ed out
with his tail, splashing the water so high, and lashing so furiously,
that all the fishermen were drowned, even Deereeree and Burreenjin on
the bank--not one escaped, And red was the bank of the creek, and red
the stump whereon Deereeree and Burreenjin had sat, with the blood of
the slain. And the place is called Goomade and is red for ever.

15. NARAHDARN THE BAT

Narahdarn, the bat, wanted honey. He watched until he saw a
Wurranunnah, or bee, alight. He caught it, stuck a white feather
between its hind legs, let it go and followed it. He knew he could see
the white feather, and so follow the bee to its nest. He ordered his
two wives, of the Bilber tribe, to follow him with wirrees to carry
home the honey in. Night came on and Wurranunnah the bee had not
reached home. Narahdarn caught him, imprisoned him under bark, and kept
him safely there until next morning. When it was light enough to see,
Narahdarn let the bee go again, and followed him to his nest, in a
gunnyanny tree. Marking the tree with his comebo that he might know it
again, he returned to hurry on his wives who were some way behind. He
wanted them to come on, climb the tree, and chop out the honey. When
they reached the marked tree one of the women climbed up. She called
out to Narahdarn that the honey was in a split in the tree. He called
back to her to put her hand in and get it out. She put her arm in, but
found she could not get it out again. Narahdarn climbed up to help her,
but found when he reached her that the only way to free her was to cut
off her arm. This he did before she had time to realise what he was
going to do, and protest. So great was the shock to her that she died
instantly. Narahdarn carried down her lifeless body and commanded her
sister, his other wife, to go up, chop out the arm, and get the honey.
She protested, declaring the bees would have taken the honey away by
now.

"Not so," he said; "go at once."

Every excuse she could think of, to save herself, she made. But her
excuses were in vain, and Narahdarn only became furious with her for
making them, and, brandishing his boondi, drove her up the tree. She
managed to get her arm in beside her sister's, but there it stuck and
she could not move it. Narahdarn, who was watching her, saw what had
happened and followed her up the tree. Finding he could not pull her
arm out, in spite of her cries, he chopped it off, as he had done her
sister's. After one shriek, as h