` Indian Folklore . ' -RSB- The Bunyip Long , long ago , far , far away on the other side of the world , some young men left the camp where they lived to get some food for their wives and children . The sun was hot , but they liked heat , and as they went they ran races and tried who could hurl his spear the farthest , or was cleverest in throwing a strange weapon called a boomerang , which always returns to the thrower . They did not get on very fast at this rate , but presently they reached a flat place that in time of flood was full of water , but was now , in the height of summer , only a set of pools , each surrounded with a fringe of plants , with bulrushes standing in the inside of all . In that country the people are fond of the roots of bulrushes , which they think as good as onions , and one of the young men said that they had better collect some of the roots and carry them back to the camp . It did not take them long to weave the tops of the willows into a basket , and they were just going to wade into the water and pull up the bulrush roots when a youth suddenly called out : ` After all , why should we waste our time in doing work that is only fit for women and children ? Let them come and get the roots for themselves ; but we will fish for eels and anything else we can get . ' This delighted the rest of the party , and they all began to arrange their fishing lines , made from the bark of the yellow mimosa , and to search for bait for their hooks . Most of them used worms , but one , who had put a piece of raw meat for dinner into his skin wallet , cut off a little bit and baited his line with it , unseen by his companions . For a long time they cast patiently , without receiving a single bite ; the sun had grown low in the sky , and it seemed as if they would have to go home empty-handed , not even with a basket of roots to show ; when the youth , who had baited his hook with raw meat , suddenly saw his line disappear under the water . Something , a very heavy fish he supposed , was pulling so hard that he could hardly keep his feet , and for a few minutes it seemed either as if he must let go or be dragged into the pool . He cried to his friends to help him , and at last , trembling with fright at what they were going to see , they managed between them to land on the bank a creature that was neither a calf nor a seal , but something of both , with a long , broad tail . They looked at each other with horror , cold shivers running down their spines ; for though they had never beheld it , there was not a man amongst them who did not know what it was -- the cub of the awful Bunyip ! All of a sudden the silence was broken by a low wail , answered by another from the other side of the pool , as the mother rose up from her den and came towards them , rage flashing from her horrible yellow eyes . ` Let it go ! let it go ! ' whispered the young men to each other ; but the captor declared that he had caught it , and was going to keep it . ` He had promised his sweetheart , ' he said , ` that he would bring back enough meat for her father 's house to feast on for three days , and though they could not eat the little Bunyip , her brothers and sisters should have it to play with . ' So , flinging his spear at the mother to keep her back , he threw the little Bunyip on to his shoulders , and set out for the camp , never heeding the poor mother 's cries of distress . By this time it was getting near sunset , and the plain was in shadow , though the tops of the mountains were still quite bright .
The youths had all ceased XXXXX be afraid , when they were startled by a low rushing sound behind them , and , looking round , saw that the pool was slowly rising , and the spot where they had landed the Bunyip was quite covered .
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