Читать книгу Bush Cobbers - Musette Morell - Страница 3

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SPINY ANT-EATER shuffled out of his bed inside the hollow log, scrambled up the side, and curled himself into a ball on top. When Spiny curled up, the quills on his back made him look for all the world like a large round pin-cushion, with dozens and dozens of large pins sticking out of it; or like a specially large prickly-pear. Well, Spiny was curled up, looking about him, sticking out his long thin nose to sniff the air. Spiny was a cheerful fellow, but just now he wasn't a bit pleased with what he saw. For it was just what he always saw, every day.

"Same old bush, same old rocks and stones, same small ants running about, making patterns that never stay put. Same old everything!" snorted Spiny.

And it was just then and there that he thought of the really great idea that was to lead to all the adventures.

"I know what I'll do," he thought; "I'll leave all this and go and seek my fortune—that's what!"

So, uncurling himself, and standing up on his four feet, the two front feet pointing front and the two back feet pointing back, Spiny set out at a trot through the trees.

He was passing the pool when he had another thought: "Think I'll ask cousin Plat to come with me—that's what!"

He looked to see if Platypus was floating on top of the pool. No. But way down under the wavering water was a dim shape that might be Platypus, so he shouted: "Platypus, hi, Platypus!"

But way down near the bottom of the pool Platypus couldn't hear, for, when under water, what scrap of ear he had was always folded away in a furrow of fur. However, a friendly frog heard Spiny call, and diving down, croaked with his mouth full of water:

"Your cousin wants you, Platypus,

Swim up now, or he'll make a fuss."

And the little fish lent their voices and all shouted together:

"Hi, Platypus—hi, Platypus!

Go up now and don't make a fuss."

Soon a duck's bill appeared, followed by the furry skin of an animal and the webbed-feet of a water bird—and all that was Platypus. Without seeing Spiny, he reached up out of the water and drew himself into the opening of a burrow made in the side of the sand-bank. He stood there in the entrance to his home, blinking the water out of his eyes, wringing his coat, wiping his feet on the earthy mat, and would have gone inside without seeing Spiny at all if Frog had not tapped him with a green foot and cried: "Look, stupid, your cousin waits!"

Platypus looked, then quickly scrambled up the steep bank and stood before Spiny, preening his brown velvety coat with his duck's bill, as he asked:

"You wanted me, Spiny?"

"Yes, Plat; I thought you might like to cone along."

"Where to?"

"Wherever I find it, Plat."

"What are you looking for?"

"My fortune. Why don't you look for yours, Plat?"

"H'm; well, this pool is a bit small."

"That's what I thought, Plat."

"And it'll be getting smaller if the weather keeps dry."

"Yes. I know the ants around here are getting smaller and smaller. That's what decided me to go—that's what."

"Well, I'll go with you, Spiny. We'll go together."

"Hurrah! You're a good fish—er, I mean, a good animal—bird—oh! a good Platypus—that's what! Come on!"

And, as they rambled along, Platypus shuffling on his webbed-feet, and Spiny snuffling, with his long nose poking out before him, and wagging from side to side, they talked of the great times they would have when they found their fortune. Then just when the sun was going to bed:

Swish!

"Oh, what ever's t-that?" stuttered Platypus. "I hear something but I can't see it."

Spiny couldn't see either, that's why he had stretched his long nose out in front, snuffling fast. Suddenly he said, "I smell fur!"

SWISH!

"It's my fur you can smell," said a pretty little voice from a bough above their heads which was swaying to and fro, and up and down. "It's only me, having a swing. I'm awake early to-night. I'm awake before the moon."

"Why it's a possum, hanging by her tail from a bough of that tree—a ring-tailed possum," cried Platypus.

"Yes, I've just been counting the rings on my tail. Do you admire them?" asked the sweet voice.

"They re tip-top," breathed Spiny, and his quills quivered with admiration.

"We really haven't time to admire things. We've got to seek our fortune," said Platypus, primly.

"Oh! Are you going far?" asked the gentle Possum.

"Maybe round the world and back," said Spiny.

"Oh!"

"Maybe to the end of the rainbow," said Platypus.

"Oh!"

"Maybe to the top of the highest mountain," said Spiny.

"Oh!"

"Maybe to the deeps of the deepest sea," said Platypus.

"Oh!" exclaimed Possum and added wistfully, "Someday I will seek my fortune, too. The leaves I eat here aren't as green as they used to be; and if the weather keeps dry, they won't even be as green as they are now."

Platypus and Spiny looked her over. She was a pretty, soft little thing with her wide gently staring eyes and the end of her tail looped like a ring. Spiny was the first to speak.

"Why don't you come with us and seek your fortune—now?'

"Oh, I'd love to—could I?" And Possum dropped to the ground.

"If you come with us, you'll have to be a cobber," warned Platypus.

"What does a cobber do?" asked Possum.

"A cobber is a friend," began Platypus, but Possum interrupted:

"I know what a cobber is, but what does a cobber do?"

"A cobber sticks to other cobbers, of course," said Platypus. "Hi, Spiny, do you reckon a girl can be a cobber?"

"I reckon a girl that can stick by her tail to a tree could stick to anything," answered Spiny.

"Oh, I'll stick—I'll be a cobber!" cried Possum, clapping her pink paws.

"Dinky-di?" asked the boys.

"Dinky-di."

"Then, come on!"

Just then there was a little clicking sound. A round earthy door had opened in the ground by their feet and a angry-looking brown spider, covered with black hairs, stood in the door-way glaring at them.

"It's Mrs. Snap, the trap-door spider." whispered Spiny, "that's what! She'll set a trap for us; she always does,"

"And where do you three think you are going?" asked Mrs. Snap, snappily.

"We're going to seek our fortune," answered the cobbers.

"What do you call your fortune?" asked Mrs. Snap.

"Mine's a bigger pool," said Platypus.

"Mine's the bigger ants," said Spiny.

"Mine's the greener leaves," said Possum.

"There's no bigger pool. There's no bigger ants and there's no greener leaves," snapped Mrs. Snap. "You'll learn."

"Learn what?"

"That everything's the same—even when it's different. That the best things are close at hand, but you can't see them because they're not far away."

"Oh, why do you talk like that?" wailed the cobbers.

"Like what?"

"Like that."

"The wise talk in riddles," said Mrs. Snap, grandly.

"That's why I talk in riddles. And what I say is true. You'll learn." And she sang:

If another land you'd find,

Look around, look around.

What is it that you have found?

Only ground.

If a different pool you'd seek—

Think you oughta, think you oughta!—

You will learn that every pool

Is only water.

So travel far and travel wide,

Till you lose your wish to roam,

Then creep—back—home.

"Thank you for the song," said Possum, politely. "But we'll have to leave you now."

"We're going to seek our—" began the boys.

But Mrs. Snap interrupted, "Oh, don't spin me that fortune-yam again. It's too stupid." And running inside, she slammed her trap-door in their faces. So after calling "Good-bye!" to her through the key-hole, Possum, Spiny and Platypus set off on their journey. And as they bounced along the track they sang a happy song:

To fortune-O! To fortune-O!

To find our fortune, off we go.

And when we find it, we will be

The merriest three you ever did see.

To fortune-O! To fortune-O!

Well travel night and day.

We know good luck is waiting us:

Possum, Spiny and Platypus.

So yippy-ho! And away we go.

HURRAY! Away and away!

Away,—

away,—and away!