his neighbours who want to sleep."

Just then there arose from the bush a shrill walling and shrieking that
made Dot's heart stop with fear. It sounded terrible, as if something was
wailing in great pain and suffering.

"Oh Kangaroo!" she cried, "what is the matter?" "That," said the Kangaroo,
as she laid herself down to rest, "is the sound of the Curlew enjoying
itself. They are sociable birds, and entertain a great deal. There is a
party to-night, I suppose, and that is the expression of their enjoyment.
I believe," she continued, with a suppressed yawn, "it's not so painful as
it sounds. Willy Wagtail, who goes a great deal amongst Humans, says they
do that sort of thing also; he has often heard them when he lived near
the town."

Dot had never been in the town, but she was certain she had never heard
anything like the Curlew's wailing in her home; and she wondered what
Willy Wagtail meant, but she was too sleepy to ask: so she nestled a
little closer to the Kangaroo, and with the shrieking of the Curlews, and
the mournful note of the distant Mo-poke in her ears, she fell asleep again.




CHAPTER III.



When Dot awoke, she did so with a start of fear. Something in her sleep
had seemed to tell her that she was in danger. At a first glance she saw