The Cookooburrahs and the Goolahgool

The Cookooburrahs and the Goolahgool

In a land where the sun can warm the earth to its very roots, there grew an unusual tree.

It was called the Goolahgool.

At first glance it looked like an ordinary old tree with sturdy bark. But a crack opened at the fork of its trunk, and below lay a large natural hollow. During heavy rain, water trickled into the hollow and stayed there for a long time, cool and clean.

People who knew the land recognised the Goolahgool by the dark stain on its bark, where water had once overflowed.

Not far from such a tree stood a family camp.

There lived Gugar, an iguana, Mudai, an opossum, and Kookaburra, a bird with a voice like a ringing laugh.

Kookaburra had three sons. The eldest was grown and often travelled alone. The younger two were still small and could not reach the water high inside the Goolahgool without adult help.

One morning the adults gathered to look for food.

“We’ll be back by evening,” Kookaburra said.

They filled their travelling water bags and set off.

But in their haste, no one left any water for the little Kookaburras.

At first the boys were not worried. They played in the shade, listened to the insects, and argued over who would be the first to notice the adults on the path.

The morning passed.

The sun rose higher.

“I want a drink,” said the youngest.

“Me too,” replied the brother.

They went to the Goolahgool. Water lay inside the trunk, but it was too high up and too far in for their little feet to reach.

One brother tried to climb up the bark, but slipped.

The other tried to reach it with a branch, but the branch was too short.

“Maybe the adults will be back soon,” he whispered.

But the day was getting hotter and hotter.

The boys fell silent. They didn’t want to play anymore. They sat down by the tree and just looked at the path.

And suddenly a familiar figure appeared in the distance.

It was their older brother, the adult Kookaburra.

“Hello, little ones!” he called. “Where’s Mum? Where is everyone?”

The younger brothers tried to answer, but thirst had made their voices too weak.

They just pointed to the tree.

The older brother understood everything at once.

“Didn’t they leave you any water?”

The boys shook their heads.

Kookaburra flew up to the Goolahgool, examined the crack in its trunk, and said:

“Then we’ll have to let the water out farther down, where you can reach it.”

He searched for a long time for a weak spot in the old bark. Then he began to widen the crack with his beak and a strong branch.

Knock.

Knock-knock.

Crack!

Suddenly, a thin jet of water spurted from the tree.

“Water!” the little ones cried in delight.

The trickle became a stream.

The stream became wider.

Soon the water was already running along the ground, skirting stones and dry roots.

The younger Kookaburras drank. Then they washed themselves. Then they began to splash water on each other, because when their thirst was gone, joy immediately returned.

“Careful,” said the older brother. “This is no longer a puddle. The water is gaining strength.”

And indeed, the stream became deeper and deeper.

Meanwhile, Gugar, Mudai and Mother Kookaburra returned from searching for food.

They heard the sound of water from afar.

“It’s strange,” said Gugar. “There was no stream here yesterday.”

“Our Goolahgool must have opened up,” Mudai guessed.

They quickened their pace.

Before long, they found themselves facing a swift flow of water that separated them from camp. It was far bigger than a little stream now.

On the opposite bank stood three brothers.

“Mother!” cried the younger ones.

Mother Kookaburra sighed with relief when she saw that her children were safe.

“How can we cross?” she called.

The eldest brother studied the flowing water.

“There’s a shallower place downriver! Go there!”

He pointed with his wing.

The adults walked along the bank and entered the water where it seemed calmer.

At first everything was fine.

The water was up to their feet.

Then to their knees.

And suddenly in the middle there was a deep hole, and the current pulled them sharply to one side.

“Gug-gur-ga-ga!” Mother Kookaburra cried in her loud voice. “A branch! Give us a branch!”

Her little sons hurried about in alarm.

The eldest brother quickly broke off a long, strong branch and held it out over the water.

“Hold on!”

Mudai grabbed it first.

Gugar followed.

Mother Kookaburra was farther away, and the current was already sweeping her downstream.

“Gug-gur-ga-ga!” her voice rang out again.

Then the two little Kookaburras took up the same cry:

“Gug-gur-ga-ga! Gug-gur-ga-ga!”

But they were not laughing at their mother. They were calling their eldest brother and pointing to where the water was carrying her.

The eldest Kookaburra ran along the bank, got ahead of the current, and dropped another long branch down to her.

The mother grabbed it.

Together they all pulled her into shallow water.

For a few minutes the family just sat on the bank and caught their breath.

Then the mother hugged her younger sons.

“We left you in the heat without water,” she said quietly. “That was our mistake.”

Gugar nodded.

“We were only thinking about the road and forgot about those who couldn’t take care of themselves yet.”

“And I,” the older brother added, “let so much water out of the tree that it became a strong stream. I should have thought more carefully about where it would run.”

Mudai smiled.

“So everyone learned something today.”

When the water fell a little, the family worked together to make a small, safe path down to the stream. The younger boys could drink there without climbing the tall trunk. Beside it, they left a long branch ready to reach anyone who lost their footing.

Since then, before each journey, the adults first checked the water for the children, and only then filled their own bags.

And the Kookaburra's voice rang out over the trees for a long time:

“Gug-gur-ga-ga! Gug-gur-ga-ga!”

It reminded the family of the day the old tree released its water and the little brothers received help. The strong current had taught them all a simple lesson: water, like care for others, must be thought about in advance.

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨