Bohra the Kangaroo
Legend has it that the Kangaroo did not always have to hop everywhere on his back legs. Once upon a time, he was not unlike a cat or dog on all fours being able to run, jump and move great distances under the cover of dusk and dawn.
Bohra the kangaroo would come out at dusk to feed. He would use his magic to roll back the darkness and expose the stars and moon by which he would see. He would then eat the fresh green grass shoots and drink the cool water of the Murimbigee River.
One night when he was out feeding as usual, he heard strange noises he had never heard before, something like music and singing.
Bohra, being a very inquisitive kangaroo, decides he is going to get closer to the mysterious sounds to find out what is happening. He slowly edges along the bank of the river until in the distance he can see the bright glow of fires burning and aboriginal tribal people dancing around them.
Bohra creeps even closer but the bush begins to get thick so he balances on his back legs so as to get a better view, eventually pushing through the bushes until he comes into full view of the strange ceremony. Bohra watches in amazement. The aboriginal ceremony becomes frenzied with more music, dance and the fires being built even bigger.
All of a sudden the tribe's people see Bohra standing there. They suddenly stop and announce that he cannot steal their secret dance and music and for watching them he must be punished. Some of the tribal people disagree and say that seeing Bohra there balancing on his back legs and swaying with their song made him look a fool and he should be allowed to remain. After listening to each other's arguments, all the tribe's people laughed at him and the music and dance continued.
The festivities went on for many hours. The tribe's people went down to the river where they decorated themselves with the magic mud from the riverbank. Bohra meanwhile had himself begun to dance along with them around the fires. The tribal people laughed and laughed at him. Some even went into the bush and fashioned tails from dry grass that they fixed around their waists and copied his swaying to the music.
As the night went on, the tribe's people began to tire and one by one they went to the edge of the clearing where they settled down to sleep, the fires slowly dying down.
Eventually Bohra was the only one left still dancing around the fires, and as the smoke slowly cleared he became aware that he was being watched. Then he saw a very old man who was the elder of the tribe. He was a wise man who knew everything of the world; his name was Wirnum-Wirnum, and he just stared at Bohra.
Upon seeing the wise man, Bohra stopped his dance. With a loud voice that woke all the sleeping tribe's people, the wise man proclaimed "You cannot steal our secret dance and songs from the dream time, and for this you will be punished." The tribe's people began to shout that they will chase Bohra away across the deserts to the other side of Australia, but the wise man went on to explain that no matter where they were to chase Bohra, he would still know the secret of their dance and song
The wise man called Bohra over to him. He decorated him with some of the magic mud from the river, then said to him that since Bohra had watched the secret ceremony, Wirnum-Wirnum would punish him by casting a magic spell that would change him and all his kind forever.
When the wise man had finished decorating Bohra with the magic mud, the spell was cast. The kangaroos would never walk on all fours again. To this day if you see a Kangaroo he is on his back legs - forced to hop everywhere, never again able to stroll down to the river on his four legs to eat the fresh grass shoots or drink the cool river water.
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