Atondido Stories
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 Bootool-
gah was rubbing two pieces of wood together, he saw a faint
spark sent forth and then a slight smoke. "Look," he said to
Goonur, "see what comes when I rub these pieces of wood to-
gether—smoke! Would it not be good if we could make fire for
ourselves with which to cook our food, so as not to have to wait
for the sun to dry it?"
Goonur looked, and, seeing the smoke, she said: "Great in-
deed would be the day when we could make fire. Split your
stick, Bootoolgah, and place in the opening bark and grass that
even one spark may kindle a light." And hearing wisdom in her
words, even as she said Bootoolgah did. And lo! after much rub-
bing, from the opening came a small flame. For as Goonur had
said it would, the spark lit the grass, the bark smouldered and
smoked, and so Bootoolgah the crane, and Goonur the kangaroo
rat, discovered the art of fire making.
"This we will keep secret," they said, "from all the tribes.
When we make a fire to cook our fish we will go into a Bin-
gahwingul scrub. There we will make a fire and cook our food in
secret. We will hide our firesticks in the openmouthed seeds of
the Bingahwinguls; one firestick we will carry always hidden in
our comebee."
Bootoolgah and Goonur cooked the next fish they caught,
and found it very good. When they went back to the camp they
took some of their cooked fish with them. The blacks noticed it
looked quite different from the usual sun-dried fish, so they
asked: "What did you to that fish?"
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