Page:The Aborigines of Victoria and Riverina.djvu/153

148 nearly proved fatal to her, and after all she did not succeed in capturing even a paltry tadpole, much less a fish. After shaking the water out of her feathers upon reaching land, to console herself, as it were, for her decided failure in the fishing rôle which she had just adopted, she raised her head with no inconsiderable amount of pride, drew it well back, closing her eyes the while, and opening her beak to the widest possible extent, intent upon flooding the whole vicinity with a stream of unheard of melody; but alas! and thrice alas! the horrible sounds which issued from her throat were so terrible to hear, the Kumbama Koeworie came nearly tumbling off his perch from the force of downright fear, whilst she herself had all but swooned away by reason of her own discordant uproar.

Thus, when all too late, she had discovered how completely gulled she had been by the plausible cunning of the wicked Courtenie. Being, however, sensible beyond the general run of birds, she saw that repining would be but of very sorry avail, as do what she might her wings could not be restored to her; therefore, comforting herself in the best manner possible under the trying circumstances, she stalked away from the scene of her folly a wiser though a much sadder bird.

She walked away leisurely across the swelling undulations of the plains, pecking the succulent herbage as she passed, which she found wonderfully palatable and more to her taste than anything her late cloud world could offer, and when, with a crop full almost to bursting, she found herself comfortably squatted under the fragrant shelter of a Myall scrub, she came to the conclusion that she was not so badly