin had sat, with the blood ofthe slain. And the place is called Goomade and is red for ever. 

15. NARAHDARN THE BAT

Narahdarn, the bat, wanted honey. He watched until he saw aWurranunnah, or bee, alight. He caught it, stuck a white featherbetween its hind legs, let it go and followed it. He knew he could seethe white feather, and so follow the bee to its nest. He ordered histwo wives, of the Bilber tribe, to follow him with wirrees to carryhome the honey in. Night came on and Wurranunnah the bee had notreached home. Narahdarn caught him, imprisoned him under bark, and kepthim safely there until next morning. When it was light enough to see, Narahdarn let the bee go again, and followed him to his nest, in agunnyanny tree. Marking the tree with his comebo that he might know itagain, he returned to hurry on his wives who were some way behind. Hewanted them to come on, climb the tree, and chop out the honey. Whenthey reached the marked tree one of the women climbed up. She calledout to Narahdarn that the honey was in a split in the tree. He calledback to her to put her hand in and get it out. She put her arm in, butfound she could not get it out again. Narahdarn climbed up to help her, but found when he reached her that the only way to free her was to cutoff her arm. This he did before she had time to realise what he wasgoing to do, and protest. So great was the shock to her that she diedinstantly. Narahdarn carried down her lifeless body and commanded hersister, his other wife, to go up, chop out the arm, and get the honey. She protested, declaring the bees would have taken the honey away bynow. 

"Not so, " he said; "go at once. "

Every excuse she could think of, to save herself, she made. But herexcuses were in vain, and Narahdarn only became furious with her formaking them, and, brandishing his boondi, drove her up the tree. Shemanaged to get her arm in beside her sister's, but there it stuck andshe could not move it. Narahdarn, who was watching her, saw what hadhappened and followed her up the tree. Finding he could not pull herarm out, in spite of her cries, he chopped it off, as he had done hersister's. After one shriek, as he drove his comebo through her arm, shewas silent. He said, "Come down, and I will chop out the bees' nest. "But she did not answer him, and he saw that she too was dead. Then hewas frightened, and climbed quickly down the gunnyanny tree; taking herbody to the ground with him, he laid it beside her sister's, andquickly he hurried from the spot, taking no further thought of thehoney. As he neared his camp, two little sisters of his wives ran outto meet him, thinking their sisters would be with him, and that theywould give them a taste of the honey they knew they had gone out toget. But to their surprise Narahdarn came alone, and as he drew near tothem they saw his arms were covered with blood. And his face had afierce look on it, which frightened them from even asking where theirsisters were. They ran and told their mother that Narahdarn hadreturned alone, that he looked fierce and angry, also his arms werecovered with blood. Out went the mother of the Bilbers, and she said, "Where are my daughters, Narahdarn? Forth went they this morning tobring home the honey you found. You come back alone. You bring nohoney. Your look is fierce, as of one who fights, and your arms arecovered with blood. Tell me, I say, where are my daughters?"

"Ask me not, Bilber. Ask Wurranunnah the bee, he may know. Narahdarnthe bat knows nothing. " And he wrapped himself in a silence which noquestioning could pierce. Leaving him there, before his camp, themother of the Bilbers returned to her dardurr and told her tribe thather daughters were gone, and Narahdarn, their husband, would tell hernothing of them. But she felt sure he knew their fate, and certain shewas that he had some tale to tell, for his arms were covered withblood. 

The chief of her tribe listened to her. When she had finished and begunto wail for her daughters, whom she thought she would see no more, hesaid, "Mother of the Bilbers, your daughters shall be avenged if aughthas happened to them at the hands of Narahdarn. Fresh are his tracks, and the young men of your tribe shall follow whence they have come, andfinding what Narahdarn has done, swiftly shall they return. Then shallwe hold a corrobboree, and if your daughters fell at his hand Narahdarnshall be punished. "

The mother of the Bilbers said: "Well have you spoken, oh my relation. Now speed ye the young men lest the rain fall or the dust blow and thetracks be lost. " Then forth went the fleetest footed and the keenesteyed of the young men of the tribe. Ere long, back they came to thecamp with the news of the fate of the Bilbers. 

That night was the corrobboree held. The women sat round in ahalf-circle, and chanted a monotonous chant, keeping time by hitting, some of them, two boomerangs together, and others beating their rolledup opossum rugs. 

Big fires were lit on the edge of the scrub, throwing light on thedancers as they came dancing out from their camps, painted in allmanner of designs, waywahs round their waists, tufts of feathers intheir hair, and carrying in their hands painted wands. Heading theprocession as the men filed out from the scrub into a cleared space infront of the women, came Narahdarn. The light of the fires lit up thetree tops, the dark balahs showed out in fantastic shapes, and weirdindeed was the scene as slowly the men danced round; louder clicked theboomerangs and louder grew the chanting of the women; higher were thefires piled, until the flames shot their coloured tongues round thetrunks of the trees and high into the air. One fire was bigger thanall, and towards it the dancers edged Narahdarn; then the voice of themother of the Bilbers shrieked in the chanting, high above that of theother women. As Narahdarn turned from the fire to dance back he found awall of men confronting him. These quickly seized him and hurled himinto the madly-leaping fire before him, where he perished in theflames. And so were the Bilbers avenged. 

16. MULLYANGAH THE MORNING STAR

Mullyan, the eagle hawk, built himself a home high in a yaraan tree. There he lived apart from his tribe, with Moodai the opossum, his wife, and Moodai the opossum, his mother-in-law. With them too was Buttergah, a daughter of the Buggoo or flying squirrel tribe. Buttergah was afriend of Moodai, the wife of Mullyan, and a distant cousin to theMoodai tribe. 

Mullyan the eagle hawk was a cannibal. That was the reason of hisliving apart from the other blacks. In order to satisfy his cannibalcravings, he used to sally forth with a big spear, a spear about fourtimes as big as an ordinary spear. If he found a black fellow huntingalone, he would kill him and take his body up to the house in the tree. There the Moodai and Buttergab would cook it, and all of them would eatthe flesh; for the women as well as Mullyan were cannibals. This wenton for some time, until at last so many black fellows were slain thattheir friends determined to find out what became of them, and theytracked the last one they missed. They tracked him to where he hadevidently been slain; they took up the tracks of his slayer, andfollowed them right to the foot of the yaraan tree, in which was builtthe home of Mullyan. They tried to climb the tree, but it was high andstraight, and they gave up the attempt after many efforts. In theirdespair at their failure they thought of the Bibbees, a tribe noted forits climbing powers. They summoned two young Bibbees to their aid. Onecame, bringing with him his friend Murrawondah of the climbing rattribe. 

Having heard what the blacks wanted them to do, these famous climberswent to the yaraan tree and made a start at once. There was only lightenough that first night for them to see to reach a fork in the treeabout half-way up. There they camped, watched Mullyan away in themorning, and then climbed on. At last they reached the home of Mullyan. They watched their chance and then sneaked into his humpy. 

When they were safely inside, they hastened to secrete a smoulderingstick in one end of the humpy, taking care they were not seen by any ofthe women. Then they went quietly down again, no one the wiser of theircoming or going. During the day the women heard sometimes a cracklingnoise, as of burning, but looking round they saw nothing, and as theirown fire was safe, they took no notice, thinking it might have beencaused by some grass having fallen into their fire. 

After their descent from having hidden the smouldering fire stick, Bibbee and Murrawondah found the blacks and told them what they haddone. Hearing that the plan was to burn out Mullyan, and fearing thatthe tree might fall, they all moved to some little distance, there towatch and wait for the end. Great was their joy at the thought that atlast their enemy was circumvented. And proud were Bibbee andMurrawondah as the black fellows praised their prowess. 

After dinner-time Mullyan came back. When he reached the entrance tohis house he put down his big spear outside. Then he went in and threwhimself down to rest, for long had he walked and little had he gained. In a few minutes he heard his big spear fall down. He jumped up andstuck it in its place again. He had no sooner thrown himself down, thanagain he heard it fall. Once more he rose and replaced it. As hereached his resting-place again, out burst a flame of fire from the endof his humpy. He called out to the three women, who were cooking, andthey rushed to help him extinguish the flames. But in spite of theirefforts the fire only blazed the brighter. Mullyan's arm was burnt off. The Moodai had their feet burnt, and Buttergah was badly burnt too. Seeing they were helpless against the fire, they turned to leave thehumpy to its fate, and make good their own escape. But they had left ittoo late. As they turned to descend the tree, the roof of the humpyfell on them. And all that remained when the fire ceased, were thecharred bones of the dwellers in the yaraan tree. That was all that theblacks found of their enemies; but their legend says that Mullyan theeagle hawk lives in the sky as Mullyangah the morning star, on one sideof which is a little star, which is his one arm; on the other a largerstar, which is Moodai the opossum, his wife. 

17. GOOMBLEGUBBON, BEEARGAH, AND OUYAN

Goomblegubbon the bustard, his two wives, Beeargah the hawk, and Ouyanthe curlew, with the two children of Beeargah, had their camps rightaway in the bush; their only water supply was a small dungle, or gilguyhole. The wives and children camped in one camp, and Goomblegubbon ashort distance off in another. One day the wives asked their husband tolend them the dayoorl stone, that they might grind some doonburr tomake durrie. But he would not lend it to them, though they asked himseveral times. They knew he did not want to use it himself, for theysaw his durrie on a piece of bark, between two fires, already cooking. They determined to be revenged, so said:

"We will make some water bags of the opossum skins; we will fill themwith water, then some day when Goomblegubbon is out hunting we willempty the dungle of water, take the children, and run away! When hereturns he will find his wives and children gone and the dungle empty;then he will be sorry that he would not lend us the dayoorl. "

The wives soon caught some opossums, killed and skinned them, pluckedall the hair from the skins, saving it to roll into string to makegoomillahs, cleaned the skins of all flesh, sewed them up with thesinews, leaving only the neck opening. When finished, they blew intothem, filled them with air, tied them up and left them to dry for a fewdays. When they were dry and ready to be used, they chose a day whenGoomblegubbon was away, filled the water bags, emptied the dungle, andstarted towards the river. 

Having travelled for some time, they at length reached the river. Theysaw two black fellows on the other side, who, when they saw the runawaywives and the two children, swam over to them and asked whence they hadcome and whither they were going. 

"We are running away from our husband Goomblegubbon, who would lend usno dayoorl to grind our doonburr on, and we ran away lest we and ourchildren should starve, for we could not live on meat alone. Butwhither we are going we know not, except that it must be far away, lestGoomblegubbon follow and kill us. "

The black fellows said they wanted wives, and would each take one, andboth care for the children. The women agreed. The black fellows swamback across the river, each taking a child first, and then a woman, foras they came from the back country, where no creeks were, the womencould not swim. 

Goomblegubbon came back from hunting, and, seeing no wives, calledaloud for them, but heard no answer. Then he went to their camp, andfound them not. Then turning towards the dungle he saw that it wasempty. Then he saw the tracks of his wives and children going towardsthe river. Great was his anger, and vowing he would kill them when hefound them, he picked up his spears and followed their tracks, until hetoo reached the river. There on the other side he saw a camp, and in ithe could see strange black fellows, his wives, and his children. Hecalled aloud for them to cross him over, for he too could not swim. Butthe sun went down and still they did not answer. He camped where he wasthat night, and in the morning he saw the camp opposite had beendeserted and set fire to; the country all round was burnt so that noteven the tracks of the black fellows and his wives could be found, evenhad he been able to cross the river. And never again did he see or hearof his wives or his children. 

18. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON

Mooregoo the Mopoke had been camped away by himself for a long time. While alone he had made a great number of boomerangs, nullah-nullahs, spears, neilahmans, and opossum rugs. Well had he carved the weaponswith the teeth of opossums, and brightly had he painted the inside ofthe rugs with coloured designs, and strongly had he sewn them with thesinews of opossums, threaded in the needle made of the little bonetaken from the leg of an emu. As Mooregoo looked at his work he wasproud of all he had done. 

One night Babloo the moon came to his camp, and said: "Lend me one ofyour opossum rugs. "

"No. I lend not my rugs. "

"Then give me one. "

"No. I give not my rugs. "

Looking round, Bahloo saw the beautifully carved weapons, so he said, "Then give me, Mooregoo, some of your weapons. "

"No, I give, never, what I have made, to another. "

Again Bahloo said, "The night is cold. Lend me a rug. "

"I have spoken, " said Mooregoo. "I never lend my rugs. "

Barloo said no more, but went away, cut some bark and made a dardurrfor himself. When it was finished and he safely housed in it, down camethe rain in torrents. And it rained without ceasing until the wholecountry was flooded. Mooregoo was drowned. His weapons floated aboutand drifted apart, and his rugs rotted in the water. 

19. OUYAN THE CURLEW

Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son:"Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu. The women and I arehungry. You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat. You must notstay always in the camp like an old woman; you must go and hunt asother men do, lest the women laugh at you. "

Ouyan took his spears and went out hunting, but though he went far, hecould not get an emu, yet he dare not return to the camp and face thejeers of the women. Well could they jeer, and angry could his mothergrow when she was hungry. Sooner than return empty-handed he would cutsome flesh off his own legs. And this he decided to do. He made a cutin his leg with his comebo and as he made it, cried aloud: "Yuckay!Yuckay, " in pain. But he cut on, saying: "Sharper would cut the tonguesof the women, and deeper would be the wounds they would make, if Ireturned without food for them. " And crying: "Yuckay, yuckay, " at eachstroke of his comebo, he at length cut off a piece of flesh, andstarted towards the camp with it. 

As he neared the camp his mother cried out: "What have you brought us, Ouyan? We starve for meat, come quickly. "

He came and laid the flesh at her feet, saying: "Far did I go, andlittle did I see, but there is enough for all to-night; to-morrow willI go forth again. "

The women cooked the flesh, and ate it hungrily. Afterwards they feltquite ill, but thought it must be because they had eaten too hungrily. The next day they hurried Ouyan forth again. And again he returnedbringing his own flesh back. Again the women ate hungrily of it, andagain they felt quite ill. 

Then, too, Beeargah noticed for the first time that the flesh Ouyanbrought looked different from emu flesh. She asked him what flesh itwas. He replied: "What should it be but the flesh of emu?"

But Beeargah was not satisfied, and she said to the two women who livedwith her: "Go you, to-morrow, follow Ouyan, and see whence he gets thisflesh. "

The next day, the two woman followed Ouyan when he went forth to hunt. They followed at a good distance, that he might not notice that theywere following. Soon they heard him crying as if in pain: "Yuckay, yuckay, yuckay nurroo gay gay. " When they came near they saw he wascutting the flesh off his own limbs. Before he discovered that theywere watching him, back they went to the old woman, and told her whatthey had seen. 

Soon Ouyan came back, bringing, as usual, the flesh with him. When hehad thrown it down at his mother's feet, he went away, and lay down asif tired from the chase. His mother went up to him, and before he hadtime to cover his mutilated limbs, she saw that indeed the story of thewomen was true. Angry was she that he had so deceived her: and shecalled loudly for the other two women, who came running to her. 

"You are right, " she said. "Too lazy to hunt for emu, he cut off hisown flesh, not caring that when we unwittingly ate thereof we shouldsicken. Let us beat him who did us this wrong. "

The three women seized poor Ouyan and beat him, though he cried aloudin agony when the blows fell on his bleeding legs. 

When the women had satisfied their vengeance, Beeargah said: "You Ouyanshall have no more flesh on your legs, and red shall they be for ever;red, and long and fleshless. " Saying which she went, and with her theother women. Ouyan crawled away and hid himself, and never again didhis mother see him. But night after night was to be heard a wailing cryof, "Bou you gwai gwai. Bou you gwai gwai, " which meant, "My poor redlegs. My poor red legs. "

But though Ouyan the man was never seen again, a bird with long thinlegs, very red in colour under the feathers, was seen often, and heardto cry ever at night, even as Ouyan the man had cried: "Bou you gwaigwai. Bou you gwai gwai. " And this bird bears always the name of Ouyan. 

20. DINEWAN THE EMU, AND WAHN THE CROWS

Dinewan and his two wives, the Wahn, were camping out. Seeing someclouds gathering, they made a bark humpy. It came on to rain, and theyall took shelter under it. Dinewan, when his wives were not looking, gave a kick against a piece of bark at one side of the humpy, knockedit down, then told his wives to go and put it up again. When they wereoutside putting it up, he gave a kick, and knocked down a piece on theother side; so no sooner were they in again than out they had to go. This he did time after time, until at last they su spected him, anddecided that one of them would watch. The one who was watching sawDinewan laugh to himself and go and knock down the bark they had justput up, chuckling at the thought of his wives having to go out in thewet and cold to put it up, while he had his supper dry and comfortablyinside. The one who saw him told the other, and they decided to teachhim a lesson. So in they came, each with a piece of bark filled withhot coals. They went straight up to Dinewan, who was lying downlaughing. 

"Now, " they said, "you shall feel as hot we did cold. " And they threwthe coals over him. Dinewan jumped up, crying aloud with the pain, forhe was badly burnt. He rolled himself over, and ran into the rain; andhis wives stayed inside, and laughed aloud at him. 

21. GOOLAHWILLEEL THE TOPKNOT PIGEONS

Young Goolahwilleeel used to go out hunting every day. His mother andsisters always expected that he would bring home kangaroo and emu forthem. But each day he came home without any meat at all. They asked himwhat he did in the bush, as he evidently did not hunt. He said that hedid hunt. 

"Then why, " said they, "do you bring us nothing home?"

"I cannot catch and kill what I follow, " he said. "You hear me cry outwhen I find kangaroo or emu; is it not so?"

"Yes; each day we hear you call when you find something, and each daywe get ready the fire, expecting you to bring home the spoils of thechase, but you bring nothing. "

"To-morrow, " he said, "you shall not be disappointed. I will bring youa kangaroo. "

Every day, instead of hunting, Goolahwilleel had been gatheringwattle-gum, and with this he had been modelling a kangaroo--a perfectmodel of one, tail, ears, and all complete. So the next day he cametowards the camp carrying this kangaroo made of gum. Seeing him coming, and also seeing that he was carrying the promised kangaroo, his motherand sisters said: "Ah, Goolahwilleel spoke truly. He has kept his word, and now brings us a kangaroo. Pile up the fire. To-night we shall eatmeat. "

About a hundred yards away from the camp Goolahwilleel put down hismodel, and came on without it. His mother called out: "Where is thekangaroo you brought home?"

"Oh, over there. " And he pointed towards where he had left it. 

The sisters ran to get it, but came back saying: "Where is it? Wecannot see it. "

"Over there, " he said, pointing again. 

"But there is only a great figure of gum there. "

"Well, did I say it was anything else? Did I not say it was gum?"

"No, you did not. You said it was a kangaroo. "

"And so it is a kangaroo. A beautiful kangaroo that I made all bymyself. " And he smiled quite proudly to think what a fine kangaroo hehad made. 

But his mother and sisters did not smile. They seized him and gave hima good beating for deceiving them. They told him he should never go outalone again, for he only played instead of hunting, though he knew theystarved for meat. They would always in the future go with him. 

And so for ever the Goolahwilleels went in flocks, never more singly, in search of food. 

22. GOONUR, THE WOMAN-DOCTOR

Goonur was a clever old woman-doctor, who lived with her son, Goonur, and his two wives. The wives were Guddah the red lizard, and Beereeunthe small, prickly lizard. One day the two wives had done something toanger Goonur, their husband, and he gave them both a great beating. After their beating they went away by themselves. They said to eachother that they could stand their present life no longer, and yet therewas no escape unless they killed their husband. They decided they woulddo that. But how? That was the question. It must be by cunning. 

At last they decided on a plan. They dug a big hole in the sand nearthe creek, filled it with water, and covered the hole over with boughs, leaves, and grass. 

"Now we will go, " they said, "and tell our husband that we have found abig bandicoot's nest. "

Back they went to the camp, and told Goonur that they had seen a bignest of bandicoots near the creek; that if he sneaked up he would beable to surprise them and get the lot. 

Off went Goonur in great haste. He sneaked up to within a couple offeet of the nest, then gave a spring on to the top of it. And only whenhe felt the bough top give in with him, and he sank down into water, did he realise that he had been tricked. Too late then to save himself, for he was drowning and could not escape. His wives had watched thesuccess of their stratagem from a distance. When they were certain thatthey had effectually disposed of their hated husband, they went back tothe camp. Goonur, the mother, soon missed her son, made inquiries ofhis wives, but gained no information from them. Two or three dayspassed, and yet Goonur, the son, returned not. Seriously alarmed at hislong absence without having given her notice of his intention, themother determined to follow his track. She took up his trail where shehad last seen him leave the camp. This she followed until she reachedthe so-called bandicoot's nest. Here his tracks disappeared, andnowhere could she find a sign of his having returned from this place. She felt in the hole with her yarn stick, and soon felt that there wassomething large there in the water. She cut a forked stick and tried toraise the body and get it out, for she felt sure it must be her son. But she could not raise it; stick after stick broke in the effort. Atlast she cut a midjee stick and tried with that, and then she wassuccessful. When she brought out the body she found it was indeed herson. She dragged the body to an ant bed, and watched intently to see ifthe stings of the ants brought any sign of returning life. Soon herhope was realised, and after a violent twitching of the muscles her sonregained consciousness. As soon as he was able to do so, he told her ofthe trick his wives had played on him. 

Goonur, the mother, was furious. "No more shall they have you ashusband. You shall live hidden in my dardurr. When we get near the campyou can get into this long, big comebee, and I will take you in. Whenyou want to go hunting I will take you from the camp in this comebee, and when we are out of sight you can get out and hunt as of old. "

And thus they managed for some time to keep his return a secret; andlittle the wives knew that their husband was alive and in his mother'scamp. But as day after day Goonur, the mother, returned from huntingloaded with spoils, they began to think she must have help from someone; for surely, they said, no old woman could be so successful inhunting. There was a mystery they were sure, and they were determinedto find it out. 

"See, " they said, "she goes out alone. She is old, and yet she bringshome more than we two do together, and we are young. To-day she broughtopossums, piggiebillahs, honey yams, quatha, and many things. We gotlittle, yet we went far. We will watch her. "

The next time old Goonur went out, carrying her big comebee, the wiveswatched her. 

"Look, " they said, "how slowly she goes. She could not climb trees foropossums--she is too old and weak; look how she staggers. "

They went cautiously after her, and saw when she was some distance fromthe camp that she put down her comebee. And out of it, to theiramazement, stepped Goonur, their husband. 

"Ah, " they said, "this is her secret. She must have found him, and, asshe is a great doctor, she was able to bring him to life again. We mustwait until she leaves him, and then go to him, and beg to know where hehas been, and pretend joy that he is back, or else surely now he isalive again he will sometime kill us. "

Accordingly, when Goonur was alone the two wives ran to him, and said:

"Why, Goonur, our husband, did you leave us? Where have you been allthe time that we, your wives, have mourned for you? Long has the timebeen without you, and we, your wives, have been sad that you came nomore to our dardurr. "

Goonur, the husband, affected to believe their sorrow was genuine, andthat they did not know when they directed him to the bandicoot's nestthat it was a trap. Which trap, but for his mother, might have been hisgrave. 

They all went hunting together, and when they had killed enough forfood they returned to the camp. As they came near to the camp, Goonur, the mother, saw them coming, and cried out:

"Would you again be tricked by your wives? Did I save you from deathonly that you might again be killed? I spared them, but I would I hadslain them, if again they are to have a chance of killing you, my son. Many are the wiles of women, and another time I might not be able tosave you. Let them live if you will it so, my son, but not with you. They tried to lure you to death; you are no longer theirs, mine onlynow, for did I not bring you back from the dead?"

But Goonur the husband said, "In truth did you save me, my mother, andthese my wives rejoice that you did. They too, as I was, were deceivedby the bandicoot's nest, the work of an enemy yet to be found. See, mymother, do not the looks of love in their eyes, and words of love ontheir lips vouch for their truth? We will be as we have been, mymother, and live again in peace. "

And thus craftily did Goonur the husband deceive his wives and makethem believe he trusted them wholly, while in reality his mind was eventhen plotting vengeance. In a few days he had his plans ready. Havingcut and pointed sharply two stakes, he stuck them firmly in the creek, then he placed two logs on the bank, in front of the sticks, which wereunderneath the water, and invisible. Having made his preparations, heinvited his wives to come for a bathe. He said when they reached thecreek:

"See those two logs on the bank, you jump in each from one and seewhich can dive the furthest. I will go first to see you as you comeup. " And in he jumped, carefully avoiding the pointed stakes. "Right, "he called. "All is clear here, jump in. "

Then the two wives ran down the bank each to a log and jumped from it. Well had Goonur calculated the distance, for both jumped right on tothe stakes placed in the water to catch them, and which stuck firmlyinto them, holding them under the water. 

"Well am I avenged, " said Goonur. "No more will my wives lay traps tocatch me. " And he walked off to the camp. 

His mother asked him where his wives were. "They left me, " he said, "toget bees' nests. "

But as day by day passed and the wives returned not, the old womanbegan to suspect that her son knew more than he said. She asked him nomore, but quietly watched her opportunity, when her son was awayhunting, and then followed the tracks of the wives. She tracked them tothe creek, and as she saw no tracks of their return, she went into thecreek, felt about, and there found the two bodies fast on the stakes. She managed to get them off and out of the creek, then she determinedto try and restore them to life, for she was angry that her son had nottold her what he had done, but had deceived her as well as his wives. She rubbed the women with some of her medicines, dressed the woundsmade by the stakes, and then dragged them both on to ants' nests andwatched their bodies as the ants crawled over them, biting them. Shehad not long to wait; soon they began to move and come to life again. 

As soon as they were restored Goonur took them back to the camp andsaid to Goonur her son, "Now once did I use my knowledge to restorelife to you, and again have I used it to restore life to your wives. You are all mine now, and I desire that you live in peace and nevermore deceive me, or never again shall I use my skill for you:"

And they lived for a long while together, and when the Mother Doctordied there was a beautiful, dazzlingly bright falling star, followed bya sound as of a sharp clap of thunder, and all the tribes round whenthey saw and heard this said, "A great doctor must have died, for thatis the sign. " And when the wives died, they were taken up to the sky, where they are now known as Gwaibillah, the red star, so called fromits bright red colour, owing, the legend says, to the red marks left bythe stakes on the bodies of the two women, and which nothing couldefface. 

23. DEEREEREE THE WAGTAIL, AND THE RAINBOW

Deereeree was a widow and lived in a camp alone with her four littlegirls. One day Bibbee came and made a camp not far from hers. Deereereewas frightened of him, too frightened to go to sleep. All night sheused to watch his camp, and if she heard a sound she would cry aloud:"Deerceree, wyah, wyah, Deereeree, " Sometimes she would be calling outnearly all night. 

In the morning, Bibbee would come over to her camp and ask her what wasthe matter that she had called out so in the night. She told him thatshe thought she heard some one walking about and was afraid, for shewas alone with her four little girls. 

He told her she ought not to be afraid with all her children round her. But night after night she sat up crying: "Wyah, wyah, Deereeree, Deereeree. "

At last Bibbee said! "If you are so frightened, marry me and live in mycamp. I will take care of you. " But Deereeree said she did not want tomarry. So night after night was to be heard her plaintive cry of "Wyah, wyah, Deereeree, Deereeree. " And again and again Bibbee pressed her toshare his camp and marry him. But she always refused. The more sherefused the more he wished to marry her. And he used to wonder how hecould induce her to change her mind. 

At last he thought of a plan of surprising her into giving her consent. He set to work and made a beautiful and many coloured arch, which, whenit was made, he called Euloowirree, and he placed it right across thesky, reaching from one side of the earth to the other. When the rainbowwas firmly placed in the sky, and showing out in all its brilliancy, ofmany colours, as a roadway from the earth to the stars, Bibbee wentinto his camp to wait. When Deereeree looked up at the sky and saw thewonderful rainbow, she thought something dreadful must be going tohappen. She was terribly frightened, and called aloud: "Wyah, wyah. " Inher fear she gathered her children together, and fled with them toBibbee's camp for protection. 

Bibbee proudly told her that he had made the rainbow, just to show howstrong he was and how safe she would be if she married him. But if shewould not, she would see what terrible things he would make to come onthe earth, not just a harmless and beautiful roadway across theheavens, but things that would burst from the earth and destroy it. 

So by working on her mixed feelings of fear of his prowess, andadmiration of his skill, Bibbee gained his desire, and Deereereemarried him. And when long afterwards they died, Deereeree was changedinto the little willy wagtail who may be heard through the stillness ofthe summer nights, crying her plaintive wail of "Deereeree, wyah, wyah, Deereeree. "

And Bibbee was changed into the woodpecker, or climbing tree bird, whois always running up trees as if he wanted to be building other ways tothe than the famous roadway of his Euloowirree, the building of whichhad won him his wife. 

24. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND MOONINGUGGAHGUL THE MOSQUITO BIRD

An old man lived with his two wives, the Mooninguggahgul sisters, andhis two sons. The old man spent all his time making boomerangs, untilat last he had four nets full of these weapons. The two boys used to goout hunting opossums and iguanas, which they would cook in the bush, and eat, without thinking of bringing any home to their parents. Theold man asked them one day to bring him home some fat to rub hisboomerangs with. This the boys did, but they brought only the fat, having eaten the rest of the iguanas from which they had taken the fat. The old man was very angry that his sons were so greedy, but he saidnothing, though he determined to punish them, for he thought "when theywere young, and could not hunt, I hunted for them and fed them well;now that they can hunt and I am old and cannot so well, they give menothing. " Thinking of his treatment at the hands of his sons, hegreased all his boomerangs, and when he had finished them he said tothe boys: "You take these boomerangs down on to the plain and try them;see if I have made them well. Then come back and tell me. I will stayhere. "

The boys took the boomerangs. They threw them one after another; but totheir surprise not one of the boomerangs they threw touched the ground, but, instead, went whirling up out of sight. When they had finishedthrowing the boomerangs, all of which acted in the same way, whirlingup through space, they prepared to start home again. But as they lookedround they saw a huge whirlwind coming towards them. They werefrightened and called out "Wurrawilberoo, " for they knew there was adevil in the whirlwind. They laid hold of trees near at hand that itmight not catch them. But the whirlwind spread out first one arm androoted up one tree, then another arm, and rooted up another. The boysran in fear from tree to tree, but each tree that they went to was tornup by the whirlwind. At last they ran to two mubboo or beef-wood trees, and clung tightly to them. After them rushed the whirlwind, sweepingall before it, and when it reached the mubboo trees, to which the boyswere clinging, it tore them from their roots and bore them upwardswiftly, giving the boys no time to leave go, so they were borne upwardclinging to the mubboo trees. On the whirlwind bore them until theyreached the sky, where it placed the two trees with the boys stillclinging to them. And there they still are, near the Milky Way, andknown as Wurrawilberoo. The boomerangs are scattered all along theMilky Way, for the whirlwind had gathered them all together in its rushthrough space. Having placed them all in the sky, down came thewhirlwind, retaking its natural shape, which was that of the old man, for so had he wreaked his vengeance on his sons for neglecting theirparents. 

As time went on, the mothers wondered why their sons did not return. Itstruck them as strange that the old man expressed no surprise at theabsence of the boys, and they suspected that he knew more than he caredto say. For he only sat in the camp smiling while his wives discussedwhat could have happened to them, and he let the women go out andsearch alone. The mothers tracked their sons to the plain. There theysaw that a big whirlwind had lately been, for trees were uprooted andstrewn in every direction. They tracked their sons from tree to treeuntil at last they came to the place where the mubboos had stood. Theysaw the tracks of their sons beside the places whence the trees hadbeen uprooted, but of the trees and their sons they saw no furthertrace. Then they knew that they had all been borne up together by thewhirlwind, and taken whither they knew not. Sadly they returned totheir camp. When night came they heard cries which they recognised asmade by the voices of their sons, though they sounded as if coming fromthe sky. As the cries sounded again the mothers looked up whence theycame, and there they saw the mubboo trees with their sons beside them. Then well they knew that they would see no more their sons on earth, and great was their grief, and wroth were they with their husband, forwell they knew now that he must have been the devil in the whirlwind, who had so punished the boys. They vowed to avenge the loss of theirboys. 

The next day they went out and gathered a lot of pine gum, and broughtit back to the camp. When they reached the camp the old man called toone of his wives to come and tease his hair, as his head ached, andthat alone would relieve the pain. One of the women went over to him, took his head on her lap, and teased his hair until at last the old manwas soothed and sleepy. In the meantime the other wife was melting thegum. The one with the old man gave her a secret sign to come near; thenshe asked the old man to lie on his back, that she might tease hisfront hair better. As he did so, she signed to the other woman, whoquickly came, gave her some of the melted gum, which they both thenpoured hot into his eyes, filling them with it. In agony the old manjumped up and ran about, calling out, "Mooregoo, mooregoo, " as he ran. Out of the camp he ran and far away, still crying out in his agony, ashe went. And never again did his wives see him though every night theyheard his cry of "Mooregoo, mooregoo. " But though they never saw theirhusband, they saw a night hawk, the Mopoke, and as that cried always, "Mooregoo, moregoo, " as their husband had cried in his agony, they knewthat he must have turned into the bird. 

After a time the women were changed into Mooninguggahgul, or mosquitobirds. These birds arc marked on the wings just like a mosquito, andevery summer night you can hear them cry out incessantly, "Mooninguggahgul, " which cry is the call for the mosquitoes to answerby coming out and buzzing in chorus. And as quickly the mosquitoes comeout in answer to the summons, the Mooninguggahgul bid them flyeverywhere and bite all they can. 

25. BOUGOODOOGAHDAH THE RAIN BIRD

Bougoodoogahdah was all old woman who lived alone with her four hundreddingoes. From living so long with these dogs she had grown not to carefor her fellow creatures except as food. She and the dogs lived onhuman flesh, and it was her cunning which gained such food for themall. She would sally forth from her camp with her two little dogs; shewould be sure to meet some black fellows, probably twenty or thirty, going down to the creek. She would say, "I can tell you where there arelots of paddy melons. " They would ask where, and she would answer, "Over there, on the point of that moorillah or ridge. If you will gothere and have your nullahs ready, I will go with my two dogs and roundthem up towards you. "

The black fellows invariably stationed themselves where she had toldthem, and off went Bougoodoogahdah and her two dogs. But not to roundup the paddy melons. She went quickly towards her camp, calling softly, "Birree, gougou, " which meant "Sool 'em, sool 'em, " and was the signalfor the dogs to come out. Quickly they came and surrounded the blackfellows, took them by surprise, flew at them, bit and worried them todeath. Then they and Bougoodoogahdah dragged the bodies to their camp. There they were cooked and were food for the old woman and the dogs forsome time. As soon as the supply was finished the same plan to obtainmore was repeated. 

The black fellows missed so many of their friends that they determinedto find out what had become of them. They began to suspect the oldwoman who lived alone and hunted over the moorillahs with her twolittle dogs. They proposed that the next party that went to the creekshould divide and some stay behind in hiding and watch what went on. Those watching saw the old woman advance towards their friends, talk tothem for a while, and then go off with her two dogs. They saw theirfriends station themselves at the point of the moorillah or ridge, holding their nullahs in readiness, as if waiting for something tocome. Presently they heard a low cry from the old woman of "Birreegougou, " which cry was quickly followed by dingoes coming out of thebush in every direction, in hundreds, surrounding the black fellows atthe point. 

The dingoes closed in, quickly hemming the black fellows in all round;then they made a simultaneous rush at them, tore them with their teeth, and killed them. 

The black fellows watching, saw that when the dogs had killed theirfriends they were joined by the old woman, who helped them to drag offthe bodies to their camp. 

Having seen all this, back went the watchers to their tribe and toldwhat they had seen. All the tribes round mustered up and decided toexecute a swift vengeance. In order to do so, out they sallied wellarmed. A detachment went on to entrap the dogs and Bougoodoogahdah. Then just when the usual massacre of the blacks was to begin and thedogs were closing in round them for the purpose, out rushed over twohundred black fellows, and so effectual was their attack that every dogwas killed, as well as Bougoodoogahdah and her two little dogs. 

The old woman lay where she had been slain, but as the blacks went awaythey heard her cry "Bougoodoogahdah. " So back they went and broke herbones, first they broke her legs and then left her. But again as theywent they heard her cry "Bougoodoogahdah. " Then back again they came, and again, until at last every bone in her body was broken, but stillshe cried "Bougoodoogahdah. " So one man waited beside her to see whencecame the sound, for surely, they thought, she must be dead. He saw herheart move and cry again "Bougoodoogahdah" and as it cried, out came alittle bird from it. This little bird runs on the moorillahs and callsat night "Bougoodoogahdah. " All day it stays in one place, and only atnight comes out. It is a little greyish bird, something like a weedah. The blacks call it a rain-maker, for if any one steals its eggs itcries out incessantly "Bougoodoogahdah" until in answer to its call therain falls. And when the country is stricken with a drought, the blackslook for one of these little birds, and finding it, chase it, until itcries aloud "Bougoodoogahdah, Bougoodoogahdah" and when they hear itscry in the daytime they know the rain will soon fall. 

As the little bird flew from the heart of the woman, all the deaddingoes were changed into snakes, many different kinds, all poisonous. The two little dogs were changed into dayall minyah, a very small kindof carpet snake, non-poisonous, for these two little dogs had neverbitten the blacks as the other dogs had done. At the points of theMoorillahs where Bougoodoogahdah and her dingoes used to slay theblacks, are heaps of white stones, which are supposed to be thefossilised bones of the massacred men. 

26. THE BORAH OF BYAMEE

Word had been passed from tribe to tribe, telling, how that the seasonwas good, there must be a great gathering of the tribes. And the placefixed for the gathering was Googoorewon. The old men whispered that itshould be the occasion for a borah, but this the women must not know. Old Byamee, who was a great Wirreenun, said he would take his two sons, Ghindahindahmoee and Boomahoomahnowee, to the gathering of the tribes, for the time had come when they should be made young men, that theymight be free to marry wives, eat emu flesh, and learn to be warriors. 

As tribe after tribe arrived at Googoorewon, each took up a position atone of the various points of the ridges, surrounding the clear openspace where the corrobborees were to be. The Wahn, crows, had onepoint; the Dummerh, pigeons, another; the Mahthi, dogs, another, and soon; Byamee and his tribe, Byahmul the black swans tribe, Oooboon, theblue tongued lizard, and many other chiefs and their tribes, each hadtheir camp on a different point. When all had arrived there werehundreds and hundreds assembled, and many and varied were the nightlycorrobborees, each tribe trying to excel the other in the fancifulnessof their painted get-up, and the novelty of their newest song anddance. By day there was much hunting and feasting, by night muchdancing and singing; pledges of friendship exchanged, a dillibag for aboomerang, and so on; young daughters given to old warriors, old womengiven to young men, unborn girls promised to old men, babies in armspromised to grown men; many and diverse were the compacts entered into, and always were the Wirreenun, or doctors of the tribes consulted. 

After some days the Wirreenun told the men of the tribes that they weregoing to hold a borah. But on no account must the innerh, or women, know. Day by day they must all go forth as if to hunt and then preparein secret the borah ground. Out went the man each day. They cleared avery large circle quite clear, then they built an earthen dam roundthis circle, and cleared a pathway leading into the thick bush from thecircle, and built a dam on either side of this pathway. 

When all these preparations were finished, they had, as usual, acorrobboree at night. After this had been going on for some time, oneof the old Wirreenun walked right away from the crowd as if he weresulky. He went to his camp, to where he was followed by anotherWirreenun, and presently the two old fellows began fighting. Suddenly, when the attention of the blacks was fixed on this fight, there came astrange, whizzing, whirring noise from the scrub round. The women andchildren shrank together, for the sudden, uncanny noise frightenedthem. And they knew that it was made by the spirits who were coming toassist at the initiation of the boys into young manhood. The noisereally sounded, if you had not the dread of spirits in your mind, justas if some one had a circular piece of wood at the end of a string andwere whirling it round and round. 

As the noise went on, the women said, in an awestricken tone, "Gurraymy, " that is "borah devil, " and clutched their children tighterto them. The boys said "Gayandy, " and their eyes extended with fear. "Gayandy" meant borah devil too, but the women must not even use thesame word as the boys and men to express the borah spirit, for allconcerning the mysteries of borah are sacred from the ears, eyes, ortongues of women. 

The next day a shift was made of the camps. They were moved to insidethe big ring that the black fellows had made. This move was attendedwith a certain amount of ceremony. In the afternoon, before the movehad taken place, all the black fellows left their camps and went awayinto the scrub. Then just about sundown they were all to be seenwalking in single file out of the scrub, along the path which they hadpreviously banked on each side. Every man had a fire stick in one handand a green switch in the other. When these men reached the middle ofthe enclosed ring was the time for the young people and women to leavethe old camps, and move into the borah ring. Inside this ring they madetheir camps, had their suppers and corrobboreed, as on previousevenings, up to a certain stage. Before, on this occasion, that stagearrived, Byamee, who was greatest of the Wirreenun present, had shownhis power in a remarkable way. For some days the Mahthi had beenbehaving with a great want of respect for the wise men of the tribes. Instead of treating their sayings and doings with the silent awe theWirreenun expect, they had kept up an incessant chatter and laughteramongst themselves, playing and shouting as if the tribes were notcontemplating the solemnisation of their most sacred rites. Frequentlythe Wirreenun sternly bade them be silent. But admonitions wereuseless, gaily chattered and laughed the Mahthi. At length Byamee, mightiest and most famous of the Wirreenun, rose, strode over to thecamp of Mahthi, and said fiercely to them: "I, Byamee, whom all thetribes hold in honour, have thrice bade you Mahthi cease your chatterand laughter. But you heeded me not. To my voice were added the voicesof the Wirreenun of other tribes. But you heeded not. Think you theWirreenun will make any of your tribe young men when you heed not theirwords? No, I tell you. From this day forth no Mahthi shall speak againas men speak. You wish to make noise, to be a noisy tribe and adisturber of men; a tribe who cannot keep quiet when strangers are inthe camp; a tribe who understand not sacred things. So be it. Youshall, and your descendants, for ever make a noise, but it shall not bethe noise of speech, or the noise of laughter. It shall be the noise ofbarking and the noise of howling. And from this day if ever a Mahthispeaks, woe to those who hear him, for even as they hear shall they beturned to stone. "

And as the Mahthi opened their mouths, and tried to laugh and speakderisive words, they found, even as Byamee said, so were they. Theycould but bark and howl; the powers of speech and laughter had theylost. And as they realised their loss, into their eyes came a look ofyearning and dumb entreaty which will be seen in the eyes of theirdescendants for ever. A feeling of wonder and awe fell on the variouscamps as they watched Byamce march back to his tribe. 

When Byamee was seated again in his camp, he asked the women why theywere not grinding doonburr. And the women said: "Gone are our dayoorls, and we know not where. "

"You lie, " said Byamee. "You have lent them to the Dummerh, who came sooften to borrow, though I bade you not lend. "

"No, Byamee, we lent them not. "

"Go to the camp of the Dummerh, and ask for your dayoorl. "

The women, with the fear of the fate of the Mahthi did they disobey, went, though well they knew they had not lent the dayoorl. As they wentthey asked at each camp if the tribe there would lend them a dayoorl, but at each camp they were given the same answer, namely, that thedayoorls were gone and none knew where. The Dummerh had asked to borrowthem, and in each instance been refused, yet had the stones gone. 

As the women went on they heard a strange noise, as of the cry ofspirits, a sound like a smothered "Oom, oom, oom, oom. " The cry soundedhigh in the air through the tops of trees, then low on the groundthrough the grasses, until it seemed as if the spirits were everywhere. The women clutched tighter their fire sticks, and said: "Let us goback. The Wondah are about, " And swiftly they sped towards their camp, hearing ever in the air the "Oom, oom, oom" of the spirits. 

They told Byamee that all the tribes had lost their dayoorls, and thatthe spirits were about, and even as they spoke came the sound of "Oom, oom, oom, oom, " at the back of their own camp. 

The women crouched together, but Byamee flashed a fire stick whencecame the sound, and as the light flashed on the place he saw no one, but stranger than all, he saw two dayoorls moving along, and yet couldsee no one moving them, and as the dayoorls moved swiftly away, louderand louder rose the sound of "Oom, oom, oom, oom, " until the air seemedfull of invisible spirits. Then Byamee knew that indeed the Wondah wereabout, and he too clutched his fire stick and went back into his camp. 

In the morning it was seen that not only were all the dayoorls gone, but the camp of the Dummerh was empty and they too had gone. When noone would lend the Dummerh dayoorls, they had said, "Then we can grindno doonburr unless the Wondah bring us stones. " And scarcely were thewords said before they saw a dayoorl moving towards them. At first theythought it was their own skill which enabled them only to express awish to have it realised. But as dayoorl after dayoorl glided intotheir camp, and, passing through there, moved on, and as they moved wasthe sound of "Oom, oom, oom, oom, " to be heard everywhere they knew itwas the Wondah at work. And it was borne in upon them that where thedayoorl went they must go, or they would anger the spirits who hadbrought them through their camp. 

They gathered up their belongings and followed in the track of thedayoorls, which had cut a pathway from Googoorewon to Girrahween, downwhich in high floods is now a water-course. From Girrahween, on thedayoorls went to Dirangibirrah, and after them the Dummerh. Dirangibirrah is between Brewarrina and Widda Murtee, and there thedayoorls piled themselves up into a mountain, and there for the futurehad the blacks to go when they wanted good dayoorls. And the Dummerhwere changed into pigeons, with a cry like the spirits of "Oom, oom, oom. "

Another strange thing happened at this big borah. A tribe, calledOoboon, were camped at some distance from the other tribes. When anystranger went to their camp, it was noticed that the chief of theOoboon would come out and flash a light on him, which killed himinstantly. And no one knew what this light was, that carried death inits gleam. At last, Wahn the crow, said "I will take my biggest booreenand go and see what this means. You others, do not follow me tooclosely, for though I have planned how to save myself from the deadlygleam, I might not be able to save you. "

Wahn walked into the camp of the Ooboon, and as their chief turned toflash the light on him, he put up his booreen and completely shadedhimself from it, and called aloud in a deep voice "Wah, wah, wah, wah"which so startled Ooboon that he dropped his light, and said "What isthe matter? You startled me. I did not know who you were and might havehurt you, though I had no wish to, for the Wahn are my friends. "

"I cannot stop now, " said the Wahn, "I must go back to my camp. I haveforgotten something I wanted to show you. I'll be back soon. " And sosaying, swiftly ran Wahn back to where he had left his boondee, thenback he came almost before Ooboon realised that he had gone. Back hecame, and stealing up behind Ooboon dealt him a blow with his boondeethat avenged amply the victims of the deadly light, by stretching thechief of the Ooboon a corpse on the ground at his feet. Then cryingtriumphantly, "Wah, wah, wah, " back to his camp went Wahn and told whathe had done. 

This night, when the Borah corrobboree began, all the women relationsof the boys to be made young men, corrobboreed all night. Towards theend of the night all the young women were ordered into bough humpies, which had been previously made all round the edge of the embankmentsurrounding the ring. The old women stayed on. 

The men who were to have charge of the boys to be made young men, weretold now to be ready to seize hold each of his special charge, to carryhim off down the beaten track to the scrub. When every man had, at asignal, taken his charge on his shoulder, they all started dancinground the ring. Then the old women were told to come and say good-byeto the boys, after which they were ordered to join the young women inthe humpies. About five men watched them into the humpies, then pulledthe boughs down on the top of them that they might see nothing further. 

When the women were safely imprisoned beneath the boughs, the mencarrying the boys swiftly disappeared down the track into the scrub. When they were out of sight the five black fellows came and pulled theboughs away and released the women, who went now to their camps. Buthowever curious these women were as to what rites attended the boys'initiation into manhood, they knew no questions would elicit anyinformation. In some months' time they might see their boys returnminus, perhaps, a front tooth, and with some extra scarifications ontheir bodies, but beyond that, and a knowledge of the fact that theyhad not been allowed to look on the face of woman since theirdisappearance into the scrub, they were never enlightened. 

The next day the tribes made ready to travel to the place of the littleborah, which would be held in about four days' time, at about ten ortwelve miles distance from the scene of the big borah. 

At the place of the little borah a ring of grass is made instead of oneof earth. The tribes all travel together there, camp, and have acorrobboree. The young women are sent to bed early, and the old womenstay until the time when the boys bade farewell to them at the bigborah, at which hour the boys are brought into the little borah andallowed to say a last good-bye to the old women. Then they are takenaway by the men who have charge of them together. They stay togetherfor a short time, then probably separate, each man with his one boygoing in a different direction. The man keeps strict charge of the boyfor at least six months, during which time he may not even look at hisown mother. At the end of about six months he may come back to histribe, but the effect of his isolation is that he is too wild andfrightened to speak even to his mother, from whom he runs away if sheapproaches him, until by degrees the strangeness wears off. 

But at this borah of Byamee the tribes were not destined to meet theboys at the little borah. Just as they were gathering up their goodsfor a start, into the camp staggered Millindooloonubbah, the widow, crying, "You all left me, widow that I was, with my large family ofchildren, to travel alone. How could the little feet of my childrenkeep up to you? Can my back bear more than one goolay? Have I more thantwo arms and one back? Then how could I come swiftly with so manychildren? Yet none of you stayed to help me. And as you went from eachwater hole you drank all the water. When, tired and thirsty, I reacheda water hole and my children cried for a drink, what did I find to givethem? Mud, only mud. Then thirsty and worn, my children crying andtheir mother helpless to comfort them; on we came to the next hole. What did we see, as we strained our eyes to find water? Mud, only mud. As we reached hole after hole and found only mud, one by one mychildren laid down and died; died for want of a drink, whichMillindooloonubbah their mother could not give them. "

As she spoke, swiftly went a woman to her with a wirree of water. "Toolate, too late, " she said. "Why should a mother live when her childrenare dead?" And she lay back with a groan. But as she felt the watercool her parched lips and soften her swollen tongue, she made a finaleffort, rose to her feet, and waving her hands round the camps of thetribes, cried aloud: "You were in such haste to get here. You shallstay here. Googoolguyyah. Googoolguyyah. Turn into trees. Turn intotrees. " Then back she fell, dead. And as she fell, the tribes that werestanding round the edge of the ring, preparatory to gathering theirgoods and going, and that her hand pointed to as it waved round, turnedinto trees. There they now stand. The tribes in the background werechanged each according to the name they were known by, into that birdor beast of the same name. The barking Mahthi into dogs; the Byahmulinto black swans: the Wahns into crows, and so on. And there at theplace of the big borah, you can see the trees standing tall and gaunt, sad-looking in their sombre hues, waving with a sad wailing theirbranches towards the lake which covers now the place where the borahwas held. And it bears the name of Googoorewon, the place of trees, andround the edge of it is still to be seen the remains of the borah ringof earth. And it is known as a great place of meeting for the birdsthat bear the names of the tribes of old. The Byahmuls sail proudlyabout; the pelicans, their water rivals in point of size and beauty;the ducks, and many others too numerous to mention. The Ooboon, orblue-tongued lizards, glide in and out through the grass. Now and thenis heard the "Oom, oom, oom, " of the dummerh, and occasionally a cryfrom the bird Millindooloonubbah of "Googoolguyyah, googoolguyyah. " Andin answer comes the wailing of the gloomy-looking balah trees, and thena rustling shirr through the bibbil branches, until at last every treegives forth its voice and makes sad the margin of the lake with echoesof the past. 

But the men and boys who were at the place of the little borah escapedthe metamorphosis. They waited long for the arrival of the tribes whonever came. 

At last Byamee said: "Surely mighty enemies have slain our friends, andnot one escapes to tell us of their fate. Even now these enemies may beupon our track; let us go into a far country. "

And swiftly they went to Noondoo. Hurrying along with them, a dog ofByamee's, which would fain have lain by the roadside rather than havetravelled so swiftly, but Byamee would not leave her and hurried heron. When they reached the springs of Noondoo, the dog sneaked away intoa thick scrub, and there were born her litter of pups. But such pups assurely man never looked at before. The bodies of dogs, and the heads ofpigs, and the fierceness and strength of devils. And gone is the lifeof a man who meets in a scrub of Noondoo an earmoonan, for surely willit slay him. Not even did Byamee ever dare to go near the breed of hisold dog. And Byamee, the mighty Wirreenun, lives for ever. But no manmust look upon his face, lest surely will he die. So alone in a thickscrub, on one of the Noondoo ridges, lives this old man, Byamee, themightiest of Wirreenun. 

27. BUNNYYARL THE FLIES AND WURRUNNUNNAH THE BEES

The Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah were relations, and lived in one camp. The Wurrunnunnah were very hardworking, always trying to gather food ina time of plenty, to lay in a store for a time of famine. The Bunnyyarlused to give no heed to the future, but used to waste their timeplaying round any rubbish, and never thinking even of laying up anyprovisions. One day the Wurrunnunnah said, "Come out with us and gatherhoney from flowers. Soon will the winter winds blow the flowers away, and there will be no more honey to gather. "

"No, " said the Bunnyyarl, "we have something to look to here. " Andoff they went, turning over some rubbish and wasting their time, knowing whatever the Wurrunnunnah brought they would share with them. The Wurrunnunnah went alone and left the Bunnyyarl to their rubbish. The Wurrunnunnah gathered the flowers and stored the honey, and nevermore went back to live with the Bunnyyarls, for they were tired ofdoing all the work. 

As time went on the Wurrunnunnah were changed into little wild bees, and the lazy Bunnyyarls were changed into flies. 

28. DEEGEENBOYAH THE SOLDIER-BIRD

Deegeenboyah was an old man, and getting past hunting much for himself;and he found it hard to keep his two wives and his two daughterssupplied with food. He camped with his family away from the othertribes, but he used to join the men of the Mullyan tribe when they weregoing out hunting, and so get a more certain supply of food than if hehad gone by himself. One day when the Mullyan went out, he was too lateto accompany them. He hid in the scrub and waited for their return, atsome little distance from their camp. When they were coming back heheard them singing the Song of the Setting Emu, a song which whoeverfinds the first emu's nest of the season always sings before gettingback to the camp. Deegeenboyah jumped up as he heard the song, andstarted towards the camp of the Mullyan singing the same song, as if hetoo had found a nest. On they all went towards the camp sing joyously:

 Nurdoo, nurbber me derreen derreenbah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Garmbay booan yunnahdeh beahwah ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. Gubbondee, dee, ee, ee, ee. Neah nein gulbeejah, ah, ah, ah, ah. "

Which song roughly translated means:

 I saw it first amongst the young trees, The white mark on its forehead, The white mark that before I had only seen as the emus moved together in the day-time. Never did I see one camp before, only moving, moving always. Now that we have found the nest We must look out the ants do not get to the eggs. If they crawl over them the eggs are spoilt. 

As the last echo of the song died away, those in the camp took up therefrain and sang it back to the hunters to let them know that theyunderstood that they had found the first emu's nest of the season. 

When the hunters reached the camp, up came Deegeenboyah too. TheMullyans turned to him, and said:

"Did you find an emu's nest too?"

"Yes, " said Deegeenboyah, "I did. I think you must have found the same, though after me, as I saw not your tracks. But I am older and stiff inmy limbs, so came not back so quickly. Tell me, where is your nest?"

"In the clump of the Goolahbahs, on the edge of the plain, " said theunsuspecting Mullyan. 

"Ah, I thought so. That is mine. But what matter? We can share--therewill be plenty for all. We must get the net and go and camp near thenest to-night, and to-morrow trap the emu. "

The Mullyan got their emu trapping net, one made of thin rope about asthick as a thin clothes line, about five feet high, and between two andthree hundred yards long. And off they set, accompanied byDeegeenboyah, to camp near where the emu was setting. When they hadchosen a place to camp, they had their supper and a little corrobborce, illustrative of slaying emu, etc. The next morning at daylight theyerected their net into a sort of triangular shaped yard, one side open. Black fellows were stationed at each end of the net, and at stateddistances along it. The net was upheld by upright poles. When the netwas fixed, some of the blacks made a wide circle round the emu's nest, leaving open the side towards the net. They closed in gradually untilthey frightened the emu off the nest. The emu seeing black fellows onevery side but one, ran in that direction. The blacks followed closely, and the bird was soon yarded. Madly the frightened bird rushed againstthe net. Up ran a black fellow, seized the bird and wrung its neck. Then some of them went back to the nest to get the eggs, which theybaked in the ashes of their fire and ate. They made a hole to cook theemu in. They plucked the emu. When they had plenty of coals, they put athick layer at the bottom of the hole, some twigs of leaves on top ofthe coals, some feathers on the top of them. Then they laid the emu in, more feathers on the top of it, leaves again on top of them, and overthem a thick layer of coals, and lastly they covered all with earth. 

It would be several hours in cooking, so Deegeenboyah said, "I willstay and cook the emu, you young fellows take moonoons--emu spears--andtry and get some more emu. "

The Mullyan thought there was sense in this proposal, so they took acouple of long spears, with a jagged nick at one end, to hold the emuwhen they speared it; they stuck a few emu feathers on the end of eachspear and went off. They soon saw a flock of emu coming past where theywere waiting to water. Two of the party armed with the moonoon climbeda tree, broke some boughs and put these thickly beneath them, so as toscreen them from the emu. Then as the emu came near to the men theydangled down their spears, letting the emu feathers on the ends wave toand fro. The emu, seeing the feathers, were curious as to how they gotthere, came over, craning their necks and sniffing right underneath thespears. The black fellows tightly grasped the moonoons and drove themwith force into the two emu they had picked One emu dropped dead atonce. The other ran with the spear in it for a short distance, but theblack fellow was quickly after it, and soon caught and killed itoutright. Then carrying the dead birds, back they went to whereDeegeenboyah was cooking the other emu. They cooked the two they hadbrought, and then all started for the camp in great spirits at theirsuccessful chase. They began throwing their mooroolahs as they wentalong, and playing with their bubberahs, or returning boomerangs. OldDeegeenboyah said, "Here, give me the emus to carry, and then you willbe free to have a really good game with your mooroolahs and bubberahs, and see who is the best man. "

They gave him the emus, and on they went, some throwing mooroolahs, andsome showing their skill with bubberahs. Presently Deegeenboyah satdown. They thought he was just resting for a few minutes, so ran onlaughing and playing, each good throw eliciting another effort, fornone liked owning themselves beaten while they had a mooroolah left. Asthey got further away they noticed Deegeenboyah was still sittingdown, so they called out to him to know what was the matter. "Allright, " he said, "only having a rest; shall come on in a minute. " So onthey went. When they were quite out of sight Deegeenboyah jumped upquickly, took up the emus and made for an opening in the ground at alittle distance. This opening was the door of the underground home ofthe Murgah Muggui spider--the opening was a neat covering, like a sortof trap door. Down though this he went, taking the emus with him, knowing there was another exit at some distance, out of which he couldcome up quite near his home, for it was the way he often took afterhunting. 

The Mullyans went home and waited, but no sign of Deegeenboyah. Thenback on their tracks they went and called aloud, but got no answer, andsaw no sign. At last Mullyangah the chief of the Mullyans, said hewould find him. Arming himself with his boondees and spears, he wentback to where he had last seen Deegeenboyah sitting. He saw where histracks turned off and where they disappeared, but could not account fortheir disappearance, as he did not notice the neat little trap-door ofthe Murgah Muggui. But he hunted round, determined to scour the bushuntil he found him. At last he saw a camp. He went up to it and sawonly two little girls playing about, whom he knew were the daughters ofDeegeenboyah. 

"Where is your father?" he asked them. 

"Out hunting, " they said. 

"Which way does he come home?"

"Our father comes home out of this;" and they showed him the spiders'trap-door. 

"Where are your mothers?"

"Our mothers are out getting honey and yams. " And off ran the littlegirls to a leaning tree on which they played, running up its benttrunk. 

Mullyangah went and stood where the trunk was highest from the groundand said: "Now, little girls, run up to here and jump, and I will catchyou. Jump one at a time. "

Off jumped one of the girls towards his outstretched arms, which, asshe came towards him he dropped, and, stepping aside, let her come withher full force to the ground where she lay dead. Then he called to thehorror-stricken child on the tree: "Come, jump. Your sister came tooquickly. Wait till I call, then jump. "

"No, I am afraid. "

"Come on, I will be ready this time. Now come. "

"I am afraid. "

"Come on; I am strong. " And he smiled quite kindly up at the child, who, hesitating no longer, jumped towards his arms, only to meet hersister's fate. 

"Now, " said Mullyangah, "here come the two wives. I must silence them, or when they see their children their cries will warn their husband ifhe is within earshot. " So he sneaked behind a tree, and as the twowives passed he struck them dead with his spears. Then he went to thetrapdoor that the children had shown him, and sat down to wait for thecoming of Deegeenboyah. He had not long to wait. The trap-door waspushed up and out came a cooked emu, which he caught hold of and laidon one side. Deegeenboyah thought it was the girls taking it, as theyhad often watched for his coming and done before, so he pushed upanother, which Mullyangah took, then a third, and lastly came uphimself, to find Mullyangah confronting him spear and boondee in hand. He started back, but the trap-door was shut behind him, and Mullyangahbarred his escape in front. 

"Ah, " said Mullyangah, "you stole our food and now you shall die. I'vekilled your children. "

Decgeenboyah looked wildly round, and, seeing the dead bodies of hisgirls beneath the leaning tree, he groaned aloud. 

"And, " went on Mullyangah, "I've killed your wives. "

Deegenboyah raised his head and looked again wildly round, and there, on their homeward path, he saw his dead wives. Then he called aloud, "Here Mullyangah are your emus; take them and spare me. I shall stealno more, for I myself want little, but my children and my wiveshungered. I but stole for them. Spare me, I pray you. I am old; I shallnot live long. Spare me. "

"Not so, " said Mullyangah, "no man lives to steal twice from a Mullyan;"and, so saying, he speared Deegeenboyah where he stood. Then he lifted upthe emus, and, carrying them with him, went swiftly back to his camp. 

And merry was the supper that night when the Mullyans ate the emus, andMullyangah told the story of his search and slaughter. And proud werethe Mullyans of the prowess and cunning of their chief. 

29. MAYRAH, THE WIND THAT BLOWS THE WINTER AWAY

At the beginning of winter, the iguanas hide themselves in their homesin the sand; the black eagle hawks go into their nests; the garbarleeor shingle-backs hide themselves in little logs, just big enough tohold them; the iguanas dig a long way into the sand and cover up thepassage behind them, as they go along. They all stay in their winterhomes until Mayrah blows the winter away. Mayrah first blows up athunderstorm. When the iguanas hear the thunder, they know the springis not far off, so they begin making a passage to go out again, butthey do not leave their winter home until the Curreequinquin, orbutcher birds sing all day almost without ceasing "Goore, goore, goore, goore. " Then they know that Mayrah has really blown the winter away, for the birds are beginning to pair and build their nests. So they opentheir eyes and come out on the green earth again. And when the blackfellows hear the curreequinquins singing "Goore, goore, " they know thatthey can go out and find iguanas again, and find them fatter than whenthey went away with the coming of winter. Then, too, will they findpiggiebillahs hurrying along to get away from their young ones, whichthey have buried in the sand and left to shift for themselves, for nolonger can they carry them, as the spines of the young ones begin toprick them in their pouch. So they leave them and hurry away, that theymay not hear their cry. They know they shall meet them again later on, when they are grown big. Then as Mayrah softly blows, the flowers oneby one open, and the bees come out again to gather honey. Every birdwears his gayest plumage and sings his sweetest song to attract a mate, and in pairs they go to build their nests. And still Mayrah softlyblows until the land is one of plenty; then Yhi the sun chases her backwhence she came, and the flowers droop and the birds sing only in theearly morning. For Yhi rules in the land until the storms are over andhave cooled him, and winter takes his place to be blown away again byMayrah the loved of all, and the bringer of plenty. 

30. WAYARNBEH THE TURTLE

Oolah, the lizard, was out getting yams on a Mirrieh flat. She hadthree of her children with her. Suddenly she thought she heard some onemoving behind the big Mirrieh bushes. She listened. All of a sudden outjumped Wayambeh from behind a bush and seized Oolah, telling her not tomake a noise and he would not hurt her, but that he meant to take heroff to his camp to be his wife. He would take her three children tooand look after them. Resistance was useless, for Oolah had only her yamstick, while Wayambeh had his spears and boondees. Wayambeh took thewoman and her children to his camp. His tribe when they saw him bringhome a woman of the Oolah tribe, asked him if her tribe had given herto him. He said, "No, I have stolen her. "

"Well, " they said, "her tribe will soon be after her; you must protectyourself; we shall not fight for you. You had no right to steal herwithout telling us. We had a young woman of our own tribe for you, yetyou go and steal an Oolah and bring her to the camp of the Wayambeh. Onyour own head be the consequences. "

In a short time the Oolahs were seen coming across the plain whichfaced the camp of the Wayambeh. And they came not in friendship or toparley, for no women were with them, and they carried no boughs ofpeace in their bands, but were painted as for war, and were armed withfighting weapons. 

When the Wayambeh saw the approach of the Oolah, their chief said:"Now, Wayambeh, you had better go out on to the plain and do your ownfighting; we shall not help you. "

Wayambeh chose the two biggest boreens that he had; one he slung onhim, covering the front of his body, and one the back; then, seizinghis weapons, he strode out to meet his enemies. 

When he was well out on to the plain, though still some distance fromthe Oolah, he called out, "Come on. "

The answer was a shower of spears and boomerangs. As they came whizzingthrough the air Wayambeh drew his arms inside the boreens, and duckedhis head down between them, so escaped. 

As the weapons fell harmless to the ground, glancing off his boreen, out again he stretched his arms and held up again his head, shouting, "Come on, try again, I'm ready. "

The answer was another shower of weapons, which he met in the same way. At last the Oolahs closed in round him, forcing him to retreat towardsthe creek. 

Shower after shower of weapons they slung at him, and were getting atsuch close quarters that his only chance was to dive into the creek. Heturned towards the creek, tore the front boreen off him, flung down hisweapons and plunged in. 

The Oolah waited, spears poised in hand, ready to aim directly his headappeared above water, but they waited in vain. Wayambeh, the blackfellow, they never saw again, but in the waterhole wherein he had divedthey saw a strange creature, which bore on its back a fixed structurelike a boreen, and which, when they went to try and catch it, drew inits head and limbs, so they said, "It is Wayambeh. " And this was thebeginning of Wayambeh, or turtle, in the creeks. 

31. WIRREENUN THE RAINMAKER

The country was stricken with a drought. The rivers were all dry exceptthe deepest holes in them. The grass was dead, and even the trees weredying. The bark dardurr of the blacks were all fallen to the ground andlay there rotting, so long was it since they had been used, for only inwet weather did the blacks use the bark dardurr; at other times theyused only whatdooral, or bough shades. 

The young men of the Noongahburrah murmured among themselves, at firstsecretly, at last openly, saying: "Did not our fathers always say thatthe Wirreenun could make, as we wanted it, the rain to fall? Yet lookat our country--the grass blown away, no doonburr seed to grind, thekangaroo are dying, and the emu, the duck, and the swan have flown tofar countries. We shall have no food soon; then shall we die, and theNoongahburrah be no more seen on the Narrin. Then why, if he is able, does not Wirreenun inake rain?"

Soon these murmurs reached the ears of the old Wirreenun. He saidnothing, but the young fellows noticed that for two or three days insuccession he went to the waterhole in the creek and placed in it awillgoo willgoo--a long stick, ornamented at the top with white cockatoofeathers--and beside the stick he placed two big gubberah, that is, twobig, clear pebbles which at other times he always secreted about him, in the folds of his waywah, or in the band or net on his head. Especially was he careful to hide these stones from the women. 

At the end of the third day Wirreenun said to the young men: "Go you, take your comeboos and cut bark sufficient to make dardurr for all thetribe. "

The young men did as they were bade. When they had the bark cut andbrought in Wirreenun said: "Go you now and raise with ant-bed a highplace, and put thereon logs and wood for a fire, build the ant-bedabout a foot from the ground. Then put you a floor of ant-bed a foothigh whereever you are going to build a dardurr. "

And they did what he told them. When the dardurr were finished, havinghigh floors of ant-bed and water-tight roofs of bark, Wirreenuncommanded the whole camp to come with him to the waterhole; men, women, and children; all were to come. They all followed him down to thecreek, to the waterhole where he had placed the willgoo willgoo andgubberah. Wirreenun jumped into the water and bade the tribe followhim, which they did. There in the water they all splashed and playedabout. After a little time Wirreenun went up first behind one blackfellow and then behind another, until at length he had been round themall, and taken from the back of each one's head lumps of charcoal. Whenhe went up to each he appeared to suck the back or top of their heads, and to draw out lumps of charcoal, which, as he sucked them out, hespat into the water. When he had gone the round of all, he went out ofthe water. But just as he got out a young man caught him up in his armsand threw him back into the water. This happened several times, untilWirreenun was shivering. That was the signal for all to leave thecreek. Wirreenun sent all the young people into a big bough shed, andbade them all go to sleep. He and two old men and two old women stayedoutside. They loaded themselves with all their belongings piled up ontheir backs, dayoorl stones and all, as if ready for a flitting. Theseold people walked impatiently around the bough shed as if waiting asignal to start somewhere. Soon a big black cloud appeared on thehorizon, first a single cloud, which, however, was soon followed byothers rising all round. They rose quickly until they all met justoverhead, forming a big black mass of clouds. As soon as this big, heavy, rainladen looking cloud was stationary overhead, the old peoplewent into the bough shed and bade the young people wake up and come outand look at the sky. When they were all roused Wirreenun told them tolose no time, but to gather together all their possessions and hastento gain the shelter of the bark dardurr. Scarcely were they all in thedardurrs and their spears well hidden when there sounded a terrificclap of thunder, which was quickly followed by a regular cannonade, lightning flashes shooting across the sky, followed by instantaneousclaps of deafening thunder. A sudden flash of lightning, which lit apathway, from heaven to earth, was followed by such a terrific clashthat the blacks thought their very camps were struck. But it was a treea little distance off. The blacks huddled together in their dardurrs, frightened to move, the children crying with fear, and the dogscrouching towards their owners. 

"We shall be killed, " shrieked the women. The men said nothing butlooked as frightened. 

Only Wirreenun was fearless. "I will go out, " he said, "and stop thestorm from hurting us. The lightning shall come no nearer. "

So out in front of the dardurrs strode Wirreenun, and naked he stoodthere facing the storm, singing aloud, as the thunder roared and thelightning flashed, the chant which was to keep it away from the camp

 "Gurreemooray, mooray, Durreemooray, mooray, mooray, " &c. 

Soon came a lull in the cannonade, a slight breeze stirred the treesfor a few moments, then an oppressive silence, and then the rain inreal earnest began, and settled down to a steady downpour, which lastedfor some days. 

When the old people had been patrolling the bough shed as the cloudsrose overhead, Wirreenun had gone to the waterhole and taken out thewillgoo willgoo and the stones, for he saw by the cloud that their workwas done. 

When the rain was over and the country all green again, the blacks hada great corrobboree and sang of the skill of Wirreenun, rainmaker tothe Noongahburrah. 

Wirreenun sat calm and heedless of their praise, as he had been oftheir murmurs. But he determined to show them that his powers weregreat, so he summoned the rainmaker of a neighbouring tribe, and aftersome consultation with him, he ordered the tribes to go to theGoogoorewon, which was then a dry plain, with the solemn, gaunt treesall round it, which had once been black fellows. 

When they were all camped round the edges of this plain, Wirreenun andhis fellow rainmaker made a great rain to fall just over the plain andfill it with water. 

When the plain was changed into a lake, Wirreenun said to the young menof his tribe: "Now take your nets and fish. "

"What good?" said they. "The lake is filled from the rain, not theflood water of rivers, filled but yesterday, how then shall there befish?"

"Go, " said Wirreenun. "Go as I bid you; fish. If your nets catchnothing then shall Wirreenun speak no more to the men of his tribe, hewill seek only honey and yams with the women. "

More to please the man who had changed their country from a desert to ahunter's paradise, they did as he bade them, took their nets and wentinto the lake. And the first time they drew their nets, they were heavywith goodoo, murree, tucki, and bunmillah. And so many did they catchthat all the tribes, and their dogs, had plenty. 

Then the elders of the camp said now that there was plenty everywhere, they would have a borah that the boys should be made young men. On oneof the ridges away from the camp, that the women should not know, wouldthey prepare a ground. 

And so was the big borah of the Googoorewon held, the borah which wasfamous as following on the triumph of Wirreenun the rainmaker. 

APPENDIX

EDITOR and Publisher have gratefully accepted a suggestion made by Dr. E. B. Tylor, that the philologist would be thankful for a specimen ofthese tales in their native form. 

DINEWAN BOOLLARHNAH GOOMBLEGUBBON

Dinewan boorool diggayah gillunnee. Nahmerhneh boorool doorunmai. Goomblegubbon boolwarrunnee. Goomblegubbon numbardee booroolboolwarrunnee Dinewan numbardee. Baiyan noo nurruldundi gunnoonahburraylundi nurreebah burri bunnagullundi. Goomblegubbondoowinnanullunnee dirrah dungah nah gillunnee, Dinewandoo boonoong noobeonemuldundi. 

Goomblegubbondoo winnanullunnee gullarh naiyahneh gwallee Dinewangimbelah:

"Wahl ninderh doorunmai gillaygoo. Baiyan noo winnanunnee boonoonggurrahgoo, wahlneh burraylaygoo. Wahl butndi naiyah boorool gillunnahboomahleegooneh naiyah butthdinen woggee gwallee myrenay boonoonggillundi. "

Illah noo nurray Dinewan nahwandi. Goomblegubbon lowannee boonooog noowunnee wooee baiyan nurrunnee bonyehdool. Baiyan boollarhgnehgwalleelunnee. Goomblegubbondoo gooway:

"Minyah goo ninderh wahl boonoong dulleebah gillunnee? Gunnoonodiggayah burraylunneh. Wahl boonoong ninderh doorunmai. Myrenayboonoong gillunneh Gunnoogoo nunnahlah doorunmai gimbehlee. " Dinewandoogooway "Gheerh ninderh boonoong bayyi. "

"Wahl. "

Nahnee Dinewan noonoo meer gullahgeh. Baiyan boollarhneh budtnahginnee. Boonoong butndi nullee gurray wahl Goomblegubbon doorunmaigiggee. 

Dinewandoo gooneejayn gooway cooleer noo noo boonoong gurrahlee goocomeboo goo. 

Baiyan noo gaiathah noonoo boonoong gurray. Baiyan, neh bunnerhgahooneeGoomblegubbon. Dinewan gooway Goomblegubbon:

"Boonoong nayr gurray. " Goomblegubbon gindabnunnee, barnee, bunnagunnee dirrah gunnee numerhneh. Boonoong beeyonemay, baiyan noo goowayDinewan. 

"Dungneemay ninnerhneh nayr byjundool boonoong. Mayerboo nay, nayboonoong, gurrah wahl dunerh. Wombah ninderh byjundool boonoong. Dinewan bunna gunnee boomahlee-goo Goomblegubbon, baiyan Goomblegubbonburrunnee. Narahgahdool myrenay boonoong. Baiyan Dinewaneelaynerhginnee nahnee illah nayahe ninnernah gullahrah gimbehlee. Illah lah noo noo winnanunnee. Baiyan noo doorimbai birrahleegulboollarhyel nuddahnooway booroolah binnamayahgahway. Baiyan nehmoorillah die gahraymo noo-noo, boollarh noo garwannee. Baiyan nehwoggee goo nahnee. Goomblegubbondoo birrahleegul oodundi gunoonoogarwil. Baiyan boollarhgneh gwallannee. Dinewan gooway Goomblegubbon. "

"Minyah goo ninderh booroolah birrahleegulgah gillunnah. Wahl ninderbooroolah goo garwil ooday. Tuggil ninderh boollarhyel gargillay baiyanboollarhgnah, booral giggee, wahl ninderh booroolah goo gooloonmarlday. " Goomblegubbon buthdi ginnee nalmee. 

"Gullarh nayr nay birrahleegul boorool luggeray Dinewan? Boollarhyelnay gillundi yahmerh boollarhgnah boorool giggee luggeray Dinewan. "

Winnanunnee noo dungeway. Baiyan noo nurray Dinewan, nurray nooboorool. 

Baiyan noo gooway:

"Boomahlee doo gunnoono boollarhyel nayr gurrahwulday. Dinewan wahldoorunmai gillay woggee goo. Goomblegubbon weel gillay doorunmai. Goomblegubbon boorool giggee luggeray Dinewun, boonoong gunnoo googurrahwulday. Baiyan noo boomay gunnoono birrahlee gul boollarhyel noogurrahway. Baiyanneh durrahwallunee nummerh nayr Dinewan dooduldundigoo. Dinewandoo guggay. "

"Minyah ninnoo birrahleegul?"

"Gunnoono nayr boomay boollarhyel gargillunnah. "

"Wullundoo youlloo ninderh boomay! Booroolah nay birrahleegul, gooloonmul dunnerli nayr gunnoonoo. Booroolah gunnoonoo. Nurraleh noilldoowar yu booloobunnee. Nurraleh boonboon. Nummerh nayr bayahmuldunnerh nay birrahlee gulloo. "

"Boollarhyel ninnoo birrahlee garlee. "

"Booroolah boollarh nay. Nayr di gargee ninnoonderh nurranmullee goo. "

Dinewan bunnagunnee binnamayahgoo nayr noo doorimbundigoo birrableegul. Baiyan naiyah durrabwullunee, dirralabeel ginnee noo boobootella, gwallandy, "Boom, boom. " Birrahleegul noo noo bunna gairlehwahndi, beweererh nurrahwahndi, weeleer, weerleeer, Tuwerh munneh doorundi, baiyanneh eelay nurrunnee. Baiyan noo gooway. 

"Geeroo nayr ninnunnerh gooway. Gunnoono nayr nay birrahleegulgurrahwuldunnerh. Nurullah Numerh nayr ninnoo nurragah birrahleegul!Boomay ninderh ninnoo birrahleegul, ninderh nunnoo dung eemai! Tuggilnayr lahnylay nayr boonoong ninderh boomah boollarhyel birrahleegarleegargillay. Gurrahwuldare ninnoo boonong nayr luggeeroo, gurrahwuldaynay birrahleegul. "

Mrs. Parker writes: "The old black woman who first told me the tale isaway, but I got another old woman of the pre-white era to tell it againto me yesterday; it is almost the same, minus one of the descriptivetouches immaterial to the story as such; in fact, to all intents andpurposes, the same. "

GLOSSARY

 Bahloo, moon. Beeargah, hawk. Beeleer, black cockatoo. Beereeun, prickly lizard. Bibbee, woodpecker, bird. Bibbil, shiny-leaved box-tree. Bilber, a large kind of rat. Billai or Billay, crimson-wing parrot. Bindeah, a prickle or small thorn. Bingah wingul, needle bush, a tall thorny shrub. Birrahgnooloo, woman's name, meaning "face like a tomahawk handle. " Birrahlee, baby. Birrableegul, children. Boobootella, the big bunch of feathers at the back of an emu. Boolooral, an owl. Boomerang, a curved weapon used in hunting and in warfare by the blacks; called Burren by the Narran blacks. Bootoolgah, blue-grey crane. Borah, a large gathering of blacks where the boys are initiated into the mysteries which make them young men. Bou-gou-doo-gahdah, the rain bird. Like the bower or mocking bird. Bouyou, legs. Bowrah or Bohrah, kangaroo. Bralgahs, native companion, bird. Bubberah, boomerang that returns. Buckandee, native cat. Buggoo, flying squirrel. Bulgahnunnoo, bark-backed. Bumble, a fruit-bearing tree, sometimes called wild orange and sometimes wild pomegranate tree. Capparis. Bunbundoolooey, brown flock pigeon. Bunnyyarl, flies. Burreenjin, magpie, lark, or peewee Budtha, rosewood-tree, also girl's name. Byamee, man's name, meaning "big man. " Comebee, bag made of kangaroo skins. Comeboo, stone tomahawk. Cookooburrah, laughing jackass. Coorigil, name of place, meaning sign of bees. Corrobboree, black fellows' dance. Cunnembeillee, woman's name, meaning pig-weed root. Curree guin guin, butcher-bird. Daen, black fellows. Dardurr, bark, humpy or shed. Dayah minyah, carpet snake. Dayoorl, large flat stone for grinding grass seed upon. Deegeenboyah, soldier-bird. Decreeree, willy wagtail. Dheal, the sacred tree of the Noongahburrahs, only used for putting on the graves of the dead. Dinewan, emu. Dingo, native dog. Doonburr, a grass seed. Doongara, lightning. Dummerh, pigeons. Dungle, water hole. Dunnia, wattle. Durrie, bread made from grass seed. Eär moonan, long sharp teeth. Euloo marah, large tree grubs. Edible. Euloo wirree, rainbow. Galah or Gilah, a French grey and rose-coloured cockatoo. Gayandy, borah devil. Gidgereegah, a species of small parrot. Girrahween, place of flowers. Gooeea, warriors. Googarh, iguana. Googoolguyyah, turn into trees. Googoorewon, place of trees. Goolahbah, grey-leaved box-tree. Goolahgool, water-holding tree. Goolahwilleel, top-knot pigeon. Gooloo, magpie. Goomade, red stamp. Goomai, water rat. Goomblegubbon, bastard or plainturkey. Goomillah, young girl's dress, consisting of waist strings made of opossum's sinews with strands of woven oppossum's hair, hanging about a foot square in front. Goonur, kangaroo rat. Goug gour gahgah, laughing-jackass. Literal meaning, "Take a stick. " Grooee, handsome foliaged tree bearing a plum-like fruit, tart and bitter, but much liked by the blacks. Gubberah, magical stones of Wirreenum. Clear crystallised quatty. Guddah, red lizard, Guiebet, a thorny creeper bearing masses of a lovely myrtle-like flower and an edible fruit somewhat resembling passion fruit. Guinary, light eagle hawk. Guineboo, robin redbreast. Gurraymy, borah devil. Gwai, red. Gwaibillah, star. Mars. Kurreah, an alligator. Mahthi, dog. Maimah, stones. Maira, paddy melon. May or Mayr, wind. Mayrah, spring wind. Meainei, girls. Midjee, a species of acacia. Millair, species of kangaroo rat. Moodai, opossum. Moogaray, hailstones. Mooninguggahgul, mosquito-calling bird. Moonoon, emu spear. Mooregoo, motoke. Mooroonumildah, having no eyes. Morilla or Moorillah, pebbly ridges. Mubboo, beefwood-tree. Mullyan, eagle hawk. Mullyangah, the morning star. Murgah muggui, big grey spider. Murrawondah, climbing rat. Narahdarn, bat. Noongahburrah, tribe of blacks on the Narran. Nullah nullah, a club or heavy-headed weapon. Nurroo gay gay, dreadful pain. Nyunnoo or Nunnoo, a grass humpy. Ooboon, blue-tongued lizard. Oolah, red prickly lizard. Oongnairwah, black diver. Ouyan, curlew. Piggiebillah, ant-eater. One of the Echidna, a marsupial. Quarrian, a kind of parrot. Quatha, quandong; a red fruit like a round red plum. U e hu, rain, only so called in song. Waligoo, to hide. A game like hide-and-seek. Wahroogah, children. Wahn, crow. Wayambeh, turtle. Waywah, worn by men, consisting of a waistband made of opossum's sinews with bunches of strips of paddymelon skins hanging from it. Weedall, bower or mocking-bird. Weeownbeen, a small bird. Something like a redbreast, only with longer tail and not so red a breast. Widya nurrah, a wooden battleaxe shaped weapon. Willgoo willgoo, pointed stick with feathers on top. Wirree, small piece of bark, canoe-shaped. Wirreenun, priest or doctor. Womba, mad. Wondah, spirit or ghost. Wurranunnah, wild bees. Wurrawilberoo, whirlwind with a devil in it; also clouds of Magellan. Wurranunnah, bee. Wurrunnah, man's name, meaning standing. Yaraan, white gum-tree. Yhi, the sun. Yuckay, oh, dear!