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Kim koala was tired of eating
eucalyptus leaves. "Why do I have to eat these all the time? I want to eat
something different," Kim complained. She climbed down from the top of the
tall tree that she lived in and began to walk long through the bush. Kim
spotted Kip Kangaroo hopping through the trees. She shouted, "Kip! I’m on
a walkabout. I’m looking for something different to eat. I’m tired of
munching eucalyptus leaves. What do you eat?"
Kip stopped jumping and showed her
some leaves. "I eat these shrubs."
"They don’t look very tasty. Never
mind, Kip. I’ll see you alter," and away she wandered.
Percy platypus was swimming about in
the billabong. "Hi Percy! I’m on a walkabout to find something different
to eat. I’m tired of eucalyptus leaves. What do you eat?" she asked.
Percy climbed out of the water and
wobbled on his webbed feet towards her. He opened his duckbill to show
Kim. "These are delicious to eat. Would you like to try one?"
"Snails?" Kim gasped. "Those look
horrible to eat. Never mind, Percy. I’ll see you about," she said and
wandered away, leaving the platypus. He slipped back into the water and
swam away.
Kim was beginning to tire so she lay
down in some grass to rest. "Why, if it isn’t Kim koala. G’day to you,"
she heard. She opened her eyes and saw Dusty dingo staring at her.
"G’day Dusty. I’m on a walkabout.
I’m tired of eucalyptus leaves. I stopped for a rest. What do you eat
every day?" she asked.
 Dusty let out a howl. "I love to eat
things like mice and rabbits. I’ll fetch some tucker for you, mate, if
you’d like," Dusty offered.
Kim would never eat a mouse or a
rabbit. "No thanks, Dusty. I have to leave now," Kim said and went on her
way. She was getting very hungry. She’d not eaten anything since the night
before. She was sitting under a gum tree when she heard a rustling sound
above her. She looked up to see Kallie Kookaburra.
 "G’day Kim," Kallie laughed. "What
are you doing out here in the bush? Are you on a walkabout?"
Kim sighed. "Yes, I’m on a
walkabout. I am so tired of eating eucalyptus leaves. I was looking for
something different to nibble on. Are the leaves in your tree tasty?"
"I don’t know, Kim. Occasionally I
eat leaves, but I prefer spiders, ants, and snakes," Kallie said.
"Never mind. I don’t think I’d like
to eat spiders," Kim said. Before she left, she ripped a leaf off Kallie’s
tree and chewed it. Quickly she spat it out. "That tastes horrible." She
walked away with her head hanging low.
Soon she came to another billabong.
It was huge. The water looked cool and refreshing. She cupped her paws and
took a drink. Just then Caleb crocodile stuck his big, scaly head out of
the water. "Oh, it’s you, Kim koala. What are you doing at my billabong?
Why aren’t you in your eucalyptus tree? Is something wrong?"
"I am tired of eating eucalyptus
leaves so I decided to go on a walkabout. I was hoping to find something
better to eat. What do you eat, Caleb?" Kim asked.
Caleb smiled, his huge teeth shining
in the sun. "Perhaps you’ve forgotten that I eat a lot of things, but my
favorite thing to eat is soft, furry koala bears." Caleb was just teasing,
but Kim was frightened.
 "Well, so long for now, Caleb. I
must continue my walkabout. See you again sometime, maybe," she said,
shaking with fear.
None of the things her friends ate
sounded good to Kim. She didn’t like snails, or spiders, or snakes, or gum
tree leaves. "I think I’ll just go home," she said. Her tummy was rumbling
with hunger. She climbed to the top of the eucalyptus tree and ripped some
of the tender leaves off with her sharp teeth. She chewed slowly. They
tasted delicious. "I guess leaves aren’t so bad after all," she smiled,
and ate branch, after branch, until she was full. |
