(Dot is found with the Kangaroo"s head in her lap. TheKangaroo is tired after its flight from the blacks.)Dot.-Dear Kangaroo, please do not die, and leave me lonely in the bush.
(The Bittern hops on.)
Bit.-Then it was a human piccaninny, after all. Well, my dear, what are you doing here? (Dot takes no notice of the Bittern; she is too much taken up with the Kangaroo.) Friend Kangaroo seems to be in a bad way. Why don"t you do something sensible, instead of messing about with her head?
Dot.-What can I do?
Bit.-Give it water, of course. What fools Humans are. Isuppose you think there is no water here. Why, you are sitting on a spring.
Dot.-No, I"m not. I"m sitting on grass.
Bit.-Well, booby, under the grass is moss, and under the moss is water. Dig a hole and you"ll find it.
(Dot digs, and dashes water with her hands in Kangaroo"sface. Bittern stands on one leg, head on one side, watching the Kangaroo"s recovery.)Bit. (to Kang., who sits up unsteadily).-How do you feelnow?
Kang.-I feel a bit better now.
Bit.-I say, that was a good jump of yours to get away from the blacks.
Kang.-Oh, now I remember-the blacks; and that awfulleap over the gully. Where"s Dot?
Bit.-Oh, that silly !
Dot.-Here I am, dear Kangaroo.
Bit.-Much good she"d have been to you, with the blacks and their dogs after you, if we bitterns hadn"t played that old trick of ours, scaring them with our big voices. (Booms.) How they did run when we tuned up! They thought the Bunyip had got them. Didn"t we laugh!
Kang.-It was very good of you--
Bit.-Oh, you needn"t trouble me with thanks. We did it for our own fun. As for that little stupid, her squeal was no better than the squeak of a tree-frog in a bittern"s beak.
Dot.-But you were very kind, and showed me how to get water to save Kangaroo"s life.
Bit.-Yah! (Struts away, then comes back.) If you hop a fewsteps over there, you"ll find a little cave.
It"s dry and warm, and good enough for kangaroos.(Bit. stalks away.)Dot.-What a rude little bird the Bittern is ! And yet he was very kind.
Drawn by Elsie Jean Mckissock
Dot and the Bittern
Kang.-The Bittern is really a tender-hearted little fellow.
Bit. (re-enters).-Hullo! I just flew round a bit and had alook. The blacks are off northward. I thought you might like the news, as I suppose you are too lazy to get it for yourselves. (Exit Bittern.)Dot. and Kang.-Thanks, Bittern ! Thanks!
Dot.-What makes you look so sad, dear Kangaroo?
Kang.-I"m thinking of the last time I was hunted, when I lost my baby kangaroo.
Dot.-Oh, you poor, dear thing! Have you been huntedbefore?
Kang.-Yes! Just before I found you. It was white Humans, that time.
Dot.-Tell me about it? How did you escape?
Kang.-There is not much to tell. My little Joey was getting quite big, and we were very happy. He had the blackest little nose you ever saw. All day long I taught him jumping; and we were merry from sunrise to sunset. One day, we were playing on the side of a plain, and our game was "Hide and Seek " in the long grass. We were having great fun, when suddenly little Joey said, "Strange creatures are coming-big ones. " I ran up the hillside to see where the danger was. I saw far- off Humans on their big animals, with the dreadful dogs that kill us, running fast towards us. Joey heard them coming and jumped into my pouch, and I bounded off as fast as I could. Itwas a worse hunt than last night, and I began to get weak and tired, for Joey was heavy, but not so heavy as you are. I knew the cruel Humans on their big animals would overtake us, and their dogs would tear us to pieces, so I asked Joey to hide in a thick, soft bush until I came back for him. It was our only chance. I had an idea that, even if I were killed, he would be safe. Then I crossed a creek to put the dogs off the scent, and got away. But I"ve never seen my little Joey since.
Dot.-Poor, dear Kangaroo! When I grow up, I"ll never letanyone hurt a bush creature. They shall all be happy where I am.
Kang.-But there are so many Humans. They are gettingas plentiful as kangaroos.
From Dot and the Kangaroo, by Ethel C. PedleyAuthor.-Ethel C. Pedley is an Australian writer, whose Dot and the Kangaroo was first published as a story for children, and appeared again in dramatized form (Angus and Robertson, Sydney).
General Notes.-How many actors come into this little play? Make a list. Draw the bittern. Draw the kangaroo. Draw Dot. Is it cruel to hunt bush creatures? Why? Discuss the question.
