When they had followed the stream some distance, the gully opened out into
bush scrub. The little Parrakeets then said "Good-bye," and flew back to
their favourite tree-ferns and bush growth; and the Kangaroo said, that as
they were nearing the home of the Platypus, they must not play in the
stream any more; to do so might warn the creature of their approach and
frighten it. "We shall have to be very careful," she said, "so that the
Platypus will neither hear nor smell you. We will therefore walk on the
opposite shore, as the wind will then blow away from its home."
The stream no longer chattered over rocky beds, but slid between soft
banks of earth, under tufts of tall rushes, grasses, and ferns, and soon
it opened into a broad pool, which was smooth as glass. The clouds in the
sky, the tall surrounding trees, and the graceful ferns and rushes of the
banks, were all reflected in the water, so that it looked to Dot like a
strange upside-down picture. This, then, was the home of that wonderful
animal; and Dot felt quite frightened, because she thought she was going
to see something terrible.
At the Kangaroo's bidding, she hid a little way from the edge of the pool,
but she was able to see all that happened.
The Kangaroo evidently did not enjoy the prospect of conversing with the
Platypus.
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