Into That Forest - By Louis Nowra Page 0,11

hole and sat against the wall, hugging herself, watching me eat the rest of the bird.

Me and Becky must have been dog-tired cos we slept through the night. Becky were so tired she did not notice that she were sleeping with the tigers and were cuddling up to them. We needed them; they were warm and our dresses were thin. In the morning I woke up first and seen her sleeping with the tigers. It were then, like I were whacked over me head, that I realised just how large the tigers were compared to us. Aye, I thought, they could eat us but they weren’t going to. I seen the female tiger’s belly and it had swollen teats that were leaking milk. I felt sad for her.

Becky woke when she heard me crawling outside. The tigers stirred and then, as if awful weary, stayed dozing when Becky followed me outside. It were a warm day and I drunk some water. I just lapped it up and Becky got annoyed with me saying I were drinking like the tigers - but it were quicker, I said back to her. She said, No, we drink like this and she cupped her hands and drank like from a mug, but I knew that licking it up were quicker and I didn’t get water all over me dress.

We sat in the shade of the two trees and Becky sighed a lot. She were full of sadness and despair. They aren’t going to take us home, Hannah, she said. This is their home so why would they take us back to our home? It made sense, but what could we do? I didn’t know me way back to the Munro River and we had no way of finding our way back. If we stay here, then someone will find us, I said. But she were in a bitter mood and shook her head. No, we are lost. We are gone forever, she said real quiet, and cos her words were so certain I thought that she were telling the truth ’bout our plight and she were right. I heard her stomach rumble something fierce - I told her she should have eaten the bird with me. Pooh, she said and walked to a bush that had red berries on it and gobbled some. I were hungry but I lost me pangs when Becky started to vomit. Up they came, all the chewed berries, and she hugged her stomach and moaned and groaned in pain. I didn’t know what to do and I were afeared she might die. The female tiger came out of the cave and sniffed Becky as she were curled up in pain between the buttress tree roots. Then the tiger looked at me with her glowing eyes and went back inside the den. I felt better cos it seemed to me that the tiger had sniffed the pain and decided Becky were going to be all right.

And she were right as rain after a couple of hours. We were outside talking ’bout what we should do for food when I felt something touch me arm. It were the female tiger nuzzling me. The male tiger came out of the den and walked down to the creek to drink, then the female followed it. They looked like wolves made out of gold when the setting sun stroked their fur. After drinking some water they both stared at us - as if they were asking a question. The bitch made a noise like it were a cross between a man’s deep cough and a bark. Then the male tiger made a coughing bark at us. I thought this were funny, so I made a coughing bark in return. Then the two of them started to head off along the creek. I knew in me heart that the bark were kind of a signal, so I got up and joined them. Where you going? I heard Becky cry. I knew she were too scared to stay behind and I soon heard her hurrying up to join me.

We followed them along the creek, then across some rocks and into the deep tara territory. I hadn’t seen such weird green countryside, all tree ferns and moss and lichen on the rocks. The sun were washing itself across the trees and ferns - it were like the countryside had become more mysterious and beautiful. We got to a clearing where the tigers were waiting for us. I