Two men were walking near a cottage in the winter sunlight of the early
morning. There came to the door a young woman, who looked pale and
tired. She carried a bowl of milk to a little calf, and on her way back
to the cottage she paused, and shading her eyes, that were red with
weeping, lingered awhile, looking far and near. Then, with a sigh, she
returned indoors and worked restlessly at her household duties.
"It breaks my heart to see my wife do that," said the taller man, who
carried a gun. "All day long she comes out and looks for the child. One
knows, now, that the poor little one can never come back to us," and as
the big man spoke there was a queer choking in his voice.
The younger man did not speak, but he patted his friend's shoulder in a
kindly manner, which showed that he too was very sorry.
"Even you have lost heart, Jack," said the big bushman, "but we shall
find her yet; the wife shall have that comfort."
"You'll never do it now," said the young fellow with a mournful shake of
the head. "There is not an inch of ground that so young a child could
reach that we have not searched. The mystery is, what could have become
of her?"
"That's what beats me," said the tall man, who was Dot's father. "I
think of it all day and all night. There is the track of the dear little
mite as clear as possible for five miles, as far as the dry creek. The
trackers say she rested her poor weary legs by sitting under the
blackbutt tree. At that point she vanishes completely. The blacks say
there isn't a trace of man, or beast, beyond that place excepting the
trail of a big kangaroo. As you say, it's a mystery!"
As the men walked towards the bush, close to the place where Dot had run
after the hare the day she was lost, neither of them noticed the fuss
and scolding made by a Willy Wagtail; although the little bird seemed
likely to die of excitement.
Willy Wagtail was really saying, "Dot and her Kangaroo are coming this
way. Whatever you do, don't shoot them with that gun."
Presently the young man, Jack, noticed the little bird. "What friendly
little chaps those wagtails are," he said, "and see how tame and
fearless this one is. Upon my word, he nearly flew in your face that
time!"
[Illustration: DOT WAVING ADIEU TO THE KANGAROO]
Dot's father did not notice the remark, for he had stopped suddenly, and
was peering into the bush whilst he quietly shifted his gun into
position, ready to raise it and fire.
"By Jove!" he said, "I saw the head of a Kangaroo a moment ago behind
that iron-bark. Fancy it's coming so near the house. Next time it shows,
I'll get a shot at it."
Both men waited for the moment when the Kangaroo should be seen again.
The next instant the Kangaroo bounded out of the Bush into the open
paddock. Swift as lightning up went the cruel gun, but, as it exploded
with a terrible report, the man, Jack, struck it upwards, and the fatal
bullet lodged in the branch of a tall gum tree.
"Great Scott!" exclaimed Jack, pointing at the Kangaroo.
"Dot!" cried her father, dropping his gun, and stumbling blindly forward
with outstretched arms, towards his little girl, who had just tumbled
out of the Kangaroo's pouch in her hurry to reach her father.
"Hoo! hoo! ho! ho! he! he! ha! ha! ha! ha!" laughed a Kookooburra on a
tree, as he saw Dot clasped in her father's great strong arms, and the
little face hidden in his big brown beard.
"Wife! wife!" shouted Dot's father, "Dot's come back! Dot's come back!"
"Dot's here!" yelled the young man, as he ran like mad to the house. And
all the time the good Kangaroo sat up on her haunches, still panting
with fear from the sound of the gun, and a little afraid to stay, yet so
interested in all the excitement and delight, that she couldn't make up
her mind to hop away.
"Dadda," said Dot, "You nearly killed Dot and her Kangaroo! Oh! if you'd
killed my Kangaroo, I'd never have been happy any more!"
"But I don't understand," said her father. "How did you come to be in
the Kangaroo's pouch?"
"Oh! I've got lots and lots to tell you!" said Dot; "but come and stroke
dear Kangaroo, who saved little Dot and brought her home."
"That I will!" said Dot's father, "and never more will I hurt a
Kangaroo!"
"Nor any of the Bush creatures," said Dot. "Promise, Dadda!"
"I promise," said the big man, in a queer-sounding voice, as he kissed
Dot over and over again, and walked towards the frightened animal.
Dot wriggled down from her father's arms, and said to the Kangaroo,
"It's all right; no one's ever going to be shot or hurt here again!" and
the Kangaroo looked delighted at the good news.
"Dadda," said Dot, holding her father's hand, and, with her disengaged
hand touching the Kangaroo's little paw. "This is my own dear Kangaroo."
Dot's father, not knowing quite how to show his gratitude, stroked the
Kangaroo's head, and said "How do you do?" which, when he came to think
of it afterwards, seemed rather a foolish thing to say. But he wasn't
used, like Dot, to talking to Bush creatures, and had not eaten the
berries of understanding.
The Kangaroo saw that Dot's father was grateful, and so she was pleased,
but she did not like to be stroked by a man who let off guns, so she was
glad that Dot's mother had run to where they were standing, and was
hugging and kissing the little girl, and crying all the time; for then
Dot's father turned and watched his wife and child, and kept doing
something to his eyes with a handkerchief, so that there was no
attention to spare for Kangaroos.
The good Kangaroo, seeing how happy these people were, and knowing that
her life was quite safe, wanted to peep about Dot's home and see what it
was like--for kangaroos can't help being curious. So presently she
quietly hopped off towards the cottage, and then a very strange thing
happened. Just as the Kangaroo was wondering what the great iron tank by
the kitchen door was meant for, there popped out of the open door a joey
Kangaroo. Now, to human beings, all joey Kangaroos look alike, but
amongst Kangaroos there are no two the same, and Dot's Kangaroo at once
recognised in the little Joey her own baby Kangaroo. The Joey knew its
mother directly, and, whilst Dot's Kangaroo was too astonished to move,
and not being able to think, was trying to get at a conclusion why her
Joey was coming out of a cottage, the little Kangaroo, with a
hop-skip-and-a-jump, had landed itself comfortably in the nice pouch Dot
had just vacated.
Then Dot's mother, rejoicing over the safe return of her little girl,
was not more happy than the Kangaroo with her Joey once more in her
pouch. With big bounds she leapt towards Dot, and the little girl
suddenly looking round for her Kangaroo friend, clapped her hands with
delight as she saw a little grey nose, a pair of tiny black paws, and
the point of a little black tail, hanging out of the pouch that had
carried her so often.
"Why!" exclaimed Dot's mother, "if she hasn't got the little Joey, Jack
brought me yesterday! He picked it up after a Kangaroo hunt some time
ago."
"It's her Joey; her lost Joey!" cried Dot, running to the Kangaroo. "Oh!
dear Kangaroo, I am so glad!" she said, "for now we are all happy; as
happy as can be!" Dot hugged her Kangaroo, and kissed the little Joey,
and they all three talked together, so that none of them understood what
the others were saying, only that they were all much pleased and
delighted.
"Wife," said Dot's father, "I'll tell you what's mighty queer, our
little girl is talking away to those animals, and they're all
understanding one another, as if it was the most natural thing in the
world to treat Kangaroos as if they were human beings!"
"I expect," said his wife, "that their feelings are not much different
from ours. See how that poor animal is rejoicing in getting back its
little one, just as we are over having our little Dot again."
"To think of all the poor things I have killed," said Dot's father
sadly; "I'll never do it again."
"No," said his wife, "we must try and get everyone to be kind to the
bush creatures, and protect them all we can."
This book would never come to an end if it told all that passed that
day. How Dot explained the wonderful power of the berries of
understanding, and how she told the kangaroos all that her parents
wanted her to say on their behalf, and what kind things the Kangaroo
said in return.
All day long the Kangaroo stayed near Dot's home, and the little girl
persuaded her to eat bread, which she said was "most delicious, but one
would get tired of it sooner than of grass."
Every effort was made by Dot and her parents to get the Kangaroo to live
on their selection, so that they might protect her from harm. But she
said that she liked her own free life best, only she would never go far
away and would come often to see Dot. At sunset she said good-bye to
Dot, a little sadly, and the child stood in the rosy light of the
afterglow, waving her hand, as she saw her kind animal friend hop away
and disappear into the dark shadow of the Bush.
She wandered about for some time listening to the voices of birds and
creatures, who came to tell her how glad everyone was that her way had
been found, and that no harm was to befall them in future. The news of
her safe return, and of the Kangaroo's finding her Joey, had been spread
far and near, by Willy Wagtail and the Kookooburra; and she could hear
the shouts of laughter from kookooburras telling the story until nearly
dark.
Quite late at night she was visited by the Opossum, the Native Bear,
and the Nightjar, who entered by the open window, and, sitting in the
moonlight, conversed about the day's events. They said that their whole
rest and sleep had been disturbed by the noise and excitement of the day
creatures spreading the news through the Bush. The Mo-poke wished to
sing a sad song because Dot was feeling happy, but the Opossum warned it
that it was sitting in a draught on the window sill and might spoil its
beautiful voice, so it flew away and only sang in the distance. The
Native Bear said that the story of Dot's return and the finding of
Kangaroo's Joey was so strange that it made its head feel quite empty.
The Opossum inspected everything in Dot's room, and tried to fight
itself in the looking-glass. It then got the Koala to look into the
mirror also, and said it would get an idea into its little empty head if
it did. When the Koala had taken a timid peep at itself, the Opossum
said that the Koala now had an idea of how stupid it looked, and the
little bear went off to get used to having an idea in its head. The
Opossum was so pleased with its spiteful joke that it hastily said good
night, and hurried away to tell it to the other 'possums.
Gradually the voices of the creatures outside became more and more faint
and indistinct; and then Dot slept in the grey light of the dawn.
When she went out in the morning, the kookooburras were gurgling and
laughing, the magpies were warbling, the parrakeets made their
twittering, and Willy Wagtail was most lively; but Dot was astonished to
find that she could not understand what any of the creatures said,
although they were all very friendly towards her. When the Kangaroo came
to see her she made signs that she wanted some berries of understanding,
but, strange as it may seem, the Kangaroo pretended not to understand.
Dot has often wondered why the Kangaroo would not understand, but,
remembering what that considerate animal had said when she first gave
her the berries, she is inclined to think that the Kangaroo is afraid of
her learning too much, and thereby getting indigestion. Dot and her
parents have often sought for the berries, but up to now they have
failed to find them. There is something very mysterious about those
berries!
During that day every creature Dot had known in the Bush came to see
her, for they all knew that their lives were safe now, so they were not
afraid. It greatly surprised Dot's parents to see such numbers of birds
and animals coming around their little girl, and they thought it very
pretty when in the evening a flock of Native Companions settled down,
and danced their graceful dance with the little girl joining in the
game.
"It seems to me, wife," said Dot's father with a glad laugh, "that the
place has become a regular menagerie!"
[Illustration: BY THE LAKE (EVENING)]
Later on, Dot's father made a dam on a hollow piece of ground near the
house, which soon became full of water, and is surrounded by beautiful
willow trees. There all the thirsty creatures come to drink in safety.
And very pretty it is, to sit on the verandah of that happy home, and
see Dot playing near the water surrounded by her Bush friends, who come
and go as they please, and play with the little girl beside the pretty
lake. And no one in all the Gabblebabble district hurts a bush creature,
because they are all called "Dot's friends."
* * * * *
FINALE.
Before putting away the pen and closing the inkstand, now that Dot has
said all she wishes to be recorded of her bewildering adventures, the
writer would like to warn little people, that the best thing to do when
one is lost in the bush, is to sit still in one place, and not to try to
find one's way home at all. If Dot had done this, and had not gone off
in the Kangaroo's pouch, she would have been found almost directly. As
the more one tries to find one's way home, the more one gets lost, and
as helpful Kangaroos like Dot's are very scarce, the best way to get
found quickly, is to wait in one place until the search parties find
one. Don't forget this advice! And don't eat any strange berries in the
bush, unless a Kangaroo brings them to you.
* * * * *
W. C. Penfold & Co. Ltd., Printers, Sydney, Australia
* * * * *
[Illustration]
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[Illustration: Back Cover]