mouths. This precaution so disappointed the tortoise, that he asked the snake to allow him to transfer his deadly venom to it; and argued that, since the natives had adopted another mode of drinking, he had no opportunity of destroying them, but that the snake had many opportunities of biting them in their wuurns and among the long grass. The snake agreed to the proposal, and ever afterwards the tortoise has been harmless. This method of drinking, however, which was adopted to avoid the bite of the tortoise, still continues.
THE BLUE HERON.
Once upon a time, while a large meeting was being held at a place near Dunkeld, and the natives were encamped under a wide-spreading red gum-tree, and were enjoying a feast of small fish, one of their number was so displeased because he did not get the whole of the fish to himself, which had been distributed to his tribe, that he took the form of a heron, and, lighting on the tree, knocked it down and killed nearly the whole of the tribe. Those who escaped ran off and told the other tribes who were encamped in the neighbourhood what had happened. When they came to the spot, they found that the heron had eaten all the fish. In revenge they laid upon him the curse that his spirit would fly about for ever in the form of a blue heron, and then they killed him.
THE NATIVE COMPANION AND THE EMU.
A native companion and an emu, each with a brood of young ones, went to a swamp to get sedge roots, which are very good to eat. They kindled a fire on the bank in which to cook the roots, and then waded into the water to get a supply. The native companion pulled up a number of roots, and returned to the fire, provided with a long pole, with which she pushed the roots into the fire, and had them all covered up, and the pole hidden, before the emu returned with her supply. The emu had only a very short stick, which was soon burnt in trying to push her roots into the fire. She used first one foot and then the other. Both got scorched. She tried her wings next, then her bill, and had them scorched likewise. She ran to the swamp to cool her burns. On her return she found the native companion and her young ones digging the roots out of the fire with the long pole, and eating them. The emu was very ill pleased at the trick,
