are no good."

"That's not stealing," said Dot; "that's killing;" and, although it seemed
very difficult to make the little Bear understand, she explained: "Stealing
is taking away another person's things; and when a person is dead he hasn't
anything belonging to him, so it's not stealing to take what belonged to
him before, because it isn't his any longer--that is, if it doesn't belong
to anyone else."

"You make my head feel empty," complained the Koala. "I'm sure you're all
wrong; for an animal's skin and fur is his own, and it's his life's
business to keep it whole. Everyone in the bush is trying to keep his
skin whole, all day long, and all night too. Good gracious! What is the
matter up there?"

A terrible hullabaloo between a pair of Opossums up a neighbouring gum
tree arrested the attention of both Dot and the Koala. Presently the
sounds of snarling, spitting, and screaming ended, and an Opossum climbed
out to the far end of a branch, where the moonlight shone on his grey fur
like silver. There he remained snapping and barking disagreeable things
to his mate, who climbed up to the topmost branch, and snarled and growled
back equally unpleasant remarks.

"Why don't you bring in gum leaves for to-morrow, instead of sleeping all
day and half the night too?" shouted the Opossum on the branch to his wife.
"You know I get hungry before daylight is over, and hate going out in the
light."

"Get them yourself, you lazy loon!" retorted the lady Opossum. "If you
disturb my dreams again this way, I'll make your fur fly."