"Where is Dot?"
"Umph, that silly!" exclaimed the Bittern, as Dot came forward, and she
and the Kangaroo rejoiced over each other's safety. "Much good she'd have
been to you with the blacks, and their dogs after you, if we Bitterns
hadn't played that old trick of ours of scaring them with our big voices.
He! he! he!" it chuckled, "how they did run when we tuned up! They thought
the Bunyip had got them this time. Didn't we laugh!"
"It was very good of you," said the Kangaroo gratefully, "and it is not
the first time you have saved Kangaroos by your cleverness. I didn't know
you Bitterns were near, so I told Dot to make a noise in the hope of
frightening them."
The Bittern was really touched by the Kangaroo's gratitude, and was
delighted at being called clever, so it became still more ungracious.
"You needn't trouble me with thanks," it said indifferently, "we didn't do
it to save you, but for our own fun. As for that little stupid," it
continued, with a nod of the head towards Dot, "her squeals were no more
good than the squeak of a tree frog in a Bittern's beak."
"But you were very kind," said Dot, "and showed me how to get water to
save Kangaroo's life."
The Bittern was greatly pleased at this praise, and in consequence it got
still ruder, and making a face at Dot, exclaimed, "Yah!" and stalked off.
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