protected.”
“Yes it can,” said Limpy sadly. “All living things means all living things.”
“Goliath,” said Charm. “Imagine if you were food. You'd want to be protected here, wouldn't you?”
“But I'm not food,” said Goliath. “Nothing can eat us. One taste of our poison pus and they've got terminal bellyache.”
Limpy looked at Goliath unhappily and waited for the horrible truth to sink in.
Eventually it did.
“This is ridiculous!” shouted Goliath. “If we're not allowed to eat any living thing, how are we going to survive here?”
“Exactly,” said Limpy.
“Exactly,” said a voice from inside a nearby clump of undergrowth.
They all looked over, startled, as a large lizard emerged.
“Your slightly damaged friend is right,” said the lizard to Goliath. “You can't live here.”
“He's my cousin,” said Goliath hotly. “And he's not damaged, that's a war wound. And if we can't live here, what are you doing here? You blokes are always stuffing yourselves with insects.”
Good point, thought Limpy. Goliath can be a real surprise sometimes. His brain must work better when he's angry.
The lizard moistened his lips with his blue tongue.
“Ah,” he said. “It's slightly different for me. I'm food, you see. Food is allowed to eat food. All sorts of big creatures have got me on their menu. I eat little things, big things eat me. That's fair. But you eat little things and nothing eats you. That's not fair.”
Goliath stared at the lizard, gobsmacked.
“Actually,” said Limpy, “we might be food. I've heard rumors of crows out west who've learned to flip us over and eat the soft juicy bits on the insides of our legs and tummies.”
Goliath crossed his legs and looked pale.
“Sorry,” said Limpy to Goliath and Charm.
“That's okay,” said Charm. “I've heard that too.”
“Rumors,” said the lizard sourly. “I'm talking aboutrules, not rumors. The fact is, you're not food, so you can't live here.”
Goliath glared at the lizard.
“What if we come back here with millions of our mates?” he asked. “Who's gunna stop us living here then?”
Limpy watched anxiously. He saw Charm was too.
When Goliath got worked up, things could get ugly.
The lizard thought calmly about this.
“If there were enough of you, we probably couldn't stop you,” he said. “Nor could the national park rangers. But it wouldn't be much of a toad heaven, would it? A place where all the other inhabitants hated you and an army of rangers was trying to kill you.”
“Might be,” said Goliath hotly.
“No,” said Limpy sadly. “It wouldn't.”
Goliath turned angrily to Limpy.
“Don't agree with this crawler,” he said. “What are you saying?”
“I'm saying,” said Limpy, “that if we want to live here, we're going to have to change our diet.”
“T his mud,” said Goliath, “tastes yucky.”
Limpy sighed.
Goliath was right.
Even when you made it into mouse and cockroach shapes and added grass stems as whiskers, it still tasted like … mud.
“Spit it out, then,” said Limpy.
“No,” said Goliath indignantly. “I'm not gunna waste it.”
He swallowed it with a grimace.
“I don't think this is going to work,” said Charm. “I know I haven't got much appetite, but I don't think I'm ever going to be able to swallow these twigs.”
She took a wad of wet twigs from her mouth and showed Limpy.
He saw what she meant. She'd been sucking them for ages and they still hadn't gone soft.
Oh dear, thought Limpy. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
“I'm sick of this,” said Goliath. “We've been squatting by this dumb swamp all morning trying to change our diet, and it's not working. Those pebbles I swallowed still haven't come out, and they're hurting my tummy.”
Limpy nodded sympathetically.
The dead leech he'd eaten hadn't agreed with him either. Every time he burped he could still taste the mold.
“We've got to think harder,” said Limpy. “There must be
“Yes it can,” said Limpy sadly. “All living things means all living things.”
“Goliath,” said Charm. “Imagine if you were food. You'd want to be protected here, wouldn't you?”
“But I'm not food,” said Goliath. “Nothing can eat us. One taste of our poison pus and they've got terminal bellyache.”
Limpy looked at Goliath unhappily and waited for the horrible truth to sink in.
Eventually it did.
“This is ridiculous!” shouted Goliath. “If we're not allowed to eat any living thing, how are we going to survive here?”
“Exactly,” said Limpy.
“Exactly,” said a voice from inside a nearby clump of undergrowth.
They all looked over, startled, as a large lizard emerged.
“Your slightly damaged friend is right,” said the lizard to Goliath. “You can't live here.”
“He's my cousin,” said Goliath hotly. “And he's not damaged, that's a war wound. And if we can't live here, what are you doing here? You blokes are always stuffing yourselves with insects.”
Good point, thought Limpy. Goliath can be a real surprise sometimes. His brain must work better when he's angry.
The lizard moistened his lips with his blue tongue.
“Ah,” he said. “It's slightly different for me. I'm food, you see. Food is allowed to eat food. All sorts of big creatures have got me on their menu. I eat little things, big things eat me. That's fair. But you eat little things and nothing eats you. That's not fair.”
Goliath stared at the lizard, gobsmacked.
“Actually,” said Limpy, “we might be food. I've heard rumors of crows out west who've learned to flip us over and eat the soft juicy bits on the insides of our legs and tummies.”
Goliath crossed his legs and looked pale.
“Sorry,” said Limpy to Goliath and Charm.
“That's okay,” said Charm. “I've heard that too.”
“Rumors,” said the lizard sourly. “I'm talking aboutrules, not rumors. The fact is, you're not food, so you can't live here.”
Goliath glared at the lizard.
“What if we come back here with millions of our mates?” he asked. “Who's gunna stop us living here then?”
Limpy watched anxiously. He saw Charm was too.
When Goliath got worked up, things could get ugly.
The lizard thought calmly about this.
“If there were enough of you, we probably couldn't stop you,” he said. “Nor could the national park rangers. But it wouldn't be much of a toad heaven, would it? A place where all the other inhabitants hated you and an army of rangers was trying to kill you.”
“Might be,” said Goliath hotly.
“No,” said Limpy sadly. “It wouldn't.”
Goliath turned angrily to Limpy.
“Don't agree with this crawler,” he said. “What are you saying?”
“I'm saying,” said Limpy, “that if we want to live here, we're going to have to change our diet.”
“T his mud,” said Goliath, “tastes yucky.”
Limpy sighed.
Goliath was right.
Even when you made it into mouse and cockroach shapes and added grass stems as whiskers, it still tasted like … mud.
“Spit it out, then,” said Limpy.
“No,” said Goliath indignantly. “I'm not gunna waste it.”
He swallowed it with a grimace.
“I don't think this is going to work,” said Charm. “I know I haven't got much appetite, but I don't think I'm ever going to be able to swallow these twigs.”
She took a wad of wet twigs from her mouth and showed Limpy.
He saw what she meant. She'd been sucking them for ages and they still hadn't gone soft.
Oh dear, thought Limpy. Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea.
“I'm sick of this,” said Goliath. “We've been squatting by this dumb swamp all morning trying to change our diet, and it's not working. Those pebbles I swallowed still haven't come out, and they're hurting my tummy.”
Limpy nodded sympathetically.
The dead leech he'd eaten hadn't agreed with him either. Every time he burped he could still taste the mold.
“We've got to think harder,” said Limpy. “There must be
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