Joey in the Outback
Richard F. Challis
Copyright Richard F. Challis 1980
Published by Steve Challis
Published at Smashwords
This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be resold or given away to other people.
If you enjoyed this book, please recommend it to other people so they can purchase their own copy, or you can purchase another copy for them as a gift.
Thank you for respecting the author’s work.
Steve Challis
Index
Other Books by Richard F. Challis
Richard F. Challis wrote a wide variety of books and short stories.
His longer works, The Old Firm, Time and Chance and When Angels Travel are more suitable for older readers, but many of his short stories are excellent for children.
The illustrated Joey stories in this book are ideal for children to read, or for reading to children too young to read the stories themselves. As well as being excellent children’s stories there are many references to Australian themes incorporated in the stories. I will include a brief description of a few of these references at the end of this book.
“Interludes” is more suitable for slightly older children. The six stories are autobiographical, written describing the author’s summer holidays in Suffolk from the time he was ten until the Second World War broke out when he was fifteen.
Mr. Challis has written many other children’s stories including the Grandpa Peppercorn series. These will be published in the near future.
Luna, our Cat has written an autobiography suitable for children:
Luna the Autobiography of a Super Cat by Luna Challis
I am a Cat
who has had a lot of experiences in my 4 years. In my Autobiography
with 21 pictures and 5000 words you can meet my friends like Michael,
the local mob and the kind farmer, hate my enemies like the Big Fat
Ugly Dog, the Bad Man and the Satanic Cat and laugh at the terrible
ideas of the enigmatic Bad Boy.
You can share my grief and my
joy.
Michael says that I have delusions of Grandeur. He is wrong,
I don't have delusions; I am Grand.
Suitable for people aged from
8 to 118 to read, but could also be read to younger children.
Index
Joey in the Outback
Joey’s New Job
One day, Joey was feeling lonely, and was listening to a kookaburra on a fence-post.
"I wish I felt as happy as you," he said wistfully.
"Happy?" said the kookaburra, stopping in surprise. "You don't suppose I make this horrible noise because I'm happy do you?" It's my job, that's all; just as yours is being a little boy. Everybody's got a job. I wish you could see what all this laughing does to my throat!"
"Why, you can talk!" exclaimed Joey.
"Of course I can talk," said the kookaburra. "It's a darned sight easier than laughing; but I don't talk if there are men around. You can't be too careful. A cow-cocky had me herding cattle for months, once, when he found I could talk. I didn't mind the work - that was fun – but he fed me on stale bread and flat beer, and he hadn't got colour T.V."
"Why didn't you fly away?" asked Joey.
"He trimmed my wing feathers and my tail. It didn't hurt, of course, any more than when you have a hair-cut, but it ruined my flying. The first time I tried to take off, I landed upside down in the dam. I'd have drowned if there had been water in it. For weeks, I could only hop from back to back of the cows. Luckily he forgot to trim my feathers again, and when they had grown enough, I flew away."
"Like Samson getting his strength back," said Joey.
"Don't know him," said the kookaburra. "It sounds a funny name for a bird. But if you're lonely, why not come to a party with me this afternoon."
"Oh, yes, please!" said Joey. "Whose party is it?"
It's Alice Springs' birthday and she will have some of her friends there."
"I thought Alice Springs was a place, not a girl," said Joey, doubtfully.
"I'm talking about a girl," said the kookaburra. "I know all about the place. Anyway, that's called The Alice."
"How will we get there?" enquired Joey.
"Why, how, do you think, Stupid?" replied the bird. "I'll take you on my back, of course. It's only about a hundred centipedes from here."
"But you're too small," said Joey. "Or rather," he added tactfully, "I'm too big."
"Don't they teach you anything, at school, Stupid?" sighed the kookaburra. "All you have to do is to close your eyes and think small. Think of an ant's toenail or something like that. Then, before you open your eyes, say: 'ein, stein, dry' and you'll be as small as you've been thinking."