park may kindle a
light." And hearing wisdom in her words, even as she said Bootoolgah
did. And lo! after much rubbing, from the opening came a small flame.
For as Goonur had said it would, the spark lit the grass, the bark
smouldered and smoked, and so Bootoolgah the crane, and Goonur the
kangaroo rat, discovered the art of fire making.

"This we will keep secret," they said, "from all the tribes. When we
make a fire to cook our fish we will go into a Bingahwingul scrub.
There we will make a fire and cook our food in secret. We will hide our
firesticks in the openmouthed seeds of the Bingahwinguls; one firestick
we will carry always hidden in our comebee."

Bootoolgah and Goonur cooked the next fish they caught, and found it
very good. When they went back to the camp they took some of their
cooked fish with them. The blacks noticed it looked quite different
from the usual sun-dried fish, so they asked: "What did you to that
fish?"

"Let it lie in the sun," said they.

"Not so," said the others.

But that the fish was sun-dried Bootoolgah and Goonur persisted. Day by
day passed, and after catching their fish, these two always
disappeared, returning with their food looking quite different from
that of the others. At last, being unable to extract any information
from them, it was determined by the tribe to watch them. Boolooral, the
night owl, and Quarrian, the parrot, were appointed to follow the two
when they disappeared, to watch where they went, and find out what they
did. Accordingly, after the next fish were caught, when Bootoolgah and
Goonur gathered up their share and started for the bush, Boolooral and
Quarrian followed on their tracks. They saw them disappear into a
Bingahwingul scrub, where they lost sight of them. Seeing a high tree
on the edge of the scrub, they climbed up it, and from there they saw
all that was to be seen. They saw Bootoolgah and Goonur throw down
their load of fish, open their comebee and take from it a stick, which
stick, when they had blown upon it, they laid in the midst of a heap of
leaves and twigs, and at once from this heap they saw a flame leap,
which flame the fire makers fed with bigger sticks. Then, as the flame
died down, they saw the two place their fish in the ashes that remained
from the burnt sticks. Then back to the camp of their tribes went
Boolooral and Quarrian, back with the news of their discovery. Great
was the talk amongst the blacks, and many the queries as t