Kangaroos can't swim!

Once upon a time in a very far away country, so far away that it would take you hours and hours and hours to get there, in fact you would probably have to fly there if you wanted to get there before you turned into a grown-up, lived a creature with long back legs, a powerful tail, and a pouch for keeping things in: babies mostly, but sometimes the odd biscuit for midnight feasts.
If you haven't guessed already, it was a kangaroo, which as we know live mainly in Australia. Have you ever been there? Well I have, which is why I know this story.
The kangaroo in question was called Kamalika, which means lotus flower,
and she was a fun loving kangaroo who loved nothing better than to hop around looking for food to eat and friends to talk to. She had a good life, out there in the outback, in the sunshine, nibbling on shoots and leaves.

One hot hot day Kamalika was finding it very hard to keep cool. She was fanning herself with a large leaf when she realised that the only way she was really going to get cool was by jumping into a cool river. Now Kangaroos are generally not great swimmers, maybe because their arms are so short. Imagine a kangaroo trying to do front crawl and you'll see what I mean. But on that hot hot day that little kangaroo decided that she would like to learn to swim.
Kamalika was determined, and when she wanted something, she would do pretty much anything to achieve her goal.

When she told her mother and father about her plan they smiled at each other and her mum stroked her head and ears softly.
"Kangaroos can't swim darling!" she said affectionately. "Now hop off and find your brother, it's nearly time for his afternoon sleep and he needs to come into the shade for a while."
On her way to find Rafferty, Kamalika passed a group of kangaroos playing leap-roo. "Can any of you swim?" she shouted to them. "I want to learn!"
The kangaroos burst out laughing. "Don't be daft, kangaroos can't swim!" shouted one and they hopped away chuckling to themselves.

Kamalika found her brother Rafferty curled up under a tree fast asleep. She poked him gently. "Wake up bro, Mum wants you to have a nap," she said, and ignoring his protests, she escorted him home, grumpy and a bit bewildered.
That evening as they sat around a tree stump having their main meal, all Kamalika could think about was swimming in a cool river while her family and friends watched in amazement. She decided to set off the next day to find someone who could teach her.

~~~

The next morning Kamalika woke early and asked her mother if she could go down to the waterhole with Rafferty for the day, as it was the weekend..
"Yes darling, make sure you collect some green shoots on the way back, we're running low on salad," said her mum, who was busily tidying up as usual.
Kamalika and Rafferty hopped off in the direction of the waterhole and the first creature they met was a small furry bear-like animal sitting high up in a eucalyptus tree chewing lazily on a leaf.
"Excuse me," called Kamalika. "I'm looking for someone to teach me how to swim, can you help?"
The koala, for that's what the creature was, nearly fell out of his tree in surprise.
"Kangaroos can't swim," he drawled. "But if you like I'll come with you and help you find someone who can teach you."
The koala, whose name was Silas, took a l-o-n-g time to climb down from the tree while Kamalika waited patiently. After ten minutes watching the koala s-l-o-w-l-y coming down the tree however, Rafferty leaned over to his sister and whispered something into her ear. She nodded, smiling and called up to Silas, "I'll meet you at the water hole!"

Down at the water hole a crocodile was lying just under the water with only his eyes showing. As Kamalika and Rafferty approached the crocodile gave them an interested look, (although it may well have been a hungry look as crocodiles are always hungry and will eat anything) and he slowly raised.one eyebrow. (I bet you didn't know crocodiles had eyebrows.)
"Can I help you?" he asked, wondering why on earth two such strange but yummy-looking little creatures had ventured down to the water hole.
"Please sir, I'd like to learn to swim, could you teach me?" said the taller of the little creatures to the crocodile.
The crocodile was so surprised by Kamalika's suggestion that he was struck temporarily speechless and sunk beneath the water to consider her question. She did indeed look a tasty morsel and he wondered whether he would get away with pretending to be a swimming teacher in order to gobble her up.

As the wily Croc was thinking, Silas ambled down to the water's edge. He flicked a sandfly off his shoulder, swallowed what was left of his eucalyptus leaf and burped noisily.
"I'd come away from here if I were you - don't you know that's a crocodile who could swallow you whole?" he said helpfully.
Kamalika wrinkled her nose and looked down into the water. She hadn't realised until that moment that the chances of being eaten during her first swimming lesson would have been fairly high when being taught by a crocodile.
"Maybe I should find someone else!" she giggled, and the three animals walked away from the waterhole and headed for the river. The croc sank back down under the water and drifted off to sleep, dreaming of small furry animals drifting all around him and calling for help...

~~~

The next creature they met was an enormous and exceedingly fluffy bird with a long pink neck and legs, and the largest feathery black wings they had ever seen. It was of course an ostrich, although Kamalika and Rafferty did not yet know this.
"Hello," said Kamalika, giving the great bird a winning smile. "I'd like to learn to swim, could you teach me?"
The ostrich looked Kamalika up and down with her beady eyes and snorted through her beak.
"I can't even fly, let alone swim my dear child," she shrieked. "Anyway, aren't you a kangaroo? Kangaroos can't swim."
Kamalika folded her arms (which for a kangaroo was no mean feat). She had a feeling she was going to hear these words a lot today.
"Well I am going to learn to swim whatever it takes," she replied. "Have you any suggestions? Who's the best swimmer around here?"
The ostrich, whose name was Adele, glared at Kamalika while she considered this.
"I think there is a wombat who is a keen swimmer," she said. "If we, ahem, that is to say you, go to the river you might see him there."
"How will I know what he looks like?" asked the little kangaroo. "I don't think I've ever met him before."
"Then I'll come with you and help you find him," said the ostrich, a little curious now and realising she had nothing particularly pressing to do that day.
And so the four animals set off for the river.

~~~

"Where are you all heading off to?" called a young dingo who had been watching the group of animals with interest. They looked like they were on some sort of mission.
"I'm looking for a swimming teacher!" replied Kamalika.
"Oh yeah? Kangaroos can't sw..." began the dingo.
"We know!" interrupted Rafferty with a giggle. "My sister is going to learn though, you wait and see!"
"Can I join you? I'd love to see a kangaroo swim!" said the dingo, whose name was Ginger on account of his ginger coloured fur.
"Please do," said Kamalika and the animals introduced themselves, all except Silas who had fallen asleep in the middle of chewing a eucalyptus leaf. Rafferty nudged him and he woke with a start and burped.

The five animals walked down to the river where they soon noticed a creature swimming to and fro. Kamalika jumped up and down in excitement.
"Is that the wombat? He's a terribly good swimmer," she said, her green and brown eyes shining.
As the creature swam closer Adele could see it was in fact a much smaller mammal than a wombat, and she narrowed her eyes to see what it was. As it came closer still Rafferty and Kamalika gasped. The animal had fur but also a duck's beak - it really was an extraordinary looking creature.
"Dante!" shouted the ostrich, waving her wing feathers about as she recognised her old friend.
"He's a duck billed platypus," she explained to the others. "I've known him for years, but forgot he could swim as I haven't seen him around for a while."
The five animals watched as the platypus gracefully glided through the water towards them, arching his back, paddling with his webbed front feet and using his great beaver-like tail to steer.
He finally came to a stop by the riverbank and disappeared into one of his burrows before emerging again and flopping onto the bank. Kamalika stepped forward slowly and introduced herself.

~~~

Dante, for it was indeed he, bowed low and shook paws with Kamalika before glancing at her companions and nodding in recognition to the ostrich.
"So you'd like to learn to swim, eh?" he said, (rather grandly for such a strange little creature) and laughed.
"You may have already been told this" he continued, "But I'm afraid...."
"Kangaroos can't swim!" finished Kamalika. "I know, but they said people couldn't fly and look what they've managed!" Kamalika's friends murmured their approval, although the ostrich looked rather put out.
"Well you've certainly got the positive attitude my dear, let's see what we can do," said Dante, and he beckoned her to the edge of the river.
"First things first: you have to show me you can jump into the water and then get outall by yourself," he said.
"Without a second's hesitation, Kamalika threw herself into the cool river with a yelp of excitement, then turned in the water and scrambled up the bank, panting.
Dante and the other animals looked impressed.
Dante explained that it was all very well getting into water, but unless you could get out again just as easily, you could be in danger.
"At this point, I'd just like to recite my favourite poem while Kamalika catches her breath," announced the platypus suddenly, and he stood upon a log for a moment and cleared his throat.

I like the duck-billed platypus
Because it is anomalous.
I like the way it raises its family
Partly birdly, partly mammaly.
I like its independent attitude.
Let no one call it a duck-billed platitude.
The animals clapped politely.
"Thank you. It's by Ogden Nash. One of his best I think," added Dante."Now, back to the lesson...!"
While Dante took Kamalika through her paces, teaching her first to blow bubbles with her face under the water, then the basics of paddling, with and without a piece of balsa wood as a float, the animals sat on the bank watching and nibbling the odd insect or leaf.. Silas had a little snooze, only waking up when Rafferty and Ginger tried to roll him into the river as a joke.
By the end of her first lesson, Kamalika was already managing to keep her head above water and make good progress before getting tired and rolling onto her back to float. Dante agreed to see her again the next day, and the animals headed for home, arranging to meet at the same time and place tomorrow.
~~~
A week passed and the animals became firm friends, often calling in on each other before school so they could walk there together, then heading to the river in the afternoon to play about and watch Kamalika being taught all the different strokes by Dante. After a week of swimming lessons, Dante said his pupil was ready. Kamalika clapped her hands and ran home to tell her parents a very important thing.
"What's all this about?" Kamalika's father asked her as they ate their supper later that night. "We need to come down to the river at 3 o'clock tomorrow? Why?"
"It's a surprise!" said his daughter, finding it such an effort to keep a secret she almost fell off her stool.
Kamalika caught Rafferty's eye and they giggled. Their mother raised her eyebrows at her husband and smiled. It was good to see her children getting on so well - she hadn't noticed a single bit of bickering all week and she was so happy they seemed at last to have made some friends at school. At bath time their mother noticed how soft her daughter's fur was at the moment compared to Rafferty's and wondered why...
That night, Kamalika and Rafferty drifted off to sleep talking about how surprised their parents would be, and how they would react. Rafferty was not in the slightest bit jealous that his sister could swim and he could not. (He could bounce a basket ball with his hind legs, something Kamalika had never got the hang of.)
The next day dawned sunny and bright, as every morning seemed to out in the bush. Almost as soon as the kangaroos had finished their breakfast, a light meal of shoots and leaves, Silas appeared. He was walking slowly as usual on his four paws, chewing as usual, but today he had something balanced on his back. Rafferty ran out to meet him and saw he had made a crown using eucalyptus leaves and twigs.
"It's for your sister, when she's finished her swim," said Silas amiably. "Made it the last few days myself, and thought you might like to present her with it as a token of respect from her little bro."
Rafferty was so pleased with this idea he kissed Dante (much to his embarrassment) then gathered himself together, gave the koala a hi-three and hid the crown in his schoolbag. The pair headed off to school together, with Rafferty calling out, "See you at the river at 3 you lot!" as they half tumbled, half rolled towards to the school.
Kamalika was told off in two lessons for looking out of the window dreamily, but as usual enjoyed her morning's school, especially knowing what lay ahead of her that afternoon. At 2 o'clock she, Adele and Ginger set off for the river, hoping to catch up with Rafferty and Silas who as usual had already left together and were probably playing some practical jokes on each other on the way.
~~~
At 2.45pm an increasingly large number of animals were gathering on the river bank, having heard the rumour (started by Silas at school that morning) that something amazing was going to happen at 3 o'clock. Some spectators had brought along snacks. A wombat had brought along a camera he'd found in a nature reserve after all the humans had gone home recently. Even the headmaster, an elderly kangaroo who wasn't usually keen on seeking out excitement, had come along to see what all the fuss was about. He shook hands with Kamalika's mother and father as they too appeared, looking around them for their kids and seeing only Rafferty play-fighting with a rather rotund koala.

At 3 o'clock on the dot, Kamalika appeared from behind a gum tree, with Dante at her side. The crowd hushed. Kamalika looked rather nervously at the assembled audience, and bowed. Dante held her paw as they both walked to the river's edge, and the crowd gasped as the little 'roo executed a perfect dive into the water. Her parents hopped forward nervously. Kangaroos can't swim after all....

Kamalika surfaced and began to swim front crawl up and down the river as her mum and dad stopped in their tracks and watched in amazement. Their daughter was swimming! They looked at each other and Kamalika's father put an arm proudly round his wife. Kamalika was swimming - really well.

Then the little 'roo turned and began to do backstroke. The crowd cheered. As if sensing how impressed everyone was, Kamalika began to do the hardest stroke of all for an animal: breast stroke. Dante meanwhile stood proudly aside and let his pupil show the audience what a star she really was, until she emerged from the water panting. Her parents hopped over to her and hugged her. Rafferty shyly walked up to his sister with his hands behind his back, with Silas urging him on. The crowd fell silent as he called out as loudly as he could:
"For my brave and amazing sister Kamalika, the kangaroo who learned to swim!"
He brought the crown from behind his back and placed it on his sister's head. Kamalika's mum wiped away a tear and grabbed a handkerchief from her pouch. (They do come in handy those pouches.)
The wombat's flash camera went off and the crowd went wild. Kamalika hugged her brother, her mother and father before turning to Dante and reserving her last hug for him.

That night there was a party back at her family's house. A newspaper reporter from the New South Wales Gazette showed up and spoke to her family and friends, leaving with a lovely picture of the little kangaroo and the platypus (who was perched on a stool so as to be the same height as his pupil).
The next morning Kamalika's dad went out and bought the New South Wales Gazette (even though it was not the paper he usually read) and minutes later hopped into the house brandishing the front page story proudly. The picture was one the kangaroo family would have pinned to their fridge for years,and you can still see the picture today if you should ever chance to visit them. Underneath a large photograph of Kamalika with her arm around a very proud looking platypus called Dante ran the headline:
"Proof at last: Kangaroos CAN swim!"

The end