Goolahwilleel The Topknot Pigeons
: Australian Legendary TalesYoung Goolahwilleeel used to go out hunting every day. His mother and
sisters always expected that he would bring home kangaroo and emu for
them. But each day he came home without any meat at all. They asked him
what he did in the bush, as he evidently did not hunt. He said that he
did hunt.
"Then why," said they, "do you bring us nothing home?"
"I cannot catch and kill what I follow," he sa
when I find kangaroo or emu; is it not so?"
"Yes; each day we hear you call when you find something, and each day
we get ready the fire, expecting you to bring home the spoils of the
chase, but you bring nothing."
"To-morrow," he said, "you shall not be disappointed. I will bring you
a kangaroo."
Every day, instead of hunting, Goolahwilleel had been gathering
wattle-gum, and with this he had been modelling a kangaroo--a perfect
model of one, tail, ears, and all complete. So the next day he came
towards the camp carrying this kangaroo made of gum. Seeing him coming,
and also seeing that he was carrying the promised kangaroo, his mother
and sisters said: "Ah, Goolahwilleel spoke truly. He has kept his word,
and now brings us a kangaroo. Pile up the fire. To-night we shall eat
meat."
About a hundred yards away from the camp Goolahwilleel put down his
model, and came on without it. His mother called out: "Where is the
kangaroo you brought home?"
"Oh, over there." And he pointed towards where he had left it.
The sisters ran to get it, but came back saying: "Where is it? We
cannot see it."
"Over there," he said, pointing again.
"But there is only a great figure of gum there."
"Well, did I say it was anything else? Did I not say it was gum?"
"No, you did not. You said it was a kangaroo."
"And so it is a kangaroo. A beautiful kangaroo that I made all by
myself." And he smiled quite proudly to think what a fine kangaroo he
had made.
But his mother and sisters did not smile. They seized him and gave him
a good beating for deceiving them. They told him he should never go out
alone again, for he only played instead of hunting, though he knew they
starved for meat. They would always in the future go with him.
And so for ever the Goolahwilleels went in flocks, never more singly,
in search of food.
More
-
Bahloo The Moon And The Daens
Bahloo the moon looked down at the earth one night, when his light was shining quite brightly, to see if any one was moving. When the earth people were all asleep was the time he chose for playing with his three dogs. He called them dogs, but th... Bootoolgah The Crane And Goonur The Kangaroo Rat The Fire Makers
In the days when Bootoolgah, the crane, married Goonur, the kangaroo rat, there was no fire in their country. They had to eat their food raw or just dry it in the sun. One day when Bootoolgah was rubbing two pieces of wood together, he saw a fai... Bougoodoogahdah The Rain Bird
Bougoodoogahdah was all old woman who lived alone with her four hundred dingoes. From living so long with these dogs she had grown not to care for her fellow creatures except as food. She and the dogs lived on human flesh, and it was her cunning... Bunnyyarl The Flies And Wurrunnunnah The Bees
The Bunnyyarl and Wurrunnunnah were relations, and lived in one camp. The Wurrunnunnah were very hardworking, always trying to gather food in a time of plenty, to lay in a store for a time of famine. The Bunnyyarl used to give no heed to the fut... Deegeenboyah The Soldier-bird
Deegeenboyah was an old man, and getting past hunting much for himself; and he found it hard to keep his two wives and his two daughters supplied with food. He camped with his family away from the other tribes, but he used to join the men of the... Deereeree The Wagtail And The Rainbow
Deereeree was a widow and lived in a camp alone with her four little girls. One day Bibbee came and made a camp not far from hers. Deereeree was frightened of him, too frightened to go to sleep. All night she used to watch his camp, and if she h... Dinewan The Emu And Wahn The Crows
Dinewan and his two wives, the Wahn, were camping out. Seeing some clouds gathering, they made a bark humpy. It came on to rain, and they all took shelter under it. Dinewan, when his wives were not looking, gave a kick against a piece of bark at... Goolahwilleel The Topknot Pigeons
Young Goolahwilleeel used to go out hunting every day. His mother and sisters always expected that he would bring home kangaroo and emu for them. But each day he came home without any meat at all. They asked him what he did in the bush, as he ev... Gooloo The Magpie And The Wahroogah
Gooloo was a very old woman, and a very wicked old woman too, as this story will tell. During all the past season, when the grass was thick with seed, she had gathered much doonburr, which she crushed into meal as she wanted it for food. She use... Goomblegubbon Beeargah And Ouyan
Goomblegubbon the bustard, his two wives, Beeargah the hawk, and Ouyan the curlew, with the two children of Beeargah, had their camps right away in the bush; their only water supply was a small dungle, or gilguy hole. The wives and children camp... Goonur The Woman-doctor
Goonur was a clever old woman-doctor, who lived with her son, Goonur, and his two wives. The wives were Guddah the red lizard, and Beereeun the small, prickly lizard. One day the two wives had done something to anger Goonur, their husband, and h... Hunting Custom
Formerly when the men went to a hunt the mistress of the house would not bathe all the time they were away and when the hunters returned she met them at the front door and washed their feet and welcomed them home. The wife of the dehri used to put a... Mayrah The Wind That Blows The Winter Away
At the beginning of winter, the iguanas hide themselves in their homes in the sand; the black eagle hawks go into their nests; the garbarlee or shingle-backs hide themselves in little logs, just big enough to hold them; the iguanas dig a long wa... Meamei The Seven Sisters
Wurrunnah had had a long day's hunting, and he came back to the camp tired and hungry. He asked his old mother for durrie, but she said there was none left. Then he asked some of the other blacks to give him some doonburr seeds that he might mak... Mooregoo The Mopoke And Bahloo The Moon
Mooregoo the Mopoke had been camped away by himself for a long time. While alone he had made a great number of boomerangs, nullah-nullahs, spears, neilahmans, and opossum rugs. Well had he carved the weapons with the teeth of opossums, and brigh... Mooregoo The Mopoke And Mooninguggahgul The Mosquito Bird
An old man lived with his two wives, the Mooninguggahgul sisters, and his two sons. The old man spent all his time making boomerangs, until at last he had four nets full of these weapons. The two boys used to go out hunting opossums and iguanas,... Mullyangah The Morning Star
Mullyan, the eagle hawk, built himself a home high in a yaraan tree. There he lived apart from his tribe, with Moodai the opossum, his wife, and Moodai the opossum, his mother-in-law. With them too was Buttergah, a daughter of the Buggoo or flyi... Narahdarn The Bat
Narahdarn, the bat, wanted honey. He watched until he saw a Wurranunnah, or bee, alight. He caught it, stuck a white feather between its hind legs, let it go and followed it. He knew he could see the white feather, and so follow the bee to its n... Oongnairwah And Guinarey
Oongnairwah, the diver, and Guinarey, the eagle hawk, told all the pelicans, black swans, cranes, and many others, that they would take their net to the creek and catch fish, if some of them would go and beat the fish down towards the net. Gl... Ouyan The Curlew
Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son: "Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu. The women and I are hungry. You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat. You must not stay always in the camp like an ... The Borah Of Byamee
Word had been passed from tribe to tribe, telling, how that the season was good, there must be a great gathering of the tribes. And the place fixed for the gathering was Googoorewon. The old men whispered that it should be the occasion for a bor... The Bunbundoolooeys
The mother Bunbundoolooey put her child, a little boy Bunbundoolooey, who could only just crawl, into her goolay. Goolay is a sort of small netted hammock, slung by black women on their backs, in which they carry their babies and goods in genera... The Cookooburrahs And The Goolahgool
Googarh, the iguana, was married to Moodai, the opossum and Cookooburrah, the laughing jackass. Cookooburrah was the mother of three sons, one grown up and living away from her, the other two only little boys. They had their camps near a goolahg... The Galah And Oolah The Lizard
Oolah the lizard was tired of lying in the sun, doing nothing. So he said, "I will go and play." He took his boomerangs out, and began to practise throwing them. While he was doing so a Galah came up, and stood near, watching the boomerangs come... The Gwineeboos The Redbreasts
Gwineeboo and Goomai, the water rat, were down at the creek one day, getting mussels for food, when, to their astonishment, a kangaroo hopped right into the water beside them. Well they knew that he must be escaping from hunters, who were probab... The Mayamah
The blacks had all left their camp and gone away to attend a borah. Nothing was left in the camp but one very old dog, too old to travel. After the blacks had been gone about three days, one night came their enemies, the Gooeeays, intending to s... The Origin Of The Narran Lake
Old Byamee said to his two young wives, Birrahgnooloo and Cunnunbeillee, "I have stuck a white feather between the hind legs of a bee, and am going to let it go and then follow it to its nest, that I may get honey. While I go for the honey, go y... The Weeoonibeens And The Piggiebillah
Two Weeoombeen brothers went out hunting. One brother was much younger than the other and smaller, so when they sighted an emu, the elder one said to the younger: "You stay quietly here and do not make a noise, or Piggiebillah, whose camp we pas... Wayarnbeh The Turtle
Oolah, the lizard, was out getting yams on a Mirrieh flat. She had three of her children with her. Suddenly she thought she heard some one moving behind the big Mirrieh bushes. She listened. All of a sudden out jumped Wayambeh from behind a bush... Weedah The Mocking Bird
Weedah was playing a great trick on the black fellows who lived near him. He had built himself a number of grass nyunnoos, more than twenty. He made fires before each, to make it look as if some one lived in the nyunnoos. First he would go into ... Wirreenun The Rainmaker
The country was stricken with a drought. The rivers were all dry except the deepest holes in them. The grass was dead, and even the trees were dying. The bark dardurr of the blacks were all fallen to the ground and lay there rotting, so long was... A Battle In The Air
In the country about Tishomingo, Indian Territory, troubles are foretold by a battle of unseen men in the air. Whenever the sound of conflict is heard it is an indication that many dead will lie in the fields, for it heralds battle, starvation, or p... A Battle With The Sioux
Less than sixty years ago, the vast tracts of land which are now large cities and cultivated farms were prairie and forest. Numerous tribes of Indians camped on these prairies in summer-time, and when the cold winter came, they sought the shelter o... A Blow In The Dark
The Tory Manheim sits brooding in his farmhouse near Valley Forge, and his daughter, with a hectic flush on her cheek, looks out into the twilight at the falling snow. She is worn and ill; she has brought on a fever by exposure incurred that very da... A Boy Taken To Fairy Land
Mrs. Morris, of Cwm Vicarage, near Rhyl, told the writer the following story. She stated that she had heard it related in her family that one of their people had in childhood been induced by the Fairies to follow them to their country. This boy ... A Breathing Space
The captive was not taken back to prison-chamber which she had occupied during the preceding night, but to an apartment in the palace--one belonging to the suite appropriated to Pollux. She was confined within a room so luxurious, that, save from t... A Bryneglwys Man Inveigled By The Fairies
Two waggoners were sent from Bryneglwys for coals to the works over the hill beyond Minera. On their way they came upon a company of Fairies dancing with all their might. The men stopped to witness their movements, and the Fairies invited them t... A Charm For Stopping Bleeding
Mrs. Reynolds, whom I have already mentioned in connection with a charm for toothache, gave me the following charm. It bears date April 5, 1842:-- Our Blessed Saviour Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem, By the Virgin Mary, Baptize... A Charm For The Shingles
This custom (charming for the shingles) was more prevalent in this parish than in any other in Montgomeryshire. A certain amount of penance was to be done by the sufferer, who was to go to the charmer in the morning fasting, and he was also to be... A Chestnut Log
There is no doubt that farmer Lovel had read ancient history or he would not have been so ready in the emergency that befell him one time in the last century. He had settled among the New Hampshire hills near the site that is now occupied by the vil... A Child Of The Woods
Deep in the forest of the North there is a large village of jungle people, and, among them is one old woman, who is held in reverence by all. The stranger who asks why she is honored as a princess is thus answered by her: "Verily, I have much boo...