Into That Forest - By Louis Nowra Page 0,3

dirt. Her father only stayed for a short time cos it were a long ride into Blackwood. He said he would be back the next evening to have tea with us and stay overnight.

Me father had plans for a picnic, so while he and me mother got everything ready, I took Becky into me parents’ bedroom and I showed her one of me mother’s corsets hanging from its stand. It had been made especially for her from baleen me father had got from a whale he harpooned. Becky knew nil ’bout whales and were amazed when I told her ’bout the baleen. That pleased me cos she were smarter and a year older than me and could spell words like encyclopaedia and Tasmania. Then I dragged her into the living room where I unscrewed the lid of the glass jar and shoved her nose down into it. Her face went all wrinkles when she first smelt the stink, but I told her to keep sniffing and then she smiled cos she could smell the musty, sweet scent. I told her how me father had taken it from inside a whale - and she went Pooh. I told her how expensive it were - worth twice as much as gold - cos perfume makers need it for their perfumes.

It were going on late morning when the four of us set out in me father’s small boat. Me father had one oar and Becky and I pulled on the other til we were so tired that me mother took over. The water were brittle cold, and so clear you could see the pale pebbles on the bottom. On the river banks forests were real thick and there were no sunlight in them. On the river it were so sunny that me mother, when she was not rowing, held up an umbrella so her skin wouldn’t burn. Me skin were already covered with angel kisses so I didn’t care but when Becky wasn’t rowing she sat under me mother’s white umbrella so the sun didn’t burn her either. When the sun did fall on her it made her blonde hair look like a saint’s halo. All the time me father rowed he told us yarns ’bout his whaling adventures. Becky’s eyes growed as large as saucers when he told her ’bout a man eaten by a sperm whale. It swallowed him right up but when they killed the whale and cut it open there he was, this fella looking like death but still alive. His black hair were bleached white, he had no top skin left and he were nearly blind. Then me father were telling us how he was going to give up whaling cos there were not many whales left when he cried out, Look! Before I could see what he was pointing at I heard me mother say, Oh my goodness, it’s one of those hyenas.

I turned and there, there on the bank not more than ten yards from us, were a wolf creature with yellow fur and black stripes. It were about the size of a real large dog. I can remember it to this day, cos it were the first one I had ever seen. It had a long muzzle and stripes on its sides like a tiger. The tail were thick and the fur so fine and smooth it were like it didn’t have hair. It’s like a wolf, I heard me mother say and indeed it looked like those wolves I seen in me fairytale books. It stared at us with huge black eyes, then it opened its jaw real slow til I thought it could swallow a baby. I’ll go bail if it were not the most bonny, handsomest thing I ever seen. It were like a magician cast a spell on me. I had heard about these creatures, but nothing prepared me for how noble and strange it looked. It snapped its jaws closed. It sounded like two metal doors slamming shut. Then it sort of loped, taking its time, into the bush and vanished.

I must have said it were beautiful, cos Becky hissed real angry, They are killers. They kill sheep. She were so firm about this that I were struck dumb. Me father laughed, thinking she were joshing, but she weren’t. As he began to row again, he told us why it were so rare to see them. He said they were like vampires. They came out at night and they drinked