she thought of this she rubbed her face against the Kangaroo's soft coat,
and patted her with her little hands; and the affectionate animal was so
pleased at these caresses, that she jumped clean over a watercourse,
twenty feet at least, in one bound.

It was getting evening time, and the sun was setting with a beautiful rosy
colour, as they came upon a lovely scene. They had followed the
watercourse until it widened out into a great shallow creek beside a
grassy plain. As they emerged from the last scattered bushes and trees of
the forest, and hopped out into the open side of a range of hills, miles
and miles of grass country, with dim distant hills, stretched before them.
The great shining surface of the creek caught the rosy evening light, and
every pink cloudlet in the sky looked doubly beautiful reflected in the
water. Here and there out of the water arose giant skeleton trees, with
huge silver trunks and contorted dead branches. On these twisted limbs
were numbers of birds; Shag, blue and white Cranes, and black and white
Ibis with their bent bills. Slowly paddling on the creek, with graceful
movements, were twenty or thirty black Swans, and in and out of their
ranks, as they passed in stately procession, shot wild Ducks and Moor Hens,
like a flotilla of little boats amongst a fleet of big ships. All these
birds were watching a pretty sight that arrested Dot's attention at once.
By the margin of the creek, where tufted rushes and tall sedges shed their
graceful reflection on the pink waters, were a party of Native Companions
dancing.

"In these times it is seldom we can see a sight like this," said the
Kangaroo. "The water is generally too unsafe for the birds to enjoy
themselves. It often means death to them to have a little pleasure."

As the Kangaroo spoke, one of the Native Companions caught sight of her,