The old men were sitting in front , the children were playing , and the women chattering together , when the little Bunyip fell into their midst , and there was scarcely a child among them who did not know that something terrible was upon them . ` The water ! the water ! ' gasped one of the young men ; and there it was , slowly but steadily mounting the ridge itself . Parents and children clung together , as if by that means they could drive back the advancing flood ; and the youth who had caused all this terrible catastrophe , seized his sweetheart , and cried : ' I will climb with you to the top of that tree , and there no waters can reach us . ' But , as he spoke , something cold touched him , and quickly he glanced down at his feet . Then with a shudder he saw that they were feet no longer , but bird 's claws . He looked at the girl he was clasping , and beheld a great black bird standing at his side ; he turned to his friends , but a flock of great awkward flapping creatures stood in their place He put up his hands to cover his face , but they were no more hands , only the ends of wings ; and when he tried to speak , a noise such as he had never heard before seemed to come from his throat , which had suddenly become narrow and slender . Already the water had risen to his waist , and he found himself sitting easily upon it , while its surface reflected back the image of a black swan , one of many . Never again did the swans become men ; but they are still different from other swans , for in the night-time those who listen can hear them talk in a language that is certainly not swan 's language ; and there are even sounds of laughing and talking , unlike any noise made by the swans whom we know . The little Bunyip was carried home by its mother , and after that the waters sank back to their own channels . The side of the pool where she lives is always shunned by everyone , as nobody knows when she may suddenly put out her head and draw him into her mighty jaws . But people say that underneath the black waters of the pool she has a house filled with beautiful things , such as mortals who dwell on the earth have no idea of . Though how they know I can not tell you , as nobody has ever seen it . -LSB- From Journal of Anthropological-Institute . -RSB- Father Grumbler Once upon a time there lived a man who had nearly as many children as there were sparrows in the garden . He had to work very hard all day to get them enough to eat , and was often tired and cross , and abused everything and everybody , so that people called him ` Father Grumbler . ' By-and-by he grew weary of always working , and on Sundays he lay a long while in bed , instead of going to church . Then after a time he found it dull to sit so many hours by himself , thinking of nothing but how to pay the rent that was owing , and as the tavern across the road looked bright and cheerful , he walked in one day and sat down with his friends . ` It was just to chase away Care , ' he said ; but when he came out , hours and hours after , Care came out with him .
Father XXXXX entered his house feeling more dismal than when he left it , for he knew that he had wasted both his time and his money . '
Anthropological-Institute Bunyip Grumbler day flood head hours image jaws sparrows