Barking Worms

One night, on a farm near Flagstone Creek, the branches of a tall gum tree stirred.

Down on the ground a silly chicken was still awake, scratching in the ground for one last worm and going 'Broaak, broaak, broaak.'

 cc licensed ( BY NC SD ) flickr photo by ~Squil~:
http://flickr.com/photos/mwhitehead/4420948629/

Connor looked up at the tree and back down at the chicken and said, "Go to sleep you silly chicken. There are owls around. I can hear one barking."

 At that moment, on silent wings, a Barking Owl flew down. The chicken ran squawking into its coop to roost.

The rooster came out and said, "Cock-a-doodle-doo, you silly chicken. Don't you know it's a Barking Owl?"

The Barking Owl said, "Woof, woof. Do you know where there are any grubs around here?"

The chicken said, "Broaak, broaak. I think I saw some worms over there."

So the Owl grabbed some worms in its talons and flew back to its perch in the tree. "Woof, woof. Thank you silly chicken."

The rooster and the chicken perched on their perches as far inside the chicken roost as they could and thanked their lucky feathers that the Barking Owl liked eating the worms.

Connor watched the Barking Owl until it was too dark to see it in amongst the gum tree leaves.

(This story was created by Connor, and Daryll Bellingham
at the Creating Wildlife Adventures in the Fordsdale Hall on Saturday the 28th May, 2010.)

Swallowed Swallows

One Saturday, a group of children were creating stories about Catchment Adventures in the old Fordsdale Hall.

"What's that sound?" asked a Sophie.

"It's just the wind rustling in the blady grass," said a boy.

"No. Look! It's that python slithering along the rafters!" said Sophie.

Everyone looked up past the milk bottle top tinsel streamers  and, sure enough, there was a shiny carpet snake slithering along the rafters.

"I wonder what it's doing here?"

A swallow flew in through the window, over the childrens heads and up to its muddy nest in the corner of the hall.

"Oh, no! It's heading towards those swallows nest. Look out Mrs Swallow," called Sophie.

As the children watched the python slid along the rafters. Ssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

The mother swallow flew out towards the python. It fluttered its wings and chirped as loudly as it could but the python slid right up to the nest and chomp it ate the baby swallows.

"Oh!" said the children, "Poor little swallows."

The mother swallow tried to chase away the python but the python opened its mouth and chomp; it swallowed the mother swallow as well.

The snake slithered along the rafters, out the window.

Flickr image by angusf

It slithered across the grass and it started to cross the road.

A car full of tourists came speeding around the corner of the Gatton-Clifton Road. The driver saw the snake and screeched to a halt. They all hopped out to take photos. The python slithered under the car and up through the car door on the other side.

"Hey where did it go?"

"It must be in the long grass."

The tourists drove off with it some where in the car. Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss.

(This story was created by Daryll Bellingham, Sophie and her helpers in the kangaroo group as part of the 'Creating Wildlife Adventures' experience at Fordsdale Hall, Saturday28th May, 2011)