Barangaroo 1788

Yesterday, I was walking around the camp wearing my favourite dingo skin clothes, with Burani, our new leader. The leaves were crunching loudly below my feet. I could hear the river’s loud gushing beyond the ancient trees.

I felt sad, it is because Mung was not coming back. “Maybe,” I said quietly to Burani.

“We could do something to make him come back. We could have a big feast to tell him that we need him here.”

“Yeah!” said Burani.

“We could go down to the lake and catch some Barramundi fish,” he said.

“Okay, I will get my spear and go down to the lake,” I replied eagerly.

“Hang on,” Burani said, “I will go fishing at the lake, not you.”

“But I’m better at fishing than you,” I replied angrily.

“But I am better with a spear than you.”

“Only because I showed you,” I said back.

“But girls don’t go fishing,” he said.

“Humph!” I retorted suddenly, “Then we will have a dance off to decide who goes fishing.”

“Fine,” he said, quivering.

I could sense the fear in his voice, because he is not a very good dancer.

I started first, I was being an emu. I put my hands by my sides and pretended to peck the ground like they do when they’re looking for food. The guessers watched on, smiling. Then my animal was guessed,

“Emu,” called the first guesser,

I looked at him and nodded my head to tell him he was right.

Then I put I put my hands together over my head, then, I walked around I circles. But before long, it was guessed, (it was a snake by the way). Then I went onto my final animal, a rock wallaby. I crouched down and did some little jumps.

Just then, the last guesser said,

“Wallaby!”

Now it was Burani’s turn, he walked around flapping his arms like a bird. But which bird?

Finally, he gave up and crossed his arms, staring at us.

“So, what am I?” he said angrily.

The guessers all shrugged their shoulders.

“I am your leader,” he said, “So I command you to vote for me; because whoever does will come fishing with me.”

“Yeah,” they all shouted.

After they voted for Burani.

“You’ve been robbed,” Mung the child said to me.

“I know,” I replied.

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