Well, after he had splashed about in the water for some time with his brothers and sisters, Mr. Platypus had thought that he would like to have a home of his own. So he had asked Mrs. Platypus to be his wife, and they swam farther down the creek to another water- hole.
One of its banks was overgrown with blackberries, and it was shaded with lovely wattles and gumtrees. The other bank was bare and rather sandy. It was just the place for the home of the platypus.
They burrowed with their feet and bills till they had made the loveliest little underground house. It had a long passage, leading to one wide room, and there were two entrances.
The door by which they entered was under the water; the other was ever so far up in the bank out of sight, under some thick bushes. The room was as nice as could be, lined with grass and leaves to make it warm and soft.
Here Mrs. Platypus laid two beautiful white eggs.
After a time the little ones were hatched, and at first theywere quite blind and helpless.
But they soon grew big, and then their father and mother taught them to swim and dive, and also to find insects and worms.
These they put into the pouches in their cheeks, and afterwards they lay down and ate them. Most of the day they all lay curled up like a ball, fast asleep in their snug house; but at evening they came out to swim and dive and play with all their friends in the water, where they had a very happy time together.
Sometimes in the daytime, instead of sleeping, they would tell one another stories about what had happened either to themselves or to others.
On e da y, Mr . P la typus told them a bout his gr a n dfa ther . "He ha d just built a house, " Mr . Platypus said, "when a great many black men came to camp near the water-hole. These black men wanted to eat my grandfather and his family. They began to dig holes with a sharp stick near the water.
"In this way they found the passage and, at last, the end room where the young ones and their parents lay. They soon caught my grandfather and grandmother and one of the young ones. The other was able to escape. Itwas my father. He often told me the story, and said he would never forget the fear he felt that day. "Then said one of the young ones to their mother: "Cannot you tell us a story, too? ""I shall tell you one thing that I saw myself, " answered the mother; "and I shall be glad if the story makes my children more careful.""One day, as I was floating about on the water, I heard the noise of a man passing by. I was soon under the water and in my hole, trembling with fear.
"After a while, when all was quiet again, I came out and forgot my fear in seeing a large worm in the water. I made a grab at it, but my brother was too quick for me. Alas! it was on a fish-hook, and my brother was caught and quickly pulled out of the water. He was never seen again. "Mrs. Platypus sighed as she finished her story, and the two young ones made up their minds to be very careful in future. They had seen two girls on the bank that same day, and had watched them catching fish. It amused them less now when they knew that they also might be caught.
The children went on telling stories till Mrs. Platypus told them to cease talking and go to sleep. Let us leavethem now, fast asleep in their warm burrow.
- ConstanCe Tisdall
About the Author.-Miss ConstanCe Tisdall, a graduate of the Melbourne University, and a daughter of the late Henry T. Tisdall, a teacher in the Victorian Education Department, is principal of a school at Sale. Daughter of a nature lover, she herself has taken great interest in the study of Australian plant and animal life. She is the author of Australian Nature Stories (Whitcombe and Tombs).
About the Lesson.-How is Mr. Platypus like a bird? How like a snake? How like a beast? Why does he want two entrances to his home?
Lesson 21
FIVE EyES
In Hans" old mill his three black cats Watch the bins for thieving rats.
Whisker and claw, they crouch in the night,
Their five eyes smouldering green and bright. Squeaks from the flour-sacks, squeaks from where The cold wind stirs on the empty stair,Squeaking and scampering everywhere. Then down they pounce, now in, now out, At whisking tail and sniffing snout;While lean old Hans he snores away Till peep of light at break of day.
Then up he climbs to his creaking mill; Out come his cats, all grey with meal- Jekkel, and Jessup, and one-eyed Jill.
-Walter de LA Mare
About the Author.-Walter DE La Mare was born at Charlton, in England, in 1873. He has written many poems for young children and for grown-up children, full of pictures and fancy and music and movement, and a children"s monkey story The Three Mulla Mulgars.
His books of poems are called Songs of Childhood (1902), The Listeners (1912), and Peacock Pie (1913); all his poems were published in one book in 1920, and in two small volumes, called Poems Old and New, the poet has selected his best children"s poems. Many of his poems seem to have come straight from dreamland. He has also written novels and short stories.
About the Poem.-Why is the poem called "Five Eyes"? Read the poem aloud. Which line sounds the best? Which has a ghostly sound? Which line best suggests quiet watchfulness? Which best suggests quick movement?
Suggestions for Verse-speaking.-Divide the poem up into speaking parts for the cats, the rats, and Hans. The cats speak lines 1 to 4, 8 and 9, 13 and 14. If there are three "cats," they can divide the last line. The rats speak lines 5 to 7, and Hans speaks lines 10 to 12. When speaking the poem, show with your voices the difference between the quiet watching of the cats, the scampering of the rats, and the sudden pouncing.
Lesson 22
FROm THE SIDING
When the sun has been hot on the sand, And the day has been weary and long,And the last load is dumped at the siding, And the team doesn"t want any guiding-Then the crickets chirp up with a song, And a sweetness comes over the land.
And the plover comes over the plain
With a flap and a check and a run,