Mooregoo The Mopoke And Bahloo The Moon

: Australian Legendary Tales

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 brightly had he painted the inside of

the rugs with coloured designs, and strongly had he sewn them with the

sinews of opossums, threaded in the needle made of the little bone

taken
rom the leg of an emu. As Mooregoo looked at his work he was

proud of all he had done.



One night Babloo the moon came to his camp, and said: "Lend me one of

your opossum rugs."



"No. I lend not my rugs."



"Then give me one."



"No. I give not my rugs."



Looking round, Bahloo saw the beautifully carved weapons, so he said,

"Then give me, Mooregoo, some of your weapons."



"No, I give, never, what I have made, to another."



Again Bahloo said, "The night is cold. Lend me a rug."



"I have spoken," said Mooregoo. "I never lend my rugs."



Barloo said no more, but went away, cut some bark and made a dardurr

for himself. When it was finished and he safely housed in it, down came

the rain in torrents. And it rained without ceasing until the whole

country was flooded. Mooregoo was drowned. His weapons floated about

and drifted apart, and his rugs rotted in the water.



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