Australian Legendary Tales Folk-Lore of the Noongahburrahs As Told To The Piccaninnies — Mooregoo The Mopoke, And Bahloo The Moon

18. MOOREGOO THE MOPOKE, AND BAHLOO THE MOON

Mooregoo the Mopoke had been camped away by himself for a long time.

While alone he had made a great number of boomerangs, nullah-nullahs, spears, neilahmans, and opossum rugs.

Well had he carved the weapons with the teeth of opossums, and brightly had he painted the inside of the rugs with coloured designs, and strongly had he sewn them with the sinews of opossums, threaded in the needle made of the little bone taken from the leg of an emu.

As Mooregoo looked at his work he was proud of all he had done.

One night Babloo the moon came to his camp, and said: "Lend me one of your opossum rugs."

"No. I lend not my rugs."

"Then give me one."

"No. I give not my rugs."

Looking round, Bahloo saw the beautifully carved weapons, so he said, "Then give me, Mooregoo, some of your weapons."

"No, I give, never, what I have made, to another."

Again Bahloo said, "The night is cold.

Lend me a rug."

"I have spoken," said Mooregoo.

"I never lend my rugs."

Barloo said no more, but went away, cut some bark and made a dardurr for himself.

When it was finished and he safely housed in it, down came the rain in torrents.

And it rained without ceasing until the whole country was flooded.

Mooregoo was drowned.

His weapons floated about and drifted apart, and his rugs rotted in the water.

19. OUYAN THE CURLEW

Bleargah the hawk, mother of Ouyan the curlew, said one day to her son: "Go, Ouyan, out, take your spears and kill an emu.

The women and I are hungry.

You are a man, go out and kill, that we may eat.

You must not stay always in the camp like an old woman; you must go and hunt as other men do, lest the women laugh at you."

Ouyan took his spears and went out hunting, but though he went far, he could not get an emu, yet he dare not return to the camp and face the jeers of the women.

Well could they jeer, and angry could his mother grow when she was hungry.

Sooner than return empty-handed he would cut some flesh off his own legs.

And this he decided to do.

He made a cut in his leg with his comebo and as he made it, cried aloud: "Yuckay!

Yuckay," in pain.

But he cut on, saying: "Sharper would cut the tongues of the women, and deeper would be the wounds they would make, if I returned without food for them."

And crying: "Yuckay, yuckay," at each stroke of his comebo, he at length cut off a piece of flesh, and started towards the camp with it.

As he neared the camp his mother cried out: "What have you brought us, Ouyan?

We starve for meat, come quickly."

He came and laid the flesh at her feet, saying: "Far did I go, and little did I see, but there is enough for all to-night; to-morrow will I go forth again."

The women cooked the flesh, and ate it hungrily.

Afterwards they felt quite ill, but thought it must be because they had eaten too hungrily.

The next day they hurried Ouyan forth again.

And again he returned bringing his own flesh back.

Again the women ate hungrily of it, and again they felt quite ill.