LESSON 25 COOEE—AN AUSTRALIAN FAIRY STORY

COOEE—AN AUSTRALIAN FAIRY STORY

I

BLUE Bonnet sat astride the three-rail fence thinking.

She had so much to do that she did nothing; she was so happy that she was almost unhappy. If she went uphill, where the gum-trees swayed and tossed against the blue sky, she would lose the gully and the ferns. If she went downhill, where the silver creek sang along the pebbles, she would miss the wind on the mountain-top blowing across the stretch of blue ranges.

Her little new Billycan stood under the fence as upright as a sentinel ［1］ . He could not speak in our way, but he shone best in his own style of talk. If Blue Bonnet had cared to look, he plainly flashed a wireless message to say,"Slow coach, make haste! We've never had a bush picnic together yet, we two."

Blue Bonnet slowly drew her other leg across the top rail, and climbed down to the ground. She was a little town girl, who had come to stay for a short holiday in the bush.

There was a little sheep-path on the hillside midway between crest and creek. Blue Bonnet walked a step or two along before making up her mind whether to go up or down. There was the sweetest bush scent of gum and musk ［2］ and wattle ; a mountain thrush pierced the golden air with its liquid call ［3］ .

Blue Bonnet stood quite still to listen. All was hushed again. She threw back her head, and shouted in a ringing voice, "Cooee!" for mother and daddy told her to be sure to learn the Australian call while she was in the bush.

Cooee!

Who was that? She called again, and again the answer came, "Cooee!"

It was rather hard to tell just where the voice came from, but Blue Bonnet tried over and over again, and each time the answer came back clear and far away.

There are fairies here, she thought. "I knew it!" And she shouted, "Are you a fairy?"

‘TAKE CARE!’ WHEEZED THE BILLY.

Sure enough the answer came, "A fairy!"

Where are you hiding? was the next question. By this time Blue Bonnet was so excited that her voice was quite squeaky. The gleeful, mocking fairy voice rang back,"Hiding!"

Are you in the gully? asked Blue Bonnet.

In the gully! replied the voice.

That decides it! said Blue Bonnet briskly; and she began to scramble down the side of the hill. The briars ［4］ and bracken ［5］ clutched at her legs, the grass was slippery, and the little stones rolled round and round under her shoes.

Take care! wheezed ［6］ the Billy. He was a country Billy, and rather slow and calm. He thought town ways altogether too fast.

Blue Bonnet gave no heed to his warning. Slipping, sliding, rolling, scrambling, she reached the gully, and began to push her way through the tangled scrub ［7］ that grew along the winding creek.

Take care! sang the laughing water. "Take care!" the tall trees sighed, as they swayed to and fro. The little wild flowers kissed her feet, and the grasses held them, as if to say, "Stay! Stay! Take care!"

But Blue Bonnet said, "Dear folks, it is all right. You daisies along the creek will guide me home by day, and at night the stars, gleaming in the water, will be my path."

The naughty daisies winked their yellow eyes, and the stars behind the daylit sky winked their yellow eyes too. But the trees sighed, and the grasses whispered, and the creek sobbed to itself a moment in its flow. They knew the tricks of the stars and the daisies.

Blue Bonnet went on and on. At last she saw a little mossy door among the tree-ferns. It was a bit dark, but she did not mind that. She crept into the hole, and crawled along a tiny tunnel with a mush-roomy sort of smell. She came out on a lovely little bower ［8］ , with a carpet of moss like the smallest ferns you could dream of. Blackwoods ［9］ and tree-ferns made the roof of a little green room. There was a moss-grown tree-trunk there, and sitting on it, whittling at a bit of stick to make himself a whistle, was a little boy dressed in bunny-skins.

One of his long, silky ears was cocked, and one was lying back, and one leg was crossed over the other. He had soft brown hair, a brown face as if he loved the open air, and great brown eyes, just like a bunny's.

Cooee? asked Blue Bonnet.

Cooee! replied he, nodding. "You are Blue Bonnet. I know it, because you're so like one. What's it?"—pointing a little brown finger at Master Billycan, who, in his country way, shyly hid behind Blue Bonnet's skirt.

It's to drink out of, said she. "It's called Billy."

How funny! I drink this way, said Cooee; and he scooped his two hands to make a cup. "But where did you come from, and how did you get here?"

COOEE WAS SITTING ON A MOSS-GROWN TRUNK TRYING TO MAKE A WHISTLE.

I came from town, said Blue Bonnet, "all along the shiny rails. It was night, and the lights twinkled red and green and golden. We came rushing through the dark, and the train played tunes all the way from town."

Town? Train? he asked. "What are they?"

Town! Well, it's a sort of rabbit-warren ［10］ , she said, "full of houses and people and noise, and sometimes smoke and dust. At night it's all lights, like the moon and stars, only big and square. And a train is a sort of box on wheels— a kind of dragon ［11］ . Do you know a dragon?"

I know all fairy monsters, he answered. "It's the ways and doings of mortals ［12］ that seem to be quite past finding out."

Well, this dragon pulls the box along. It puffs and snorts and steams a good deal, and breathes out fire, you know. But it always finds the way to Fairyland. It's a very tame dragon, and well broken in.

As to that, said Cooee, "I suppose it's something like the woodcutter's cart, which I've often seen in the forest. I'm not friends with the woodcutter. He ring-barks ［13］ our beautiful trees, and burns them off, and he scares away all the shy, wild wood creatures. Why, there are parts of the bush where you could scarcely find a kangaroo or a lyre-bird, to say nothing of the fairies! If many woodcutters come, we know the trees will all be cleared away, and then the creek will sing no more in the gully. It will pine and die of grief, and the flowers and ferns will fade and perish, and all the lovely bush will vanish for ever.

I don't like your dragons and your mortal men. They'll very soon be the end of us. The woodcutter has a little firesnake. He puts it on his shoulder, pats it on the back, and——bang, pop, puff!—it spits out fire, and a rosella ［14］ flops to earth with all its pretty feathers ruffled, or a bunny lies down suddenly all limp and still, though it was running so fast only a minute before. And it's all because the birds peck a cherry or two, and the bunnies nibble the lettuces. How are we to know they are not meant for us, when he leaves them out in the open?

Never mind, Cooee darling! said Blue Bonnet. She had crept close up to him now, and was patting his cheek and stroking his fur. "I'm a mortal child, and I'll make them stop when I go back to mortal-land. They don't know about you, or they wouldn't!"

You must stay with me always, now you've come, said Cooee. "I've called and called long enough, and you can't go away and leave me now."

* * *

［1 ］ Sentinel: Watchman, sentry.

［2 ］ musk: A plant giving out the smell of musk.

［3 ］ liquid call: Soft, flowing sound or note.

［4 ］ briars: Thorny bushes.

［5 ］ bracken: A kind of fern.

［6 ］ wheezed: Spoke in a husky voice.

［7 ］ scrub: Thick part of the bush.

［8 ］ bower: A shady place; nest; arbour.

［9 ］ blackwood: A tree noted for its hard timber.

［10 ］ warren: Place full of rabbit holes.

［11 ］ dragon: A fabled monster.

［12 ］ mortals: Human beings; those who cannot live forever.

［13 ］ ring-bark: Cut a ring of bark off so as to stop the sap from rising.

［14 ］ rosella: An Australian parrot with feathers of many colours.