Items related to Animals Noah Forgot
Foreword The big white English swan, escaped from captivity, found himself swimming in an Australian waterhole fringed with giant gumtrees. In one of the lower forks of a gumtree sat a placid round-eyed elderly gentleman apparently thinking of nothing whatever in other words, a native bear. "Excuse me, sir," said the swan, "can you tell me where I am?" "Why, you're here," said the bear. "I know I'm here," said the swan, thinking his new acquaintance was dull-witted; "but where is 'here'? You see, I'm an English swan"-- "Excuse me," said the bear, "swans are black, I've seen thousands of 'em". "They're black in this country," said the swan, "just the same as the Aboriginals are black; but they are white in England, just the same as the people there are white. I don't like mentioning it, but our family are very highly regarded in England--one of the oldest families. We came to England from Cyprus with Richard Coeur-de-Leon." "I'm a bit in that line myself," said the bear. "Did you ever hear of the Flood, when Noah took the animals in the Ark? Well, my people wouldn't go in the Ark. They didn't see any chance of getting fresh gum leaves every day, and they heard that this Noah was not too reliable. A capable chap--he must have been a capable chap to organise that outfit--but inclined to drink. So our people climbed trees and lived on gum leaves till the water went down. They say the Flood wasn't as high here as it was in other places, but I've never seen a flood but what somebody would tell you it was higher at his place than at yours. Have you any friends here?" "I'm afraid not," said the swan, "but you never know. I'll give you a call." So he put up his head and sent a call echoing through the bush like the clang of a great brazen gong. Twice he repeated it, but no answer came. "No luck," said the bear. "Anyone within two miles would be deaf if he didn't hear that. I'm pretty good, myself, at making people hear me. We got a lot of practice in the Flood, shouting to each other from the trees, and when we saw old Noah drifting on to a sandbank, we'd give him a hail. Listen to me." And throwing his head back he emitted the weirdest and most unmusical noise you ever heard. It sounded like an empty train running over an iron bridge. "I could have had good money to go on the stage," he said, "but of course in my position I couldn't consider it. What would people think?" "I suppose you have a lot of freinds," said the swan. "Well, not exactly friends," said the bear. "You see, we of the old families have to be a bit particular. We can't associate with these nouveaux riches and Johnny-come-lately people that you see about. Now, there's the possums--people that pretend to be relations of mine, but they're not. I saw one of them hanging upside down by the tail from a limb one night. Most undignified. Thank goodness, no matter what has happened to us, we have never grown tails. The Platypus family is as old as we are, but they live in the water, and I have never touched water, inside or outside, in my life; so we don't see anything of them." "Do they date back to the Flood?" said the swan, who was thinking that after all Coeur-de-Lion seemed quite modern compared to these people. "Oh, yes," said the bear. "They wouldn't go in the Ark either. Couldn't see any hope of getting their regular food, and there was a first-class chance of getting trodden on by the elephant. So they took to the water and they had the time of their lives. Plenty of food, and they drifted about on floating logs and fence posts all day long. Didn't even have to swim. That was a gentleman's life, if you like." "What is there up this creek?" said the swan. "Do you travel about much?"
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- PublisherLansdowne Press
- Publication date1971
- ISBN 10 0207120412
- ISBN 13 9780207120411
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages62
- Rating
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