he three snakes hissed so fiercely, that
the black fellows were very glad to see them disappear from their sight
behind the trees. The black fellows had always been frightened of
Bahloo's dogs, and now they hated them, and they said, "If we could get
them away from Bahloo we would kill them." And thenceforth, whenever
they saw a snake alone they killed it. But Babloo only sent more, for
he said, "As long as there are black fellows there shall be snakes to
remind them that they would not do what I asked them."

4. THE ORIGIN OF THE NARRAN LAKE

Old Byamee said to his two young wives, Birrahgnooloo and
Cunnunbeillee, "I have stuck a white feather between the hind legs of a
bee, and am going to let it go and then follow it to its nest, that I
may get honey. While I go for the honey, go you two out and get frogs
and yams, then meet me at Coorigel Spring, where we will camp, for
sweet and clear is the water there." The wives, taking their goolays
and yam sticks, went out as he told them. Having gone far, and dug out
many yams and frogs, they were tired when they reached Coorigel, and,
seeing the cool, fresh water, they longed to bathe. But first they
built a bough shade, and there left their goolays holding their food,
and the yams and frogs they had found. When their camp was ready for
the coming of Byamee, who having wooed his wives with a nullah-nullah,
kept them obedient by fear of the same weapon, then went the girls to
the spring to bathe. Gladly they plunged in, having first divested them
selves of their goomillahs, which they were still young enough to wear,
and which they left on the ground near the spring. Scarcely were they
enjoying the cool rest the water gave their hot, tired limbs, when they
were seized and swallowed by two kurreahs. Having swallowed the girls,
the kurreahs dived into an opening in the side of the spring, which was
the entrance to an underground watercourse leading to the Narran River.
Through this passage they went, taking all the water from the spring
with them into the Narran, whose course they also dried as they went
along.

Meantime Byamee, unwitting the fate of his wives, was honey hunting. He
had followed the bee with the white feather on it for some distance;
then the bee flew on to some budtha flowers, and would move no further.
Byamee said, "Something has happened, or the bee would not stay here
and refuse to be moved on towards its nest. I must go to Coorigel
Spring and s