Soon she was quite sure that the little
cloud was advancing towards her side of the plain, and in the direction of
the tank. As it came nearer she could see the bobbing heads of Emus,
popping up above the dust, and she could see some of the birds running
round the little cloud.
"What is the cause of all that dust?" she asked the Emu.
"Sheep!" it answered with a merry chuckle.
"But what are the Emus doing with the sheep?" asked Dot and the Kangaroo,
now fully interested in the Emu's manoeuvre.
"They are driving them to water at the tank," said the bird, highly
delighted with the scheme. "The sheep will soon know that they are near
water, and will go to it without driving. Then we shall watch, and if
they quietly drink and scatter, it will be safe for us, but if they see
anything unusual and break, and run--well, we shan't drink at the tank
to-night. There will be Humans and dogs there, and we don't cultivate
their society just now."
"Really that is the cleverest thing I have heard for a long time," said
the Kangaroo, full of admiration for the trick. "How did you jump to that
conclusion?"
"The idea sprang upon us," answered the Emu, with an immense hop in the
air, and a dancing movement when it came to the ground again. "Dear me!"
it exclaimed, "the sight of those sheep is beginning to excite me, and I
can hardly keep still! I wonder what there is so exciting about sheep!"
Dot could now see the advancing flock of sheep, with their attendant mob
of Emu, quite well.
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