Jean, Our Little Australian CousinNixon-Roulet, Mary F.
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Jean, Our Little Australian Cousin
Nixon-Roulet, Mary F.
Children -- Australia -- Juvenile literature
"Why not? We are both so thirsty," she pleaded.
"Little Missa's shoes make tracks. Bad Black come long, see tracks, know
white child here, steal little Missa away."
"Oh, if that's the trouble I can take my shoes off," she said, laughing,
as she pulled off shoes and stockings. "I will be right back. I can find
it, for you said it was only ten steps away," and she picked up the
billy and hurried out of the cave in spite of Kadok's "Little Missa not
go. Debil-debil get her!"
She was back before Kadok thought she could have found the spring,
saying brightly,
"Now we have fresh water for our supper, afterwards I can tie up your
foot again."
"Kadok found cup for little Missa," he said, pulling from his belt a
battered tin cup. "Think white man drop it, little Missa can have
honey-water to drink." He cut a piece of the honeycomb and put it in the
cup of water. Jean drank the sweet drink and almost smacked her lips.
"It is ever so nice, Kadok," she said. "It tastes like the sugar-water
the American children's black mammy used to give us."
"Who was that?" he asked curiously.
"There were three children of America came to stay at my uncle's place,
oh, a long time ago before we came to Australia. They had a nurse, a
black woman. She was ever so black, not brown like you, Kadok, and so
good and nice. I used to like her very much. That was the reason I was
not afraid, when the black man told me to come and see the gin who was
sick. I thought he would be good like Dinah and bring me right back."
"Black people very much like white people," said Kadok. "Some black face
white heart, some black all way through. Some white face very black
heart," and the boy shook his head.
"Think yopolo cooked. Him smell fine," he said, sniffing the scent
which came from the fire.
The yopolo was indeed done and delicious. It was very tender and tasted
like spring chicken. It was a queer supper for the little Scotch girl,
seated cross-legged on the floor of the cave, as she drank honey-water
and cut off bits of meat for herself and Kadok.
The little housekeeper enjoyed her supper thoroughly. Having finished,
she put fresh green wood on the fire that the smoke might keep off the
mosquitos, and wrapped the rest of the meat in leaves to keep for
breakfast. She bathed Kadok's foot, which was swollen and painful, and
tied it up, and then, under the boy's directions, cut down some leafy
branches and moss to make herself a bed, and wrapped herself in her
blanket to sleep.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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