This is a fairy tale for both children and adults. It features an extremely wise owl, a not-so-wise but quite gullible Wallaby, a very upset platypus, a bilby that gets trod on by a wild brumby, and a bowerbird that loses a shiny object he was planning to add to his nest. In the end, everything turns out well for the young Wallaby and a new friend when the Wallaby discovers the chance of a lifetime. Discovers the chance of a lifetime.
The Owl could have been either the King or the Queen of the forest, but none of the other animals
that lived in ‘Owls Wood’ knew if Owl was a male or a female.
Some creatures thought that perhaps another Owl would have known if Owl was a boy or girl. But there weren’t any other Owls in the forest, and if there had been another one, nobody had ever seen it. Some of the wiser animals said they had never known Owl to lay an egg;
some thought this was significant. At one time, Red Kangaroo plucked up the courage to ask, “Have you ever laid an egg?” There were many eager ears and eyes that day, Watching and listening, eager for answers to the question. King or Queen?
Owl merely agreed that eggs could be excellent for breakfast. This remark neither added nor subtracted to the male or female question.
The truth was that unless you were another Owl, it was extremely tricky to know these things. The only sure thing that any forest animals knew was that Owl was very old, extremely wise, and demonstratively more knowledgeable than any of the other forest animals. Owls’ peculiarities were that They usually ate little creatures, like insects, spiders, earthworms, snails and crabs, fish, reptiles, and small birds. Some Owls eat mainly mice, shrews, and voles. The particular Owl that ruled this forest was strange because Owls did not like to eat friends. Owl preferred to eat Porridge. “Porridge is excellent on icy mornings.” That’s what Owl always said. “
None of the animals cared much about what other Owls ate, so everyone was happy. Porridge never grew in the forest, so it was quite a mystery to the other animals where the Owl got the Porridge.
A passing Crow once flew over ‘Owls wood’, and Shouted the word “VEGAN” at the Owl.
But everyone knew Owl was an Owl. Owl was extremely intelligent, and this is precisely
what Owl told everybody. To prove the truth of this statement, one afternoon, Owl invented an entirely new colour. It was Wallaby who discovered this creative brilliance. Wally Foolishly asked Owl, “what are you doing perched on a tree branch?”
“I am inventing a new colour,” stated Owl.
“What colour is it?” asked Wallaby.
It would seem that Wallaby had forgotten how silly it was to ask Owl questions. But Wallaby had asked, and it was correct that Wallaby should suffer the consequences.
Owl puffed out some chest feathers and stated arrogantly. “My dear Wally, I am vastly more intelligent than you, I can see and understand complex concepts that your small mind could never grasp. On even the merest physical level, you can barely jump. On a purely intellectual level, you can scarcely hop. I, myself,” boasted Owl, “on both physical and intellectual status can fly and soar above and beyond anything you could dream.” Then Owl continued, “Wally, I sometimes wonder about the imagination and the awe you must feel every time we encounter one another. Tell me, young Wallaby, what do you see when you look at me?”
“I see one crazy bird,” answered Wallaby humbly.
Wallaby was perfectly correct in his assessment of Owl. The Owl was indeed as nutty as a fruit cake. And, like every other animal in the forest, Wallaby accepted Owl’s superb intelligence as a powerful contribution to the whole existence of the forest and its inhabitants. Wallaby wondered what the new colour might look like and secretly hoped that one day, he might get a glimpse of it. It was at this precise point in time when Owl announced:
“BY MY ROYAL DECREE, I WILL CREATE A CHANCE FOR EVERYBODY.”
And then the Owl did just that;
Owl created a huge chance. The most peculiar consequence was that young Wallaby saw it but never properly understood precisely where it was. “Where is it?” asked Wallaby.
It was well known throughout the forest that Wally was slightly gullible. This was most likely because he was quite young. He was a lively and enthusiastic animal, but sometimes, he was inclined to jump first without knowing where he would land.
For this very same reason, Wally had seen the Chance that the Owl had invented. Wallaby wanted to see Chance very much.
On many occasions, Wallaby’s Mother had shaken her head in despair when Wally accidentally hopped into another Gum Tree. While Wallaby’s Mother was watching what Wallaby was attempting, she regularly shouted at him,
“Wally; you never had a Chance”. Now, things would be different.
The wise old Owl had given Wallaby a very nice Chance, and Wallbaby did not intend to lose it.
Wally hadn’t travelled long before he came across Little Platypus and his older Sister, Big Platypus. They were playing and frolicking in the water, causing quite a ruckus. Suddenly, Little Platypus called out to his Sister,
‘Look, Big Sister! I can swim down and grab that rock now!’
Big Platypus stopped what she was doing momentarily and floated on the water’s surface, watching as Little Platypus prepared to dive. Then she surged forward to push him out of the way. ‘It’s too deep! I’ll get it for you!’ And she disappeared underwater. Little Platypus swam sullenly over to Wally and then threw himself down on the bank of the river. He looked up at Wally and
then down at the ground.
‘I wanted to try it myself. My Sister never gives me a chance to try.’
‘A Chance?’ asked Wally. ‘She never gives me a chance!!’ he grumbled. Wally pondered momentarily but soon set off again, leaving Little Platypus sulking and Big Platypus diving
underwater.
It was only after a very short distance that Wallaby came across a horrible accident. Bilby had been quite badly hurt. It had been very sudden. A Brumby that had been trotting along the narrow track that winds its way to the river had accidentally trodden on Bilby. Bilby’s leg was very sore
“It all happened so quickly,” said Mrs Bilby, who was in tears, “One minute he was happily sunbathing in the short grass, the next minute it was all over. It’s all very upsetting. He never had a chance,” cried Mrs Bilby.
“Never had a Chance?” repeated Wallaby.
“Never had a chance!” wailed Mrs Bilby.
Quite naturally, Wallaby was in total shock and had to sit in the shade for a few minutes. It was only now that Wallaby realised how important it was to have a Chance. Wally had seen the result first-hand of what could happen simply because Bilby never had one. I was starting to realise exactly how important it is to have a Chance. It was quite a long while before Mrs Bilby’s friends found her. With their comfort and support in place,
Wallaby felt it was about the right and sensible time to leave. Only a short while later, Wally found himself sitting in the afternoon sun in a very comfortable place on the hill near the river. A sprinkling of shade from a big Gum Tree made it an excellent place to view along the riverbank in search of the Chance. Wally began looking left and right. He looked into the grass, along the river bank, up into the trees and even into the clouds.
The Chance.
Wally thought it was essential to check out the clouds. It seemed quite sensible. If you do not know the appearance of what you are looking for, then it might easily be missed. If you thought you were looking for something big and round and it was quite small and fluffy – maybe even floating – then missing it would be pretty straightforward. Wallaby never saw anything that looked even remotely like a Chance. Nothing he could see did not look exactly like what he knew it to be.
It was not long before little Miss Wallaby came hopping into the small clearing.
“Hello,” said little Miss Wallaby when she saw Wally.
“Hello,” said Wally, and then added, “I am looking for my Chance. Owl told me there is one somewhere down here by the river, especially for me. I intend to find it.” Little Miss Wallaby was a little bit suspect of Wally but thought that she ought to find out precisely what Wally was talking about.”What does it look like?”
“I expect it is very beautiful,’ said Wally.
“I expect it is,” said little Miss Wallaby.
‘Did you know that Big Platypus never gives Chances to Little Platypus?” Wally asked suddenly.
“No, really?” said Miss Wallaby.
“Yes. And now little Platypus seems sad.” Wally paused for a moment.
“And did you know that Bilby never had one? Mrs Bilby told me that he never had a chance.”
“No,” said little Miss Wallaby.
“Well, he didn’t. Now his leg hurts.” Wallaby shed a small tear. The two of them sat quietly under the Gum tree, thinking about Mrs Bilby.
It was about this time when Bowerbird was searching for something pretty to decorate his new nest. Searching was something he always did this time of the year. Bowerbird’s wife absolutely loved bright colours and shiny things. So Bowerbird collected as many glittering objects as possible to make their new home look pretty.
It was extremely fortunate that Bowerbird came across a small silver teaspoon glinting in the sunlight that Somebody had probably lost while having a picnic beside the river. It was almost exactly what he was looking for.
The spoon was slightly more oversized than he could comfortably fly with, but he wanted it anyway. It was quite a struggle to take off into the sky, but he did make a successful take-off.
As it happened, the teaspoon was harder to fly with than Bower-bird had hoped. It slipped a
little bit in Bowerbird’s beak.Itt was impossible to keep hold of.
The small silver spoon dropped from the sky, spinning and twirling, glinting and flashing in the
sunlight.
The glinting of the falling spoon reflected in the sky like a falling star or even a sparkling diamond. Spinning and twisting downwards into the small clearing where Wally and his new friend were looking upwards.
Wallaby shouted out loud, or maybe it was more of a scream of delight. Little Miss Wallaby saw it, too. She shouted to Wallaby so loudly that he could easily have heard her even if he had been back where the Owl was sitting in the tree. “It’s the Chance!”
Little Miss Wallaby and Wally looked at the Chance with amazement. Neither of them had ever seen anything as beautiful.
“Do you want to share it with me?” asked Wally.
Miss Wallaby smiled and said, “We can build a beautiful place to keep it on the hill among the rocks.”
Wally gasped with delight. “I’m a Rock Wallaby!”
“So am I,” said little Miss Wallaby with a small smile.
It was quite a long time later that Owl called around to visit the Wallabies. The couple had built a beautiful house on the hill to keep their Chance. When Owl called in to visit they were not alone – several little Wallabies were hopping around. The Chance had been mounted on the main wall of their home. W
hen the Owl inspected it, he said. “This is the best chance I have ever seen in the whole forest.
